My dad recently got me a book about snowshoeing in the White Mountains and I decided to try one of the hikes today. A bonus of the chosen route was that it followed the Appalachian Trail for part of the time - I was definitely excited to log some AT miles in the snow! I had to drop Mollie off at work this morning (because of the low temps) and couldn't get on the road until 1200. I used NH-10 and NH-25 to reach the little village of Glencliff (on the eastern side of Benton) and soon located the hiker parking lot (it was near the Nursing Home). The place was packed with cars from MA and CT for some reason (peak bagging?) but I managed to squeeze into the last spot (1330). Temps were still in the low teens so I spent about 15 minutes verifying survival gear before starting my walk. I had to carry my snowshoes for the first half mile because I was on the road surface - it was also where I used the AT. The book had mentioned parking at the entrance to (gravel) USFS-19 but I never saw it as I passed - this screwed up the mileage cues for where I was hoping to find the Blueberry Mountain Trail. I had to actually leave the ground completely to climb over the gate that blocked the road - not sure why it wasn’t open, since the gravel appeared to be plowed and well worn. After about a mile, I found a parking area off to the side and thought it might be the place I wanted. Perhaps I should have been more suspicious because there wasn’t any sign and there were boulders across the entrance to the lot... Regardless, I started into the woods on an old logging (?) road - there appeared to be sunken ruts that looked like a trail but no blazes or signage. Still, the direction seemed good and I didn’t mind the six inches of new snow that I had to plow through. The sun was out and, for the first hour, I could see snow-capped Moosilauke to the east almost the entire time. I passed through small forests of shivering aspens and noticed many animal tracks on the undisturbed snow. The road was pretty easy to follow but hadn’t apparently been cleared often - I had to clamber over lots of fallen trees, tentatively step through frozen creeks and wade through snow filled with sharp briars. I took a few turns at forks, thinking I was going the right way, but soon realized I was tracking further west than I’d expected. I had cell signal and was able to figure out that I was walking towards a massive geological landmark I’d seen from NH-25: the Owl’s Head. Dang... Even though the plan I’d had to summit Blueberry Mountain was out the window, I hoped to still see something cool and kept following the road. It eventually ended abruptly, though (in the ravine below the back of the Owl’s Head... Oh well! Headed back towards town - it was much faster and easier going since I had blazed the trail on my outbound leg. When I reached USFS-19 again, I decided to try to find the correct trailhead - it turned out to be about half a mile north (up a steep incline on the road) of where I’d chosen to hike. Hopefully, I can try the climb from there another time. Walked back to the car and saw some more good views of Moosilauke (looks VERY cold up there). At the parking lot (almost empty) by 1530. Not the hike I’d planned but I successfully walked/snowshoed about four miles on a cold February day - and got some AT mileage too. After this, I’m itching to try some more snowshoeing in the area again! I didn't rush going home because I was trying to time the end of Mollie's shift. So, after using NH-25 to reach the Connecticut River, I crossed into the southern part of Bradford (VT) and got on US-5. I hadn't been this way before and it gave me a chance to find the Drive In Movie Theater (in Fairlee) and take a detour to drive around Lake Fairlee. At the latter location, I was amazed to see how much people trust the lake ice - big trucks, lots of fishing huts and plenty of people! I, however, was not one of them... After getting back on US-5, I drove to Norwich, crossed the River into Hanover and picked up Mollie up at Molly's (1730). Another nice winter day in the Upper Valley! AT Today = 0.4 miles / Grand Total AT = 1767.2 miles
