Little Si snow obstacle course

Crunchy snow, icy trail led to summit of Little Si.

The wind was howling and bracing when I exited my Fit at the overflow lot of Little Si. I thought I should have packed long underwear, but after hiking a bit my legs didn't feel the chill. I had lots of energy at the start and made good time. But the frozen trail, combined with fallen trees over the trail slowed me down. My legs were tired toward the end of the hike.

I used almost two hours getting to the top (my best time had been less than 90 minutes), so the overall hike probably took 3.5 hours. I favored my microspikes, walking carefully when not on the snow; they had good gripping action on rocks, and I was cautious about falling. However, there was one smackdown  when I let my guard down and slid on a strip of ice on a short downward slope toward the end of the trail.

The abrasion from my snack-down.

Several trees had fallen over the trail; this one was among the easiest to pass.

The trail was steep and slick here and I used the snow beside the trail to gingerly descend.

This portion of the trail offered packed snow and slush, and easy navigation.

Statistics for the day:

Distance: 5 miles
Elevation gain:  1,250 feet. 
Location: Little Si
Conditions: Cold; wind; packed snow, ice, slush, clear ground; blue sky; very bright in exposed areas
Load: Probably 14 pounds
:

Statistics, year to date:

Distance: 34.1 miles

Elevation gain:10,570 feet