Sat the 20th, Alex's "birthday" hike

[TrishandAlex]

Sat the 20th will be Alex's last hike before she turns 6.

If the weather is nice, we will attempt Waumbek by the Starr King Trail. We don't know how far we'll get, since we are total beginners with snowshoes. We don't care if we don't get very far, we're just going to have some fun. But we may make it to the top, who knows.

If the weather is REALLY cooperative (little wind...unlikely...), we'll try Moosilauke again via the Glencliff trail. This time with plenty of handwarmers.

If the weather sucks, we'll just do a short slip-and-slide .1 mile trek, just to say we hiked.

I'll check weather repeatedly as day approaches and on Friday will make a final call as to which trail we'll be on.

If anyone would like to join us, please pm. I will bring chocolate to share.

(I haven't told Alex this is a "birthday" hike, it will be a very casual affair, but with chocolate and perhaps me singing the birthday song very loudly at some point).

 

[peakbagger]

Waumbek is good choice. I seriously doubt that there will be enough snow for snowshoes unless we get hit latet this week, but traction aids are going to be important. Dependent upon the plowing, you may need to park on the south side of RT 2 rather than the normal trailhead. There is a sharp transition from Hardwoods to softwoods about 2/3rds of the way up, that catches some folks. Dependent upon the weather, it can be a lot colder in this section if there is Northwest wind.

Whatever you do, plan on having some very friendly gray jays at some point.

I am not sure if Sancho the dog is around this winter, but if you encounter a very friendly dog down below, be aware that its only a ruse, the dog loves to steal anything that is not attached to you

 

[TrishandAlex]

Thanks for the tips, peakbagger.

We have yet to see any grayjays, so it would be really nice having that experience! We'll look out for that dog, too!

(And we won't be alone, there's at least one other person coming with us at this point).

If snowshoes aren't required and microspikes will do the trick, then perhaps we'll summit.

 

[MadRiver]

I did Mt. Crescent on Saturday and halfway to Mt. Wolf on Sunday and both required snowshoes, so I’m not sure why you think Waumbek wouldn’t require snowshoes given it is north of both peaks?

 

[peakbagger]

Waumbek get a heck of a lot more traffic than Mt Crescent, so the track is usually beaten down soon after any storm. About the only time snowshoes are needed is after a large snowstorm and the current forecast doesnt have anything significant between today and the 20th. (then again it could change).

Waumbek is roughly west of Mt Crescent, but has an unusual microclimate as it seems to be just far enough away from the Northern presidentials to be out of the shadow. I have climbed it several times where the sun was out on Waumbek and the Presis were socked in. Mt Crescent on the other hand usually gets whatever is on the presis.

 

[MadRiver]

Waumbek get a heck of a lot more traffic than Mt Crescent, so the track is usually beaten down soon after any storm. About the only time snowshoes are needed is after a large snowstorm and the current forecast doesnt have anything significant between today and the 20th. (then again it could change).

Waumbek is roughly west of Mt Crescent, but has an unusual microclimate as it seems to be just far enough away from the Northern presidentials to be out of the shadow. I have climbed it several times where the sun was out on Waumbek and the Presis were socked in. Mt Crescent on the other hand usually gets whatever is on the presis.

Thanks. I haven't done it in winter yet, so that is good to know.

 

[peakbagger]

Never mind my previous comment, Bring Snowshoes! (if the forecast stays true).

 

[TrishandAlex]

Yes, we'll bring the shoes!

Still waffling between Moose and Waumbek, since as of right now, on Sat the area around Moosilauke is supposed to be 10 degrees warmer than Jefferson, NH (Waumbek). Also supposed to have zero-minimal winds at 3000 and 6000 feet, all day Sat.

I'll wait until Friday (giving time for the forecast to change a half dozen times..), before making a final call.

 

[Silverfox]

What a nice birthday memory..

Waumbek a great choice..pretty sheltered most of the way....

I've done waumbek..(not this year yet) several times in the winter and one of the places i bring newbies..I guess a 6 year old counts..

typically the approach trail to Starr King gets pretty packed out and enough sun exposure to stay firm until 3500 feet or so,,above the spring roughly as you enter the evergreens the snow is softer ..

I suspect that snowshoes would be a big help however on the stretch between Starr King and Waumbek as the trail widens out and does not get packed out as well..I will PM you but this might be a date that works for me but in any event have a great time...

 

[TrishandAlex]

Moosilauke, take two

I've explained the options, weather, and chances of making it to the summit to Alex. Instead of Waumbek, she chose a second attempt at Moosilauke, with the clear understanding that if I need to turn us back, I will. She said she's fine with that, as long as she can butt-slide parts of the Glencliff trail again on the descent. She had great, great fun with that.

The temps are forecasted to be the same as they were on our last attempt. However, the winds are supposed to be minimal (5-20mph on Washington, so probably less on Moosilauke). In any event, I'll use handwarmers this time around, we'll give it a go, and we'll turn back if we need to.

We are leaving obscenely, obscenely early.

