Quick report for a dayhike of Jolly Mountain on 2.22.20.
ROAD was clear and suitable for all vehicles. My friend and I drove to the end of Salmon La Sac and parked in the small designated area on the side of the road. A non-motorized snopark permit is required to park here this time of year.
TRAIL: We picked up the trail from the Cayuse Horse Camp at around 7.30 a.m.. Everything was covered in snow and we threw on the snowshoes fairly quickly. It looked like no one had been up Jolly for a while so there were no tracks to follow. We found our way through the woods with the help of a combination of gps apps - definitely expect to do some route-finding if you head up this time of year.
Breaking trail was a workout! Snow alternated between crusty and powder at lower elevations, eventually turning into just powder as we gained elevation. We were surprised by a few snowmobilers a few miles in (we didn't think they were allowed on this trail) but they did put down a track that we followed for a little bit before we veered off and resumed kicking steps up the last steep push to the ridge (this was probably the steepest slope that we traversed).
Things mellowed out a little on the ridge and we followed the frost-tinged ridge over to Jolly, enjoying the views of the surrounding peaks and watching out for wind-loading and cornices.
Seven miles of breaking trail took us an extremely long time...almost seven hours from car to summit. We reached the summit and snapped a few quick photos - it was cold, a little windy, and phones were dying - before doing a turnaround and dropping down the ridge a little ways for our lunch break in a more protected area.
We hustled down the trail a lot more quickly then we had made it up, plunge-stepping in the powder. Once past the creek we took the snowshoes off and bare-booted it the rest of the way down without any real post-holing issues (yay!). We made it back to the car in less than half the time it had taken us to get up the mountain, making it out just after sunset but before needing headlamps (also yay!).
What a beautiful day in the mountains!
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