Haystack Road 1/29/11

"Snorting Snow Flakes!" (pictures)

What a great end to January! We finally hooked up with a couple we had met nearly a year ago on a Hike
-NH group hike. Scott and I met Laurie, Russ and Marcus in Twin Mountain. The plan was to park on the Haystack road and make a walk to the North Twin Trail head and then take the Fire Warden's trail to the summit of Mt. Hale. I had no knowledge of this route or of this mountain even. So I really had no idea what exactly we were doing. As we drove from Farmington the weather wasn't looking too promising with thick clouds and snow flurries. We passed Chocorua Lake where they were setting up for a dog sledding race. We met at a plowed parking lot a few hundred feet from the Haystack road as it was not plowed at all. We made our greetings, discussed the plan, geared up and headed out around 9:00am!

We carried our Snow shoes down the busy road, fearing for our lives as cars closely wizzed by us! We made it to the road, Laurie climbed over the snow bank and trudged through waste high snow until she got up to more solid footing. We all watched humorously as we put our snow shoes on, on solid tar! We then began our journey down the unknown! The trail was nicely packed and was apparently well traveled. We didn't talk much. Scott and I were new to wearing snow shoes, as was Marcus. So it took some getting used to. Laurie led the way and we exchanged picture taking now and then. Although it was lightly snowing the sun was peaking out and blue sky opened up to the North of us. Temps were right at 30 and we quickly got warm and layered down. The road walk went a ways until we reached a snow mobile path. The path merged with the road and we followed this uncomfortable hard packed trail for what seemed like miles!

Once back off the snow mobile trail and onto soft snow we began to tire. Scott was falling back, my thighs were getting sore, and Marcus was making the occasional tumble. Laurie guided us up finally reaching the trail head 2.5 miles from our starting point. It was just after 10:30 and I remember thinking, "holy crap! We've been at it for an hour and a half and haven't even begun the actual climb yet!!" We took a snack break and small talked about how we were all getting tired already. We continued on though. We came upon a man descending who was happy to explain the route we would be taking.

We arrived at the said river crossing and shortly there after Laurie asked the magic question, "How is everyone doing?" I could tell Scott had enough. I was feeling sore but I always push myself more than I sometimes should, and wanted to continue on a little more. The others basically gave the same look as me, had enough but not wanting to be the party poopers! Scott finally said, "well I'll be the quitter and say let's turn back!" We all chuckled and agreed. That turned out to be a good decision! We slowly made our way back and the atmosphere lightened without the pressure of getting to the top of a mountain. We began talking and joking and having a good old time!

It was a long haul outta there! Marcus was taking a tumble now and then. Scott and I took off our snow shoes hoping for an easier walk down the ski Mobile trail only to put them back on again. Traffic was at it's peak now and we were stopping every 5 minutes to let snow mobilers pass. And boy did they smell! Not a pleasant thing to deal with when your hiking! I will say they were shockingly polite, slowing down and signaling to the others behind them to do the same. The snow picked up now as did the cloud cover and temps dropped a couple degrees. I was very glad now that we turned back. Towards the end Laurie said, "sheesh, I keep snorting these snow flakes!" She is too funny! I am still laughing about that one! We took a group photo at the road gate and arrived back to the parking lot at 1pm.

We didn't hike a mountain but certainly had a good work out and really got to know each other. It was a good run for being newbies to snow shoeing.  Can't wait to hike with them again! Trip was almost 6 miles, 4 hours. I made a quick stop on the way home at the Crawford Depot to take some pics of Elephant's head too!

Coldrain Pond 1/22/11

"Cold" (pictures) With temps. forecasted to be in the single digits today we thought it best to stick with something small and close by. Scott hadn't used his snow shoes yet so something on the easy side would be a good warm up. We headed for Coldrain pond in New Durham. I discovered this spot this past fall. It is a Fish and Game controlled land and abutts NH Forest Society land. The parking lot was plowed at the entrance leaving space for 2 or 3 vehicles. We strapped on the snow shoes and made the easy half mile walk down the logging road and down a small path to the ponds edge.

Scott is not comfortable on the ice, even though this was completely snow covered. I told him it's good to do something that scares you once-in-a-while ... and with that I went running across it to the middle of the pond. To my surprise, after some hesitation, Scott came running behind me! I ventured to the far shore and took some pics, then we headed up the shore and through the woods until we connected with the trail again. The sun was shining through the trees making for some nice shadow pics. I love being in the woods! I look forward to joining the NH Forest Society this spring and perhaps this will be one of the properties I will be working in! So exciting! Snow shoes worked great! Comfortable and easy to use! It was very cold so we headed back, happy with this short excursion.

Stonehouse Pond 1/13/11

"It's a Girl!" (pictures)

I had hoped to get out and do some snowshoeing today after all the fluffy white snow we got. I've yet to try out my first pair of snowshoes and I was getting antsy! I was feeling a bit lazy, but I kept looking out the window at all the snow and crisp blue sky and figured, awe heck, give in to the itch! So I threw my winter clothing and some snacks in my little pack, grabbed the shoes and threw them in my truck. Off I went to Stonehouse Pond in Barrington!

