BIGTEX
Senior Ranter
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« on: May 22, 2008, 09:51:13 PM » |
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If you TRULY believe in that propaganda, you are far, far too stupid to be allowed to vote!
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There's nothing like a little fresh snow and lots of old mud to liven up an early summer hike.
Which is exactly what people are likely to find near the peaks of Vermont's higher mountains this Memorial Day weekend, due to the snowy winter and some fresh flurries this week.
At 5 p.m. Tuesday, 18 inches of snow remained on the ground near the top of Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak. The snow cover includes some of the 3.5 inches of fresh fluff that descended on the mountaintop Monday. More light snow is likely over northern Vermont summits today and Thursday, the National Weather Service in South Burlington said.
The state shuts down hiking trails leading to high mountain summits such as Camels Hump and Mount Mansfield in April and reopens them on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The closures prevent foot traffic that can damage sensitive alpine plants during mud season.
The trails' caretakers are sticking to their schedule and reopening summits to hikers Saturday despite lingering snow and mud, said Jen Donley, office coordinator for the Green Mountain Club.
People who hike on Vermont's peaks should prepare for lots of mud and patches of snow during the Memorial Day weekend, Donley said. Hikers who want to avoid the mess underfoot have many options at lower elevations, which have benefited from a relatively dry spring. The Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail, the Cotton Brook area in Moscow and the Alburgh Recreation Trail are among the good bets, according to the Green Mountain Club.
High elevation snows forced the state Agency of Transportation to close Vermont 108 through Smugglers Notch on Monday night. Highway managers reopened the road Tuesday when some of the snow melted. Vermont 108 through the notch might close again today if predicted new snow materializes, highway officials said.
May mountain snowfalls in Vermont are not infrequent. Snow has fallen on Vermont's mountains every month of the year. Wet snow drove hikers off Mount Mansfield on July 1, 1988, and skiers explored four inches of fresh powder on Killington in August 1982.
In Burlington, the latest spring snow flurry on record came May 31, 1945, according to National Weather Service data.
No snow will fall in the valleys this week, meteorologists said. Instead, chilly rain showers are forecast with temperatures in the low- and mid-50s. That's about 15 degrees colder than normal for this time of year.
Long range forecasts suggest this weekend will turn sunnier and warmer.
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