The Boulder Trail looks and feels less traveled than the Mt. Major and Brook Trails on the other (north) side of the mountain.  I found it a pleasant hike and not really difficult with only a few little ledge scrambles in the middle portion right before the trail leveled out for the last several tenths through a section of open pines and lots of blueberry bushes. All the trees now have spring green leaves, and the forest smells alive again, so I really enjoyed the whole trail.  I was quickly at the summit and was able to enjoy the whole thing all by myself, sort of a rarity for a popular, easy mountain.  I even got a view of a nice little undercast over the part of the lake.

The trail winds its way among the boulders on Boulder Loop Trail on Mt. Major.

A little undercast over the lake as seen from the summit of Mt. Major.

Once at the summit, the hike was not over.  I had other things on the agenda for this hike, namely some redlining.  There were a few small trails and portions of trails we didn’t use for the Eastern loop last month, so with some careful planning with the map, I was off on a zig-zag pattern to pick up all those trails.

First, I headed over to South Straightback via the blue blazed Belknap Range Trail, so that I could pick up the small section of white blazed Quarry Trail between South Straightback and North Straightback that I hadn’t hiked.  After I arrived at North Straightback, I back tracked just a little bit to pick up the orange blazed Quarry Cut Off or Quarry Spur Trail.  This little trail led me back to a junction I had passed on the way to South Straightback via the Belknap Range Trail.  Back on the Belknap Range Trail, heading for Mt. Major, I made the turn onto the last new portion of trail for the day, the little section of yellow-blazed Brook Trail that we didn’t hike last month (we turned off on the green-blazed North Straightback Link).  Once done with that portion, it was quick hiking back down familiar trails to the parking lot.

Color-coded track of the loop hike. The colored portions are new trail for me, and correspond to the color of the blazes on the trail. Yes, there are lots of different colored trails in the Belknaps!

Although it sounds like a lot, it was a quick almost 6 miles of enjoyable hiking.  I didn’t see anyone until I came to the Brook Trail for the last time, and then it seemed like I saw a lot of people and dogs!  In fact, as I was pulling out of the parking lot, several large groups were getting ready to start their hike.  I was just as happy to be blessed with a beautiful morning and be headed home for lunch!

Purple trillium on Quarry Cut Off trail, one of the first ones I’ve seen this season.

The day started out well enough, I was able to get to the 19 Mile trailhead before 9:30a, was ready to go and heading toward Camp Dodge to cut through and pick up the Imp Trail.  I had not done the loop this way before, and since I’ll be hiking it this way next winter, it was a good idea to check it out.  There was no snow on the ground, but I had microspikes and snowshoes just in case I needed them due to snow conditions.  I hike upward, pretty happily for a couple of hours and then checked the mileage on my tracking app.  Three miles in and no ridge;  after looking at the map, I realized I had about another mile or so to go.

Three hours into the hike, I had finally taken the right turn onto the Carter-Moriah Trail and was heading toward Middle Carter.  Meanwhile, the snow/ice had appeared around 2500 feet, although not unexpected, so the microspikes went on and going was a bit better, if still slippery to the ridge.  The monorail was already forming, so staying in the packed area was essential for not postholing to the thigh or deeper.  Once on the ridge, I knew the worst was behind me and I was thrilled to have some great views over to the Presidentials, out to Maine and ahead to not only Middle Carter but also to Mt. Hight and Carter Dome.  I moved along and came to Middle Carter, with it’s fading Sharpie notation on a dead tree.

View of the Presidentials from ledges near Middle Carter, a nice reward for the four mile hike up to the ridge.

Middle Carter and the Sharpie tree.

Moving along, I headed down the ridge toward South Carter.   It was somewhere in here that I unknowingly lost a snowshoe.  I’m not sure how or why it jumped ship, but it did.   With one more small climb before me, up the hill I went and I was at South Carter.  I took off my pack to get a snack and there was only one snowshoe.  Oh, that’s not good!  I had two when I started and two when I last took off my pack before Middle Carter.  I left the pack and went back down the trail a couple of tenths looking for it, but after a glancing at the time and calculating the time it would take to hike out and get home, I knew I’d have to come back another day to search for the snowshoe.  Thus, my remaining snowshoe made the lonely ride down to Zeta Pass, and down the Carter Dome and 19 Mile Brook Trails.  The monorail became more and more evident as I dropped altitude down the Carter Dome Trail.  Eventually, the snow pack gave way to dirt trail on the 19 Mile Brook Trail and it was much easier walking back to the car.

Heading toward South Carter with a mix of snow and ledge.

Snow pack on the ridge between Middle and South Carter is still deep.

At South Carter at the tree with the tiny sign.

Sadly, I called my husband with the news of the equipment loss.  He said maybe I could upgrade.  It isn’t that easy when a piece of equipment has been with you through quite a few adventures and they were a Christmas present from your spouse no less.  Of course, he joked he didn’t know what sort of monster he was creating by giving me gear for Christmas.  In the end, I still had a good day and had to look at the blessings:  I had spectacular views on the ridge, I had the health and ability to hike, and I didn’t break a leg or ankle in the spring snow conditions.

