Outdoor Diversion: Dripping Trees and Snow Bombs on the Twins

Summits: North Twin Mountain (4,761'), South Twin Mountain (4,902')

Trail route: Little River Road, Trail to Haystack Road, North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur

Trail conditions: Solid monorail at lower elevations , loose snow over a firm base at higher elevations with some minor drifting

Weather: Blue sky, sunshine and warm temps

Total miles: 13.4

Total time: 8:22

Warm weather was in the forecast today. Although it was a cold night the temps were supposed to rise into the 40's. I wanted to get an early start to try and beat some of the melting that would soften the trails and bring down dripping water and snow clumps from the trees.

I parked in a plowed area across from the Seven Dwarfs Motel on Little River Road. I put the requisite ten dollars under my windshield wiper and was on my way just after 6:30 AM. A walk to the end of the road had me crossing a private bridge. The owner welcomes hikers but asks that they remove traction to prevent damage to the wooden deck. Shortly after that is a trail starting on the left with a sign labeled "Trail".

It's a short walk over to Haystack Road that leads to the North Twin trailhead, a total distance of about 1.2 miles from the Seven Dwarfs Motel. The road was a little loose from snowmobile traffic but the trail was a solid white sidewalk. I started with microspikes.

I kept on the left side of the Little River and took only the last river crossing that had a nice, solid snow bridge. The trail started its upward climb from the river. Another mile and I swapped to crampons as the trail was a little loose. Up in the higher elevations there was new snow over a good solid base. The crampons worked well. Just before I reached the summit of North Twin a hiker passed me.

There were spectacular views from North Twin and I had the summit to myself. As I started over to South Twin the temperature had warmed up enough to start melting the snow on the trees. Water and snow bombs were falling all around me and occasionally hitting me. There was a lot of snow in the higher elevations but the trail was easily navigated with the crampons. It was a nice hike up to the summit of South Twin.

Once again I had the summit to myself. There were more amazing views and I stayed long enough to eat lunch. I didn't want to stay too long since it was only getting warmer and the dripping water and snow bombs were only going to increase. I started my return trip and managed to avoid most of the large snow clumps but was getting wet from the dripping tree limbs. I met two more hikers for a total of three hikers for the day.

I got back up to North Twin and it was all downhill from here. As I got further down the mountain there was eventually no snow on the trees and no further wetness raining down on me. It was an enjoyable hike down and out.

With warmer temps continuing into the next couple of days the trails will only get softer. Winter conditions are forecast to return this weekend with cold temps and high winds creating frigid wind chills on the summits. I was glad to get this hike in today!

Enjoy the photos and videos!