11.6 miles from 302 to the Hut and Falls
Zealand rd was closed so parked at the lot directly on 302
Used Yaktrax but shouldve worn Snowshoes and a Snorkel
Zealand road was closed. That adds a 3.5 mile roadwalk on top of the normal 3ish out to the hut, so were the cards I quite randomly dealt myself that morning. The plan was to conquer Moriah with friends, when no friends could answer the call I was left to carry the torch alone. Zealand road is familiar ground at this point, ended up here on more then one adventure. I underestimated the spring melt.
Left the snowshoes in the car. Originally planning to stay overnight, I had enough weight on my pack already and figured they'd never leave the top of my rook. The north woods still has plenty of snow however, even the usually easy hike out to the falls was a struggle every inch. The amount of snow and the structure of the trails force you to walk on top of an unstable layer of ice & powder. My boot sank every few steps into an ice river hidden below the trail. Eventually I fell hard and pulled what the wife calls my "hip flexer". Hard to lift my left leg, I remember straining it like this the last time I was hard snowshoeing.
After a leisurly snack at the falls and hut, empty save a nice couple that came and left, I headed sloshing back myself. Not a nice day for water crossings might I add. Bringing crocs next time, water is moving fast and there aren't alot of good footholds to begin with. Once I realized all my backup socks had been sacrificed, my time had run short. Hobbled back to the car as darkness fell, a spooky and empty Zealand road at my back after another fine adventure.