Tuesday, I posted a trail report on NewEnglandTrailConditions.com with the note that I had lost a snowshoe.   Would you believe that Wednesday morning I got an email from a gentleman saying he had found the snowshoe and that it was at his house, just south of Concord, NH?!?   My plan was to do the hike again either Saturday or Monday looking for the snowshoe and if I was really lucky find the snowshoe at the 19 Mile Brook kiosk.  After a few emails, I was fortunate to meet this kind hiker to pick up the snowshoe Wednesday afternoon, plus get to chat with him about hiking.  He’s had many years of adventures and I only hope that I can eventually get to that level of knowledge and skill.

Considering that recent events near our neck of the woods have displayed some of the less than savory characters in our society, I am just so appreciative and thankful that there are good, honest people out there willing to help out others.  That hiker didn’t have to pick up the snowshoe and carry it 5 miles to the trail head, plus try to find its owner and spend the time to meet me return it.  It never ceases to amaze me of the kindness and large hearts of the people who make up the trail community!

We parked at the small parking area for the yellow-blazed East Gilford Trail, just off a few short dirt roads from the 11A.  We went around the gate, over the bridge and continued up the fire road until it intersected the red-blazed Round Pond Trail.  We took the Round Pond Trail until we were almost at Round Pond and then went around the pond a bit on the green-blazed Piper Link.  From one point at the junction we counted no less than 12 visible blazes in red and green.  I suppose they don’t want you to get lost!  We continued around the pond until we were right at the edge where we stopped to take some photos.

Round Pond in the Belknap Range.

Round Pond Trail as it goes near the edge of Round Pond.

Left turn onto the Klem-Mack Loop for the summits of Klem and Mack.

After that, we took a left onto the Klem-Mack Loop Trail, also blazed/flagged in red, and proceeded to make the ascent up around the summit cone.  Along the way, we enjoyed quite a few views back to Belknap and Gunstock, plus views from a ledgy area out to Lake Winnepesauke.  Soon we were back at the junction with the Quarry Trail.  Just beyond here, a herd path diverges to the right for the summit of Klem.  The herd path splits left and right.  Only the right path leads to the summit clearing and sign.  Following the herd path, we arrived at the summit, happy to have official finished the Belknap 12 list.  After some pictures, we bushwhacked back down to the trail on the other side of the summit cone – it was quicker to do so rather than re-hike around the summit cone on the trail.

A look back to Belknap and Gunstock. We could see all the towers and some chairlifts this morning.

Enjoying a snack and a views from some ledges near the junction of the Quarry Trail.

Here we are, at the official summit of Klem, the last one we needed to finish the Belknap 12.

Closer to the pond, Cameron wanted to bushwhack down the slope to the trail and the pond he could see below.  I told him that was fine and that I’d take the trail and see him down below.  I had returned to the Round Pond Trail when I saw a familiar face, JohninNH, was coming down the trail.  He said he had heard something crashing through the woods down the hill and thought it might be a bear cub or a deer.  When he saw the red sweatshirt, he knew it wasn’t an animal.  I called Cameron over, and we all chatted by the pond for a bit before parting ways;  JohninNH to continue his hike on to Klem and Mack and us to finish our hike back to the car.  The rest of the hike out was easy, easy enough to run back to the car from Round Pond.

Our route for the day. The small bit in red is the section we bushwhacked down to the trail from the summit of Klem. It wasn’t very long, maybe 5 minutes and very easy to do.

We had a great morning and were once again blessed to enjoy the forest, some nice views, a chat with a friend, and a hike together.  The Belknaps were fun and nice way to enjoy some spring hiking.  Cameron already says he’s feeling stronger and ready to hike some more.  That’s a good thing as we have some big plans this summer!

To start our adventure, we headed to the Mt. Major trail head, and headed up the Mt. Major trail, blazed in blue.  Along the way we saw some very large boulders in the woods and an old foundation/cellar which we checked out.  We didn’t stay on this trail very long, but continued on the Brook Trail blazed in yellow until the intersection with the North Straightback Link, blazed in green.  This junction is not signed or marked and the green paint is a medium green and not easy to spot.  The junction looks as if a woods road of some sort veers off to the right, if you look down there carefully, you will see a green blaze or two.  Once on the trail, it is really well blazed, for we could see four or five blazes at time when looking forward up the trail.  This trail climbs quickly and soon we were high enough to see the lake in the distance.  We arrived at the summit of North Straightback, not on the list (South Straightback is), so we picked up the white-blazed Quarry Trail, headed towards the Quarry summits.  While the Quarry trail does have some white blazes, it also has white flagging in places, and a few cairns on ledges.  We never did get lost, but we did have to pay attention to the trail and whatever markers were there.

Old foundation/cellar hole along the Brook Trail.

Higher up on the North Straightback Link, we had our first views of the lake for the day.

