Tyler and I are getting set to climb Mt Shasta in a couple weeks, so I decided we shout do a conditioning hike Monday. I decided on Granite Mountain, which is a 4.1 mile (one way) hike, gaining 3800 feet, up to a really cool lookout tower just north of I-90, about 5 miles west of the Pass.

The snow conditions never really factored into my mind, and seeing as how it is only May, and the hike tops out at 5600 ft, they should have. I had known the the route crosses a couple major avalanche chutes, but, again, for some reason I wasn;t thinking about snow.

Tyler and I started out at about 9:30, dressed for a trail hike, with just trekking poles, and about 20-25 lb packs. We were making excellent time when we came to the first avalanche chute, which the trail parallels (very steeply!) and then crosses, at about the half-way point. It was mostly dry, and wasn't at all hazardous. We did notice a scramble route heading up the trace of snow remaining, taking a direct shot up the slope, to where the chute opens up and becomes what looked to be at least a 30 degree slope right up to the top. Not equipped with ice axes, we followed the trail, and quickly came to the next chute, still largely full of snow, and showing obvious signs of recent snow movement. I had expected a well established path through all the snowy sections, but that had seemed to peter out, and we couldn't see where the trail picked up on the other side.

We became pretty hesitant to continue, and after discussing the situation and taking another look at the scramble route, decided we should just turn around there. Neither of us were in any mood to tackle the snowy slope without ice axes, and even though avalanche danger was microscopic, it was obvious hardly anyone had taken the "trail" route so far this season, and we didn't really know what to expect.

I had known that Grantie Mountain is often done as an early-season scramble, and the crew of people heading up right after us equipped for just such a venture definitely confirmed. I felt like a bit of a wuss and a fool as we started back down, but I got over it quickly, as both Tyler and I were just in the mood for a hike, and not a Climb.

We got back to the car and decided to head over to Franklin Falls, which was an impressive 80-foot cascade situated underneath the westbound I-90 lanes, about a mile hike up a snowy trail. It actaully turned out to be a decent hiking day.