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Long Hollow Ski/Snowshoe, 26 January, 2020

12 hikers and one dog met on Sunday for the Long Hollow winter outing. The temperatures were fairly warm. Hikers included Dave Wallace, Jane, Deanna, Susan, David, Michelle, Dave P, Teresa, Chris, Dan, Kathy, Laurel, and Jasper the dog. Chris and Teresa were on skis and the rest on snowshoes.

We were up at the Sink Hollow trailhead about 11 a.m. and prepared for our day. The group headed out to the north then turned left climbing moderately and following closely the route of the trail which we used this summer (thanks Dave Wallace for the GPS track which helped us navigate). The trail was also heavily used by snow machines, although we didn't see any after we left the parking lot. We did encounter two backcountry skiers who had come up before us and were heading down. Light snow fell as we trudged up the hill. At about 12:30 we stopped for lunch with views of Beaver Mountain ski resort.

After lunch (time was about 12:55), we headed further up along the SW side of the ridge through open forest. The group split in two and then attempted to organize by radio. Most of the upper group came down to meet up then continued off through the woods. One hiker had climbed further up the ridge to the right for a better view but rejoined the group on the way back.  The main group got as far as the top of Long Hollow before turning back as originally planned. A possible ermine was seen by Dan.  Highest elevation reached by the main group was 8075 feet.

Then after regrouping, the group began descending the same way we came up. The skiers took a different route following the bottom of Long Hollow close to where one of the Beaver Mountain lifts started. The descent was uneventful but for the great views. Dave Wallace stopped to take some measurements.

We eventually came down to the parking lot and finished at about 3 p.m. We were back in Logan by about 3:45pm. This is the first time we have attempted this route in winter but it worked out well.

Trip Summary:
  • Twelve participants:  Dan (leader), Dave P., Dave W., Jane, Kathy, David, Michelle, Deanna, Laurel, and Susan on snowshoes and Teresa and Chris on skis.  Jasper (dog) did not use skis or snowshoes.
  • Organized carpools and drove 29 miles to the Sink Hollow Winter Trailhead.
  • Started out at 11:00 and headed up the Long Hollow Ridge, with lunch from 12:25 - 12:55.  Continued another 0.6 mile to the Long Hollow drainage at 1:40, then back at the trailhead at 2:55 and Logan at 3:50.
  • Overcast skies with occasional glimpses of blue.  Lightly snowing at times with calm winds.  34 inches of snow depth and 28ยบ F near our lunch spot. 
  • Our GPS track shows 3.7 miles with 1050 feet of ascent and descent.  We followed part of our fall 2019 route from Peterson Hollow  but in the reverse direction.

Thanks to Dan for the narrative, photos and GPS data, Dave P., Kathy for photos and Dave W. for photos and GPS data.

Trailhead
Cache Hikers at the Sink Hollow Trailhead
Ascending
Climbing up the Long Hollow ridge
Mushroom
Mushroom
A giant mushroom?
Lunch
Lunch on the Long Hollow ridge
Ridge
On the Long Hollow Ridge, with Beaver Mountain in the distance
Descending
Descending the Long Hollow Ridge
Map
Our GPS track shows 3.7 miles and 1050 feet of ascent and descent (the blue line shows our summer hiking route).
You can look at our route using Google Earth or download our GPS file..