We passed East Quarry, and then headed to West Quarry, our first summit of the day that counted for the list.  Along the way we saw remnants of an old granite quarry complete with rusting equipment.  More ups and downs later, we arrived at the summit of Rand.  Next, we headed to Klem, this was another descent and then ascent to another ridge.  Along the way, we were able to overlook a beaver pond, complete with one lodge, below us.

West Quarry, first official peak of the day.

Beaver pond below us from the a ledge near Mt. Rand.

Mt. Rand, next on our list of official peaks.

The Quarry Trail intersected the Klem Mack Loop Trail/Belknap Range Trail near the summit of Klem.  This trail has red painted diamonds nailed to trees and once in a while, a painted red blaze.  What we didn’t know and I failed to gather from the guidebook was that the true summit and sign of Klem was on an unsigned bushwhack/herd path off of the red-blazed trail and up the hill.  I didn’t read the description for the Klem Mack Loop or I would have figured this out.  We did try several places where we thought a herd path went in, but both ended in woods with no sign of a trail.   Cameron was concerned about the time, since we weren’t half way around the loop and it was already 1:00p, so we made the decision to move on and figure it out when we got home.

We quickly moved on to Mack and found that it has a small communications tower, and then over to Anna, where we picked up a blue-blazed trail and on to South Straightback.  Between Mack and Anna, we saw the first person of the day.  After this we’d see only three more people until the summit of Mt. Major where there were quite a few families and small groups.  South Straightback is where we had some of the better views of the day, being up higher on ledges and seeing out to the lakes and back to all the peaks we’d already been on.

The summit of Mack, also a trail junction.

Communication tower on Mack, just a short way on the orange blazed trail from the summit.

South Straightback, where the views started to open up so that we could see the surrounding peaks and lakes.

A look back across the Belknaps to Belknap and Gunstock, summits we had visited on previous trips.

After that it was off to our last peak, Mt. Major, up and over the ledges and there we were – Mt. Major.  We enjoyed the views and then headed for the car, just 1.5 miles away, and hiking out on only one small repeat section of trail that we’d hiked in on earlier in the day.

From the summit of Mt. Major, a view to Lake Winnepesauke.

USGS marker on the summit of Mt. Major.

We had a great day, thankful for blue skies, great views and that we did not get lost on the Quarry Trail (we’d read it happened to other groups!).  We did come home a little disappointed about Mt. Klem, though.  All those summits had signs, so we knew we had missed something!

On the summit of Mt. Major.

P.S.  Today, I decided that I’d figure it out how to get to the summit and sign on Mt. Klem as a solo hike.  I hiked in from another direction, via a fire road (same parking area and trailhead as East Gilford Trail), Round Pond Trail and Klem Mack Loop Trails to the same spot where we thought the herd path diverged.  I went back in and after bushwhacking around a bit came across a herd path.  I followed it and sure enough, there was the summit with the sign.  I followed the path back out to the red blazed trail, turned around and realized my mistake.  There are two little herd paths, one to the left and one to the right.  Only the right one takes you to the summit, the left one dead-ends in the woods.  That done, I went back to the summit and then bushwhacked back down to the trail, since the trail proper circles the summit cone.  It was quicker to do that and saved a little mileage rather than going around the summit cone again!

We will make one more trip to the Belknaps so that Cameron can pick up that last summit using the same route, so we’ll have a more detailed trip report and pictures.

Our first objective of the day was Mt. Rowe.  Rowe is easily hiked in .8 with 750ft. elevation gain by the Ridge Trail, the starting or ending link in the Belknap Range Trail.   (The Belknap Range Trail is made up of segments of other trails, but links many of the Belknap summits so that a traverse can be made with a carspot.)  Following the directions in the AMC Southern NH guide book, we found the trail after parking at the Gunstock Recreation Area and heading northward behind the main lodge, toward the zipline and play ground areas.  Just to the left at the gate is a service road that branches left and immediately forks, we took the service road to the left and the left fork.  There is only one sign and one blaze at the beginning.

The service road behind the main lodge at Gunstock Recreation area leads to a gate. The tree at the far left of the photo has a white blaze and sign, follow the road left past the tree and then to the left.

Looking back to the main lodge and parking area at Gunstock from the same point on the road as the previous photo.

Partway up the service road, we took another left, marked by a white arrow and sign that says “cell tower” on tree.  We continued following the service road winding up to the top, where there is a very large communications tower. If we would have wanted to continue on the Belknap Range Trail toward Gunstock and Belknap, we found that it ducks into the woods at the left of the communication tower fenced area, on a ski trail marked “The Ridge”.   After a bit of exploring, we did see some white blazes down the trail indicating it went over the ridge as marked on the map.

The next left, marked by a white arrow and sign on a tree. The service road continues up to the tower from here.

The cell tower. We were amazed at how big this thing was.

It took us exactly the book time, 45 minutes to get to the top, but only 15 minutes to get back down.  For the whole hike, the clouds were low, but we were underneath them, so we could see the whole tower and occasionally the sun trying to peak through.   We had a nice fresh layer of spring snow, so we didn’t need traction at all, probably a factor in us doing a little slipping/sliding/skiing on the way down!

