Getting to the top of the 48 4,000 footers in New Hampshire's White Mountains and all sorts of other neat places.

With another free day this week due to the children’s winter break from school, I was able to arrange a hike for Friday with one of my friends from Tuesday’s hike to Carrigain.  The original plan was to hike Whiteface and Passaconaway, but with the amount of snow we received, we revised the plan to hike the Osceolas instead.   Although the length of trail breaking was significantly reduced, compared to the Whiteface/Passaconaway trip, it was still not going to be easy.

We arrived early at the Greeley Ponds trailhead and noted only one other car in the parking lot.  We were on the trail at 7:30a, and seeing someone else’s trail leading in was nice because the trail had already started to be broken out.  The questions then became how far and in which direction did the person go once they reached the Greeley Ponds and Mt. Osceola Trail junction.  The first portion of trail was quick, with the crossings being snow bridged and barely noticeable in some cases, and in a half an hour we were at the trail junction.

At the junction, the other hiker had taken a left to go to the ponds, which meant that for us the real work would begin:  breaking trail all the way to Osceola.  The first section wasn’t too bad, a steady uphill grade and about 4-6″ of powder.

Working my way up a section that isn't super steep - yet.

It was hard enough to have to put in some effort, but not as hard as what would come.  I watched as the landscape seem to melt away with every turn and short ascent.  Then the ascents got steeper.  This section was tough and involved a lot of kicking steps, pushing up on poles and sometimes the discouraging slip backwards only to have start the whole process of ascending a section all over again.  There were certainly sections where I struggled and sometimes it took me a bit to figure out how to ascend, but I wasn’t going to give up.  No doubt this was the slowest section of the day, with progress being marked by making it up one section at a time, looking back, taking a breath, looking forward and continuing up.

Coming up a much steeper section, heading up into the clouds.

We eventually reached the open slide and at that point I knew it wasn’t too much further to the eroded gully and ridge line.  The open slide was a reasonably easy traverse on this day, with a mix of packed and icy snow which the snowshoes crampons bit into nicely on the first half and a deep layer of powder snow on the second half.  With more perseverance, we reached the gully, and while packed and a bit icy, it was easier to ascend that some of the sections with deeper powder.  Once on the ridge, we got a break from the steepness, but then encountered the drifts, some of which we measured in feet, not inches.  Pushing on, we arrived at the summit of East Osceola.

At the summit of East Osceola, such as it is.

Happy to have made it that far, we knew we still had at least one challenge ahead before arriving Osceola, namely, the chimney.  We arrived at the chimney and after assessing the snow and ice, decided the bypass would be our best bet.  It had a layer of ice with a few inches of snow on it.  With careful foot placement, we made it up the bypass and were on our way to Osceola.

In the lead and approaching the chimney. The actual chimney is directly in front of me and the bypass goes off to the right, just beyond the tree.

At the top of the first section of chimney bypass. Yes, it is as steep as it looks.

After a series of alternating flat and steep sections, we could see the opening in the trees and then we were standing on the summit ledges.  The visibility was about zero, as we were socked in, but nonetheless it was satisfying to be there after the hard work to get there.  After a quick summit tour, we headed back to the trees to eat lunch, as it was getting to be around noon or so at that point.  While eating lunch we thought we heard some barking, but thought maybe it was a large bird.  In a few minutes we knew what the sound was:  a dog came up the trail, followed later by two hikers.   After a quick chat with the owners and finishing our lunch, it was time to descend.

We quickly made it back to the chimney and due to the steepness, decided for the last section that it might be better to try to descend backward, facing into the slope.  This worked well for my partner, and he was down and waiting for me at the bottom.  I was partway down the last, steep section and the dog appeared again, right in front of and above me.  Of course, I was blocking the dog’s way down.  The dog went back up, while I continued my slow and steady way down, making sure each foot and pole was firmly planted before making the next move.  I wasn’t terrified or scared but calm and relaxed, taking my time and making sure of my footing before moving.  I really didn’t want an accident and my partner didn’t want to have to haul me out of the woods!  Then the dog appeared again with the owners close behind.  The dog didn’t go back this time but barreled down past me, knocking me off balance and causing me to slip.  Then I was scared.  I knew there was powder below, but since I was facing uphill, I didn’t exactly know how far I would slide before hitting it.  I did come to a quick stop and with a few steps was done with the bypass.  That was the fast way down!  I wasn’t upset at the dog – it didn’t want to be on the slick bypass, either!  I was more upset that I didn’t complete the bypass the way I wanted to, in a controlled manner.  Such is life though, things don’t always go the way you’ve planned.

