.March 24, 2007 Hike #1According to the calendar, winter is officially over. However, the White Mountains say otherwise. There is still plenty of snow out there. Even though I am hiking in the snow, any 4000 foot mountain I climb will not count as a winter hike. With this in mind, I have decided to concentrate on some of the smaller peaks over the next few weekends. It has been two weeks since I was able to go hiking, but it seems a lot longer. I will try to make up for it today by going on 3 smaller hikes.
The first is up Potash Mountain. Madison and I came to a split in the trail as soon as we started. We would take a right. The trail to the left goes up Hedgehog Mountain which will be hike #2.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A couple tenths of a mile further, we came to another split where we took Mount Potash Trail.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ My pack was a little lighter than the last few weeks. I left my emergency sleeping bag behind. I still had extra clothes and an emergency bivy sack. As the weather gets warmer, I will slowly make the transition from my winter hiking gear to my summer hiking gear. I loved hiking this winter, but I still prefer to hike in the winter and carry a much smaller pack.
The trail started out very gradual, but started to get steeper. We came out onto a ledge. Being exposed to the sun and wind, this ledge was bare rock. Madison was first to discover this dry area.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ There was about a 20 foot section of trail with no snow or ice. Not a big deal, but my first section of trail without snow this year.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ There was a great view of Mount Passaconaway, one of my unconquered 4000 footers that I plan to hike this year.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ There was also a view of Hedgehog Mountain which I will be climbing next.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The trail went back into the woods for a few minutes before emerging on a semi-open area. This was the steepest part of the trail as I followed the partly exposed rocky ledge to the 2680' summit. The summit had a lot of bare rock. It was great to have a dry spot to sit for a break since I usually have to sit in the snow. There were awesome views from here.
Here's a look west to the Tripyramids. From left to right, they are South Peak, Middle Tripyramid, and North Tripyramid. The South Peak doesn't count as a 4000 footer. It's over 4000 feet but there isn't enough drop between itself and Middle Tripyramid.
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Maddie poses in front of Mount Carrigain to the north.
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Mount Washington to the northeast.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ We returned over the same route. Time for hike #2.
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