Once back at the car, it was time to take off to our next destination, the Whiteface Mountain Trail leading to Whiteface Mt. in 1.6 miles, with about 700ft. of elevation gain.  This trail is located at the end of Belknap Mt. Road, about 1.4 miles past where the Carriage Road (leading to other Belknap trails) diverges left.  There is a small turn around and gate, although the road does continue a short way as there are residences beyond the turn around.  We parked carefully, so as not to block the gate.  The temperatures were starting to warm up, which meant dripping water from the trees, so we changed into waterproof jackets and I added a pack cover before heading into the woods.  This turned out to be a smart decision as we were getting snow and water bombed the second we stepped into the woods.   We then started up the road, sort of wondering what we would find, as we couldn’t see any signs or indicators of a trailhead.  Sure enough, as we came over a rise, on the left before the last house, there were some signs and a blue blaze on a tree.

Right near the start of the Whiteface Mt. Trail, before the last house on the road. There is a blue blaze on the tree under the sign.

This was good, as I was a bit concerned about this trail, because the guidebook said it was “unblazed but easy to follow”.  Following unblazed trails is not too difficult in the summer where you can see the tread path, but with a dusting of snow on the ground, it becomes more of a challenge.  Thankfully, the first .7 miles of the trail up to the junction with the green blazed Whiteface-Piper link, was newly and well blazed.  Arriving at the junction more quickly than we thought, we headed over the stone wall for the last .9 miles to the summit.

Coming up to the junction of the Whiteface Mt. and Whiteface-Piper Link Trails. The trail to Whiteface goes over the stone wall to the right.

On the way back, crossing over the stone wall again.

This portion of trail was not as well blazed.  There are blue blazes, but they are faded and dark and take a little looking to find.  Thankfully, the way is pretty obvious.  We came to a small meadow, and there we took a right to the ATV/jeep road, where we saw a yellow sign in the shape of an arrow pointing left which said “Whiteface”.

At the meadow, where the ATV road is on the right. On a tree on the far side of the road is a sign indicating the way to Whiteface is to the left, up the road.

We headed left, up the road and over several ledgy areas and arrived at the summit.   While we were pretty much just under the clouds at the summit, while we were there, the clouds lifted a bit, allowing us some views.  After pictures and a snack, we headed back down the trail to the car, making the last section after the junction a trail run, just for fun.

On the summit of Whiteface. Cameron figured out the timer on the camera, so we can both be in pictures now!

The clouds lifted just enough for us to see out and over to Piper Mt., which we had visited last week. Belknap and Gunstock were still in the clouds.

While it wasn’t a day with perfectly clear skies, we agreed we were blessed with a good time, explored somewhere new and had safety while doing so!  Cameron did say that while he didn’t think the hiking was too hard on these mountains he really was surprised by and enjoyed the views that we were able to see.

The snow was just sticky enough for us to make a small snowman on top of Whiteface. He probably won’t last long, but was fun to make.

We knew that because it was spring, the Carriage Road off of Belknap Mountain Road in Gilford, NH leading to many upper hiking trails would still be closed.   Since our loop started and ended lower on the road, this was not a problem.  Parking looked like it would be tight at the gate, but we managed to park facing down and out in order to leave easily.  We started up the white blazed Gunstock Mountain Trail not quite knowing what to expect, as this trail is not in the guidebook. We followed the blazes and kept track of elevation as we headed up the trail.  The temperature was cool, in the 30′s, but we could hear and feel the wind and were very thankful not to be anywhere higher or exposed.  The trail is moderate in grade, getting a little steeper at the top, but nothing really steep or even terribly difficult.  In just over 1.1 miles we popped out of the woods right behind the ski patrol hut near the top of the ski lifts on top of Gunstock Mt.  After checking out the area, and getting a few photos, we took a right and ducked back into the woods on the Brook trail, blazed in yellow, toward our next destination, Belknap Mt.

Ski Patrol hut at the top of Gunstock Mt. We popped out right behind the hut at the edge of the ski trails.

One of the views out to Lake Winnepesaukee. We didn’t venture too far out onto the ski trails to get better view for fear of ski patrol chasing us off. We’re not exactly sure what the policy is with this ski area.

Just to the right of the Ski Patrol hut, as you’re facing downhill, the yellow blazed Brook Trail ducks into the woods along side the ski trail.

Belknap has a firetower with 360 degree views, so it was hopefully going to be the highpoint of the day in more ways than one.  The distance between Belknap and Gunstock is only .7 miles and very easy walking with microspikes on the compacted snow.  The only difficult part of the entire hike was to watch carefully for the frozen postholes so that we wouldn’t turn an ankle in one of them.   We used portions of three different trails to get to Belknap, the Brook Trail in yellow blazes, the Saddle Trail in white blazes and finally the Blue Trail in blue blazes.  We got to the fire tower, suited up in extra jackets and up we went.  It had been windy all day, but up in the tower it was really windy!  It was so cold and windy that Cameron’s camera did not want to work.  That was too bad, since we could see Mt. Washington in the distance.   As a solution to this problem,  I went back down, grabbed the iPhone and weather device and headed back up.  Poor Cameron was really cold, so after a few photos and getting some weather data  (steady wind in the 20′s with higher gusts and windchill in the single digits), we headed down the tower.

