The Early Bird...

The Early Bird Gets The Worm

A famous English Proverb states "The early bird gets the warm." Sadly, in hiking, this is not always true, as I recently found out on a hike to Mt Jackson in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

With unseasonably warm temperatures this December, I decided to add to my Winter List of hiking the NH 48 4000 Footers. I had completed this list in 2011, but none of them were Winter hikes. In my blog post titled "It's On The List", I discuss how we hikers love our lists!! Far fewer people have completed the Winter list than have completed the non Winter list due to the increased difficulty Winter weather can provide.

New Hampshire doesn't have the highest mountains in the world, but they do have some very rugged trails. Many peaks, although under 6000 feet, are considered "sub-arctic" in temperature.

Sitting at 6,288 feet high,  Mt Washington, the regions tallest peak, had until very recently, held the title of the worlds worst weather. The Mount Washington Observatory recorded a wind speed of 231 mph on April 12, 1934.

The weather in the whites can be drastically different on the summit than it is down below, and can change for good or ill, in a matter of minutes...but I get ahead of myself.



As is my custom, I arrived at the trail head parking area before dawn. As usual, there wasn't another car in the lot.

I sat there for a moment, enjoying the last of the warmth from my heated seats and drank the remaining bit of my coffee.

My plan for today was to hike the Webster Jackson trail to Jackson summit, then head over to the AMC's Mitzpah Spring Hut and hike up to Mt Pierce summit. If all went well, and I still had juice in the tank, I would head over to Mt Eisenhower and then down to the car for a total of around 12 miles. 

I donned my hiking boots, gloves, knit hat and backpack and, once properly fortified, headed off into the cold, windy, predawn darkness.

As usual, I had the trail and the woods all to myself, which is something that I cherish and the main reason I hike so early. It also allows me to have the summit to myself in most cases.

The Webster Jackson trail, in Crawford Notch, is very easy to follow, with decent grades.

Although a little windy and cold (27 degrees to start), I made quick progress and soon made it to Elephant Rock. This is the first good view on this hike. It looks down into Crawford Notch and surrounding mountains and hills.

Considering I was below the clouds at this point, I was fortunate to have some views. Every once in awhile a slight break in the clouds would appear, giving some hope, but then it got socked in totally.

On my way out from Elephant Rock, I noticed this sign, and it made me think of my mother. She usually visits me in the form of butterflies but being December, the butterflies were gone for the year. It was nice to see this in the woods.

I hung out here for a little while thinking of her and then went back to the trail to continue my ascent of the mountain.

The longer I hiked, the lighter the sky got, which was a good thing because the trail became a little rocky.

I was definitely working up a sweat on this steeper section of the trail, which caused me to have to try to find the right balance of layers.

I was surprised to not see any snow or ice on the trails until just below the summit of Mt Jackson. I never once had to use my micro-spikes for additional traction.
 

I soon enough learned what happened to all the snow and ice. It appeared to have melted, creating many, wet and muddy sections of trail that were not easily avoided.

It will certainly be better when the trails are covered with a good blanket of snow. Snow helps to smooth out the trail and make it much more easy to climb. You can also slide down the trail on your backside on the way down.

The only real evidence of winter, other than the colder temperatures, was this one small section of iced-over trail. This wasn't a problem because it was easily avoided by hiking to the side of the trail. I really did expect more of this.

I continued on at a medium pace. I still saw and heard no one else. I was alone in the wilderness which is just like I like it.

Eventually I made to the summit of Mt Jackson. Although the weather services all called for partly sunny skies, there was absolutely zero visibility, winds at 25, gusting to 45, snow flurries and wind chill near zero on the summit. It was nasty!

Since I was solo hiking and could see nothing in any direction, and the conditions were so miserable, I made the decision to return the way I had come, and not continue on to the other peaks. At the time, considering the weather conditions, it seemed like a prudent decision on my part.

In New England they say that if you don't like the weather, wait a minute, it will change, and change it did.

As I descended the trail, the clouds began dissipating and the sun came out. The 30+ hikers I saw going up while I went down were in for a good view when they got to the summit. Sadly, I was too far down the trail to consider going back up.