The Stonehouse pond road was not plowed out so I drove by and made a u-turn. There was no room on the side of the road and I wasn't sure what to do. Directly across the street there were two large areas plowed out at the end of someones driveway. I wondered if this was parking for those accessing the pond? I parked there anyway, who would take the time to plow that much space for a driveway, I thought.

I parked at 1:30pm and tied my boots and threw on the Tubbs. The road had seen two hikers already but was still very unbroken. I walked the half mile to the pond easily, passing the snow mobile trail. The pond was covered in snow, the ledges streaked with white. The sun hovered directly above the ledges making for some crappy pictures. The other hikers trails stopped here at the ponds edge. Breaking the trail would be up to me! I walked down the banking and below the small dam then made my way up around the corner to the rocky outlook across the pond to the ledges.

Then I made a slippery walk across the steep banking and down along side the pond. Now and then I would snag a rock nearly causing me to fall over. And the tree logs across the trail, which are a welcome challenge to climb over in the summer, were now a nuisance! I made it to the ledge and began the steep climb up. It was tough, especially towards the top where it gets very steep and you have to climb over another fallen tree, ugh! But I made it without a scratch, walking out on top of the ledge at 2pm. What a sight!

The sun was casting a wonderful tree line shadow on the lake and all was still and quite. Except for the occasional hum of ski mobiles going by down on the trail. And, "bling", a text message. Ah technology! It was my sister, "it's a girl!" What a message to get as I am relaxing on top of a ledge! Congrats Sis! I downed a coconut water and thought about which way to return. I could continue the loop around the lake, but that way is a little more difficult, overgrown in spots and somewhat hard to follow. So I just decided to return the way I came, and at least that way I could break the trail out some more.

I began the climb down the steep section, well, more like sliding and jogging. I was sure I would fall face first into the snowy slope. Luckily I stayed upright! I made a quick return around the lake, made a few more peaks at the pond and ledge and headed back down the road. I was happy to see my truck hadn't been towed! I finished at about 2:45. I had been so excited to hike this in the winter and it was very enjoyable and just enough a challenge for a week day!

2010 deaths/injuries/lost hikers in NH

This is the total that I came up with. Could be off a bit. You can keep up to date and read details if you scroll down and look to the right column marked "lost and injured hikers". Be safe out there and always hikesafe!

Died: 6
2 - fell to there death from a ledge/cliff
4 - heart attack or other medical condition

Rescued: 57
49 - stranded or lost (there was a group of 29 which makes up for most of this)
3 - leg/knee injury
2 - medical condition
3 - Fell from a ledge/cliff

Kearsarge North 1/9/11

"A Mixed Bag" (pictures)

A little bit of everything today. I talked to my brother (Jeremy) the night before who was possibly going to join us Sunday. In the morning he texted me saying he was coming but running late. When he showed up we took off for North Conway. My brother hadn't brought a sandwich and wanted to grab one from a store on the way. I stopped at the Subway in Ossipee, not yet open. Tried the store in the same lot, nothing. Then stopped at the Log built gas station down the road whose sandwich fridge was broken. 3 strikes your out! Chocorua was partially in the clouds as we passed by, looking cold and snowy. I made one final stop at the Circle K in Conway for gas where Jeremy finally got his Sandwich from Amato's. The Mountains that circled Conway were all visible looking pretty good. Temperatures and wind wasn't too bad as we arrived at the Hurricane Mt. Road and parked. The sun was shining through partly cloudy sky's.

We began the hike at 9am. The forest was void of any snow so we left my snow shoes behind. The trail began with some minor ice then remained frozen dirt with occasional patches of ice. Once we huffed and puffed up the moderate climb we arrived at the ledges. Ice began to increase but there was still too much rock for micro-spikes. So we carefully made our way over slippery ice and rock hopping. We passed two guys coming down who questioned our not having spikes. We told them we had them with us. Turns out we would need them!

The view of the day yielded Whitehorse ledge and clouds of snow squalls now covering the Moats and the Mt. Washington Valley. It looked brutal. After Jeremy and I played around on some ice hills Scott and I finally decided it was time for the spikes. Jeremy didn't have any and so would have to suffer it out. With all the energy he has however it didn't slow him down the least bit!

Above the ledges the trail swung around the mountain then made a steep climb before leaving the pines and into the partially open summit. We passed a man just before this coming down with an orange hat. He mentioned we were close and was dissapointed there wasn't a log book in the tower this time. Winds were stronger here but still didn't seem bad. Despite the ice we made book time and arrived at the summit of Kearsarge North (3268') at 12pm. We headed for the enclosed fire tower and chowed down on some much needed food! The wind was whipping around the frozen windows of ice crystals. Views extended to, well, the doubleheads and Black Mountain Ski area and that's it to the North! Cranmore and the Green Hill Preserve and that's it to the South. Ah well!

