January 24, 2009
It was another subzero day as I headed to the White Mountains. There were several hikers getting ready in the parking when I arrived just before 9:00 a.m.
"Where are you headed?" I asked one of them.
"Whiteface," she replied.
Since I was hiking solo, I was hoping they were headed to Passaconaway as well. I guess not. Hopefully I won't have to do any trailbreaking. I went up via the Blueberry Ledge Trail which was a new trail for me.
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It's been a while since I hiked with such blue skies.
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Junction with the cutoff
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I'm starting to get up there.
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Looking down to the Ferncroft Parking Lot
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Next up were the ledges. I had my crampons in case I needed them, but managed with just my snowshoes. There were some tricky spots but nothing compared to the hike up Owl's Head slide yesterday.
Mount Passaconaway
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Mount Chocorua
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Looking south
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I stopped briefly on the south summit before heading off to the true summit. I found the broken trail stopped exactly on top of the 4020' summit of Whiteface (#21 for this winter). This was what I was afraid of. Looks like I will have to break out the trail for at least the next 2.2 miles. I attached the extensions for my snowshoes and headed into the deep snow. I was somewhat concerned as I headed through a couple deep drifts but the going got a little easier after that.
About 15 minutes into my trail breaking workout I realized one foot was sinking a little further than the other. I looked at the back of my snowshoes and one of the extensions was missing. Uggh! Should I go back and look for it? What chance would I have of finding it? The snow was light and fluffy and the extension could easily have been kicked under the snow. I decided to look anyway. I dropped by pack and off I went. Fortunately, I found it about 5 minutes back up the trail. I made my way back to my pack and continue breaking trail. I wished someone was doing this loop from the direction, but I crossed paths with no one. Where were the mighty legs of Drew, Cath, and Larisa? I sure needed them. Drew and Cath were on the Hancocks and Larisa on Waumbek. I began to have doubts about bagging Passaconaway. What if the Dicey Mill Trail wasn't broken out?
I finally made it to the Dicey Mill trail and was delighted to find out that it was indeed broken out. I was also happy to find out that both my snowshoe extensions were still there. I no longer needed them so I placed them in my pack. A few minutes later a hiker came up behind me. I was surprised to notice it was one of the hikers who I had seen in the parking lot.
"I thought you were just climbing Whiteface," I said.
"No. Just my friend was. I'm doing both."
"I wished I had known that," I said. "I would have slowed down and let you help break trail."
I dropped my pack for the finally two tenths. Here's the view from just before the summit.
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Almost there.
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I reached the anticlimatic summit of Passaconaway. Unlike Whiteface, this was a new winter peak for me. That's #34 (any winter) and #22 for this winter. I returned via the Dicey Mills Trail getting back to the parking lot a little after 4:00 p.m.
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