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!!