9/26/2020 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 9/27/2020, By: Animo Info: Trail clear until the last 200' Then snow/ice conditions made it more challenging. Brought Trek poles which were very helpful on the descent with balance. Forgot to bring gloves and wished I had. Very windy on the descent which made it more difficult than usual as wind gusts would blow you to the side as making a step. Beautiful views on top, but still hazy from wildfires. Saw a Mountain Goat 1/3 of the way down. |
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9/25/2020 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 9/26/2020, By: E_A_Marcus_949 Info: Snow free until last 200' gain? Went up without spikes fine. Could have gone down without and been ok but figured I'd carried them so put them on to make life easier. Quite a few people didn't have them and did just fine. Some mud but nothing extreme. Beautiful colors in the basin! Great trail, and CFI was doing some fabulous trail work around 12k |
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9/24/2020 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 9/24/2020, By: KDinCO Info: TAKE SPIKES!!! Despite recent condition reports, I was surprised by just how much snow the Northwest slopes route was still holding, and I don't see it melting out enough anytime soon. Several groups were attempting without spikes on the ascent and it was slow going and dicey. We held off for as long as we could, thinking conditions would improve, but we saved time and aggravation by just putting them on. On our descent the ground had melted and mud was now an issue so we continued to wear spikes to give extra traction on that too. All those that didn't bring/wear spikes today wished they had. |
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9/23/2020 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 9/23/2020, By: Almost13ranch Info: Spikes were useful on the last 300' or so of vertical gain. Areas below that were muddy coming down above the meadow. |
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9/19/2020 Route: North Ridge from Lulu Gulch Posted On: 9/20/2020, By: joemcglinchy Info: Trail is try til you get to turn off with 4wd road that takes you up middle mountain; that option is dry. Going direct up to browns peak has occasional snow but nothing of consequence, didn't need spikes in the morning. We topped out on browns around 10am. Ridge over to huron is spotty with snow, but talus fields beneath Ridgeline are holding snow. Link up with huron standard route was starting to get slushy and spikes were helpful up and down until the trail dried out around 13k feet. |
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9/19/2020 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 9/20/2020, By: Mitsugi Info: Pretty easy. Good conditions. Muddy, some snow on top but not much. Spikes were very helpful. |
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9/18/2020 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 9/19/2020, By: tdurty Info: Trail is dry until you're just out of the basin. Continuous snow from just after 13,000' on. I summited early and was down before the sun hit any of the snow, so it was solid/icy for me on ascent and descent. There is a solid trail through the snow, so no route finding needed. No postholing. I didn't wear spikes on the way up but did on the way down. Poles would also work. There are a few sections that were quite icy and steep, if you're nervous about your footing or mild exposure, recommend just wearing spikes the whole time once you reach the snow. Otherwise a beautiful day. Definitely marked haze from the wildfires, but didn't seem to affect me physically. |
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9/17/2020 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 9/17/2020, By: Mountainmippy Info: Got on trail at 6 AM. No snow until your past the staircases on the way out of the basin. Someone had blazed the trail 1-2 days before so we were able to follow the switchbacks until the last 1/4 mile up to the summit. We used someone's post holes and didn't sink any deeper. Had microspikes but didn't need until the way down. Poles definitely recommended. Spent an hour at the summit and descended around 10:30, snow was still hard near the top but getting real muddy on the switchbacks. Haze from fires was present but not too bad. Gorgeous day, we absolutely loved it. This is one I will do again! The view is spectacular. |
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9/15/2020 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 9/15/2020, By: tlgold1990 Info: Trail through treeline clear. Didn't need microspikes until out of the basin. The trail is no where to be found with the snow after a while. Right now it's pick your own route. Postholed a bunch. |
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9/15/2020 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 9/17/2020, By: lesliegb6720 Info: Trail is mostly clear up to the Basin. Once above the basin, trail is packed with snow. Most hikers have taken just a direct route up to the saddle, packing out the snow, not following he trail route. Snow was up to a foot deep in places., trekking poles and micro spikes highly recommended. From the saddle to the summit, first 300 feet is mostly clear following the direct route up the scree. After that, route is mostly ice and snow. |
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9/13/2020 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 9/13/2020, By: pbabeu Info: I drove my stock Jeep Wrangler to the 4WD trailhead on a dry road. Hard packed snow on the trail in the trees is frozen & slippery in the early morning & micro-spikes make a positive difference. Once out of the trees, the trail is bare & dry on south-facing slopes; however, about 90% of the route remains snow-packed. Don't forget trekking poles, SUNGLASSES & sunscreen. Several people were without sunglasses today and even declined my offer to give them an extra pair when I warned them about snow-blindness. Clear sky today and the mountains are so beautiful with the early snow. |
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9/7/2020 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 9/7/2020, By: Marshall Info: Trail is all good all the way to the top. The road is in good condition too. The only issue was all the smoke, but it wasn't worse than the rest of the state. |
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8/28/2020 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 9/2/2020, By: rsuminsby Info: Ascended the standard NW slopes route, but came down the SW slopes route. A very nice variation...the views of Apostle Basin are spectacular. Stick to the ridge until you get close to the saddle, and then pay attention to your GPX file and map. The bushwhacking through the trees was a bit daunting, but not bad. Worth the trip. |
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8/27/2020 Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 8/28/2020, By: Mojokram17 Info: Dry, easy going, well-maintained trail. Smoke was not an issue for me at all. Up and down in around 5 hours including an hour at the top. Made it to upper trailhead with a Mazda CX-5 GT (8.5 inches of clearance). Would NOT recommend anything with less than 8 inches of clearance even after the road was smoothed over by bulldozer. |
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8/21/2020 Route: North Ridge from Lulu Gulch Posted On: 8/21/2020, By: PJ88 Info: The area surrounding Huron was pretty smoky during the morning but cleared up on our way down in the afternoon. It did not affect us but there were those that were having trouble as a result. |
