I was awake by 0600 and then got ready for a hike. At 0700, I walked over to Jim and Cathy's townhome, like we'd discussed the night before, but found they weren't awake yet. To pass the time, I spent about an hour walking around the Red Jacket Resort (and trying to make up for the lack of steps yesterday). By 0800, I checked on my friends again and, this time, found they were ready for a delicious breakfast that Cathy made for us. Jim and Cathy planned to go skiing so I decided to drive up to Crawford Notch for a hike. I used NH-16 (actually encountered a train crossing the road!) and US-302 to get there and found the parking situation quite crowded when I arrived. Yikes! Somehow found a parking spot by about 1000. From the railway station, I used the Avalon Trail to reach another trail that climbed Mount Willard (2815’). The dusting of snow we got yesterday made everything look pretty, just like the beginning of Winter. Temps were close to 10 F and my extremities protested to being exposed to the elements. But the sun was bright and I’d heard the views from this summit were amazing. The trail ascended steadily, with only a few steep places, and I only had to stop a few times (and then only because other people were passing me on their way back down). It must be another sign that I’ve kept a good foundation of a fitness for the last few months because the 1.6 mile climb seemed easy. When I reached the top, I was able to spectacular views of Crawford Notch, below. I was able to see the AT ridge as it tracked from West to East: Zealand (and Willey), Webster, Jackson, Pierce, Eisenhower and Washington. Wow! The descent was pretty easy but, like I saw on Tecumseh, the “trail sledders” kept building slide-like conditions. Guessing that another overnight freeze will make the trail a lot more difficult. At the bottom (after about 3.5 miles), I wandered over to the AMC Highland Center to see if my membership has any perks… I got lunch at the cafeteria and explored the gift shop. Back at my car (1330), I got back on US-302 and drove back to Jackson. I then used the West Side Road to find Cathedral Ledge State Park. Fortunately, I was able to find a parking spot there and walked on some of the trails between there and Echo Lake State Park. It turned out that some of the trails I walked were included in my White Mountains Snowshoe Hikes book - cool! When I was finished (1500), I went back to the Red Jacket and spent the afternoon reading in my room. At about 1745, I walked over to Jim and Cathy's townhome and ate a delicious dinner (Cathy had made several pizzas). I met Jim's brother (a jazz musician from NYC) and we all had a great time talking, eating and drinking. Starting at about 2030, we watched the famous Kurosawa film called "The Hidden Fortress". It was pretty good but took a long time to develop. I ended up going back to my room at about 2230 and went straight to bed. What a great day of hiking!