This isn't the first time that the weather has changed for the better after I have made the decision to not continue. I still stand by my decision because the weather showed no signs of improving while I was on the summit. If I hadn't been solo, I am sure I would have continued on and had some nice views.

Had I not started so early, I would have have a pleasant, Blue Bird sky day, as you can see in this picture of the Mount Washington Hotel.

It just goes to prove that the Early Bird doesn't always get the worm!! Regardless of the weather, it still was better than sitting on the couch at home!!

Thanks for reading! Happy New Year to you!

Is this Everest?

....Cold. Mind numbing cold. The kind of cold you imagine lurks in the Antarctic or on top of Mt Everest, or maybe how it feels on Mars. The kind of cold that actually hurts to breathe, if you are able to take a breath that is. The kind of cold that feels like it is burning your skin.

This is the kind of cold that makes you wonder why you woke at 4 AM and purposely drove an hour and a half in the pitch dark Winter morning, and toiled up 4.7 miles of mountain trail to a summit socked in with clouds and fog. The kind of cold the makes you question your own sanity. 

It's not only the cold which conspires against you. It also also the wind. A wind that sucks the air away before you can even breath it, and is so strong that you can barely keep to your feet. A wind that drives the ice and snow on the summit into a blast zone of tiny shrapnel, threatening to tear into your skin. A wind that makes a simple cold day potentially deadly should mishaps occur. Wind that plunges temperatures below zero and causes chance of frostbite to exposed skin in minutes.

This is the reality of the high peaks in New Hampshire's White Mountains. This is also why these mountains are so deadly. The casual hiker will underestimate them and find themselves in trouble because they were unprepared for the changing conditions, but I jump ahead...

We should begin at the beginning as they say.

I had always wanted to hike the Skookumchuck Trail to the summit of Mt Lafayette (Mt Lafayette is the 6th tallest mountain in New Hampshire at 5,249′)

I planned this hike a week before and followed the weather predictions religiously throughout the week. I also monitored the Higher Elevation Forecast put out by the good folks at the Mt Washington Observatory. 

The weather forecast showed that the weekend would continue its unseasonably warm trend with partly cloudy skies, light winds and temperatures in the high 40s to low 50s. This was December 12, 2015. The weather is not usually this warm in New Hampshire this time of year. This was definitely a chance for a mid December hike. The Higher Summit Forecast called for high winds, and fog.

For this hike, I was going to accompanied by my Friend Baha and his dog Xena, a rarity for me since I mostly solo hike. We met in a dark, lonely parking lot at 6:30 AM. It was pitch black out and deathly quiet.

We didn't waste time, and quickly got on our boots, applied the right amount of layers, made last minute checks of our gear and hoisted our packs. The wind was calm at the start and the temperatures were in the low 40s. Very pleasant. Limited layers were required in the beginning.

Once we were all set, we stepped on the Skookumchuck Trail for a 4.7 mile walk to Lafayette summit. Xena was immediately in her element, running all around checking all the interesting smells! No matter where she was, she was always in eye shot of Baha.

The trail is very gentle at first, and we made good time, while the sun slowly made its way over the ridge in front of us. As the light slowly crept it's way along, we could see that it was a nice hard wood forest. In fact, a sign indicated that it had been selectively harvested to open up the habitat.

This was my first hike with Baha and Xena. I was a little nervous that I would be too slow for them. They are both considerably younger than me. I needn't have worried because we settled into a comfortable pace, that wasn't not too slow or lung busting fast

The trail continued at a nice grade, although the snow began to make for a little slippery conditions.  The trail was easy to follow. There was only the one trail for 4.2 miles to Garfield Ridge, so we had little chance of getting lost on this trail. 

Eventually, we began to emerge from the tree line, providing us with typical December mountain views.

It was here we began to feel the temperature change and started to hear the roaring of the wind. Up until this point, we were well protected from the elements, being among the trees.

Considering we were going above tree line into that tempest, we chose this opportunity to add layers, including a shell to ward against the wind. I also chose to put on my micro-spikes for better traction. Baha choose not to use his.

The micro-spikes definitely helped me with my traction on the snow and ice covered rocks, but created a bit of a challenge on those sections that remained ice and snow free. Micro spikes DO NOT grip rock. It was at these times I had to take more care of where I placed my feet. I also found the they kept slipping from the front of my boot, which may have been from the rock surfaces or hitting roots.

