3/13 Wolf Pond Mountain (Wilcox Lake WF)

Parked at the beginning of Mud Pond road off Garnet Lake Road. Donned my snowshoes and headed up the unplowed road. There was a crust on top of the deep snow, but you would still sink a bit with each step. Took a short side trip to Mud Pond and then continued until the summer parking area. I made a wrong turn and followed a woods road heading north. It lead to some kind of hunters blind. I corrected and found the correct trail that lead west toward Round Pond. Upon reaching the pond, I made my way around the east side of it, crossed a swampy area (luckily still frozen), and then headed up the peak. The woods were pretty open. There was some blowdown, but a lot of it was buried under all the snow. At first, the snow was very supportive and I wouldn't break through the upper crust too much. About 1/3 the way up though, I was sinking up almost to my knees. It was slow going for quite a while as I climbed the steep hillside. Had to zig zag back and forth across the slope to make it somewhat easier. I eventually reached a level area with a huge boulder. There were also nice views (mostly to the west) from some open ledgy areas here. I continued on to the summit. It was a bit easier at this point as the snow was more supportive again. Backtracked the way I came. The snow was softening up a bit in the late afternoon, and I was sinking deeper than I had in the morning. Finally reached the car. A tiring but satisfying day in the woods.



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