This particular hike starts at the same trailhead as the Margarette Falls hike I just recently did at the start of December. I saw snow on the mountains heading to the trailhead, but when I arrived there were just spots of the white stuff, so I didn't expect to see a lot, probably until around the end of the Bullen Hollow Trail.
Speaking of the Bullen Hollow it shares the same trail with Margarette Falls for the first half-mile. Just after the information kiosk, and junction to the left of the Phillips Hollow Trail, the two paths split. The Margarette Falls Trail left downhill and Bullen Hollow right going up. Oh, I forgot to say that by the time I got here there was a bit more snow.
As I started up the Bullen Hollow Trail this hike officially became a snow hike. It was the kind of snow that was icy and a bit slick making for some slippery spots. I had gotten bad news from a guy on horseback and a hiker who both had to turn around because of a trail mostly obscured by rhododendron weighed down by snow. I would soon find out that it melting would make it a whole lot worse. I have some experience with this as I had to cut short a hike on the Turkey Pen Gap-Middle Springs loop in November 2019. Well, after slogging almost a half-mile through the rhododendron and with at least a mile or more to go I tapped out. I was soaked, I was getting chilled, I didn't want to get my dry puff coat wet and I was just tired of beating snow off rhododendrons (and getting half of it on me), to Pete's chagrin, I decided to head back.
Since I had only done between 1.5 to two miles I decided to head on out to Margarette Falls, even though I had been there a fortnight ago. While the water flow was a little less, but it was above average. However, the best part the trail to the falls had snow and all the cascades were framed with it.
So, what is the moral of the story? No more snow hikes on little-used trails in the CNF...
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