Mount Catherine — Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025

Since it’s shoulder season, I thought I’d provide an update on the Mount Catherine trail. The trail is in great shape with only a couple down trees, both of which are easily passable. The intermittent snow that’s actually on the trail starts around 3/4 of a mile in according to my watch and appears in short patches most of the rest of the way to the top. The last quarter of a mile or so is all packed down snow that’s pretty icy, some of which goes along the ridge. I used poles on the way up and both spikes and poles on the way down until I had gotten through the really icy portion. It’s passable without either, and there were a couple people doing it without any traction but it was much more slow going for them than it was for me, so I recommend poles at minimum, and both spikes and poles if you prefer more peace of mind. Incredible views at the top, some mushrooms along the trail, very little fall foliage left—just some bushes at lower elevation. The trail is still easy to follow and had lots of packed down snow up high, but if we get any more snow, be sure to have navigation so you can find it when the snow isn’t packed down and making it obvious. The road to the trailhead is pretty rough, but if you take it slow you’ll do fine. No snow on the road yet.