8/10/2019 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 8/14/2019, By: Mzapo Info: Summit is under construction, I think they're making modifications to the visitor center up there. Be prepared for that as i was unaware I'd see construction equipment at the top. Road to the TH is easy just watch the pot holes. Hike itself feels steep (at least to me) for the first 3 miles or so but after that switches to a more gradual elevation gain. 14 mile hike but you can bust out the more gradual incline portions pretty quick making it a faster hike than expected for that distance. Cool rock formations along the way above treeline. Trail well established and easy to follow, no snow. Journey to and from the top definitly beats the destination for this hike. |
|
7/20/2019 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 7/20/2019, By: Tacocat Climbing Info: Great trail for trail-running! Started at Crag TH, trail is good and open, not too much debris on it so its pretty good for running (and there was a lot of people doing so). Trail is class 1 pretty much all the way to the top. A longish route (14 miles roundtrip) but the elevation gain is very gradual, never very steep. Good views! Though the summit is not my favorite. Video of the hike: https://youtu.be/cDDQph1mVRg |
|
7/10/2019 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 7/10/2019, By: erie Info: Route is almost 100% clear. Few small patches of snow between Devils Playground and the final summit scramble, but they can easily be avoided. No need for any traction devices. |
|
7/4/2019 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 7/4/2019, By: jeremykedwards Info: 99% summer conditions. There are 3 sections of snow to cross: 1st is 70 feet long, 2nd is 50 feet and the 3rd is like 10 feet across. No need for anything extra other than shoes/boots. |
|
7/3/2019 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 7/3/2019, By: nickcady Info: Only two snow fields to cross, and they are minimal and stable now. No risk of sliding at this point. |
|
6/30/2019 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 7/1/2019, By: taylorharris50 Info: The NW Slopes route is almost snow free. No need for spikes. |
|
6/29/2019 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 6/29/2019, By: Harrier Info: Left Western trailhead at 0630. Reached the summit building at 0930. Encountered snow only 3-4 times, each for about 40yards each time. No microspikes required, but I still had them with me. Just wear good traction shoes, especially for the way down. It was very warm all day. |
|
6/29/2019 Route: Devils Playground Posted On: 6/29/2019, By: Patrickk Info: Only a few avoidable sections of snow from Devil's Playground to the summit. Traction or flotation is not needed. |
|
6/29/2019 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 6/30/2019, By: Herbert Info: I hiked Crags Trail on Saturday. As noted in other reports, there are just a few small snowfields after Devils Playground that either have a firm bootpack or can be avoided. No spikes needed. There has been some mention about the Forest Service re-routing the trail in the area of Devils Playground, but I didn't notice anything significant. There were a few areas where there are some obvious re-vegetation projects, and maybe those are causing some minor changes in the route. Per the NWS, the risk of thunderstorms was to increase around noon, but they didn't materialize until 3 pm and by that time I was back in the forest. I should have been done with the hike by then, but I was behind schedule. I need to pick up the pace a bit. The intermittent showers in the forest were cooling and refreshing. |
|
6/29/2019 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/30/2019, By: weinrauch Info: We started from Crags. Almost no snow. We had no problems with my regular hiking sneakers and boots. |
|
6/28/2019 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/28/2019, By: Rex_Grant Info: I brought microspikes but didn't end up using them. Only a few short snowfields that I managed to stay on top of. Got a little soft on the way down, but I'd expect the trail to be entirely clear in a few days. |
|
6/27/2019 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/27/2019, By: CoHi591 Info: Trail is in total summer condition until about 1.5 mile below the summit. There were a handful of short snow crossings which were rock hard at 5 am, for which we were very happy to have microspikes, but on the return we were able to avoid all the snow with a little bit of routefinding. |
|
6/23/2019 Route: Little Italy Posted On: 6/23/2019, By: climbnowworklater Info: Route is still in. Parked at glenwood cove and hiked from there. Hit snow in 20 mins and on top in an hour. Nice glissade down blue. Weather and conditions were perfect. Get it before its gone. |
|
6/23/2019 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 6/23/2019, By: JQDivide Info: The snow-sun-snow-sun cycle on Saturday afternoon left an icy trail up top from Devils Playground to the summit. Microspikes were nice to have. The summit house and upper road were closed. No snowshoes needed. The route needs some more sun, and it will be nearly summer conditions. |
|
6/22/2019 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 6/22/2019, By: ncxhjhgvbi Info: Started from the trailhead at 4am. Route was straightforward and there is plenty of signage by the pipes to let you know where the fork is. The snowfields are still about the same size as the last report on 6/19 and nothing to worry about. Clear skies until 7:15 am. Freezing fog laid down some good verglas everywhere above 13,500 which made for slow going - but I didn't bring out the microspikes until the decent. Fog stuck around until I was below 12,500 but the trail was easy to follow even with reduced visibility. Glad I got back to my car quickly as the clouds continued to build. If it wasn't for the verglas up high, the route was basically summer conditions. TH - 4:02 Devil's Playground - 6:14 Summit - 8:12 Devil's Playground - 9:40 TH - 11:07 |
