It has been a rough start to 2020. My Jeep lost its motor in late December. I have not had my vehicle back since then. I have missed most of our winter cycle this year as I did not have transportation to get to the mountains. My Jeep is supposed to be done soon, but because I have not had a vehicle, I have sort of been a prisoner in my own home. I was finally for the first time this year able to get out in the mountains and do some hiking on Sunday. YakTrax sent me some Run Traction to test out this year. This was my maiden voyage on them. I was really excited to get out and do some gear testing and get some much needed hiking.
You could not have asked for a better day to be out hiking in the mountains. 50 degree temps and bluebird skies made it such an incredible day! I usually start at the Granite Trailhead, but I decided to hike the Wasatch Trailhead because it had been a long time, and I wanted a change of scenery on the way in. Most of the trail to start was melted off and pretty muddy on the way up. When you arrive at the first bridge crossing there is snow in there, but it is a short distance and pretty flat requiring no traction. They have changed this trail quite a bit since I last hiked it. They put in some really forgiving switchbacks which made what was a straight up hill hike, a pretty easy one as you ascend the switchbacks. Once you top out it puts you right at the lake.
I took a few shots then decided to put on the YakTrax Run Traction as all trails above the lake have snow. I was surprised with the ease of putting them on, and how grippy they really were. They would move a bit in the slush, but much less without them on. In the frozen sections and icy stretches they performed really well. I even walked up a 20 degree pitch that was pretty much bulletproof and never slipped once. Never once did I feel them creating pressure points in my feet or on my heels or toes. Overall first impression on these I give them a 10/10!
As I moved above the lake, I did not know how far I was going to go, so I just decided to wander and see how far I got. The snow was packed down and hard in sections on the way up. From the Waterhouse, I moved up the creek section to the upper bridge. There were some really solid stretches of ice in here and the traction worked brilliantly. I stopped at a section of the creek that had ice over the creek, but you could see the water moving under it. That was a pretty cool to watch!
I made my way up and over the bridge. The creek was full of snow and the sun was shining on the other side. I took a quick break on a boulder in the sun, then decided I better make my way out because I did not know what the rest of the loop was going to look like as far as snow and ice. The hike out was pretty sweet and really fun as the YakTrax continued to impress me. They really made winter hiking on packed trails a lot of fun! Finally at the lake, I took off the traction to descend to the car on the muddy dirt path that I came up on.
This was a great day to get out for a hike, do some gear testing, and keep my legs from getting out of shape for the adventures to come this year. I hope to have my Jeep back soon. Spring is right around the corner. Probably a few more days on the splitboard, and some on the YakTraks, then this party will change from snow dances to dirt dances. Enjoy the photos and videos! More adventures to come!