Next stop, Belknap, about .4 of a mile from this intersection of the Saddle Trail and Blue Trail. We followed the Blue Trail from here to the summit.

A very cold Cameron at the top of Belknap fire tower. Mt. Washington is in the distance, I promise, even though you can’t see it.

We then started the hike over to our last destination for the day, Piper Mt.  To get to Piper, we again used a variety of trails, the White Trail with white blazes and the Old Piper Trail with orange blazes.  Coming down some ledges on the White Trail, we saw a couple of faces that I recognized from photos, Ed ‘n Lauky.  It was fun to finally meet them after reading Ed’s posts for quite a while on VFTT.  Lauky was even more adorable in person than in photos.  He looks like a brown fuzzy teddy bear and is a well-behaved, friendly dog.    After a chat, we were on our way to Piper, headed down into a col and then back up to the summit ledges.  At the summit, we found two “thrones” or one recliner and one loveseat made out of stone, perfect for taking a break, eating lunch and enjoying the view to the rest of the Belknaps.  We decided to take a quick side trip to the south summit of Piper, so we headed a few tenths over more ledges on the Whiteface-Piper link blazed in green to check out the other views.  That done, we headed back and down yet another trail, this time the Piper Mt. Trail blazed in red back to the Carriage Road, just a few minutes from the parking area.

On our way to Piper Mt., on some nice sunny ledges protected from the wind. Piper is in the background behind Cameron.

Looking back to Belknap as we made our way to Piper. There are two communication towers on Belknap in addition to the firetower (seen to the left of the shorter tower).

Seat for two, or one, on Piper Mt.

Relaxing in the single seat recliner on Piper Mt.

We had a great day exploring some trails we’d never been on.  It was fun to experience a trail for the first time and take in new terrain and new sights.  We felt the hiking in the Belknaps is pretty easy and the trails are for the most part, well marked and easy to follow.   Cameron was especially impressed with the views since he thought there wouldn’t be for such small mountains.  With the exception of maybe just a teeny, tiny, little bit less wind, we couldn’t have been blessed with better day!

The view to more Belknap peaks from the rock recliner on Piper Mt.

“Hi, This is John.  Where are you?”

“Somewhere between my house and Tilton on a heavily frost-heaved, poorly-treated, icy road.”

Thus, the last official winter season hike started.  I was on my way to meet my hiking partner in Meredith, and then we’d carpool via the back roads up to the 19 Mile Brook trail head for a hike to Middle and South Carter.  Due to the state of the roads and his 360 degree adventure in an intersection just moments before he called me, we decided that we might have a better chance of getting to the mountains if we took the hopefully better maintained I-93 northward.  After picking up JohninNH and his gear, we set off.  The I-93 wasn’t much better, with a 45 mph speed limit.  As we were nearing Lincoln, travel time calculations were made and after comparing lists, we decided to hike something closer that we both needed.  Galehead seemed to fit those requirements.

After a brief stop in Lincoln, we were headed to the Beaver Brook Wayside/Cross Country Ski Area.   We both knew that there was an shortcut utilizing the Beaver Brook ski trails to access Gale River Road to the Gale River Trail.  Problem was, neither of us had been on it, nor did we have the correct map for the area as our original intent was the Carters.  Thankfully, we both had been on Gale River Road and the Gale River Trail before in the summer, so we knew what the trip to Galehead from that point would be.  After studying the map at the kiosk and taking a photo of it on the digital camera to have just in case, we set off.  Following a large meet-up group didn’t hurt, either, we just followed their snowshoe tracks.  Following the trails and always veering to the right, we crossed an open area, tentsite #3 off of Gale River Road and ended up right on the road.  From there we knew where to go:  up the road, to the right and to the summer trail head.  We crossed the bridge over the Gale River and there was the trail.

Gale River from the bridge on Gale River Loop Road.

The hike was actually pleasant, with some nice sunshine in the morning, and a packed trail with just a little new powder on it.  The Gale River Trail is not a difficult trail, and only has one steeper section, near the junction with the Garfield Ridge Trail.  We enjoyed the trek up the valley, seeing this trail for the first time under snow cover.  We came to the first river crossing and recalled reports that the old route had been broken out, not the new section of trail that avoids the sometimes dangerous river crossings.  While at the bank, we noticed large blocks of ice, just tossed on the bank, like a child tosses away toys that he’s bored with.  We surmised that the the recent warm temperatures and rainfall had broken up the ice and when the water levels went down, the resulting blocks of ice were left on the banks of the river.  The water level today was fairly low, so the crossing was relatively easy with an eye toward careful foot placement.

Large blocks of ice along the river. We saw quite a few deposits similar to this one.

First crossing of the river, the water level is low, so the crossing was relatively easy.

