Dial and Nippletop, Shoulder Season Snow
I was a bit surprised (happily) that both Dial and Nippletop have received a decent amount of snow. There was 3-5″ above 4,000′ elevation. Nippletop was cold and the wind was whipping.
I used spikes between Dial and Nippletop, and the snow was cold enough not to stick to them. Nearer to Dial on the return it started to warm a bit and the spikes came off for the rest of the day.
Despite not having views all day, the Leach Trail is one of the prettiest there is. I didn’t see another soul outside of the parking lot.
On the way out, the clouds disappeared and showed the most picturesque view of Giant Mountain than I’ve seen. It was breathtaking. (Apologies for only having the phone for the photos.)