marty
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- Apr 9, 2004
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After a 10 week absence, I was finally able to get a free day to hike on Wednesday, December 28. Was delighted to find that new VFTT member Ray was able to join me.
We both were excited about the weather and the opportunity to both do our first Official Winter 4K. At the same time, we both felt some trepidation. While we both have done some easy winter hiking and some 4ks during the transition seasons, this would be our first 4k in real winter conditions.
We got up early and drove to 19 Mile Brook Trail parking lot. The weather was quite pleasant (in the mid to upper 20's and no wind). Headed out at 8:45 am.
The trail was nicely packed snow with very little ice, easily barebootable. The only obstacle was bent over trees down below, which was a bit of a challenge for me, as my 30 inch snowshoes extend a bit higher than my head and were getting hung up.
We met several folks folks on the trail, most coming down from the hut. Met one group who knew VFTT and we traded the Alligator Egg password. He did not identify his member name, however. Maybe he is a lurker!
As we neared the hut, we got to experience the beauty of Crawford Notch. We stopped and marveled at the frozen Carter lakes, the rock fields and the steep cliffs of Wildcat A and Carter Dome. We arrived at the Carter Notch hut in exactly two hours, hiking at a pretty fast pace. Chatted with some awesome folks there, had a bite to eat and geared ourselves up for the summit ascent.
Up Carter-Moriah we went. It was quite steep and the snow was quite deep. We were working very hard, but not going very far, so we switched to snowshoes. They definitely helped, as we able to float much better on the snow and also get some additional traction. Ray's sporty new MSR Denali EVOs were especially effective, but my old Atlas 1033's were still up for the task.
The ascent was still quite slow and tiring. Occasional views of the Presidentials to the west and the distant horizon to the south definitely kept our spirits up. Ray pointed out that the beauty of the gray clouds moving over the Presidential Range would have made a spectactular black and white photo. He was quite right!
We also noticed that it was getting warmer as we got higher. This is because we were experiencing a temperature inversion yesterday. I noticed earlier that it was 23 degrees on Mt Washington at 4 am this day, whereas it was below zero in Whitefield and Berlin, NH. We got to the summit around 12:30 pm. It was windy up top, but still quite comfortable. There was a nice viewpoint just northwest of the summit, where we got to see some great views of the Presidentials, as well as Gorham and beyond to our north.
We had read from previous VFTT posts that the Carter Dome Trail was blowdown city, so we chose to head back down 19 Mile Brook. At first it was easy. We glided down quickly. As we got down to the steeper sections, it became very tricky. There are still some exposed rocks and lots of turns to negotiate. We both slipped a few times and like other hikers had done, had to resort to a few butt slides. There was one tricky blowdown just below a steep section that would have been a scary navigational hazard if one was barebooting without a traction aid.
The rest of the hike was quick and uneventful. We kept our snowshoes on and headed back down. Got to our vehicle (my famous silver Toyota Tacoma with the VFTT Decal) at 3:20 PM and headed back to Massachusetts, stopping at a Subway and wolfing down foot long subs as if they were finger sandwiches.
This was NH #47 for me, with only Carrigain to go. Am also at #58 of the New England 67. Hope to finish both lists next year. For Ray, it was NH #26.
Ray, it was a pleasure to once again hike with you. This was clearly one of the nicest hikes I have ever done! I look forward to doing it again soon.
Marty
We both were excited about the weather and the opportunity to both do our first Official Winter 4K. At the same time, we both felt some trepidation. While we both have done some easy winter hiking and some 4ks during the transition seasons, this would be our first 4k in real winter conditions.
We got up early and drove to 19 Mile Brook Trail parking lot. The weather was quite pleasant (in the mid to upper 20's and no wind). Headed out at 8:45 am.
The trail was nicely packed snow with very little ice, easily barebootable. The only obstacle was bent over trees down below, which was a bit of a challenge for me, as my 30 inch snowshoes extend a bit higher than my head and were getting hung up.
We met several folks folks on the trail, most coming down from the hut. Met one group who knew VFTT and we traded the Alligator Egg password. He did not identify his member name, however. Maybe he is a lurker!
As we neared the hut, we got to experience the beauty of Crawford Notch. We stopped and marveled at the frozen Carter lakes, the rock fields and the steep cliffs of Wildcat A and Carter Dome. We arrived at the Carter Notch hut in exactly two hours, hiking at a pretty fast pace. Chatted with some awesome folks there, had a bite to eat and geared ourselves up for the summit ascent.
Up Carter-Moriah we went. It was quite steep and the snow was quite deep. We were working very hard, but not going very far, so we switched to snowshoes. They definitely helped, as we able to float much better on the snow and also get some additional traction. Ray's sporty new MSR Denali EVOs were especially effective, but my old Atlas 1033's were still up for the task.
The ascent was still quite slow and tiring. Occasional views of the Presidentials to the west and the distant horizon to the south definitely kept our spirits up. Ray pointed out that the beauty of the gray clouds moving over the Presidential Range would have made a spectactular black and white photo. He was quite right!
We also noticed that it was getting warmer as we got higher. This is because we were experiencing a temperature inversion yesterday. I noticed earlier that it was 23 degrees on Mt Washington at 4 am this day, whereas it was below zero in Whitefield and Berlin, NH. We got to the summit around 12:30 pm. It was windy up top, but still quite comfortable. There was a nice viewpoint just northwest of the summit, where we got to see some great views of the Presidentials, as well as Gorham and beyond to our north.
We had read from previous VFTT posts that the Carter Dome Trail was blowdown city, so we chose to head back down 19 Mile Brook. At first it was easy. We glided down quickly. As we got down to the steeper sections, it became very tricky. There are still some exposed rocks and lots of turns to negotiate. We both slipped a few times and like other hikers had done, had to resort to a few butt slides. There was one tricky blowdown just below a steep section that would have been a scary navigational hazard if one was barebooting without a traction aid.
The rest of the hike was quick and uneventful. We kept our snowshoes on and headed back down. Got to our vehicle (my famous silver Toyota Tacoma with the VFTT Decal) at 3:20 PM and headed back to Massachusetts, stopping at a Subway and wolfing down foot long subs as if they were finger sandwiches.
This was NH #47 for me, with only Carrigain to go. Am also at #58 of the New England 67. Hope to finish both lists next year. For Ray, it was NH #26.
Ray, it was a pleasure to once again hike with you. This was clearly one of the nicest hikes I have ever done! I look forward to doing it again soon.
Marty
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