01-01-2019 Climb

The first hike of the year and checking off New Year's day on the calendar for days I've hiked the mountain. A recent small snow storm made for a little bit of snow on the trail but temperatures near freezing meant some was melting and getting slushy. Higher up there was more and more ice and some sort of traction device was definitely needed. I made a loop from the Old Toll Road trail head using some trails I haven't been on for a while. I also had the bonus of running into three deer while hiking as well. It was mostly sunny, but the clouds did come in a couple times during the hike. At the summit the wind was blowing 29 mph with gusts up to 38 mph which made the temperature of 29 degrees feel like only 10 degrees. Overall the hike was 6.42 miles with a total of 3,163 feet of elevation gain