We trekked along the river some more, then did another crossing and recognized the area where the new section of trail connects to the old section.  Soon after, we knew the steep section would start, and looking ahead up the trail, there it was.  Amazingly, it wasn’t as difficult as I remembered it from this summer, and we arrived at the Garfield Ridge Trail.  Along the trek upward, it started to snow lightly and we noticed the surrounding ridges were in and out of the clouds, but we weren’t too worried, there wasn’t that threatening feeling that the weather some times has.  At the junction,  my partner switched to crampons, as his microspikes just weren’t getting enough bite.  My snowshoes were doing just fine, but due to snowshoe induced foot injury, he can’t wear snowshoes at the moment.  His traction options were limited, and the crampons were the best choice.  He wasn’t damaging the trails, but I brought up the rear just in case.

The junction with the Garfield Ridge Trail, .6 miles from Galehead Hut.

The same junction, but this photo was taken last June. Check out that snow pack!

We quickly covered the distance to Galehead Hut and felt great, standing in front of the hut and being able to see Galehead nicely below the cloud deck.  The clouds raised and lowered over South Twin, sometimes revealing the trail near the summit and sometimes not.

Galehead Hut, all buttoned up for winter, awaiting spring.

We decided to head right away for Galehead’s summit and followed the paths along until we were almost sure we missed the turn for the Frost Trail and then saw the trail sign by our feet!  Off we went, uphill to the viewpoint, where we were able to look over the valley and back down to the hut.  A few more tenths later, and the trail dead-ended in a very small clearing with a mound of snow, presumably hiding the summit cairn.  With the customary summit photos done, we headed back to the hut porch, to relax on the benches for a twenty minute lunch break and to enjoy the views.  It was really quiet, and we even had a visit from a couple of grey jays who were very happy when I shared my trail mix.

The summit of Galehead, our goal for the day.

The sign at the junction of the Frost and Twin Brook Trails.

Looking back to Galehead Hut from the outlook on Galehead.

The summit of Galehead, #36 for winter.

After lunch, we packed up and headed down for a very quick trip to the car.  Aided by a little butt-sliding on the steeper sections, we made it back to the car in well under three hours, enjoying the afternoon sunshine and easy trails the whole way.

An old AT marker on a tree near the junction of the Garfield Ridge and Gale River Trails. We didn’t see this one until we were headed southbound on our descent. There is another one just past the junction, but is in worse shape.

While it was adventure just to get to the trail head, we had good day that was just as good or even better than the hike we’d originally planned.  Safety all day, the pretty winter scenery, bits of sunshine, and wisdom to make good decisions were blessings enjoyed by both of us.  It was a fun way to end the official winter season.  While we’re a little sad that the season will be over and the snow gone in a month or two, we’re both looking forward to spring and summer hiking plans.  Besides, it will officially be winter again on Dec. 21!

Thanks to JohninNH for another great hike in the Whites!

The start of the Rocky Branch Trail. This is the only photo I took all day; a testament to the toughness of this hike.

All three of us, JohninNH, Greg YEAH! and I needed this peak for our winter lists.  With Greg YEAH! almost finished with his list, we agreed this was a good peak to try to get.  We knew the standard winter route up the Rocky Branch Trail to the Isolation Trail and eventually the Davis Path, had been broken out the previous Saturday and a group had hiked it on Monday.  Although there had been snowfall in between then and our hike, we figured we would be able to bag the peak.

The first portion of trail has the steepest elevation gain, and I wasn’t quite up to speed, but we made it up to the Wilderness Boundary, with Greg YEAH!  in the lead, breaking trail.  After the Wilderness Boundary, it was time for the bushwhack.  Only Greg had the most experience with it, and with some looking we found a slight trough where it had been broken out previously.  Between a GPS and a compass, the guys were able to break out a path to the Isolation Trail even after they lost the originally broken out trail.  The snow was anywhere from 6″ where we could find an old trough to 10″  for brand new breaking, but with three of us, it was fairly well trampled down.  Once on the Isolation Trail, it was more trail breaking.  Greg YEAH! continued on ahead, while JohninNH and I trailed behind, trying to smooth out the track and keep up.  We crossed the stream several times, and I even broke through a snow bridge once into a hole into the water.  After that, I was more careful about following exactly in the leader’s footsteps.  We continued up toward the Davis Path and eventually stopped after we all agreed this hike was no fun anymore.  We were about a mile from the summit, but looking up to the ridge, we could see the effects of the wind, blowing clouds and snow our way.  We also guessed that the ridge leading to the summit would be drifted thus making route finding difficult. (This was confirmed by a hiker the next day who finished breaking out the trail to the summit.)  While we all wanted to reach the summit, reality was that it would have been at least another hour of difficult trail breaking in potentially worse weather.  It was time to head down.  It was sad, but there was some relief, knowing that we could just follow our track back the parking area.  Part way down, it did begin to snow on us, and we were grateful we weren’t struggling along the ridge, with the knowledge we’d have a long descent, potentially by headlamp.

The hike was not what we had hoped for earlier in the day.  The day was not a total loss, as it was spent in good company,  and was a very good learning experience for winter route finding, the Engine Hill bushwhack and when to turn back.  Isolation will still be there, and we’re all still here to try it again, mostly likely next winter.

