Hiking in Crawford Notch

I met up with Kevin and Dan at the Hooksett park and ride at 6am on Wednesday and then drove north, stopping at the Tilt-N-Diner off exit 20 for a mighty fine breakfast. We talked about the weather a bit and went over our proposed route for the day with Kevin (a relatively new hiker, and first time 'winter' hiker). I've been checking the weather and trail conditions the last couple of days via the internet (I LOVE the internet). Lots of snow early in the week but nearly 2" of rain the last 24 hrs. He had hoped to knock off 3 more 4,000 footers by climbing Mt Tom first, then Mt Field and finally Mt Willey. Round trip would be just over 10 miles and we hoped to be off the mountains by 4pm. That was the plan...
We reached the Highland Center by 8:30am, got dressed for hiking and checked our gear one last time, finally hitting the trails around 9:15am. 75% of the day I was able to wear just a long sleeve Coolmax shirt as temps hovered in the mid-20's to low 30's most of the day.
We were the first and only folks on the trails today, with 3-6" of snow and a crusty top layer of ice for most of the first few miles. It was slow going but not too bad. The multiple water crossings were more of a challenge as the streams were running pretty high. To top it all off the 'stepping stones' typically reserved for crossing were either under water or covered in ice. Nothing like crossing on an ice covered tree with a 25lb pack on your back, and we'd have to do this twice.
We climbed the A-Z trail towards Mt Tom and above 3000 feet the snow was considerably deeper (knee deep at times) , and travel was slowed to less than a crawl. The crusty top surface was not quite thick enough to support our weight. We could take one or two steps on the surface and then we'd break through, smashing our shins in the process.
We reached the Mt Tom spur trail a little after noon, had a bite to eat, ditched the packs and made the 1.2 mile round trip up to the summit of Mt Tom. The weather never cleared for us and we never did see the sun. We reached the summit around 1pm, took a few pics and headed back to our packs.
We were traveling much slower than planned and already knew we wouldn't be able to summit Mt Willey but Mt Field may be possible. Our route was a lollipop over Tom and Field and then back down the Avalon Trail, eventually meeting up at the Avalon/A-Z trail intersection. At this point we knew we would eventually be hiking in the dark but the key was to get back to the Avalon/A-Z trail intersection before dark since this section would be virgin trails with no tracks to follow. At least from the intersection we could follow our footsteps back to the Highland Center.
We reached the summit of Mt Field at 3pm and it was already getting dark and a light snow was falling. Again, we stayed just long enough to snap a few photos and then we were finally heading down. The Avalon Trail was VERY hard to follow and most of the yellow blazes were faded so badly that we weren't always sure we were actually on the trail. In the woods, in the snow everything looks the same and it is deathly quiet.
Eventually we were able to make it back to the trail intersection by about 4:30pm, got out our headlamps and followed the Avalon Trail (and our footsteps) back to Crawford Notch. It was much easier going now but we were still concerned about the fairly technical water crossings which were tough enough in the daylight. I wasn't entirely sure how were going to do it in the dark but somehow we all managed without getting wet.

Finally, at 5:30pm, nearly 8hrs and 15 minutes after we started, we made it back to our car...relieved.
This was one of the most difficult hikes I've ever been on. Plodding through the virgin snow covered trails was brutally slow and exhausting. Thankfully we were all well prepared and had the proper gear. We were warm and dry.
We all made calls home to let everyone know we were safe (since we were 2 hrs later than planned), got in the car and headed south. Thankfully no one called in the helicopters or the search and rescue team. Now that would have been embarrassing. After a stop for dinner, we eventually made it home around 9pm and put an end to a fantastic day (and partial night).
I have some additional pics posted here. Oh, and if there was any confusion, this is the reason why I didn't race on Thanksgiving Day.

Two More 4,000 Footers in the Bag

I took a vacation day on Friday and decided to go hiking with a friend of mine from work. We picked a couple of peaks which neither of us have done before: Mt. Passaconaway (4,043 ft) and Mt. Whiteface (4,020 ft), both located in the Sandwich Range. The two mountains form a large natural bowl.

We headed up Dicey's Mill Trail from the Ferncroft Parking area, reaching the summit of Mt. Passaconaway in about 2hrs. Not a bad hike for most of the way although the last 1/2 mile was quite steep. The summit is mostly wooded but there are a couple of side paths that allow some views...if the weather cooperated. We were pretty much socked in the clouds. It also started to rain as we neared the summit and with temps in the mid 30's, it was obviously a cold rain. Stayed just long enough to take a couple of viewless pics and have a bite to eat and then we were off to Mt. Whiteface to the southwest.

We followed the Rollings Trail along the ridge over to Mt. Whiteface. The rain was coming down pretty good now and the wind had also picked up. Thankfully we were somewhat protected by the trees and the fact the trail stayed more to the east of the ridge line. The rain switched over to freezing rain and eventually snow on our hike over. Just enough to make everything white and allow you to leave tracks, but still it was snow. Snow in the first week of October, not what I was expecting! At times we had some nice views down into the bowl to the east, with some very serious drops from the trail. Mt. Passaconaway was also visible in the distance as the skies were slowly starting to clear. Freezing rain, wind and cold temps made for an uncomfortable hike, even though we were both well prepared for the weather. The true summit of Mt. Whiteface is actually wooded but there is a 'false summit' further south as the trail crosses over some of the steep ledge which probably gives this mountain its name. By this time the sun had made an appearance and the views were much improved. Not perfect but at least we could see where we came from and where we were going. The hike over from the summit of Mt. Passaconaway to Mt. Whiteface took about 2hrs but at least it wasn't raining/snowing anymore. Several stops were made on and around Mt. Whiteface since there were several decent outlooks, including views of Mt. Chocorua and Squam Lake. The picture to the right shows the ridge from Mt. Passaconaway (Rollins Trail) with the bowl towards the right of the ridge.

We could see the parking area off in the distance as well so we knew we still had a long hike ahead of us, although thankfully at this point it would be mostly downhill. We would follow the Blueberry Ridge Trail all the way back to the parking area. The first 1/2 mile or so was brutally steep, descending sharply over the ledges, nearly vertical. It was slow going at best but once off the ledge the trail descended more gradually through the hardwoods allowing us to keep a decent pace going for most of the way, finally reaching the parking area in just under 2hrs. The pic to the left was taken from the Ferncroft parking area with Mt. Whiteface off in the distance. Overall we covered about 12.5 miles and hiked for about 6 1/2 hrs total (including stops). The weather wasn't ideal but it didn't totally suck either. We were afforded some fine views on the way over to Whiteface and on Mt. Whiteface as well. I think I've finally decided to retire my hiking boots. I've had the same boots for over 20+ years. Talk about getting your money's worth!