This hike up Garfield looked a little different than my trip in October. What do I mean? Snow, and a lot of snow. As I’ve mentioned on the blog, I’m casually working on my Winter 48 4000 footer list and Garfield was a peak that I needed for this list. Having hiked Garfield several times prior to this in late summer/fall months, I was really excited to see this trail and peak covered in fluff!
I love winter mid-week hiking because typically few people are out and it’s just so incredibly peaceful. This day surely fit that description. “Hiker Dad” (his insta) Bruce and I met at the end of Gale River Road in Bethlehem, parking in the winter lot as the road is closed seasonally. There was one other car there, a solo hiker we later passed on trail.
We carried snowshoes for the 1.3 mile road walk where I then put mine on at the Garfield trailhead and Bruce wore microspikes, both were sufficient options for the start of the hike.
I haven’t been able to wear my snowshoes much since the end of December due to a strange hip injury so it’s been great to be able to wear them again without pain. Aaaaand I wore them on another hike at the end this week too (report to come soon!). Injuries blow, and the recovery process from them isn’t fun especially when being such an active person. But, I’m glad to have taken the necessary time and prioritized rest/strength training to not prolong the injury and get a little stronger too!
By about mile two into the hike, snowshoes were the preferred option as there was more loose snow from the day before and spikes weren’t as grippy. Plus, who doesn’t love televators as you start to really gain elevation! For those of you reading who might not know what televators are, they are a metal bar which pops up under your heel, creating a platform and helps with ascending in snowshoes! If you’re a hiker and get snowshoes for winter hiking, I recommend buying ones with this feature!!
It was forecasted to snow later on in the day but it never did. I think probably into the evening there were flurries but not during the hike. The sky was overall very cloudy though, with few patches of blue sky, and semi/fully socked in summits around Garfield. I’m sure Garfield was also socked in at points but it wasn’t when we summitted which was exciting! My friends Katie and Chase were hiking the Bonds this day, so I made sure to wave to them while on the summit!
The final mile or so of trail before the summit was rather powdery and snowshoes were absolutely necessary. It’s kind of really fun to hike in lots of powder with snowshoes… exhausting… but fun. That said, breaking trail in lots of fresh snow is definitely type 2 fun 😉
I think my favorite thing about this hike was the warmer temperatures… a sign of a potential season change. While warmer weather means shoulder season hiking which isn’t necessarily the best time, it’s required for spring and eventually summer. Mainly, it was just nice to feel my toes and fingers the entire hike. A rare occurrence for winter.
“We all have an innate feeling of being separate from the world, peering out at life from behind our own little self, and vying against other isolated selves. But how can we truly be separate from the same world that created us? “Dust to dust” isn’t just something they say at funerals, it’s the truth. You can no more disconnect from the universe and its inhabitants than a wave can extricate itself from the ocean.”
Dan Harris