A Day in the High Country

Mt. LeConte-GSMNP
Appalachian Trail/Boulevard/Alum Cave Tr.
~14mi

Not being one to let a nice day slip by, I followed up Tuesday's long run with a trip up LeConte. This time of year, LeConte is still fairly well covered in ice or hard packed snow. How to deal with this has been plaguing me most of the winter season. Crampons are frustrating when the trail repeatedly goes from ice to dirt, also, I am stingy to the umpteenth degree and don't want to spend money on something I'll most likely use less than 10 times per year.

So I did a little online research, and here's what I came up with...

Screwed Shoes

An explanation: 

Well, what you see is what you get. In each shoe you've got about ten 1/4inch hex head screws. These are screwed in from the bottom of the shoe inward, not from the inside out. The screws cost about fifteen cents per piece, and all you really need is a screwdriver (or drill to expedite the process). You can find much more detailed instructions at various websites, like here.

Wednesday's trail conditions provided the perfect opportunity to test out the modifications to my trusty hiking shoes. 

Nothing but ice and snow on the AT

In comparing the screwed shoes to Dad's in-step crampons, my guess is that the traction was equal on all but the hardest of ice. In those conditions, crampons provided slightly more confident footing.

Where the screws prove most useful are the situations where you get 100yds of ice followed by 100yds of exposed rock, etc. When walking on rock (or even pavement) the screws are barely noticeable.

View from the landslide below Myrtle Point

If you find yourself hiking the Boulevard trail in the next week or so, you'll probably have icy conditions on the last (and hardest) mile before you reach the summit.

Myrtle Point

Cliff Top

Generally, it was warm and sunny on the summit with barely any wind. By the time we left, clouds moved in a a few itinerant snow flakes drifted past.

The footing on Alum Cave trail was actually in great shape Wednesday. Except for the last mile before the summit, everything was in good shape.

Above the Switchback Stairs

My suspicion was that after miles of rock and dirt the screws would become cumbersome or at best mildly annoying. They were excellent all day though, unnoticeable all but a small percentage of the time. If your looking for a cheap solution to deal with winter time trail conditions, I recommend screwing up an old pair of hiking shoes and trying it out.