Of course my micro-spikes were no match to puppy power. Xena effortlessly bounded up the trail, only to look down on us with pity at our inability to hike like her!

Once we were fully committed above tree line, the full force and furry of Mother Nature was there to greet us.  Although down below it was a nice, warm day, up here was another story entirely. This was sub-arctic like, with winds blowing 35-40 and gusting MUCH higher. Visibility was very limited, and due to the howling of the wind, conversation was nearly impossible.

Quickly, my fingers began to get so cold, they hurt. This was a bad sign, since on a high school ski trip, I had suffered some frost bite.

I took shelter behind a large rock and was at this point that I began to question in my mind whether or not I could stay here while Baha went on to tag the summit or if I would die of exposure if I stopped moving. I was THAT cold!!!

I stuffed my gloved hands in my pockets to try to bring some warmth back. This didn't seem to work, so I switched over to ski mittens, and that made all the difference. Fortified again again the cold, we carried on.

Slowly, we picked our way across the frozen landscape, all the while leaning into the wind, to avoid being blown over.

Eventually, against all odds, we made to the summit. It felt like being on a much higher summit. These mountains are very dangerous and can never be taken lightly. Conditions can and do change at a moments notice, and can be drastically different from the conditions at the car.

Considering the current weather conditions, and the fact that there were no views at all, we decided to begin our decent of the mountain immediately after summiting. I usually like to spend some time on top, but with the conditions as they were, this would be at minimum, uncomfortable and on the extreme side, could be deadly.

So, with Xena leading the way, Baha and I began to descend the trail. Visibility was still limited, so great care was needed to avoid wandering off trail.

Shortly after the summit, my legs began to suffer painful cramps. Normally if this happens, you stop and hydrate and stretch. With this weather, the only option was to grit my teeth and suck up the pain and move on...and that's what we did.

As often happens in the mountains, the conditions drastically change with the loss of elevation. Soon the sun was out, and some blue sky could be seen. The wind was considerably reduced, and the temperature was much more comfortable. We eventually had to remove some of the layers we applied for our ascent of the summit.

One of the really cool things about New Hampshire is that it is a small hiking community and with Facebook groups, many of us know each other, if only through Facebook Posts. 

On the way down, we met fellow hiker Chris Dailey going the other way. We sat and chatted for a moment, and than Chris continued on his way up, while we continued down to the car. We met a few other hikes too.

The remaining miles of the hike were quite uneventful and passed quite quickly. The lower we got, the warmer it became, until there was no more snow to be seen. Xena's obvious enthusiasm for the trail never wavered, although mine was severely tested on the summit!!! 

Soon enough we were close to the car and could hear the intrusive sounds of civilization rising up to meet us.

No matter how difficult or uncomfortable a hike may be, it always beats sitting on your ass on the couching wasting the day away!

Thanks for reading and happy hiking!!

Over the river and through the woods...

The alarm on my Fitbit activated at 3:30 am. It was a hike day and today I was hiking up and over Mounts Liberty and Flume and through the Pemigewasset Wilderness out to Lincoln Woods.

It was to be a solo trip of 10.63 miles. I wasn't worried about the mileage because I hike this distance without too much difficulty. I also wasn't concerned with going solo, since I have hiked many, many hikes solo, and in fact really enjoy my time alone in the woods.

I was pretty excited about this hike. This would require dropping my car off where I was finishing the hike and getting a ride to the starting trail-head by my wife. (Hikers call that car spotting) There was no room for error or mishap, because my car would be 11 miles way (over two mountain summits and about 7 additional miles of wilderness.) This would also be one of the longest solo hikes.

We arrived at the pitch black and empty parking lot at the Flume Visitor Center where I put on my hiking boots, strapped on my backpack and put a headlamp on to battle the darkness of the trail. I said my goodbyes to Leslie and was off. The temperature was around 28 degrees, but I had on gloves, a hat and sufficient layers to combat the morning chill.


The first thing I noticed was that I really, really wished I had more coffee. The second thing I noticed was that it was very quiet and I was all alone. It is kind of spooky in the dark woods. You immediately imagine there are critters just beyond the beam of your light watching you.

