On Wednesday, March 18, Larry and Doug hiked to Whiteface (4019) and Passaconaway (4043) in the Sandwich Wilderness. The weather was superb; bright blue sky, no wind, temperature in the mid to upper 30s. We started from the parking lot on Ferncroft Road, hiked up using the Blueberry Ledge Trail to the Whiteface summit, across the ridge along the Rollins Trail to the Passaconaway summit and back down on the Dicey's Mill Trail. The trail had plenty of snow that was fairly well packed down. As long as we stayed on the center of the trail we didn't post hole.
The only issue we had was that the snow would clump together under the micro spikes. Sometimes there would be 4 to 6 inches of snow stuck to the bottom of our hiking boots. It made for slow and uncomfortable hiking until we were headed down and could take the spikes off. We want to ask the more experienced expert winter hikers if there is an alternative.
The views were superb. From the ledges on Whiteface, everything to the south was visible. Ossipee Lake, Winnipesaukee, the Belknaps including Gunstock, Ragged Mtn., Sunapee and Tenney Mtn. ski areas. Other vantage points provided views of Washington and the southern Presidentials, the Wildcats and Carter Dome and Chocorua.
The four pictures below were all taken from near the summit of Passaconaway. The pictures scan from the west, to northwest to north.
The picture below looks toward the west. From left to right are Sandwich Dome, Jennings Peak, Waterville Valley ski area and Tecumseh.
The picture below looks toward the northwest. From left to right are Waterville Valley and Tecumseh in the background and the three Tripyramids in the foreground. If you zoom in near the Middle Tripyramid, the snow capped summit of Moosilauke is just barely visible. Behind the North Tripyramid are the Osceolas.
The picture below also looks toward the northwest. From left to right are the two Kinsmans, the Flume and the snow capped Franconia Ridge. Owls Head is below Lafayette and Garfield is to the right of Lafayette. The last summit to the right is Carrigain and then the Signal Ridge. The Bonds, the Twins and the Hancocks might be visible in between Garfield and Carrigain but are difficult to pick out.
The picture below looks toward the north. From left to right are Carrigain again, Webster (above the Webster cliffs), the snow capped dome of Eisenhower and of course Washington.
Since Friday March 20 marks the first full day of Spring, this hike was our last "official" winter hike. We intend to continue hiking in April so please contact Doug if you are interested.
