Current conditions, Durango to Molas Pass

[jniehof]

My father and I are starting out on Saturday from Durango for a week on the CT. We had a high snow year here in New England, so I was a little concerned about snowpack. After floundering around, glissading at speed, and postholing crotch-deep in the Wasatch-Cache this past week (they also had a very high snow year), I am now very concerned about snowpack. Has anyone been on the western part of the Trail recently? I'm starting to wonder if I should be packing the ice axe and microspikes.

Also, what are overnight temperatures usually like? From what I can discern, I shouldn't be surprised by mid-30's, and the 45 bag should probably stay home.

[jniehof]

To answer my own question if anyone's interested:
Segment 28 (Durango to Kennebec) is not only snow-free, but very dry. The only reliable water is in places labelled with a "full cup" by the databook. Between the Junction Creek bridge just out of Durango and Walls Gulch, the only water we found was a very shallow, somewhat muddy stream at Road End Canyon.

Up by Molas, the trail is snow-covered in places, but not deeply and not for very long (no difficulty in routefinding). Sadly parts are pretty muddy, and people detouring around the muddy parts are trampling the trail out into a wide, deep gully.