There were some melted out tracks on the ridge, but none for the day, so it was a peaceful ascent on a rapidly melting bed of snow where we had to dig in steps on the steep bits. Somewhere on the ridge is where we picked up a tick and transported it back to Portland.
Once on the Kings Mountain Trail, we enjoyed a game of tag with a couple of parties. On the summit, there were drifts up to three feet deep (and some spectacular postholes).
The descent was trickier, with a couple of traffic jams and much slipping and sliding. At one point, I heard a plaintive “I can’t stop,” and jumped off the trail to hug a tree as a fellow hiker came streaking past in an uncontrolled glissade. It was day of frozen tootsies and T-shirts, plus a tick - harbingers of spring.