12/29/19 A trip with Tara up Smith Mtn with plenty of snow on the ground. Almost 7 miles and 1,500' of gain, combined with finishing in the dark, made for a fun day.
1 The snow level is about 3,000' with patches of snow starting almost right away. After trying to get to multiple trailheads, and giving-up because of insane holiday snow crowds, we were hapy to finally be on the trail.
2 Nice lighting over Smith Mtn.
3 Overgrown, just the way we like it.
4 The snow starts getting pretty thick above 4,000'.
5 Great views of Baden-Powell and Iron Mountain and all the way out to Baldy.
6 Made it to the saddle, looking down to Bear Creek on the other side.
7 This sign is definitely looking more weathered since last time I was here.
8 Ready to head up the steep climb to the top of Smith. What is normally a hard to follow use trail is much easier to see in the snow. Tara made it about half way up before we had to call our turnaround time. She was nice enough to give me a little more time to quickly scramble the rest of the way to the top.
9 View from the top of Smith Mtn.
10 View a little further South.
11 The view out to the ocean with the sun already getting low.
12 The obligatory 360 video from the top.
13 Heading back down now. The Yaktrax definitely come in handy on the steep, sometimes icy, descent.
14 Making our way down.
15 Sliding when necessary.
16 Back to the saddle for a selfie.
17 Beautiful purple skies as we head down.
18 Last look at Smith Mtn and first signs of the moon above.
19 We finished in the dark but with just enough city and moon glow to make it without needing headlamps. End to a fun day.