Another thing I noticed was that the light on my headlamp was not very bright at all. I first thought that my eyes had not yet adapted to the darkness. That thought was quickly dispelled when the headlight went out completely, plunging me into absolute, total
 darkness. I should have checked the batteries!!!


We'll, being a responsible hiker, I had a back up head-lamp with fresh batteries. I also had replacement batteries and a small flash light. I believe in redundancy!

Once I swapped out the headlamps and put my gloves back on, I headed up the bike path to the hiking trail. My first objective was the Liberty Springs Tent Site where I planned to eat a snack and enjoy my hot tea.

The first thing you come to on the hike is the Bridge of Darkness (not sure what the name actually is, but this will do for now).

It looked very spooky to me. In the darkness, I couldn't see the other side, nor could I see the river below it. Since Leslie left about 20 minutes earlier, I had no choice but to cross it and continue on.

Eventually, the darkness gave way to the dawn, revealing that Old Man Winter had settled in the mountains. While the snow was un-troubling in the beginning, the higher I got, the more snow I would encounter, until it became necessary to put on micro spikes for additional traction.

The early morning forest has a quality all its own. As the light slowly creeps over the distant ridge, more and more details come into view.

There was barely a sound: just the wind and some birds, and the crunch of my boots on the crusty snow.

Up and up I climbed, at a steady pace. When I solo hike, I tend to push myself to make it both a good workout and enjoyable hike.

The higher I got, the more light there was. One tell tale sign that you are nearing the summit is that you can start to see light through the trees up ahead. That is a most welcome sight to a hiker, because they know the summit is near.

Eventually, I made it to the summit of Mt Liberty and was rewarded with unending, fantastic views. This was one of those rare December days, where the wind is light, the temperatures reasonable and the sky a brilliant blue affording unending views in all directions. Its for days like today that I am willing to wake at 3:30 AM and go hiking on less than 4 hours sleep. You can't really put into words what this view is like in person. Some of the views are below.

Mount Cannon

Mount Lincoln & Mt Lafayette (Franconia Ridge)

Mount Garfield

Once I took in the sweeping views from the summit of Mt Liberty, I headed toward Mt Flume to continue my journey. Mt Flume is only a mile from Liberty, so I made quick time of my hike over there and made the summit in no time at all. Once again I was rewarded with spectacular and expansive views that are as good as anywhere else in New England.

Even though I had already climbed two different mountains, my hike was far from over. I still had to go off the backside of Mt Flume on the Osseo Trail and walk approximately 7 miles through the Pemigewasset Wilderness to Lincoln Woods where my car waited for me.

One of the fun parts of the Osseo Trail is the several different sections of ladders. These ladders, although helpful in the Spring, Fall & Winter, can be a bit treacherous when snow covered.

Although you can't see it in this picture, some of these ladder sections can be very steep. This was one such section. There were several of these sections, which made for a slow decent.

The ladder section was what put this trail on the Terrifying 25 List. As you may recall from a previous post, we hikers love lists of mountains

to climb. This list is the 25 most "terrifying" trails in New Hampshire. That is why, even though I have done this hike before, I decided to do it again. With the weather I had, it was a great decision.

Another great thing with going through the wilderness was that there would be a good chance I wouldn't see another soul. I was not disappointed. I had the wonderful solitude I search for in my hikes.

I have seen many critters on my hikes throughout the years, from bears to moose to deer, turkeys, foxes, birds, bobcats and Gray Jays who will eat out of your had. This little red squirrel was very inquisitive and played peek-a-boo with me for about 5 minutes. I finally tired of the game and bid goodbye and continued on my way.

The hike out for the last couple of miles is very flat and forgiving, allowing tired muscles the opportunity to cool down before getting in the car. This particular part of the hike, Lincoln Woods Trail, is an old rail road grade, which remains flat all the way to the parking lot at Lincoln Woods.

The draw back is that it seemingly goes on forever without end! As my good friend and sometimes hiking partner likes to say "Every hike is two miles too long!"

Another con is that it is so flat, that many, many tourist use to stroll into the woods, which can make it seem crowded at times.

Finally, when you cross the river, you are done with the hike and there is much rejoicing. It was a fabulous time alone in the woods for 6 hours. I always feel peaceful and rejuvenated whenever I visit the forest.

Happy Trails and thanks for reading!!