Mt. Carrigain (4700')

Foliage of the White Mountains

Carrigain's ridge looking up to the viewing platform

U.S. Geological Survey Carrigain Summit Marker

Viewing platform on summit of Mt. Carrigain

Terrified of heights, standing on a platform 50' the air that is swaying in the 70mph gusts

Two other hikers that had camped out and beat me to the summit at 9am

Mt. Adams / Mt. Madison

Day II: Hiking

Freel Peak (10,881'), Job's Sister (10,823'), and Jobs Peak (10,633').

Tripyramids

Definitely a hike that gives me a new appreciation for the term 'slide' when describing a trail.  I'll try to break free of all my black & white shots of late, but for the time being, here's some more...

South Slide

A hiker who would soon be disappointed when he realized he was not near the summit 

North Slide trail

Presidential Range Hike (cont.)

So like any idiot, I decided the best thing to do while recovering from illness was to do an 11-hour hike across the Presidential Range, tagging Mt. Monroe, Mt. Washington, Mt. Clay, and Mt. Jefferson before turning back.  In addition to the shot posted yesterday, some pictures from the trek are below:

The famous cog-railway up to the summit

At one point, hikers were taking pictures of the cog boxcar while passengers on-board were taking pictures of us hikers

The trails were well-kept

Looking up to the summit of Mt. Washington from the route up Clay

The Wildcats in B&W (mostly)

Didn't really see anybody out until late in the afternoon.

Well, that's not entirely true...  

I was about four hours into the day, peacefully reading on a ledge.  Birds and butterflies were flying about me, the sun was beaming down, warming my tired spirit, and there wasn't a single sound disturbing the peace in the air. 

Suddenly, I heard a small rustle behind me.  

Then some twigs cracked.  Alarmed, the birds had grown silent and flown to higher ground.  

Then I heard what could only be described as an explosion of incoherent grumbling as the forest behind me was being completely annihilated.  I stumbled (cutting my leg) before jumping up--positive I was about to be rudely introduced to my first bear--only to find an utterly defeated (semi) thru-hiker who had emerged out of nowhere. 

His rugged appearance and inability to maintain contact with a clearly marked trail practically demanded his first line to be an exhausted, "what year is it?!"  Instead, eyes glazed and speaking only in a cracked whisper, he recited the phrase, "what were we thinking" about ten times, cushioning each recital with as much profanity as his drained lungs could pour out.  I'll add that he was alone and I never ran into anyone the rest of the day that would prove the use of 'we' to be correct.  That said, his pack was really nice, and considering mine broke and I had used rope and tape to tie it onto my back, I was quite jealous.

By the time I backtracked to the 4th and 5th peaks of the Wildcats, I ran into the tourist trap one would expect on a mountain aided by the convenience of a Gondola - people shuffled out of the vessel, rushed a picture of themselves to mark their achievement, and then jumped back on to ride down the mountain with such pleasantries as air conditioning and tinted windows.  

When I emerged from the woods--walking directly through the crowd, covered in mud, blood, and with a backpack taped and tied to my body--I could feel all their eyes turn towards me as a stillness suddenly flooded the air.  I imagined them whispering to each other, "You mean, he actually walked up here?  But...but...how?  And why!?!? I can't even send a text message - there's no signal!"  

I wonder what hiking will be like in 50 years...

I almost stepped on a squirrel.  Woulda been a first for me.

Relaxed and read on cliff-face looking over to Carter

Eventually found my way out of the woods for a clear view of Mt. Washington

Mt. Whiteface

Two straight weeks, two straight failed attempts at reaching the summit of Whiteface.  Scaled the ledges just fine with the ice axe and crampons, but with several feet of fresh powder up top, we simply ran out of time.  I was probably no more than a couple hundred yards from the summit when I turned back.

This mountain is one frustrating winter climb...

 

We luckily were able to follow old tracks most of the way up

 

Sun came out just for this opening

 Just shy of summit and very steep

 Lonely

Mt. Passaconaway (via Diceys Mill Tr.)

Accidentally made the mistake of hiking in the exact opposite direction as planned; don't ask what I was thinking, but I never go off plan like this.  Was planning to go Diceys Mill to Blueberry Ledge cutoff, up Blueberry to the summit of Mt. Whiteface, and then Rollins Tr back to Diceys up to the summit of Passaconaway and Diceys back to the bottom.  I planned this way so that, in the event that the ledges were too risky, I could simply turn back safely.  Going in the opposite direction practically required me to commit to heading down them.

Despite my original planned route, I ended up going straight up Diceys to Passaconaway first and then attempted to rush to Whiteface via Rollins.  After about 3/4 mile, decided the trail was too loosely packed to be able to hit the pace I needed to be successful before sunset and turned back (assuming I deemed the ledges too risky to descend, I needed to do the 4.6 round-trip on Rollins in 2 hours, and then the 3.7 down to trailhead in 1 hour... an indescribably brisk pace).  

Only saw one other on the trail today.  Microspikes the entire way and crampons for the final icy ascent.  Snowshoes recommended for Rollins Tr.   

