Pete_Hickey
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Although I'm sort of working on the NH48, I hadn't made it over to NH since last winter. Unfortunately, I've been wasting too much time climbing peaks for fun, so I finally decided to put aside the fun and get to work.
Cantdog suggested an itinerary for me, and graciously offered to be my guide. The plan was, to do a two car traverse of the Willey range on Saturday, then Hale as a 'going home' peak on Sunday.
We met at the very civilized hour of 8:00AM, booted up, left my car at Crawford Notch, and we headed to the other trailhead. We passed it, then went back and forth looking for it, until we came to the realization that the trailhead arking was buried under unplowed snow, so we went back to Crawford Notch where we would begin and end our hike.
We started off without snowshoes, but before long we decided that it would be easier with them. Not because of the depth of the snow, but for traction. Without them, we were sliding back an inch or so with each step.
Brook crossings were relatively easy, and before long, we were at the junction of the Avalon trail, which we took. Arriving at the spur trail up Avalon, I told Cantdog, "Not on my list, I'm not going to run up it." A decision I later regretted.
I guess it was a combination of wearing heavy boots for the first time, first time on snowshoes (first time this season), being unused to the more awkward gait when walking with snowshoes... Ahhhh OK. I can't make excuses. I was out of shape, and had a hard time keeping up with Cantdog.
Before long we were on the summit of Field. We stopped for a snack, when suddenly these two huge birds swooped down on me, stealing food right from my hands. I was terrified, but Cantdog was fearless, claiming they were harmless. Look at this:
http://newmud.comm.uottawa.ca/~pete/tmp/nh1.jpg
The trail to Willey was unbroken, and we headed off in that direction. I found it somewhat long--or at least longer than I expected, with too many ups and downs. By the time we arrived at it's summit, it had clouded over, and was snowing. We stayed a bit for a snack, but then started heading back to Field, where the killer birds were no longer seen. Cantdog suggested it was due to the snow, but I suspect they were hidden away, feeding on a freshly killed hiker.
The trip to Tom went rather quickly. Cantdog pointed out the beautiful view of the Pemi Wilderness that we didn't see, and before long, we were heading down toward the car. Along the way, the binding left my very old Sherpas, although it did remain on my feet.
We headed to 'The Bunkhouse' at Lyons Hospitality suite, were we saw the 'MicheaalJ-mobile', but MichealJ was nowhere to be found. After supper, I went out to write
echo ISGG | tr A-MN-Z N-ZA-M
in the snow on the windshield of the MichaelJ-mobile, I was too late, as MichealJ and Christine were there.
The next morning was sunny and warm: a beautiful day for hiking. Cantdog and I bid farewell to MichealJ and Christine, and headed to climb Hale. A easy peak, but it was tough for an easy peak. We were along climbing that peak. One thing that I found surprising was that on such a nice morning, there was nobody else climbing that peak.
I barebooted the hike, and Cantdog wore snowshoes. She clearly had the advantage in some areas, but not everywhere. She also did not have an advantage the numerous times her snowshoes came undone.
On the final bit out, we leapfrogged Happyfeet and his son several times, as we stopped to re-attach snowshoes. Before long, we were back at the car, biding farewell after my delightful trip to the whites.
Cantdog suggested an itinerary for me, and graciously offered to be my guide. The plan was, to do a two car traverse of the Willey range on Saturday, then Hale as a 'going home' peak on Sunday.
We met at the very civilized hour of 8:00AM, booted up, left my car at Crawford Notch, and we headed to the other trailhead. We passed it, then went back and forth looking for it, until we came to the realization that the trailhead arking was buried under unplowed snow, so we went back to Crawford Notch where we would begin and end our hike.
We started off without snowshoes, but before long we decided that it would be easier with them. Not because of the depth of the snow, but for traction. Without them, we were sliding back an inch or so with each step.
Brook crossings were relatively easy, and before long, we were at the junction of the Avalon trail, which we took. Arriving at the spur trail up Avalon, I told Cantdog, "Not on my list, I'm not going to run up it." A decision I later regretted.
I guess it was a combination of wearing heavy boots for the first time, first time on snowshoes (first time this season), being unused to the more awkward gait when walking with snowshoes... Ahhhh OK. I can't make excuses. I was out of shape, and had a hard time keeping up with Cantdog.
Before long we were on the summit of Field. We stopped for a snack, when suddenly these two huge birds swooped down on me, stealing food right from my hands. I was terrified, but Cantdog was fearless, claiming they were harmless. Look at this:
http://newmud.comm.uottawa.ca/~pete/tmp/nh1.jpg
The trail to Willey was unbroken, and we headed off in that direction. I found it somewhat long--or at least longer than I expected, with too many ups and downs. By the time we arrived at it's summit, it had clouded over, and was snowing. We stayed a bit for a snack, but then started heading back to Field, where the killer birds were no longer seen. Cantdog suggested it was due to the snow, but I suspect they were hidden away, feeding on a freshly killed hiker.
The trip to Tom went rather quickly. Cantdog pointed out the beautiful view of the Pemi Wilderness that we didn't see, and before long, we were heading down toward the car. Along the way, the binding left my very old Sherpas, although it did remain on my feet.
We headed to 'The Bunkhouse' at Lyons Hospitality suite, were we saw the 'MicheaalJ-mobile', but MichealJ was nowhere to be found. After supper, I went out to write
echo ISGG | tr A-MN-Z N-ZA-M
in the snow on the windshield of the MichaelJ-mobile, I was too late, as MichealJ and Christine were there.
The next morning was sunny and warm: a beautiful day for hiking. Cantdog and I bid farewell to MichealJ and Christine, and headed to climb Hale. A easy peak, but it was tough for an easy peak. We were along climbing that peak. One thing that I found surprising was that on such a nice morning, there was nobody else climbing that peak.
I barebooted the hike, and Cantdog wore snowshoes. She clearly had the advantage in some areas, but not everywhere. She also did not have an advantage the numerous times her snowshoes came undone.
On the final bit out, we leapfrogged Happyfeet and his son several times, as we stopped to re-attach snowshoes. Before long, we were back at the car, biding farewell after my delightful trip to the whites.
And yes, Hale can be a pretty hard easy mountain.
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