I wanted to check out the conditions on Dirty Face to see how melted out it's getting. The last time I was there, just a few months ago, there was still several feet of snow at the trailhead. Things have melted out quite a bit! There is still a small amount of patchy snow at the trailhead, but then the trail is mostly snow free until you pass the stream crossing (the waterfall) and continue on into the woods.
Eventually the trail is still completely snow covered. We didn't bring snowshoes, but saw one party that did. I was mostly okay not having the snowshoes for today's trip and just going with boots and gaiters. We made it up to the lookout and weather station which had just stunning views of the surrounding areas.
There are a few open slopes that are somewhat steep -- you might consider bringing an ice axe, although I would say you don't need it. Poles would certainly help. If the snow was more ice and we weren't able to plunge step as we were going down, it would have been nice to have an axe.
All-in-all a great day going up Dirtyface! Just about 5 hours car-to-car with 7 miles and 4000+ feet of elevation :).
Note: Do watch out for post-hole opportunities around fallen logs. There are a lot of those on Dirty Face! Also, bring a map and nav if you're new to the area. It's pretty straight forward, but easy enough to get turned around out there.
Strava GPS: https://www.strava.com/activities/1472233823
Comments