Fumbling Around In The Woods: November 2017

Distance: 12.6 mi.
Elevation: 2,548 ft (overall) 4,548 ft (total)
Time: 1:42 (Battell Shelter) 2:24 (Mt. Abraham) 4:26 (Mt. Ellen) 6:45 (Mt. Abraham) 8:13 (Total)
Trails: Battell Trail, Long Trail

This was my second attempt at linking both Mt. Abraham and Mt. Ellen in an out and back hike of both peaks. My last attempt resulted in me accidentally turning around too early because I didn't do enough research before my hike.
Even though the sun was shinning as I neared the trail head, it was actually snowing lightly when i got to the parking lot. Overnight snow made for a layer of snow from the base to the peak(s) instead of just at the higher elevations.
I brought a pair of old microspikes with me for the day, but started without them since the snow was only about an inch deep. It took a little while, but eventually my plodding up the trail without paying too much attention to the conditions resulted in my feet slipping out from under me on a small patch of hidden ice. I still didn't put on my spikes, but now did pay more attention to what the snow looked like on the ground looking for smooth patches with ice under it.
The only brook crossings of the day were right next to each other and both bridged or easy step overs. Above these, the forest turns into more softwoods/conifers and occasionally had some standing water in the trail in spots that are likely muddy during warmer months of the year.
Before reaching the Long Trail and the Battell Shelter, there were only a couple of blow downs from the recent storm. At the shelter though, the trail is blocked with a cluster of downed trees. Around the shelter there are actually lots of downed trees scattered around, but none of them actually hit the shelter or caused and structural damage.
Above the shelter, there was also some scattered trees that were down across the trail, but there were all pretty easy to either climb over or duck under. If the trees aren't cleaned up before snow falls for the winter though, some of them could get a little tricky to navigate over/under. There were also some patches of ice between the shelter and the summit that were easy to either go around, over, or across on rocks.
Nearing the summit, the trail gets steeper and rockier. Through here microspikes could have been helpful in places, but by being careful I made it up to the summit without any real issues. The summit is nice and open, but with the strings up to keep people off the fragile vegetation, it was a bit crowded for my taste today with the number of other hikers that happened to be there at the same time.
After taking some pictures and adjusting gear, I headed out towards Lincoln Peak. The stretch between these two peaks was the worst of the day for blow downs. They were the worst between Lincoln Peak and Little Abe, but the worst patch was right at the summit of Little Abe. There is a patch of multiple trees completely blocking the trail that either require a longer walk around or climbing up and over the trees themselves.
After Lincoln Peak, the blow downs were sporadic and pretty easy to get around/over/under. Between the peaks the trail goes through a series of gradual PUDs with occasional views along the way. The "peak" that I turned around at last (possibly Cutts Peak) time didn't have the marker pin that made me think it was a summit anymore and the true summit of Mt. Ellen now has a new looking sign that wasn't there the last time I visited.
On the way back to Mt. Abraham everything went as expected with pretty easy trails other than the blow downs. I knew the easy ways to get around them now though, so even those were easier. Just before the summit, I took the short path that leads to the plane wreck. I didn't know about this the last time I was on this route, so I wanted to check it out this time.
I got to the summit of Mt. Abraham about 30-45 minutes before sunset, so I took in the quiet views all by myself. When leaving though, I put on my microspikes knowing that they would come in handy on the first part of the decent and then even more so as the sun would go down while I went through the patchy ice sections. At the shelter I put on my headlamp and proceeded back to my truck in the dark.