10.5 miles of hiking • 3750' elevation gain •
Hiked Nesmith Point again today - it was significantly more difficult than in January because of more snow, but it's for exercise after all. Took me 6 hours instead of usual 5, and 2 1/2 hours were through snow, which started at about 2,500 feet and almost immediately became 1-2 feet deep. I didn't take snowshoes (still have to figure out how to attach them to a backpack) so did a fair amount of postholing. Soon after the 2nd boulder field the tracks just went straight up instead of following a trail - if was steep with 2-3 feet of snow, quite a workout. It was pretty warm and dry day (windy on the top), and I didn't see anybody at all except a couple of hikers 1/10th mile up the trail. Also saw first flowers on the lower trail - the sign of spring.