Round-trip (including the Whiteface failed attempt): 10.6 miles / 5 hours.

 

Start of the day, looking up towards the Blueberry Ledges

 

Near the summit of Mt. Passaconaway

 

Mt. Moosilauke

Brutal conditions along the ridge up to the summit of Moosilauke today; 60 mph sustained winds and 50 feet of visibility made for a tough going.   Barely took the camera out at all today; the wind managed to blow snow up and into my pack, effectively filling it (and my previously comfortable camera) with the stuff.  With how well my pack was sealed, I still can't believe my misfortune on this one.

Lack of visibility and the barren conditions made it very easy to get lost across the 1.8 mile ridge loop, and any exposed skin was immediately subject to frostbite.  Ice quickly formed across the pack and gear and left even the zippers on my jacket lightly frozen in place.

Looked like about six of us hit summit today, though conditions were reportedly substantially better in the morning given one hiker who mentioned he peaked without a face mask or goggles (impossible by the time I reached summit).

Shared the trail with Coco the stray Chocolate Lab on the way down, who was bitterly disappointed when I practically had to pull her out of the driver's seat of my car to inform her she could not come home with me.

Today's trip makes for 100 miles of hiking in the White Mountains in the past three months.

7.8 miles / 4hrs 45min

 

What to wear to a bank if you want to get LOTS of attention

 

Along final ascent up to Carriage Rd

 

Ice began forming on our gear (and my camera)

Descending after stumbling across the summit

Mt. Hale via Zealand Rd, Hale Brk Tr

I was the only one on the trail today; maybe because it was Super Bowl Sunday? Cold and windy?  Or maybe just no one was in the mood today to add the extra six miles necessary to hike this mountain in the winter.  Didn't really take the camera out much--in the clouds all day with lots of blowing snow and no views.  Decided to just enjoy the serenity of the hike.  10 miles / 4hrs 45min.

Lessons Learned on the Trail Today:
1.) Get more than 4 hours of sleep before hiking unless you want even the car ride to the mountain to be physically exhausting.
2.) I love bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches.
3.) Bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches do not love me.
4.) Getting lost within the first 10 minutes of hitting the trials is incredibly embarrassing, even if no one is around to laugh at you.

 

Zealand Road looking up towards the mountains

Thermometer appears to read -15

Mt. Hale Summit: windy. cold.

Mt. Pierce & Mt. Eisenhower via Crawford Path

I was planning to only do Mt. Pierce today, but when I found myself summiting it nearly an hour earlier than planned, and given the indescribably perfect weather, I quickly found myself lumbering towards Eisenhower as well.  Zero wind until that peak, not a cloud in the sky, and mid-teens all day.  Sitting at the summit and staring up at Mt. Washington just three miles up-trail--it was very hard to turn back. 10 miles / 5 hours.

Lessons I Learned On The Trail Today:
(1) I'm very susceptible to peer pressure on the trials.  A mere single hiker saying, “You have to keep going to the next peak” is enough to ensure I do exactly that.

(2) You know that famous Robert Frost poem with the ending: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference.”  Yeah, that guy never hiked in the winter.  Let me tell you, I tried taking the path less traveled, and you know what I got out of it?  I probably spent a quarter of my day backtracking my own foot steps.

(3) Give me a cup of coffee before a hike and I will fly up the mountain.  I probably wasted a good hour taking pictures across the ridge and I still averaged 2 mph the whole hike.  I can only imagine if I didn't have my camera with me....

Summit of Mt. Eisenhower, looking up at Mt. Washington

Near the summit of Pierce

Looking down the ridge over to Mt. Pierce

Following the trail up to Washington

Honestly, I fell here.  Therefore, it was the perfect opportunity to take a picture.

 

So close to Washington...

 

One of the hardest hikes I've ever had to actually head back down from

Kinsmans via Fishin' Jimmy

Gorgeous day for a hike, though the clouds conveniently decided to rest about 100' below the summit of both peaks, so we never got to enjoy the view we saw hints of throughout the day.

Lessons I Learned On The Trail Today:
1.) Falling down the stairs of Lonesome Lake Hut is painful.  Do not attempt.
2.) When opting to stop-and-stretch the upper body, choose to do so when there is not a tree-limb directly above you with 2' of snow on it.  
3.) After eating on the trail, if approached by a dog, pet the animal with the hand that was not holding the sandwich.  Failure to comply will result in an interspecies battle to reacquire your glove (and possibly your hand).

 

North peak, facing South.  Closest thing to a view we got today

 

Beware of false summit at S. Kinsman; make sure you stand on this cairn

Overexposed North Kinsman summit

Creepiest Summit Picture Ever

S. Pack Monadnock

Well, I was supposed to hike Mt. Pierce today, but totally botched that one when I slept through my 5am alarm.  We decided to do a nice easy hike up South Pack to take advantage of the great weather.

Signs that should have read, "No Fires Permitted In Shelter.....Rabid Fisher Cats, Make Yourself Comfortable:"

The stairs up the fire tower at the summit were designed with a flair of incompetence--you know, the 'just place random beams of steal everywhere' approach to design: