After an mentally exhausting week at work, I concluded that I needed a physically exhausting hike in the White Mountains to make me forget... When I last caught a glimpse of snow capped Moosilauke, southernmost peak (and 4000 Footer) in the White Mountains, I remember wishing that the temps would warm up enough so I could climb it. Recently (as happens every year), people have been rescued or died on that mountain during the winter months and I wasn’t about to join that list. I at least wanted to look at the mountain and not see any snow on it. Lucky me - the temps rose into the 50s/60s and stayed there for the whole week and this cleared out the white cap on the peak! I got a really early start on my drive (I-91, NH-10, NH-25) and arrived at the AT Trailhead on High Street in Benton at 0730 - I left my car (headed NOBO) within 15 minutes. It’s my understanding that many of the trails in NH predate the AT, so the signage kept referring to the Glencliff Trail but that was the white blazed route I wanted. Temps were expected to rise from the mid 40s up to the mid 70s (!) - I dressed light (2 layers) but carried as much emergency gear as I could in my fully-stuffed backpack. The first mile of the hike took me through (muddy) fields and on farm roads. Soon after the terrain started a steep incline, I started to see patches of ice and snow. At around the same time, I passed a hiker who was descending from the summit and he gave me a sort of safety check: “do you have micro spikes, warm clothes, food, etc.?” I did, of course, and actually felt like I overplanned - plus, the conditions didn’t seem to require so much concern from a fellow hiker. That’s when he dropped a bombshell: he said there was snow on the trail for almost the rest of the climb. I couldn’t understand it - I was on the southern side of the mountain, no snow was visible above me. Later, I figured out that most of the snow was in places with thick tree cover - but it was also directly on the trail because snowshoers had packed six months of snow right where I needed to walk... Put on my spikes and kept climbing. At first, the only thing that bothered me was the steepness of the trail - several months of walks on “the flat” and different muscles used for cross country skiing ganged up on me and made me wonder if I could make it. At least five people passed me (actually, they blew by me) while I was plodding along. But things got really tough after that: the snow that wasn’t packed on the 10-inch wide snowshoe trail was still soft, with no stability. Through lessons learned after several misplaced footfalls, I determined that the drifts on either side of me were almost three feet deep! My poles sank that far every time I tried to use them to keep my balance and even the spikes didn’t have the best traction at times - this led to an even more frustrating slowness in my pace. All I could do was decide to keep going. I’d noticed that the terrain map indicated that I was on varsity glide slope: 4000 foot climb in 4 miles - I felt every bit oh that in my body. At least an hour after I’d expected to start my backtrack, I saw a sign (near the South Peak) that said I had reached the Old Carriage Road. It also said I still had a mile to go... Fortunately, the trail was relatively flat. Even better: now I had a tremendous view in every direction! To the west (across the wide Connecticut River that lazily snaked through the Upper Valley), I could see a long ridge of north/south mountains in Vermont. To the east, I could see Lake Winnipesaukee - it dominated the horizon. Back to the south, I got a glimpse of the series of peaks I’d already climbed on the AT. Ahead (north), I caught my first glimpse of the summit of Moosilauke itself - a “bald” at 4800+ feet. And there were a LOT of people visible up there... Three of the people who’d passed me in the climb were already on their way back down but I passed more than 20 others - I think some came up from Kinsman Notch and others (less dressed for the elements) may have come up from the Dartmouth Ravine Lodge. I walked across the bald surface (not even any snow) of the peak, following a long series of cairns, and marveled at my luck - it was sunny and there was no wind. I got to pet a few dogs up there - that was nice. After finally reaching the top, I had to wait for about 10 minutes for a queue of people to get their photos (grrrr...). It might sound anticlimactic, but then I turned around and headed down the mountain again. Actually, while the crowds mostly drove me away, I was much more nervous about my footing during the steep descent. Fortunately, I made it safely to the bottom without falling - it took a LOT of concentration and more muscles than the climb had. I passed at least 20 more people who had just started their climbs. The forecasted high temps had come and everyone looked hot - I was very glad I’d started early... Ran into the other two people who’d passed me in the morning: college coeds who had climbed all the way up to a place where they could use their little “shovel sleds” - they didn’t care about the view! Made it to my car after almost 9 (hard fought) miles at about 1315. Returned home via the same route I'd used in the morning (NH-25, NH-10, I-91). Feeling humble about how much more prep I need to finish the Whites - but I got some more AT mileage in tough conditions! AT Today = 4.3 miles / Grand Total AT = 1801.8 miles / AT Left = 383.5 miles / NH 4000 Footer #6 of 48
