February 12, 2012: I hiked the three falls loop this morning, it was pretty cold, 10° F. It was dangerous because my spikes and poles didn’t get much traction—the 10° ice on the trails was too hard! Bad situation. You could really get hurt, or die, so simple hiking becomes technical scramble, keeping 3 secure points of contact at all times.
***In some places it would have been handy, fun, safer, to have some rope and a harness.
***I didn’t get cold. I like to gear up so that I’m comfortable when it’s wet or cold. Today I used those chemical toe warmers in my socks, they work great. —Ed Atkeson
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I was out there too. Glad to have some new microspikes.
Hi Ron, funny when the temp goes down, the spikes have less grip. Carbide pole pics lose their grip too. Surprised me, but it makes sense. (what are you crazy hiking when it’s so cold)
I weigh in at 280, so the microspikes dig in pretty well. I agree, though, that the pole was pretty useless, I collapsed mine and just carried it.
And yes, we BOTH were a little nuts for being out there yesterday, especially on the ice on the north/west side of the falls! Treacherous!
I’m used to just strolling through the woods with spikes even when the trails are icy. It took me a few minutes to realize that this was an entirely different technical situation. Treacherous is the word, and you’re right about the weight factor.
Eep. I used to have cheap crampons that I bought at Five Rivers, that I attached to the bottom of my boots with what were essentially giant rubber bands. Doesn’t sound like they’d have cut it.
YakTrax prolly, yah, not so good. You need points.
I think tomorrow I’ll look for the golden phoenix egg at the preserve.
I just got back from the preserve and half the trails are sidewalks made of ice. Often the icy sidewalk pitches toward the edge of a precipice. You need pretty good spikes to hike today. Keep safe.