With the drama over, we continued the hike back to East Osceola, letting the dog and other two hikers pass us while we took a quick break.  Once at East Osceola we knew the fun was just about to begin – the descent of all the steep stuff that we worked so hard to ascend.  Back at the eroded gulley, we started down on foot, but ending up glissading.  This pattern would continue down each pitch, making getting down much easier and not to mention faster than going up and at this point, we had felt we had earned it! (My apologies to those who will hike the Osceolas after us!)  The snow was deep enough to control the sliding and I ended up with snow all over me and in places snow should not be, but I was having fun!  Eventually we had to actually walk again and before we knew it we were back at the Greeley Ponds junctions and chatting with an older couple before they headed to the ponds and we headed to the cars.  The last portion out was about as quick as going in.  A check of the time back at the cars, and we had done the trip in 6 hours, 45 minutes.  We knew we weren’t going to be posting a Fastest Known Time, but at the same time considering terrain and the trail breaking, it wasn’t so bad.

It was a good day – tough, but good.  I certainly had a sense of accomplishment and thankfulness that we were able to get to the peaks and back safely and had a good time doing so.  Thanks to my partner for the day, for being patient and keeping us on track and moving forward.

All photos courtesy of my partner Greg, as I forgot my camera and the back up camera wasn’t cooperating.

With a little bit of planning, I was able to arrange for a whole day to hike without having to drive the carpool!   The plan was to hike Field and Willey and if I was up to it, Tom as well.   Although I’ve been to Field and Willey before on several hikes, I had not visited them in winter, nor had I ever been on the section of the Willey Range Trail between Field and Willey.  With a good weather forecast, Tuesday seemed like a good day for the hike.

As soon as the children left for school, I loaded up the car and headed up to Crawford’s Notch.  There was no one in the train depot lot when I arrived, but as soon as I was ready to start a group headed to Tom arrived.  I was going to Field first, so declined their offer for me to join them.  I chose microspikes for the day, and carried the crampons, leaving the snowshoes behind.  In hind sight, I probably could have used the snowshoes in a few spots higher up, but at that point, I didn’t know that.   The trail was really nicely packed out, and probably could have been bare-booted up to the Avalon and A-Z Trail junction.

Early morning - abundant sunshine and well packed trail.

At the Avalon and A-Z Trail junction; the Avalon heads up the ridge to the left where the sun is just peeking over.

I took a break and head up the Avalon trail.  This is where the microspikes came in handy.  The trail was a bit smooth from previous hikers having a bit of fun glissading on the way down, but there was enough snow cover for a good bite with the microspikes and I didn’t feel the need for the crampons.  Once past the spur to Avalon, I continued up through the forest, enjoying the snow, the brilliant sunshine and glimpses through the trees of what was going to be some nice views.  After what seemed like a bit longer than it should have been, I arrived at the Avalon and Willey Range trail junction.  Right before this point and at the junction is where I encountered the first drifted sections.  It was amazing to me how quickly this could be drifted over, since I knew that others had hiked this exact same trail within the past two days.  It was as if no one had been there.  Since I’d been there before, I knew where to go and was at the summit of Field in a few minutes.

The summit of Field, such as it is, with the cairn almost completely buried in snow.

View of Washington and friends from the outlook near the summit of Field.

Time to finally try the Willey Range Trail between Field and Willey.