We spent Monday evening pulling out gear and clothing and getting everything set up for the next day’s trip.  Tuesday morning, we were on our way to Franconia Notch.  Cameron hadn’t been to the mountains since November, so he was excited and  happy to see that the clouds were a bit higher than expected.  We pulled into the Cannon Tramway lot, finished putting on gear and headed toward the trail.

Kinsman Ridge Trail, here we come!

Into the woods we went, and I gave him some advice on snowshoeing.  Cameron doesn’t have a lot of experience in snowshoes, but he listened to the advice and did really well going up the Kinsman Ridge Trail.  We made it through the lower forest, then through eroded gully, and then through the ski trail section.  Cameron was very interested in the ski trails and after some investigation decided that he probably wouldn’t want to snowboard through the glades on that trail.

Up mom goes, parallel to the Kinsman Glade ski trail.

Feathery ice on a birch tree, which fascinated Cameron.

Further up the trail, he found an entire tree covered in feathery ice.

We kept going up and finally the views opened up, so Cameron was able to see out to the view below.  We made it the left hand turn off the ski trail and had earned ourselves a good break and snack.  Fueled up, we headed to the outlook, which since we were now in the cloud and not under it, we skipped.

View out toward Echo Lake, with a small patch of open water on its surface.

On the last steep section past the outlook and the sag, the trail was broken out differently than I remembered, but I followed the previous tracks anyway.  Cameron at one point was leading, but got concerned because we were totally in the clouds and he couldn’t make out the trail.  I took over and easily followed the tracks.  He just didn’t have the experience to know what to look for.   We popped out of the woods on a ski trail just below the tram station.  Since I knew where I was, I knew how to get up to the tower.  We got to the tower, which was covered in loads of rime ice and took the usual summit photos.  For some reason, we ended up on the other side of the ropes, so we searched for the USGS marker, but didn’t find it.

At the summit of Cannon, #1 for Cameron in winter.

The tower was covered with rime ice.

Now it was time to descend.  Because of being the cloud, Cam wasn’t comfortable following the hiking trail back, even though I found where it headed into the woods and could follow it.  We decided to follow the ski trail down to the Kinsman Glade ski trail and then get back onto the Kinsman Ridge Trail.  We did get stopped by ski patrol, but after explaining that we were headed back to the hiking trail, he seemed satisfied with that and waved us on.   No less than 10 minutes on Kinsman Glade and we were back on the hiking trail, at the point where it takes the sharp turn away from the ski trail.  From there it was a fun and quick descent back to the car.  Cam had loads of fun plowing through the powder.  It took us half the time to descend as it did to ascend.

Cameron had lots of fun plowing through and sliding down the snow on the descent.

Back at the car, we both agreed it was a fun day out, and a good all-around winter experience complete with a few views, hiking in a cloud and a safe, snowy descent.

Day One

The first day I arrived at EMS at 8:30a to meet the guide and classmates for the weekend, plus to pick up gear.  All of the gear is included in the price of the class, so the mountaineering boots, crampons, ice axes, climbing harnesses, helmets, ropes, etc. was all fitted and ready to travel.  We then headed off to some easy sections of ice at Cathedral Ledge for our first lessons.   The first thing we practiced was efficient walking techniques and use of the mountaineering ice axe.  Then we got to the ice climbing on low to moderate angle ice.  I did not exactly expect this from the written class description, but I was willing to try it.  It does take some effort and coordination, but with a few slips and some determination, I made it up to the top of the ropes.  We also learned how to belay another person, so we took turns climbing and belaying each other.  We then moved over to some ice that was more vertical, to get a feeling of a higher angle.  This ice had been climbed quite a bit this season, so it was easier to figure out where to put the ice axes and the feet.  It still wasn’t easy by any means, but with some courage and effort we all made it to the top.  The hardest parts for me was figuring out the best placement for  my hands and feet as I was smaller than my classmates and the descending.  I don’t like the feeling of just leaning out and backing down the ice blindly, even if I have a harness and am roped in.  I got better with it as the day wore on, but mentally it was difficult for me.

First ice climb. Our guide, in the center, is getting the anchors and ropes set while two of my classmates watch.

Second climbing area on day one. This was more difficult than the first location.

Day Two

Day two brought more ice climbing, this time in Crawford Notch at Willey’s Slide.  We did a multiple pitch climb, with everyone climbing up to the same point, the ropes being reset, and climbing up again.  This day wasn’t so bad, but I had major issues with the crampons.  One was very loose and would pop off my boot at the worst possible moments.   On the last pitch, we were to traverse a section of deep snow over ice off to the left into the woods so that we could unrope and hike down a parallel trail.   The crampon came off right as I was trying to get a good purchase on the ice to start across, meanwhile, I didn’t have enough slack in the rope to bend down and get the crampon back on correctly.  Our guide said to just use the one crampon, but that didn’t give me enough traction, plus the snow was thigh deep.  I was getting very frustrated, so the guide came out, got the crampon back on, sorted out the ropes and then I followed him over to the woods.  I wasn’t happy with the whole situation, I felt I could have done better and was a bit disappointed in myself and was the low point for me of the weekend.  At the same time, I realized you can’t predict an equipment failure and the whole thing could have been worse, as the snow could have avalanched onto my two waiting classmates.  Oh, and to add insult to injury, the crampon on the other boot was so tight that I couldn’t get it off by myself.  When I wore them the next day, I ended up using my hiking pole as a lever to get it off the boot.  We also got in a little self-arrest practice at the end of the day, which was fun, but I think I need a little more work to master some of the positions.

