.February 24, 2007
Jason from work will be joining me for today's hike. It will be Jason's first winter 4,000 footer so we are starting with Mount Waumbek in the Whites. I hiked this mountain for the first time last June. I've included a few pictures from then to compare the contrast between winter and summer.
The road wasn't completely plowed up to the trailhead, so we had to park a hundred yards or so away. A woman came out of a nearby house and asked if we had seen a dog. Apparently her dog had followed one of the hikers up the trail, so she headed up the trail as well.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Here's the trailhead last June.
>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The trail was packed down beautifully. It almost looked as if someone had shovelled a path.
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ This is what Jason looks like in the winter.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I thought my bright orange coat stood out in the summer. You really can't miss it in the winter.
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Winter Wonderland
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Before getting to Mount Waumbek, we first had to climb Mount Starr King. As we neared the summit, a woman hiker was coming down with a dog.
"That's not your dog is it?" I asked.
"No," she replied "This dog followed me all the way up and is now following me all the way down."
"Your mom is looking for you," I said to the dog.
The owner wasn't far behind, so I knew the two would find each other.
"You don't have snowshoes?" the woman hiker asked.
"No, I replied." The trail was so well packed down, I had left them in the car.
"You really should wear them to protect the trail."
I guess it is trail etiquette. I didn't see any big deal. I've seen lots of people hike without snowshoes. I would find out later why this woman was concerned.
A few minutes later, we were on top of Starr King at about 3900 feet. There is no view on Waumbek, but Starr King supposedly offers great views. We wouldn't know. It was fogged in. It was fogged in last June as well. I guess I just wasn't meant to get a view here. Here's Jason on the summit.
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We continued on to Waumbek.
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From last June
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Just passed the summit of Starr King, there is part of a fireplace and chimney from long ago.
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From last June.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Along the ridge between Starr King and Waumbek, the trail was much softer. I kept breaking through. Jason is much lighter than me and was carrying a smaller pack, so he didn't have near the trouble I was having. Now I see why the woman told me that snowshoes protect the trail. Several times I went in waist deep and created big craters while trying to crawl out.
"You know, you are going to have to fill these all in on the way back," Jason kidded.
To all winter hikers out there. Lesson learned. I'll bring snowshoes from now on.
We reached the summit of Waumbek, my 2nd winter 4000 footer in the Whites. In the summer there is a small cairn marking the top. It was completely covered over with snow, but we did find a small sign half buried in the trees.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The trail does continue after this if you wish. You can hike for miles down the Kilkenny Ridge Trail. To give you an idea of how deep the snow was. Here's the sign marking the Kilkenny Ridge Trail in the winter ...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ...and here it is in the summer.
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The sign was eye height in the summer and knee height in the winter.
Jason and I had a snack on the summit and returned the same route. We passed a lot of hikers who were going up as we headed down. Some were without snowshoes and were making their own craters in the trail. Oops.
Typical with a lot of my hikes, by the time we got back to Maine we had beautiful blue skies. I used to think it was just my bad luck, but I'm realizing that you will just get a lot of cloudy days in the White Mountains. We still had a great time in the snow and the woods was so beautiful today. Thanks for coming Jason.
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