Wednesday, February 28, 2024

February 27, 2024 - Mt Pierce

 Marie, Michele, and Dick had a great weather day for a trip up the Crawford Path to the top of Mt Pierce, in the southern presidentials. The weather was quite mild, but the trail remained firmly packed and easy going with just microspikes. Higher up, there was a lot more snow still on the trees, and the bright blue sky above made great contrast. Out in the open a bit below the top, without trees around us, the strong breeze made things too chilly to stand around very long. Below are Michele and Marie, with a presidential background; farthest away and totally white are Jefferson, Reagan (formerly Clay), Washington, and Boott Spur. Coming closer from Mt Washington, just left of center, are first the white top of Monroe, then Franklin, and finally Eisenhower.

 

A couple hundred yards farther up and we were at the top of Pierce, and ready to head back down into the trees for a quick lunch.




Friday, February 23, 2024

February 23, 2024 - Mt Roberts

 Nine of us OTHH shared a common need/desire to get out of the house and walk up something. So a quick trip up Mt Roberts met that need/want very well. With the well-packed snow filling in everything, our ascent to the top went by in about 1:45, including a brief photo stop at the lower outlook. In one of those pics taken there, we have Tracy B, Patsy, Barbara, Cathy, Sally, Tracy R, Michele, and Wharton (pic by Dick). While that particular spot was largely bare, the trail itself was mostly on snow.

The skies kept clearing out as we ascended, ultimately becoming bright blue overhead on the way down. We really cruised on the descent, taking about 1:20 for that.

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Mt Tecumseh - February 15, 2024

 Six of us OTHH took a walk up a "white sidewalk through the woods," from the ski area parking lot to the top of Mt Tecumseh. Although quite chilly at the start, in the teens and with a slight breeze, we warmed up quickly enough with the uphill effort. Without much recent fresh snowfall and the weekend's warmth, and with all the hiker traffic that trail has seen, the trail was quite solid underneath. Thus we went with just microspikes. The only problem with this is that the steeper parts of the trail, with an unrelenting even grade, really stretch those calf muscles, and uncomfortably so for some of us who aren't kids anymore. I wonder if anyone makes microspikes with heel lifters - hmmm.

Below are Dick, Pam, Jane, Michele, and Tom, huddled together at the top (pic by Barbara). That's snow-capped Mt Washington far off in the distance, to the left. We didn't hang around long at the top, as it was rather cold and breezy, so it was back down into the trees in the lee of the summit cone.


Halfway down, where the trail provides an outlook by the side of one of the ski trails ("The Boneyard," I think). We stopped there for a snack and pics. Below are (front) Pam, Barbara, Jane, Dick, (rear) Tom, Michele.



Saturday, February 10, 2024

Moosilauke February 9, 2024

Four of us hiked to the summit of Moosilauke (4802 ft) on Friday. The weather cooperated and actually improved as we neared the summit. The temperature at the bottom was in the low 30s when we started, upper 30s at the summit and low 50s at the bottom when we finished. The trail was firmly packed down, so we only used microspikes. The views to the north, east and south were very nice. There was some haze to the west so we couldn't see the Vermont mountains.

Below are Dick, Marie, Pam and Doug.



Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Soup and Snowshoe 2024

 The Soup and Snowshoe outings have been enjoyable for many, and we thank all the hosts and hostesses, as well as everyone out for the outing, and those contributing with soup, cookies, bread and other delectables.

Here are a few pictures from the past month below.   Space is limited on these outings, so they are an RSVP occasion (as are most all of our hikes even without soup).  I hope you can make it to at least one this season.  For more information please visit the Snowshoe page on the blog, and/or contact Cathy Crooker via email.






Sunday, January 14, 2024

Potash January 11, 2024

Many of us braved the trail conditions on January 11 for a hike to Potash Mtn, a 52 WAV off the Kanc. The weather was superb, again. The trail conditions were typical based on the recent snow, rain and below freezing temperature. The crust on top wasn't strong enough to support us so even with snowshoes for the entire hike, we ended up breaking through the crust. Many thanks to Pam for leading and breaking trail for most of the hike. We'll have to put some rocks in her pack. There were 13 of us to start the hike and 6 made it to the summit. Everyone said that they enjoyed the hike and being with the group in the fresh air. The views from the summit were great and we even got a peak at Washington above the clouds.

While there aren't pictures of everybody, the group consisted of Barb, Carol, Deb, Jane, Marie, Michele, Pam, Patsy, Andy, Doug, John, Steve and Tom.






Welch Dickey January 2, 2024

A group of us hiked the Welch Dickey loop near Waterville Valley on January 2nd. The weather was superb. The trail condition was challenging. We found lots of areas of pretty hard ice. The microspikes that we brought were used for most of the hike and were very effective. Even so, there were a couple of falls but fortunately only minor injuries. The views did not disappoint us.

Several of us stopped in at the Mad River Coffee House for lunch after the hike and were very impressed with the cafe.

Pictures from the hike are below. The group consisted of (L to R more or less) Katherine, Carol, Michele, Dick, Steve, Doug and Pam.