My first OFFICIAL winter hike.  That is, a hike that takes place during the actual season of winter. (Unlike my last hike which had winter conditions, but was technically in fall).

During my last hike, I was the one that held up the group.  It wasn’t a great feeling.  Normally, it doesn’t matter, because I mostly hike solo, but in winter, I like the safety of a group.  I lamented that day that I need to find a group of slow hikers like myself.  Coincidentally, later that same day I was reading posts in a women’s hiking Facebook group, when someone mentioned another group that was a subset just for SLOWER hikers!  YES!  My people.

I posted that I had some time off this week and asked if anyone was interested in joining in.  I ended up organizing two hikes.  The first was Mt Major!

• 3.32 miles
• 4 hours, 16 minutes (including stop at the summit)
• 1,050 feet elevation gain

I met the other hikers at the trailhead at 8AM.  The parking lot was icy, and we put on our microspikes.  No recent snow, so we left the snowshoes in the cars.  We took the Main (Blue blazed) trail up and the Boulder Loop (Orange) down.  The conditions were a mix.  Ice and packed snow at the bottom, bare rock patches, bare dirt and rock and leaves, granite slabs covered in ice.  We ended up taking off and putting our spikes on several times.

There were a few “concerning” spots where I just had to trust that my spikes would hold.  Overall: several lovely views and lots of enjoyable conversation.