Friday, December 14, 2018
Start/End: Cascade Mtn Trailhead
Miles: 5.8
Elevation gain/loss: 2355′
GaiaGPS track
Around 2pm, I headed out from the Loj to the trailhead 15 minutes away. I geared up and headed out by 2:30pm. There was constant snow cover, with a maximum depth of ~3 feet. I wore snowshoes for the entirety of the hike; I probably could have gotten away with wearing just microspikes but I didn’t want to then deal with carrying the snowshoes.
After an hour and a quarter or so, I reached the summit of Cascade, above treeline. The wind was howling by with gusts of up to 45 MPH, kicking up billowing snow which severely reduced visibility.
I then went back down a bit and took the trail over to Porter. Thankfully, Porter was almost completely under the protection of trees. I then turned around and went back the way I’d come. With the sun setting, I ended up needing my headlamp for the last 45 minutes of the hike.
The hike had some relentlessly steep sections, but the snow was packed down and the going was straightforward, though I didn’t see anyone else the entire time I was out. I arrived back at the car around 5:30pm and then went into Lake Placid to get some hot food!