It did look like blizzard central North and West of Conway. We were possibly the only 3000' + mountain in the clear all day! At least from this perspective! At least we were warm! Just as we were finishing up an older couple joined us. After some small talk we packed up and went back out into the cold. We froze in seconds. The temperatures seemed to have dropped, the wind picked up and it was snowing! We climbed over the rocks and threw our spikes back on.

We then spent the first half of the hike carefully negotiating the ice and assisting Jeremy when needed as he slid, swung and jumped his way down the trail! Once back down to the ice hills Jeremy got his last slides in and soon there after the spikes came off. This turned out to be a mistake of sorts because we now had to re-adjust to not having the traction. And there was still ice in sections. I forgot I didn't have spikes on and hit the ice and went down. Scott went down as did Jeremy. One section Jeremy was complaining about the ice not being slippery in one spot, just as he said this he slipped and went flat out on the ice! I cracked up laughing, lost my footing and went down the ice behind him. It was painful but funny!

We passed several people coming up as we continued and made our way through sun light and snow squalls. We passed the orange hat guy again on the ledges taking in the blustery view. After loading my report on Newenglandtrailconditions.com I noticed the same report by Waumbek. Perhaps that was him? An interesting hike for sure. Full of laughs. We reached the truck at 2pm. Total time: 5 hrs. Mileage: 6.2 Elevation Gain: 2600'

Baldface Circle Trail 1/1/11

"Snow shoes, what snow shoes?" (pictures)

Very excited for our first winter hike in the Whites and first hike of the year, we were all ready to go New Years morning! I hadn't yet decided what to hike and we agreed upon Eagle Crag next to the Baldfaces. This was a favorite spot and a relatively pleasant winter hike. We parked on the road behind another car at the trail head and geared up at 9am. The snow didn't look all that bad, mostly melted and Scott decided to leave the snow shoes behind. I was a little bummed as I finally had snow shoes and wanted to use them, but I wasn't going to carry them if I didn't need them! In the back of my mind however I knew the Northern branch of the Baldface Circle Trail would most likely not be packed out.

We began our hike on a packed out trail and unseasonably warm weather. The jackets and gloves soon came off as we enjoyed the gentle walk. At the Emerald Pool junction the beaten path went left headed towards South Baldface and a lone pair of snowshoe tracks continued straight. We stopped to build a tiny snowman who turned out to look pretty evil! A sign of whats to come? The river crossing was fine with a pretty good snow bridge acrossed it with a rather large hole in the middle of it ... creepy! We soon arrived at the Bicknell Ridge junction and sure enough the snow shoe'r went up bicknell ridge and our trail lay untouched. Doh!

Breaking trail was easy to start, just a few inches with a little ice underneath hear-and-there. I stopped often to take some so-so pics of the river and the various tree mushrooms I spotted. I found one collection of versi-color shrooms that I love so much! These were a wonderful tan/turquoise and rust color and they became my photo subject for several minutes :) As the elevation gained so did the snow accumulation. We're talking 6 inches in spots. Not the deepest we have bare booted in before. While 6 inches may sound trivial to some, when your hiking uphill in wet, sticky snow with full packs on it is pretty tough! Especially when there are rocks and bankings under the snow that you don't see and trip and slip on.

A pheasant was nice enough to take flight in the woods next to us causing us both to make a startled "yelp" We dragged on and on finally reaching the Eagle Cascade junction ... 1.6 miles to go! The snow got seemingly deeper now as we trudged on. I took my micro-spikes off that I had put on at the bicknell Ridge junction as the sticky snow was clumping up under them and creating platform shoes which was driving me nuts! We entered the pine grove I had been dying to reach and new we were getting closer. Scott now began to fall behind and I was getting pretty exhausted myself. I kept my eyes pealed ahead for the glimpse of the ledges but each corner yielded more snowy hill and another corner. I took off for one final push ignoring my very sore legs and finally I spotted the ridge through the trees in the distance. I figured we would still have at least 45 minutes to an hour left and a couple hundred feet of elevation. Scott was no where in sight behind me and at that point I evaluated the situation. We were running an hour late anyway and we were beat. And I new going down would be tough and tiresome, and it was! I hiked back down to Scott who quickly accepted defeat and lead the way down as he always does.

The river was a little more photographic now as some of the snow had melted and I took off through the woods to take some pics. We also took the time to clear some minor blow downs from the trail. The only bad one that was at a back breaking waste height was too thick for a quick axing. So I chopped down the small trees holding it up so that it was now at an easy step-over ground level. We arrived back at our snow man who had lost some weight in the warm sun. We put him back together with some new, more friendly looking parts and continued heading down. The snow bridge had melted a bit and Scott got a scare as one of his feet went through! I crossed with no problems. We reached the truck at 2pm. Snow shoes would have more than likely brought us a successful summiting ... (as I open the back hatch) "oh look, snow shoes!" Still a nice day in the woods. Wonderful weather and good conditioning for the next hike! So sore today!! I have to keep in mind that winter hiking takes longer than summer and just stick to easy smaller hikes, at least until we have some winter experience built up. And bring the snow shoes no matter what! Have to figure out how to strap them to the bags. Trip was 5 hours - Mileage: about 6.2 - Elevation Gain: about 2000ft.