Day two’s climbing location, Willey Slide in Crawford Notch.

Everyone is secured into the anchor. Two of us climbed on the blue ropes, two on the red ropes.

While we made progress up the slide, the snow began to fall.

Day Three

For day three, I felt like I was heading in more familiar territory, a hike of Washington.  Although I’d never ascended via Lion’s Head, I’d hike the other trails before.   Even with the snow falling, the weather seemed to be in our favor, as the wind speeds were light (less than 20mph) and temperatures in the 20′s.  We met at EMS and soon were headed toward Pinkham Notch to start the hike up Tuckerman Ravine Trail.  From there we took a right on the fire road to the start of the Lion’s Head Winter Route.  Armed with crampons and mountaineering ice axes, we started up the steep section and it was really steep.  To me, it was like Wildcat Ridge Trail between Lost Pond and Wildcat E, but with snow and ice  and thankfully, quite a bit shorter.  Past that, we came to treeline and could see Lion’s Head in the distance and the trail leading to it.  There was almost no wind to speak of, but we were in the clouds, with about a half mile of visibility.  If it would have been very windy, visibility and windchill would have been a concern.  It was also at this point that my left crampon popped off again.  I had expected it to happen at some time, so I wasn’t surprised or upset.   We all knew the drill, while I put the crampon back on, my classmates took a break.

Tuckerman Ravine Trail, nice and wide, with fresh snow.

We stopped again Lion’s Head for a break and from here we got an easier section of trail, traversing just on the edge of the Alpine Garden before hiking up toward a junction with the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, part way up the summit cone.  Up until this point, I was doing fine, slow but steady because I knew it was going to be a tough hike.  We turned right and headed for the summit, and it was in this section I struggled the most.  I knew where we were, I knew what was left to accomplish, but it was hard.  Maybe the two previous days workout, plus little sleep the night before was catching up with me.  Like any other hike, one foot in front of the other made progress and soon I could see the signs at the edge of the parking lot.  In a few more minutes we were in the shelter of the entryway of the Sherman Adams Building at the top.  We were a little behind schedule, so with a quick break and some summit photos, we started the descent.

The snowcat was at the Sherman Adams summit building when we arrived at the summit. We were able to get out of the wind in the shelter of the building next to it.

The Sherman Adams building is closed for the season. No summit chili dog today!

The observatory tower, encased in rime and snow.

On the summit!

We did pretty well on the descent, the major challenge being footing on the summit cone rocks, some of which were buried in snow and some not.  Those that were half-buried were the most concerning as catching a crampon point could mean a rough tumble.  The whole group made it safely back to Lion’s Head, then treeline, and then it was time for what one classmate called “the chutes of death”.  There is one short, really steep section that has very small footholds and root handholds, which is best descended facing into the slope.  Many groups bring a rope for this section to assist with the descent.  I wasn’t looking forward to it, either.  I ascended it easily, but going down backward, not being able to see my next step was very scary for me.  Having less reach than my classmates didn’t help in a few tricky spots, either.   Between the roots, the rope and verbal cues from the guide, I made it down.  The rest of the way out was an easy walk downhill, and with the summit and steeps behind us, we could enjoy the beauty of the trail.  I even made a quick stop at Crystal Cascade to see how it looked in winter.

Visibility improved on the way down, so we could see Boott Spur across the ravine.

Looking toward the upper portion of the bowl of Tuckerman Ravine from near Lion’s Head.

Looking back to Lion’s Head on our descent of Mt. Washington.

Right at treeline, orange signs indicate the Lion’s Head Winter Route.

Reflectors on the trees help guide hikers onto the trail at treeline when descending in poor visibility or darkness.

Looking down the very steep sections of the trail. The trail was narrow and twisting, with very few good places to stop or let other pass.

The whole weekend was quite an experience, and I am very grateful for the blessings of an excellent guide, safety, and a nice weather day on Mt. Washington.  The class was fun, but demanding both physically and mentally; there were moment of confidence and moments I was terrified.  While I already had respect for those who are true mountaineers and tackle the big peaks, this class gave me a better understanding of the amount of work and dedication mountaineering takes.   Would I ever take more classes and pursue the sport further?  I’m not sure.   For right now,  I’m quite happy here in New Hampshire, shuffling my way up a trail on my snowshoes, just out to have fun and enjoy the beauty of winter we’ve been blessed with.

Crystal Cascade in winter, not quite frozen over.