After a break, it was time to head down the trail that I’d looked down many times, but had never been down – the Willey Range Trail to Willey.  In all the other times I’ve been to Field, it was never in the trip plans to go that way.  I headed out and soon came across more drifted snow.  At this point I started to wonder if leaving the snowshoes behind was such a good idea and how much more of this I would encounter on the way to Willey.  Fortunately, there were only a few short sections of drifted trail.  Enough that snowshoes could have been useful, but not enough to bring them along.  The trail for the most part was the nicely packed sidewalk it had been.  The trail is well-blazed, too, and the snow pack is not deep enough to obscure the blazes.  There were several places where the trail makes a sharp right or left, and is nicely double blazed to get your attention.   A double blaze to me says, “Pay close attention; the trail does something different here.”  Usually that is stream crossing or a sharp turn that one would miss if not paying attention.  Overall, I found the trail enjoyable; it descends nicely to the col, ascends a little bit and is fairly level until the gently climb up to Willey.  The views in the winter are nice as part of the trail follows the Pemi Wilderness side of the ridge.

Signal Ridge and Carrigain from along the Willey Range Trail; it was clear enough to pick out the firetower on this day.

Soon I was at the Pemi outlook, and knew I was just around the corner from the summit.  Passing the summit, I went to the Crawford Notch outlook and enjoyed a break, the views and a few fine-feathered friends.

View out into the Pemi Wilderness; Moosilauke, part of the Franconia Range and other mountains and ponds were clearly visible.

Summit of Willey; at least I think it was the summit, only the little bit of exposed rock led me to believe the summit cairn was under there.

View across Crawford Notch to Webster Cliff and the Presidentials.

Fine-feathered friend number one.

Fine-feathered friend number two; each got snacks, of course.

Having reached the two peaks, that I needed, I was pretty happy and ready to head back across to Field.  I enjoyed the trip, and although I knew I’d have to hike back up to Field, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and soon I was back at Field.  I was feeling good, so I made the decision to hike to Tom and then descend.  Back to the Avalon and Willey Range junction, and sure enough just after that I encountered a bit more drifted snow, but kept going and was soon past the drifts and cruising toward the A-Z trail.  After a right onto A-Z, and then a left onto the Mt. Tom spur, I was on my way to Tom.  The way over to Tom was nicely packed out with no drifts, so the trip was quick and easy, and I was soon at the summit and over to the other outlook.  Tom is where I saw the most people of the day, a few pairs of hikers and a dog.  Up to this point, I had only seen one other person, a solo female hiker on the Willey Range Trail headed toward Willey, while I was headed back to Field.  The wind was picking up a bit at the outlook, so it was time for the last part of the hike, the descent back to the car.   The hike out was uneventful,  hiking down, down, down, sinking below the peaks and ridges I had ascended during the day.  The trail back to the Avalon and A-Z Trail junction was nicely packed and all the water crossings were snow bridged, but you could hear the water flowing and in some places, see the water.  I had a nice chat with a couple coming up the trail near the cascades, and then was quickly back at the car.

Composite photo of the Presidentials, Webster Cliffs and Crawford Notch.

I had a great day, weather-wise and trail-wise.  It was good to get out by myself and just enjoy the hike, the scenery, the sunshine and some snow!

Previously, one of my hiking friends and I had set Feb. 10 as a day to hike with a few different plans depending on the what the weather was going to do.  After carefully watching the weather all week, and seeing we were going to get a fabulous day, we went with Plan A:  Moosilauke.  Neither us of had hiked this one in the winter season, so it was perfect.  With the carpool switched, I didn’t have to worry about being back in Concord mid-afternoon, either.

We arrived at the Glencliff trail around 9:00a and were quickly ready to head up the trail.  After a quick survey of the trail to confirm prior research, we decided that microspikes were our best option as far as traction devices.  This proved to be the traction of choice for the whole day, from start to finish, and was the choice of the other hikers we saw that day.  While the traction was working perfectly, I was being a bit slow due to the fact that I had been sick earlier in the week and my body wasn’t quite cooperating with the idea of hiking.  Mentally, I was totally in the game and very excited about the hike, getting my body to cooperate was a little harder.  Not that the trail was exceptionally easy, because it does ascend at a steady grade and gets steeper as you get closer to the junction with the Carriage Road.

The trail conditions to the junction were good – nice and packed – although there were some incredible ice flows.    The ice flows covered two sections of trail, fairly close together.  Carefully, we surveyed the situation, noted where previous hikers had made some detours around the worst of the ice and then made our way over and around the ice back to the safety of the packed trail.

