Mount Jo 12/28/05

[Gray Ghost]

Did a quick afternoon hike via the "Long Trail" to Mount Jo today. Trail conditions are excellent, with a good snow pack. A few more inches could be used to cover up some exposed roots, rocks, etc., but overall trails are solid. The views of Marcy and Algonquin were unbelievable from the truck on the way to the Loj, but we were disappointed to see both clouded in when we got to Jo's summit. Colden's summit was also gone, but its slides were still picturesque, and the views of many other peaks, including Wright, Cascade, Wallface, Street and Nye still made the trip well worth it. I can't imagine what this trip is like on a clear day. All in all, this was a good warm-up for some of the other peaks I've got my eye on in the next couple of months.

As a side note, this was the maiden voyage of my MSR Denalis, and they performed incredibly well. Thanks to Kevin and Neil for an excellent recommendation.

[Kevin]

As a side note, this was the maiden voyage of my MSR Denalis, and they performed incredibly well. Thanks to Kevin and Neil for an excellent recommendation.

Glad you're making use of them. When you fell ready be sure to give us a shout and we'll join you on a hike. Lots being planned for this winter, much of it anyone with summer and some winter climbing experience can do.

[Gray Ghost]

Sounds cool, Kevin. Here are a few pics.

[Gray Ghost]

....

[Gray Ghost]

....the pink nalgene is my wife's...lol

[Mavs00]

Cool, I was just there on the 25th. It's a great little hike. I'd forgotten since I hadn't done it in about 6-7 years. Lots of fun and killer views for the work involved. The day we went, the long trail wasn't broken out, and we did the short route. Nice pics, looks familiar

[Rookie]

Mt Jo will always be special to me.
We (My wife Joanne & I) hiked it on our honeymoon 8 years ago ( yes, there's a lot of ammunition for jokes there !). Until that day I had never considered hiking as something to do. I saw a few of the trail signs as we wandered around the Loj grounds and couldn't believe that people actually hiked those trails for all those miles,and went up those big mountains. That people do such things
was such a foreign concept. But, I couldn't help wondering what it would be like.
For some reason , I found myself toying with the notion of climbing Mt Marcy.
For years, It wouldn't go away. So last April , I did it and am now badly hooked.

[Gray Ghost]

Mavs, I know you recently hiked Cascade. How do you think the rain will affect the great trail conditions? I'm thinking of heading there next. I've been up twice already, but never in Winter. Will the thaw/freeze necessitate crampons? Thanks. -GG

[Dick]

Mavs, I know you recently hiked Cascade. How do you think the rain will affect the great trail conditions? I'm thinking of heading there next. I've been up twice already, but never in Winter. Will the thaw/freeze necessitate crampons? Thanks. -GG

GG, a 12/27 trip report for Cascade on VFTT said crampons were "helpful" on the summit.

Dick

[Mavs00]

Mavs, I know you recently hiked Cascade. How do you think the rain will affect the great trail conditions? I'm thinking of heading there next. I've been up twice already, but never in Winter. Will the thaw/freeze necessitate crampons? Thanks. -GG

GG,

Hard to say, but in the short term it probably didn't make for the best conditions, but the weather turns colder with some snow tommorow so that consolidation cycle, along with the new powder will ultimately set that trail nicely for the rest of the season.

As for crampons, hard to say, we had about a .5 - .75 inches of solid rime ice on the summit rocks and my Atlas 1030's handled them very well. I believe you got some new shoes, right? MSR's if I recall and I've always heard they also have good crampons build in so you should be fine. I'd bring the crampons (we did) but you'll likely not need them. We never felt uncomfortable on the rocks in just our snowshows.

Also, if you stick to the right side of the rocks as you ascend, you'll come to a large rock. The summer route would have you jig left around it directly up the rocks. There is a nice cheater route to the right around it that will keep you in snow a bit longer, thus not having to climb directly up the rocks. It's pretty subtle, but you should see it well enought once you're there. I'll include a picture of the summit rocks to give you an idea of what we saw (my gallery is acting up). It's a picture of the lovely Mrs', but you can get an idea of the condition on the rocks around her.

[Gray Ghost]

Cool. Thanks.