Monday was a bright sunny day on Mt.Ashland and a big crowd of outdoor enthusiasts were drawn to the mountain. Our two carloads slowly drove through the packed ski area lot and found parking near the beginning of forest service road 20.
The weather was calm and with proper snow gear we didn't feel the temperature in the low 30s. I had scouted the route on Thursday out to Grouse Gap shelter and found FS20 was mostly hard parked snow that could be walked in hiking boots; but Sunday brought new snow to the mountain and new conditions on the road.
Most of us wore yaktraxs and for the first 1.5 miles in 2-4 inches of snow that seems adequate. But when the road split left and headed down hill towards the shelter the snow depth increased to more than 8 inches and proved tough going after a valiant attempt. With Joe and Bob surveying us from the turn off we decided to turn our trek around. By the time we got back to the cars we had done about 3 miles.
It was decided to leave the yaks and backpacks in the cars and walk across the big lot and up to the ski resort lounge for refreshments. The recently remodeled lounge has big windows that allow views of skiers and snowboarders and the white mountain.
We got in 4 miles on the day and enjoyed our time up on Mt. Ashland.
Rich
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