Mad as a Hatter...

There is a place like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it, you need to be as mad as a hatter. Which luckily I am. ~ The Mad Hatter

If you read my Blog before, you know that I am a hiker. I love being in the woods. I think nothing of waking up on a day off from work at 4:00 AM, driving 2 - 2 1/2 hours (or more) and hiking up and down countless mountain miles, sometimes for more than 6 hours, alone in the wilderness. My wife, on the other hand, thinks I am absolutely bonkers! She can't even begin to contemplate why I would want to do this in the Summer. The concept of Winter hiking is so strange to her, it's as if I have spoken a foreign language.

This past Saturday was no different. I was to hike in the Wiley range, and planned to summit Mounts Tom, Filed, Wiley and Avalon, for a total of 10.35 miles. (because of the topography, I would actually have to summit Mt Field twice)

The alarm on my Fitbit went off at 4:00 am. I dressed quickly and quietly, trying not to wake my wife or the dog. In the kitchen I boiled water for my French Press coffee maker, and got my food and drink for the hike into my Backpack. I was on the road slightly before 5 AM, and found it to still be slick from the snow the night before. I lowered my speed and continued on.

I arrived at Crawford Notch Depot (the trails were across the tracks) in the cold, predawn light. I could hear the wind howling outside my car. I saw two hikers just leave the parking lot as I pulled in.

I was not entirely motivated to get out while sitting on heated seats and drinking hot coffee, so I sat there for about 20 minutes, trying to absorb every last vestige of heat I could.

When I finally convinced myself to get going, it had begun to get light, so I didn't need the headlamp. I put hand warmers in my gloves, donned my hat and jacket, strapped on the pack, put Hillsound trail crampons on and headed out. The first thing that I noticed was that the wind was determined to slam the door shut on my legs, and nearly succeeded. The second thing was that after being so warm and cozy for the last couple of hours on the drive up, it was VERY cold. I covered myself as best I could and hoped that I had chosen the right amount of layers.

I immediately started making good time and was moving up the trail at a good pace. Within a very short time, I had to stop and remove layers to avoid sweating too soon. It always amazes me that it can be low 20s, and I can be wearing two thin layers.

About a mile or so up the trail, I came across the two hikers who started 20 minutes before me. They were two friendly younger guys in their mid 20s or so, and had stopped for a snack. Convinced that these guys would soon catch me, I bid them goodbye and continued on. I was surprised that I never saw them until I was leaving the summit of Mt Tom and they were just coming up. We continued to run into each other throughout the day.

After starting on the Avalon trail, I switched to the A-Z Trail, which would bring me to the Mt Tom Spur. This was a nice trail, made better by the snow cover. I find that winter hiking, (although cold) can be easier than in the Summer because the rocks and roots are covered over.

At this point, I was alone in the woods, with no one near, and not a sound but the wind and birds. To me, there is nothing more relaxing than this. This, more than the occasional summit views, is why I hike. I love the solitude of the woods, far away from the sounds of civilization.

Soon enough, I made the first summit, which was Mt Tom. Even though it is not an open summit, it was decidedly colder up top, so I donned the jacket and balaclava to stay warm.

I took a moment here to hydrate. I never seem to drink enough when I am solo hiking because I am usually pushing myself and can barely breathe, never mind drink! I also decided to have a snack and pulled out a granola bar. There is saying saying "the woods have eyes", and on Mt Tom, this is true.

The Gray Jay, also called Canada Jay, makes its home on many mountain in New Hampshire, and Mt Tom is one of them. These birds are very curious, and extremely bold. They have learned over the years that hikers are friendly and hikers have food and are willing to share.

From All About Birds ~ The deceptively cute Gray Jay is one of the most intrepid birds in North America, living in northern forests year-round and rearing chicks in the dark of winter. Highly curious and always on the lookout for food, Gray Jays eat just about anything, from berries to small animals. They may even land on your hand to grab a raisin or peanut. During summer they hoard food in trees to sustain themselves through bleak winters.

While it can be fun to pretend to be the Bird Whisperer, these little guys can get aggressive and pesky at times. Specifically if there are more than one present and they are competing for your food. I was lucky enough to only see this guy, so I decided to share my granola bar with him. He enjoyed about half of one, and kept flying back to my hand for more.

He did get a little aggressive when I was leaving, and kept flying back and forth in front of me. it was if he was trying to get me to stay feeding him!

Having finished playing with the bird, I started to head to the next summit, Mt Field. The day started windy, cloudy and stayed much the same, with intermittent snow showers.

Unfortunately, today was not a day for mountain views. I wasn't terribly upset. Any time I spend in the woods on a mountain is still a great day!

Since it was only 1 mile away, I made the summit of Mt Field rather quickly. I found the temperature was still rather chilly.

I was still hoping to see two of my FB hiking friends, Suzanne and Andy, but they were not on Mt Field. They were coming from the opposite direction, although I didn't know that at the time. Seeing no one on Mt Field, I didn't stay long, and pushed on to Mt Wiley, which was another 1.3 miles away.

The trail to Mt Wiley was my favorite part of the hike. The trail is on the backside of the mountain and has a feel as if it were more remote than it actually is.

I continued to move a brisk pace, although still managing to stop and take photos and to enjoy the solitude that I so desperately seek! I was not disappointed on the this section of trail.

I gained the summit of Mt Wiley, and took a photo for my friends in my old home town of Taunton, Massachusetts. In recognition of Taunton, I carried the Taunton Flag (AKA The Bristol County Flag).

This was the first flag raised in the colonies in defiance against the British Crown on the Taunton Green, October 11, 1774. 

One of my joys in hiking is bringing a small thermos of hot tea to enjoy on the summit. On a cold hike, this is sometimes all it takes to keep my spirits up when I am feeling particularly cold and unmotivated.

Just because I am in the wilderness is no reason to be uncivilized. You will notice I have the pinky out as required!

Once I was ready to leave the summit of Wiley and head to Mt Avalon, I realized I had a very good chance of finishing this 10.35 mile hike in under 5 hours. That is VERY fast for me. When I solo hike, I try to push myself to make it a workout.

If I were to finish under 5 hours, I would really have to work for it. I hustled back over Mt Field ( because of the topography, you have to go back over this mountain to get back to the car), and quickly made the summit of Mt Avalon. Normally, this is a fantastic view, but today the weather gods had other ideas

The views on the way down did not improve. I did not meet up with my friends, although I did meet many, many hikers coming up as I was descending.

The closer I got to my car, the quicker the magic 5 hour mark was approaching. I realized that the only way I would make it was to start running...and that's what I did. I bounded down the trail, trusting the grip of my Hillsound trail crampons.

Finally, after one last precarious water crossing where I had to cautiously walk across an ice covered log, I broke out of the woods and reached my car. My total time was 4 hours and 52 minutes. I had done it!!!

Now to start planning my next adventure.

Thanks for reading!!!