Roosevelt National Forest, Dadd Gultch

With the weather finally allowing the sun to shine, Conor and I took the opportunity to drive up Highway 14 to get in a quick snow-hike. Conor’s original plan was a trail up near the 10,000 ft elevation mark, but as we topped 8,000 the mountain was clearly trying to harm us. By 10,000 ft elevation we had a 6 foot wall of snow on both sides of the roadway and no possibility to park.

We turned our tail and went back down to a trail at 7,000 ft; Dadd Gultch where there was anywhere from 1 to 2 foot of snow on the trail. I used Conor;s snow shoes, taking the lead, and Conor followed in his winter boots using my prints as steps… which worked well.

We only hiked out 1 mile, but did so in a slow and relaxed way which allowed us both to soak in the peaceful quiet of the surroundings. By the time we began back to the car, the sun had melted much of the snow into a slushy, which was many times more difficult to deal with and finished soaking my socks (and feet).