O The Snow, The Beautiful Snow

The photo above was taken in Colorado on the Continental Divide "Trail" in the later part of May in 2015. The trail is there, it's just buried under all that SNOW! I planned my start date a little later than normal to avoid hiking in miles of snow, but so far it's looking like there will still be plenty of snow when I reach Colorado. Here is a link to a graph of the current CDT snow conditions along with some historical information for comparison. I am hoping that:

A. Most of the snow in Colorado has melted by the time I get there.
B. The hikers ahead of me have forged a path through the snow for me to follow.
C. I find a hiking partner to enjoy the snow with in Colorado.

I am prepared with lots of options for dealing with lots of snow and winter conditions: trekking poles with large snow baskets, an ice axe, crampons, snow shoes, micro spikes and additional layers of clothing. By the time I'm half way through New Mexico, I'm hoping I'll have a better idea which of these items I want Eva to mail to me in Chama, NM. This is my last stop before I cross the boarder into Colorado!