Outdoor Diversion: A Hike to Ike in November

Summits: Mount Eisenhower (4,780')

Trail route: Edmands Path

Trail conditions: Dry, wet, muddy, icy

Weather: Cool, comfortable temps, blue sky and full sunshine

Total miles: 6.6

Total time: 5 hours

After recent heavy rain and sub-freezing temperatures I was expecting some interesting trail conditions. A beautiful day was forecast with cool temps and sunshine. The Edmands Path is one of my favorite trails and I was looking forward to an enjoyable hike!

Skies were clear on the drive to the trailhead. As I was driving down the Cog Railway Base Road there was a flooded bog that was flowing across the road. That was the first time I had seen that. As I drove through and exited the water the road was icy on the other side from previous traffic.

I arrived at the trailhead to an almost full parking lot. There were several hikers about to start their hike. Didn't take me long to get ready and I was on the trail. It was a nice cool morning and I arrived at the first and only significant water crossing. The water was running slightly high. There were some wet rocks that looked like they might be ice coated so I used a nearby small log to cross on. I had no problem crossing.

Further up the trail I came up on the section of trail that I was concerned about at the start of the hike. There is a brook that flows over a ledge then across the trail. There was significant ice on the rocks and almost everything was slippery. I thought I could navigate up without my microspikes but really should have had them on. It got very icy on the ledges that I had to climb up. I was on hands and knees grabbing ice covered rocks. Luckily it was a short section and the trail started to level out.

I soon found that flowing water was my friend. There was less of a chance that there was any ice in the water. But previous hikers stepping out of the water onto the rocks resulted in the water immediately freezing causing an additional slipping hazard. I took my time and managed to watch my footing and keep from falling. I eventually came to dry trail and rocks.

There was a steady breeze as I made my way up the summit dome. I reached the summit with hikers coming and going from both directions of the loop. The breeze was cool but the full sunshine felt warm. I spent some time taking some pics and talking with other hikers. The views were spectacular in every direction!

I started my descent from the summit and it was all downhill from here. I put my rock spikes on when I reached the icy section of trail. When I arrived at the steep section there was a bit of a traffic jam of hikers coming up. Some had traction and some did not but it was beginning to get very time consuming. I finally just dropped down and passed by the ascending hikers. I removed my traction just past this tricky section of trail.

It was smooth going from here. The temperature was beginning to warm up and there was no breeze. It was an enjoyable hike back to the trailhead. The conditions were just about what I expected they would be today. The ice on the higher sections of the trail warned of the approaching winter. So with interesting trail conditions, great weather and amazing views it was a spectacular day to be above treeline!

Enjoy the photos and videos!