Rain, mud, fat happy moss, fall foliage, and snow! I had the best time on my pivot hike. The gate to Paradise was closed so my route was Longmire to Carter Falls and then Madcap Falls, 6.2 miles, 1014 ft elevation gain. A couple weeks back the air quality all around Washington was too risky for me to venture out, so I winter-prepped my car and my pack. Despite that, you're gonna be wet after hours of hiking in rain-super cold rain then snow. And I loved it so much. After all that fun, it felt like total luxury to have a change of comfy warm clothes in the car and to top it off with a hot chocolate with whipped cream at the Longmire Inn.
It's a straight forward trail with great signage. If you make it to Carter Falls, go the extra 5 minutes to Madcap Falls. It's worth it. Carter Falls is flowing big time, but some might not be as wowed by it especially if they compare it to Narada Falls or Comet Falls. The trail is mostly pine-needle laden forest floor with minimal step ups. Expect to get dirty. There are sections of standing water and mud. There's one inconsequential log over the trail that I think is always there.
Couple things:
The website did not say one way or the other that the gate was not going to open this morning like we're used to once we start the 4pm evening closures. A visitor at Longmire told me someone told him that the staff don't expect the gate to open until at least Tuesday. You might not find this reliable info, but while we're in this shutdown state, expect to pivot at any point. Maybe have the Longmire and nearby hikes downloaded onto your phone before you head out.
Lastly, gear. Pack the good stuff for this time of year. Gloves, rain gear, maybe go all out with a buff and hand warmers. I gave a couple pairs of hand warmers to two girls who were headed up to Carter and Madcap Falls but didn't have gloves. They were so excited to be there and it was snowing pretty good at that point. I remember the first time I realized you could be hiking in a t-shirt one weekend in October and then freezing your butt off then very next weekend.
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