On the first section of ice, carefully posing for a photo.

The second section of ice; this one has a detour, which is a good choice.

Once past the ice and up on the steeper sections, the views started to open up on the left and the sun started to appear over the ridge we were hiking up.  Soon enough, we made it to the junction full of warm, brilliant sunshine – an ideal place for a rest break!  After chat with another pair of hikers about the conditions they just encountered at the summit, we were ready to head up the Carriage Road to the summit.  My body was finally cooperating and I was very ready for the most exciting part of the hike.

Carriage Road junction, with the sunlight filtering through the trees.

The Carriage Road was beautiful, the trees full of ice with a dusting of snow and the snow on the ground had large flakes of ice which glittered in the sunlight even more than just powder snow.  The scenery was so spectacular, that you couldn’t help but hike with a smile on your face!

The first portion of the Carriage Road, heading up to the summit of Moosilauke.

A little bit higher up on the Carriage Road, and we could see our objective ahead - the summit of Moosilauke.

As we gained elevation, we marveled at the different types of ice we encountered.  Some of the ice was smooth, like polished marble, and definitely solid, other parts of the ice was the feathery rime ice, deposited quickly right from clouds.  Many of the cairns had both types, an interesting study in contrast of textures between the smooth, bubble-like glassy ice and the feathery, crunchy rime ice.

Trees, encased in smooth ice with a dusting of snow.

A few icicles among the trees.

A cairn, covered in both smooth ice and rime ice.

Up we went and eventually donned jackets before crossing the last icy section to the summit.  With the orange summit signs in view and over the last little bit of ridge, I hurried my partner up so that he could see the panorama of the Franconias and Presidentials layed out before us.  With their winter jackets of snow, we could pick out the Bonds, Guyot, the Twins as well as Kinsmans, Osceolas and Tripyramids, plus many others.   With the temperatures were mild and the winds were so low (forecast for less than 20mph, low for Moosilauke!), we were able to linger at the summit, take photos, and marvel at the beauty around us.

At the summit, #12 for my winter list.

Winter panorama from the summit of Moosilauke.

Looking back up to the summit, where I left my poles for the moment.

Remains of the foundation of the old summit house. Usually one can take shelter from the wind behind these structures, but today they were full of snow and ice.

After enjoying the summit, we moved back down the trail and were able to experience the scenery from a different perspective and in a different light.  Quickly, we were back at the Carriage Trail and Glencliff junction, taking a break, and getting ready for the remainder of the hike out to the cars.

View to the south peak of Moosilauke, along with some trees encased in ice and snow.

What an amazing day!  We were truly blessed to have such a beautiful day in February, especially on a mountain known for being particularly windy.  Being able to enjoy it with a good hiking partner was even more fun!

With an opportunity to hike with some friends on Saturday, we set off to the Tripyramids for an adventure.  All of us needed the Tri’s for our winter list, so it seemed like a good plan with Pine Bend Brook being the trail of choice for ascent.  We knew that with the weather the previous day, we’d probably have to break trail.  From trail reports and a drive by the trailhead earlier in the week, we knew it had been broken out previously so we weren’t exactly starting from scratch.

Pine Bend Brook Trail, not yet broken out from the recent storm

We got on the trail around 9:00a, and the first few miles of Pine Bend Brook Trail wasn’t too bad, new snow with an icy crust.  It was pretty easy to break through and although the stream crossings weren’t snow bridged, they were manageable even on snowshoes.  We forged ahead and soon found ourselves enjoying the birch forest in the morning sunshine, right before the wilderness boundary.

Morning light in the open and leafless trees.

Once past the wilderness boundary, up the hill a little and over the last stream crossing the real work began.  We were breaking trail easily before, but now the trail conditions changed.   Not only does Pine Bend Brook Trail get steeper in this section, but the snow was all powder with no  crust.  It was slippery, hard work.  Literally one step forward, two steps back in places.  Exhausting and slow work for sure.  Our progress slowed dramatically, but little by little we clawed and scratched our way up the small ravine to the left hand turn and up to the first ridge.  We got a nice break when the trail leveled out, getting up ready for the final push to the summit of North Tripyramid.  It was in the flat section that we heard, and then finally saw some of the members of a group that was behind us.  At that point we didn’t see the whole group, so we continued breaking trail up to the summit of North Tripyramid.  We finally got there and took a nice long break and we were happy to have it after four miles of breaking trail.

