The calendar might state that it is spring, but the White Mountains still say it is winter. We got over a foot of fresh snow Wednesday night. I knew that wherever I hiked today, I would probably be breaking trail. Breaking trail solo can be brutal, so I signed up for a group hike with the AMC headed up by Ed Hawkins and Becca Munroe.
A little about today's trail leaders
Ed is an exceptionally experienced hiker. This past winter he hiked his 2500th 4000 footer. He has hiked each of the 67 New England 4000 footers (at least once) each year for the past 10 years. Now that's got to be some type of record. If the AMC ever comes out with a hiker hall of fame, he would definitely be enshrined. I'm looking forward to gaining from his experience on this hike as well as future hikes.
Becca is also a veteran hiker. Her most recent goal is to hike all the 48 White Mountain 4000 footers in winter solo. She came close to finishing this year. I believe she has 2 left. I'm sure she'll knock those out quick next winter. I met Becca once before in passing. It was earlier this year on one of my first winter hikes. I was still new to winter hiking and didn't realize the damage not wearing snowshoes can do to the trail. When we passed, she let me know how important it was. There were a lot of people that day not wearing snowshoes, so I'm sure she doesn't recognize me. I'll look for an opportunity to confess to her later. Ironically, it was on this very same trail. I feel like I am returning to the scene of the crime.
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We left Route 2 just about 8:30. After a short road walk up Starr King Drive, we put our snowshoes on at the trailhead. We immediately went into a rolling lead with the front hiker breaking trail for 100 paces before stepping to the side for the next hiker to take over.
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"Oh, when the hikers go marching in"
"Lord, I want to be in that number"
Ned, Ed, Becca, and Lincoln
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Jim was behind me most of the way up.
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Looks like it is my turn to break trail.
We reached the 3907' summit of Mount Starr King. I found that Ed was as thorough of a hiker as I was. The actual summit of Starr King is about 10 feet off the trail. He stepped off the trail and walked the few steps to the summit. I followed right behind.
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Sign on the summit of Starr King
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We took our first real break at a clearing just past the summit.
That's an old fireplace in the background. I think it was Bill who said that he had been here back in the 70's. The cabin that once stood here was long gone then as well. There is supposed to be a great view from here. Today we could see down into the valley just a little bit. This is my 3rd time on Starr King, and I'm 0 for 3 in getting a view. That's OK. The forest is beautiful with the fresh snow, and I've got great company.
Since we were stopped for a break, I figured this was as good a time as any to confess to Becca that I was one of the hikers on February 24th who wasn't wearing snowshoes. I began to tell the story and got to the part of how I met her coming down the trail and didn't have snowshoes.
"I yelled at you didn't I?" she said. Everyone laughed.
"No, you didn't 'yell' at me, but you did scold me," I said.
"I was so frustrated that day," she said, "No one had on snowshoes."
I was ignorant that day, and she helped educate me. Since then, I am now a signatory of the 'Geneva Posthole Convention', a phrase coined by Rick Walsh who I hiked with up Mount Washington on February 25th.
It was time to get going. We made the final push on to Waumbek. The sign marking the summit was buried under snow covered trees, but I managed to dig it out.
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Here we are on the 4006' summit of Waumbek. From left to right, those standing in the front are Jim, Jeff, Becca, Ed, and Lincoln. Bill is kneeling, and Ned is in the background.
This was my 3rd time summiting Waumbek. I don't think it was a first for anyone in our group. I was familiar with all the AMC lists such as the 48, 67, and 100, but I kept hearing people talking about 'the grid'. Ed explained to me what that was. For the radical hiker, the goal is to hike each of the 48 White Mountain 4000 footers in each of the 12 months of the year. Simple put that is 48 x 12 = 576 four thousand footers. Right now my hiking 'to-do' list is so long I can't even begin to think of doing that. But this is my first time doing Waumbek in April so I guess it counts for something.
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It was time to head back. We should make great time since we laid a beautiful trail on the way up. We stopped at Starr King again for our last break of the day. Lincoln shared his supply of Little Debbie's.
As we were about to leave Starr King, Becca pointed out a Gray Jay that had been watching us the whole time.
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The gray jay flew down to eat out of Bill's hand.
I looked up Gray Jay on the Internet to learn more about them. I wasn't surprised to learn that they are known for their bold behavior around humans. I have seen several similar pictures on the Internet, but this was the first time I got to see it and photography it for myself.
On the way down, we were met by several small groups of hikers, most of which did not have snowshoes.
"Becca, are you going to 'yell' at them too?" I kidded.
"No," she replied, "I'll let Ed handle it."
Ed graciously 'Ed-ucated' each group, most were sincerely sorry for not having snowshoes.
We made great time the rest of the way down, coming out at the parking lot just a couple minutes before 2 o'clock. Thanks everyone for letting me come along. Special thanks to Ed and Becca for heading up this hike. I'm looking forward to hiking with all of you in the near future.
Take care,
