Our hike today is from Black Mountain Campground to the top of Mitchell and back. It is a 12 mile roundtrip with 3689 feet of total elevation gain. Starting out at 9:30am we didn't get back until 5:30pm. A long but enjoyable day on the mountainside.
Conditions were great, a temperatures in the 40s and just about freezing on top with light winds and mostly sunny skies but almost no view at the top. Trail conditions were good on the lower half but turned icy for the second half. We struggled on the patches of ice. Finally, I gave in and took out the katoolas for some foot traction. From that point on, we had solid ice on the trail the rest of the way. Without foot traction, it was very treacherous and many hikers fell.
Once at the top, we were greeted by a small crowd. the park had opened and folks could drive to within a quarter mile of the top. We found a spot out of the wind to sit and eat, although my sandwich was partially frozen.
After about 30 minutes on top waiting for the clouds to clear, we decided to head back. I gave one katoola to a hiking buddy so we'd both have some traction. I managed to stay upright but it was much easier with both feet having traction.After about 2 miles we took off the spikes and worked our way around the few remaining icy spots. The trail now was thawed some and very muddy.
We had nice views to the east at times. We saw more hikers on the trail than I thought we would. Some were still headed up on our way down. Unless they were super hikers, they were not going to make it to the top and then down in daylight.
By 5:30 I was pretty tired and ready to get in the car for the ride home. Great day and great hike.
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