No one expressed interest in this and I was tempted to bag it, but Sunday was such a fine day that I decided to go anyway. When I got to the designated meeting place I discovered that the parking lot was not plowed out, although it was last time, and the one at the real trailhead was, also unlike last time.

I was just sorting out my gear in the van when there was a knock at the window. It was my Sub Sig friends Tamara (with her young son Jonathan on her back) and Amyas Huston, from nearby Mason, NH. They had just come down from what would have been a hike, but it was shortened by Jonathan’s lack of enthusiasm for cold and wind. We chatted a bit and then they took off and I started up.

A bit of trail clearing

The last time I was here I had hiked and thought the trail – at least as far as Nutting Hill - looked skiable. I started on the skis but soon took them off since as the grade increased it left me going no faster than a walk and in such a case I prefer to walk. I ditched the skis at the Midstate – Wapack trail junction near Nutting Hill and continued on Wapack toward Watatic summit. The trail was crunched down enough that snowshoes weren’t necessary (a good thing since I didn’t bring them), although sometimes I did punch through into foot-deep snow. Just below the summit I saw what looked like the top station of an old rope-tow ski lift.

Summit view

There’s an open view from the top, although it’s not particularly dramatic since most of the terrain around the mountain is much lower and far away. You’re much higher than everything else around you, but there isn’t anything particularly interesting to look at. I could easily make out the Boston skyline over 50 miles away. The Pru and Hancock Tower clearly stood out from the mass of tall buildings in the financial district.

Architect’s joke:

Q: Where’s the best view in Boston?
A: From the Pru

Q: Why?
A: Because you can’t see the Pru

To the west I could see the ridge line that the Wapack follows heading north and I plan to come back in the summer and hike the whole trail, perhaps as a backpack.

Charles at the summit

I picked up my skis and skied up the Wapack towards New Hampshire. After I was sure I had crossed the border I turned around and went back to the junction at Nutting hill. I wanted to have skied to another state, even if I had started only a little over a mile away. There’s an extension of the Midstate trail that I had planned to take back, but no one had skied on it and I didn’t want to break trail. As I neared the junction a couple of snowmobiles made the turn in front of me.

Although I had thought the Midstate descended at a grade that I could ski down, I soon realized that the slope was greater than my downhill skills. I wiped out once to avoid a downed tree with only about three feet clearance under it and again later when my speed kept increasing despite my best efforts to brake using a snowplow. I took the skis off for a while but put them on again when the grade lessened as I approached the trailhead. It was a good day to be outside, although my combined driving time was a bit longer than my trail time – a ratio I don’t care for.

See additional photos:  http://www.webphotos.com
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Find the pictures at -> Mt. Tom, Three Ponds.

Wintertime Trail

See additional photos:  http://www.webphotos.com
In the lower left corner of the web page type in:
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Find the pictures at -> Mt. Tom, Three Ponds.

Annette S, Kathy K, Martin K, Tyler W, Joe H and your humble scribe left the trailhead next to the Crawford Notch hostel at twenty after ten. The trail was very well packed and Martin scorned the use of snowshoes, walking up in bare boots.

Kathy, Annette, Joe, Martin (who has fallen onto a hole again) and Tyler

After we passed the Mt Avalon trail junction, however, conditions on our trail deteriorated. It seems that most other groups had opted for the lower Mt Avalon. Joe, who was using terrific old wood-and-gut snowshoes, had trouble on a particularly steep pitch and took them off. He hid them behind a tree and joined Martin's bare boot club. It was an interesting sight, though, when Joe stepped off the trail to hide the shoes behind a tree. The snow was very deep, and he was floundering waist deep in the fluffy stuff.

Either the snow here is about five feet deep, or this trail was blazed by the Seven Dwarfs

Back on the trail we made good time, though Joe and Martin occasionally post-holed (sank down in snow, leaving a deep hole when they extricated their leg). At one point both of Martin's feet broke through and he went in chest deep. In many places, the blazes on the trees were barely above the level of the snow. On the final half mile of the trail along the ridge, there was not a blaze to be seen.

