I headed out a little before noon on the day before Thanksgiving. The forecast had called for 3 to 6 inches of snow the night before and a possible additional inch tonight, along with temps in the mid-20s and winds 20 to 30 mph plus gusts. That all turned out to be dead on.
Down low the trail was mostly muddy, but by about 4000 feet, the snow was fairly consistent.
Lots of watery mud down low
By about 5000ft the trail was mostly obscured
When I reached the ridgetop at about 5700ft, there was an average of 8 or 9 inches on the ground. It was windy and maybe 27 degrees.
Arriving at Indian Corral
Saddle just above Dunlap Spring
Camp would be in those trees, middle left
It snowed on me lightly most of the evening and off and on all night, though it probably dropped less than an inch out on the open ridgetops. It was low- to mid-20s when I got up, and I hadn't managed to keep much of my water liquid, so I snacked for breakfast, broke camp, and headed out.
Campsite. The Notch shed the dry snow easily.
Wannabe sunrise
Looking south toward Oregon Butte
Looking north along the Rattlesnake Trail
Down low, most of the mud had crusted over and was hard and gravelly to walk on.
Muddy ice patterns
Icy mud patterns
I learned a lot about my gear and technique; looking forward to a more serious outing. I guess my greatest fear was confirmed: it's a LONG NIGHT when darkness hits at 5:00PM.
Actually, the wind was up and down overnight, so there were a few times when it was quiet enough to hear the snow falling.