North Tripyramid summit. Not exciting, but we were happy to be there.

During our break the group behind us caught up to us, and we were able to meet them.  The group included Bob and Geri and their dog, along with Randy and Quinn and others.  It was a pleasure to meet them and was fascinating see how Randy, who is blind, and Quinn his dog worked together along with a little help from their crew make their way down the trail and around the obstacles.  These trails aren’t easy if you *can* see, let along trying to hike them blind!  Humbled and amazed, we congratulated them on the summit, then they headed off to Middle Tripyramid, while we finished our break, and got ready to head over to Middle Tripyramid ourselves.  Special thanks to Geri for rescuing my pepperoni and celery sticks which had fallen out of my pocket on the ascent!

We arrived at Middle Tripyramid, just as the other group was ready to leave to head back down.  We enjoyed the views, took some pictures and then headed back to the trailhead.

View from Middle Tripyramid out to Tecumseh and Waterville Valley.

View from the other side of Middle Tripyramid's viewing point, with Chocura's white cap beyond the closest peak in the photo.

A long shot (all pictures taken with my iPhone as I forgot my regular camera), but nice view out to Mt. Washington from along the ridge. Boott spur was visible from this angle, too.

As we dropped down below the ridges, we enjoyed the light as the sun set and reflected various shades of pinks and oranges on the clouds and snow around us.  We hurried along, as quick as we could in a safe manner, with the goal of getting off of the steep section before it was too dark.  Once back in the easier terrain, we were able to pick up the pace and with the help of the light from a sliver of moon and hiking partner with exceptional night vision we made it back to the car quickly.

What a day!  Breaking the trail was exhausting and frustrating at times, but in the end it was a great day and the blessing of nice weather and good hiking partners made it even better.

With a beautiful forecast and a free day, yesterday was a good day for a Carpool Challenge to Cannon.  I had never been to Cannon in official winter and it was a good chance for me to experience the Kinsman Ridge Trail from the tramway parking area in a different season.

As usual, I got an fairly early start, seeing no one in the parking lot and not seeing a lot of tracks on the trail, either.  This was not surprising, as I don’t often see people on the trails midweek or early in the morning, much less in winter midweek.    The trail itself starts with the elevation gain right away, and this morning had a dusting of snow over ice, which was fine for ascending, but was a bit slippery for descending.  Thankfully, as I ascended, the snow cover became a little deeper and the ice was better hidden.  In fact, the trail improved greatly as I ascended.  All the rocks and crevices were filled in, and since my last visit, the streams of ice that in some places actually was the trail were all gone, covered in a lovely blanket of snow.  The one section before the left hand turn that is particularly rocky and very icy was a nice, innocent ramp of snow, with no  indication whatsoever of the treacherous conditions beneath it.

Echo Lake, almost frozen and surrounded by an uncharacteristic January brown.

How to improve this portion of trail: just add snow!

This made the travel much easier and soon I was at the viewpoint at the top of Cannon Cliffs.  After snapping some pictures, it was time to finish the last portion of the ascent to the summit and tower.

On the way to the viewpoint, a perfect winter woods.

View to the south, just past the viewpoint.

The ascent was easy and although I was a little concerned about following the trail if it had been windblown, there was enough of  path to follow and soon I was on the Rim Trail, headed toward the observation platform and then enjoying the views.

The bench on the Rim Trail.

At the junction of the Rim Trail and continuation of the Kinsman Ridge Trail.

Mt. Lafayette

The northern part of the Franconia Ridge.

View toward the northwest. Many of the mountains in Vermont and their ski slopes were easily seen this day.

Last look back up to the observation tower before descending.

What a beautiful day – the sunshine was so nice and the tree were so rime-iced and snow laden it was like a totally different world up at the higher elevations.  The was very little wind, and in fact, very still in some places, but the sky was interesting and looked like something was brewing weather-wise. which in fact, was!