I am normally willing to drive over the pass on any day for a better chance at sunshine, but today I kind of wanted to stay closer to home. I've been holding off on Bessemer Mountain until I could get some snowshoes or a bike to add some excitement to the long road walk, so after reading up on the main summit and considering the snow conditions, I made plans to head up to South Bessemer Peak and then to Moolock Mountain before returning to the car.
Snow appeared on the Middle Fork Road before the pavement ends and was steady enough for snowshoes just past the Mining operation about a mile from the trailhead. It rained steady all the way to the summit, never quite turning to snow which meant my rain gear lost nearly all breath-ability. The heavy slush stuck to my snowshoes and caused a few extra inches of sinkage. No big deal, I don't mind a challenge but when I soaked through my last pair of socks and my toes began to go numb a few hundred feet below the summit I decided I would have to return for Moolock another day.
Just like my trip up Green Mountain to the south it was completely socked-in by low clouds and the only short sunbreaks came just before I returned to the trailhead. I can't complain though because I was blessed with a great vantage point on Russian Butte and Revolution Peak. A fairly uneventful trip and much wetter than I prefer, but I was glad to get out all the same and Automahn got a great workout shouldering through the slush.
2 comments:
Looks like fun!! I reall
y need to join you one of these (warmer!!) times!!!!
Jeb, great Blog - we did the same trip a few days later. The snow was fantastic!
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