Should You Stay or Should You Go?

Guidelines for mud-season hiking. 

We’ve all been there: you leave the house, hoping to hike some nice dry trail. It’s been sunny for days and town has dried out, but you haven’t yet journeyed into the hills. Thrilled to get back into the woods, you plan an all-day outing an hour or so from home. But just a mile up the trail, your boots are clogged with enough mud to dam the Missouri. It’s way past time to turn around.

This case is clear—you should’ve stayed home, or gone to a more arid locale. But these decisions aren’t always so easy. Here’s a chart to guide your path this spring; may it be a smooth and dry(ish) one.