A few others are joining us, some will leave at a more reasonable hour and catch up to us on the trail. Anyone who wants to hike and actually start out at a terrible, terrible hour (think headlamps), pm me and I'll give you our start time. Otherwise, sleep in a bit and join us, you'll undoubtedly catch up.

There may be one or two inches of new snow on the ground Sat morning. We'll being the snowshoes, don't know if we'll actually need them. Microspikes or the like will probably be necessary.

I will check forecast again tonight and tomorrow morning before we head out -- if that storm system is predicted to come early (ex., Sat night instead of Sunday), or if the forecast changes for the worse in any way for Sat, then we'll alter plans and I'll post a message tomorrow night or ealry Sat morning.

 

[TrishandAlex]

We had a lot of fun today, though we only got about half a mile in.

I had declared we would start early, yet the morning snow delayed me. We definitely received more than the forecasted "dusting!" I had to dig out our car from a small drift and shovel our driveway to get to the road. It was a long, dark, snowy drive to the trailhead, and we arrived later than I had planned. Hampshire and his really cool 6 year old son, Levi, arrived soon after we did. I had hoped to arrive much earlier and therefore be ready to go by 6:45....but that didn't happen so Hampshire ended up waiting for us while we got ready (it always takes us a while).

We started out, Hampshire breaking trail. First I thought it would be easier for Alex to NOT use snowshoes, but then realized she would be better off with them on. For us, there were many starts and stops and adjusting of clothes and gloves. Levi happily tramped along in the snow, having a grand time. Alex was NOT having a grand time. Her hands were cold (in spite of the warmers), and she felt like the snowshoes were too much work for this kind of a hike. However, when she had them off, she was walking through snow and she didn't like that either. In short order she literally became frustrated to tears. I told her we didn't have to go far, and she told me she didn't want to if the entire trail was going to be like this. She was upset and worried that the others would think badly of her (!). I assured her that no one would mind at all, and that this was hard stuff. I reminded her that she had not hiked through snow like this before, and that it was okay if she didn't like it. (I had gone to bed last night expecting just a dusting of snow, I had thought microspikes would do it today -- forecast was slightly off!) I told her we would go to the Huuricane Trail intersection (about another .1 - .2 miles) and take a rest, and maybe just hang out there for the day if she liked.

We got to the first field, and I swear my brain cells are dying off. I insisted we had to swerve to the left ( I was thinking of the second field), and I led us around in circles trying to find the right way to go for about 15 minutes (I am so sorry Hampshire!). I continue to feel really bad about this...first, they have to wait for us to get ready, then, we go round and round in snowshoe circles for a while because I SWEAR the trail must be right over there....if I were Hampshire, I would have whacked me with a hiking pole.

MadRiver and LRiz showed up just as Hampshire figured out the way on his own. I immediately told them that we were probably not going to get very far today with Alex. They, wonderful people that they are, immediately said they didn't care, and that we could just SwissBob down nearby hills and have a good time.

We got to the Hurricane Trail intersection, and Hampshire and Levi continued up for a bit while the rest of us stopped to rest. MadRiver broke out his SwissBob (yea!) and told Alex how to use it. We hiked in a bit, up a little hill, then Alex proceeded to happily sled. Not long afterward, Hampshire and Levi came back down, then Levi joined in the festivites. The kids went up and down the hill over and over while the grown-ups stood around and ate some Hershey bars.

It was a nice time, thank you, folks.

After an hour (?) or so, we called it a day. It sure does get cold when you're standing around and not hiking!

On the way back to the car, Alex had fun walking through some waist-deep (for her) snow and smacking some snow off the trees. She told me that she had had a great time, and that she really likes everybody.

At the car, I passed out some cupcakes, lit a fire-proof match, and we sang "Happy Birthday."

No peaks were reached today, but Alex very much enjoyed the day, thanks to Hampshire, Levi, MadRiver and LRiz.

SO -- three things I've learned over the past month:

1) If hiking with Alex in winter conditions, the trail MUST be broken out and in a nice hard condition before we arrive, or it's just not happening. Alex does microspikes just fine, they're a beautiful thing. Snowshoes, however....fine for a couple of relaxed miles around our house, not at all fine for a 4K. She was miserable trying to hike the very beginning of the trail today.

2) Under a certain temperature, it seems impossible to keep Alex's hands warm enough while using poles. I can keep her hands warm with different mitten/glove combos, but not in any way so that she's able to really grip and use her poles. She's come to rely on those poles now, and she cannot hike very well without them. So it's either cold hands with poles (no good), or warm hands and no poles (very hard for her).

So....any more wintery 4Ks with Alex will have to be done in relatively mild temps (25 degrees plus or so) on well-packed out trails (no snowshoes needed). Which may mean she only gets one or two 4Ks in before May...or maybe none at all, who knows, but that's okay....time to check out the smaller hikes and peaks.

3) I really like getting out there, microspikes, snowshoes, whatever. I'm looking forward to the coming winter 4K season.