We reached the top about two o'clock. The summit of Mt Tom is wooded, and it took us a few moments to determine that we were in fact on the high spot. It was single-digit cold, and a bit of wind was blowing, so after the obligatory summit pictures we started back down. By four thirty (four hours up and two hours down), we were back at the trailhead, tired but pleased to have added another 4000-foot mountain to our winter collection.

Your Humble Scribe and His Bride

The trail was fairly well packed, but it was glazed over a bit.  They'd obviously had some freezing rain not too long before.  So three of us put on the snowshoes for the benefit of the crampons.  Jerry and Sarra had fairly good luck with theirs, but Your Webmaster's didn't grab too well on the slippery and footprint-pocked trail, so about halfway up I got rid of 'em in favor of boot bottoms.  Well, it was about that time that the trail decided to turn from glazed to just crunchy, so post-holing was then in order.  Can you ever win?  No, I guess not.  :-)  It just goes to show you that in winter not only do the weather conditions change quickly, but so do the ground conditions.

At the top we were greeted with a fierce wind, so we didn't spend much time at the summit of Mt. Potash.  Mara and Jerry had already turned to head back down, and the others were about ready to leave me behind, too!  Hey, wait up!

We found a nice ledge out of the wind to have a spot of lunch, and Your Webmaster broke out his new 6-point instep crampons for the rest of the way down.  They worked GREAT!  As Mara said, "Yep, they'll become your best friends in trail conditions like this.  They make me feel like Spiderman!"

Around the table:  Tom, Joe, Janet, Jan, Your Webmaster's Chair, Annette, 
Welcoming Committee/Motivator Kathy, Martin, and Tyler

The snowshoe weekend was an immense success. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun. Annette and I were joined by Kathy K, Martin K, Joe H, Webmaster Ken, Tyler W and Janet D. Michele S had planned to attend, but came down with a tough cold and stayed home sick. We were joined for dinner by Janis G, last seen at these same digs after the Lincoln Woods and Lonesome Lake hikes on Martin Luther King Jr weekend. 

On Saturday, we scattered and hiked around Gunstock, Mt Potash and Mt Tom. On Sunday Annette S, Janet D and Janis G hiked Rattlesnake Mountain on Feb 18 for the superb views of Squam Lake. This hike is only a mile each way, is suitable for beginners, but gives excellent views from the summit. It is highly recommended.  Tyler, Joe, Your Webmaster, Kathy, Martin and I went off for the Three Ponds Hike, which you can read about above.

My only wish was that we could have stayed the whole three days. I was late making the reservations and we only had the room for Friday and Saturday nights. Next year I'll start planning earlier.

Getting Ready To Go

February is the cold weather month, and we (Michele, Annette, Pam, Marilyn, myself, and Ken (Your Webmaster, behind the camera)) can vouch for that. My little thermometer read ten degrees while we ate lunch at the notch , and in the past it's had a tendency to read high.

But the hike was worth the chill. The trail was very gently graded as it climbed through a beautiful spruce forest. As we got higher into the notch, the trees became more and more snow-covered, until it seemed like we were walking in a postcard.

This happens every time I hike at elevation, but it never fails to awe me.

The End of the Line

Most of us stayed warm, but after lunch a couple of us had to resort to chemical hand warmers to drive out the chill. We played musical gloves for a while, until everyone's hands were toasty. It was a good reminder to pack a heavier pair of gloves as a backup. Really heavy gloves are too much to hike with--your hands get too sweaty--but they're just the thing to warm up the ol' fingers after they've been chilled. We have to figure out a way to eat lunch without freezing our hands.

As always, the trip back to the cars went way too fast, and suddenly our jaunt was over.

Thanks to GONewEngland for helping us get together for another fabulous hike.