Mount Catherine — Friday, Nov. 6, 2020

Ruff! This is a great hike with a steady elevation gain, well-maintained trail, and lovely views (we tried to wait patiently for the clouds to disperse at the top but that never really happened today).

The trail: On the day we hiked, there was a mini-stream overtaking the trail for about a two hundred meter stretch not far from the trailhead. Not problematic, but maman was glad she wore her hiking boots rather than her Merrills - her feet stayed bone dry (mine? not so much!).  A light dusting of snow starts about halfway (.75 mi)  in, fortunately it was fresh and not slick but that could change. Towards the top it gets deeper (maybe 3-4 inches at it's deepest, but that was only for a short stint), and our poles were handy (didn't need the microspikes just yet). As others have mentioned, there is a cable right before the final push which is quite handy, especially considering it's snow covered and slick.

We were the first ones to the trailhead at 10:30am on a Friday, but two groups arrived at that top after we dawdled for about 45 min. Clocked 3 miles exactly using GAIA (having the trail outlined is useful towards the top when - amidst the snow - it's a little more challenging to find the trail at times). Took us just over two hours including nearly an hour at the top to soak up the views.

Happy hiking!