r/socalhiking • u/dogs_best-friend • 4d ago

Advice for a winter hiking noob?

Now that the ex has taken my dog/hiking buddy, I’m planning to start winter hiking, and I was hoping to get advice from y’all.

I consider myself experienced (5,000 lifetime miles, mostly in the San Gabriels, bagged 14ers, etc). I’ve got a standard 10 essentials kit. Planning to start easy, <10 miles on class 1 trails in daytime temps above 20 degrees or so. Think Yosemite Valley, low stakes for slips and falls. Questions:

PLANNING: If I average about 3mph, how much should I plan on snow/ice slowing me down? I know it varies, but a ballpark for trip planning.

FOOD: How many calories do y’all pack for a winter day hike?

SPARE CLOTHES: My standard kit has spare socks and a light jacket. What should I plan to pack for a winter hike? Which layer is most helpful?

GEAR CHECK: Microspikes, Merrell Thermo Chill mid boots, wool beanie, wool Buff, ski gloves, REI 650 puffy. Basically what I wear at a ski lodge. Is this adequate for the conditions I’m planning, easy day hike, not mountaineering? Also, can I just throw on rain pants and a rain jacket (Marmot Precip) over the puffy? My 22L pack is feeling a bit small, not to mention my budget post-divorce.

Thanks y’all!

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5

u/Muttonboat 4d ago edited 4d ago

planning - If it's packed snow and flat your gonna be fine, but slower than you think. If it's fresh snow or uphill, you're gonna go maybe half that speed. Snow slows everything down even if you're fast. 

The sun also goes down sooner so there's that. 

Food. Your gonna burn calories like crazy. I typically bring extra food or high calorie meals. 

Spare clothing - bring something that breathes while you're moving and something for when your static. Gaiters are great. 

You wanna be a little bit colder than you'd like when starting off - Your movement should give you the other half. 

Gear - Id keep the puffy but hike in a fleece. If the down gets wet from sweat it's toast. Synthetics will be you're friends. 

The pack is large enough for a day hike. 

1

u/dogs_best-friend 3d ago

Awesome, thank you! Ballparking, half the speed means twice the calories for a given length. Fleece is good advice

3

u/HikingWiththeHuskies 4d ago

I'll give my standard speech about microspikes. They are only effective on ice or very hard frozen snow. Think shoveling icy sidewalks and driveways. Fine if the trail is only covered in ice. I also think they are useful on dry, loose sandy covered trails.

On most trails, though, you'll run into ice, packed snow and deeper snow. Once the snow gets a little soft and deep, the spikes are too short to do any good by the time you step down through it (unless it was only a couple inches deep). The benefits of microspikes are that they are lightweight, easy to pack and easy to put on and take off.

I'd recommend trail crampons as a better choice. While they (and any crampon) suffer from the limits mentioned above, they are much better than microspikes albeit heavier and a little harder to pack.

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u/editorreilly 3d ago

TIL that people keep track of their miles.

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u/dogs_best-friend 3d ago

Haha, blame it on the apps! But can I at least get credit for not listing “steps” and staircases of vert?

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u/onlyAlcibiades 4d ago

For hiking where ? And when ?

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u/dogs_best-friend 4d ago

Since this is in conceptual phase: Sometime this winter on a sunny day with a daytime high above 20. First trail would probably be like Mt Pinos summit from the big parking lot. Would also like to do some of the Yosemite Valley trails I’ve avoided, when I go see the fire fall in February. Think the viewpoint to lower Yosemite Falls.

I don’t want to spend a ton (if anything) on gear, cuz I might not like it, and revert to wintering in the Santa Monicas. 🙂

1

u/onlyAlcibiades 4d ago

perhaps mountains near Palm Springs while no snow, yet