Seasons – They are a changing… – Every foot forward, is a step in the right direction

The last time I went up Mount Rose was March 26 with Jean. That was the fifth of the year. Each time the snow conditions were both very wintery, and different.

May 6 on the left. March 26 on the right.

April struggled to release winter and welcome spring. It has been wet and cold. We did get into the high 70’s low 80’s for a couple days in late April, and first couple days of May.

Looking ahead. Oh my! It may not hold true, because not every weather app depicts such an extreme jump. Time will tell. Summer might come early for a change.

I was needing to get in some scramble conditioning so… hi ho, hi ho, off to Rose I go. I listed a Mountaineers hike at noon on Friday but it was just too late to get interest. I had one person sign up but he cancelled. Club rules require three people to make it an official trip.

I was hiking by 7:10am. In my rush I set my inReach down on a concrete curb in the gravel lot so it could grab a signal and I could text Jean. About ¾ of the way up I realized I left it behind. Oops. I asked folks I passed if they’d seen it but no one had. When I got back the lot it was full of cars. No Garmin. I was bummed. An expensive mistake to say the least. Just before leaving I knelt down to look under the car next to me. There it was. In the gravel. Unharmed. Whew!!! It was sitting right next to the tire, nearly run over. I was excited to see it. Here it is below. Safe and sound. No photo from the spot it was in because I was just excited to see it.

Since I was solo, it meant a brisk pace. I got to Horse Camp in 1hr-1min. About 3-½ minutes slower than my PR. I thought I might have a chance at getting close to my summit PR of 1:47 but it wasn’t to be.

Snow began at around 3,250’. It was still somewhat firm but soft in spots. No microspikes needed.

The boot path wasn’t well cut in due to all the melt that’s happened and debris that’s fallen from the trees. Mostly easy to follow but not always. Occasionally I had to look close. In one instance I did a minor adventure route. No issue. Possibly cost me a couple to five minutes due to hitting softer snow.

It was pretty straightforward to get the summit. Parts were even melting out. I made it in 2hrs-10min. I’m happy with the pace. I Also went a little light in the pack today – 22lbs.

After a snack I headed down and ended up collapsing the snow bridge over the creek. I’d walked over it in the way up after testing it. I tested again but I must have stepped too hard, causing it to partially collapse. So I went ahead and knocked it down completely. It’s not a danger other than a possible rolled ankle, skinned shin or something that’s not a drowning. It’s not a raging river or deep.

I finally saw another hiker. He was ascending about the time I got out of the snow. Then back at horse camp I see Gary H. taking a break. We chatted a bit. He was headed on an exploratory trip to Bear Camp.

Then Sharon R. and one of her friends topped out. We all chatted turn I headed down. I easily burned 30 minutes. Then about a mile from the car I ran into a member who works in Mountaineers books. We also talked a bit. She recognized that i was the person who posted the hike.

I was back at the car before noon. More photos from the day below.