Mount Mansfield in Winter - Feb. 8, 2014

This winter I've not had any specific list I've been working on, but it has been a goal of mine to do at least a few of the New England 4000-Footers outside of New Hampshire before the end of this winter. This past weekend I finally got around to doing just that, starting with the relatively easy high peaks of Vermont (relatively being compared to most of the Maine 4000-footers). First up was Mount Mansfield, the highest point in the state of Vermont, at just a shade under 4400 feet. This was also my first solo hike since mid-October, which felt strange. It also meant I wasn't particularly motivated to get up and going in the morning, but the drive went faster than expected and I got boots on trail around 9:20. Late for me, but this was to be a short hike, so I still expected to be down by mid-afternoon.

The plan was to take the Long Trail from Route 108 to Taft Lodge, and from there take the steep but not-ledgy Profanity Trail up to the summit, and retrace those steps on the way down. Having done the ledges on the Long Trail North of Mansfield this past summer, I was not looking to try those in winter, figuring they'd be tricky and likely icy. In winter Route 108 is closed from the Stowe ski area (on the side of Mansfield) through the notch, but there is ample parking at the end of the plowed road and it is about 4/10-mile from there to the summer trailhead for the Long Trail up Mansfield. I put snowshoes on at the car since the area received a nice snowfall mid-week.

Trailhead for the Long Trail

Nicely established snowshoe trench

This guy passed me early on, apparently to snowboard his way down part of the trail

I had heard that skiers tended to criss-cross the Long Trail in this area, and that was clearly the case from the start, with ski tracks everywhere crossing the trail. The trail is blazed with white blazes, which is normally a problem in winter (snow is white after all), but there were plenty of blazes visible and so determining which trench was the actual trail was not a problem. The ascent to Taft Lodge went smoothly, though I did notice that for the most part the sunny skies predicted for the day were not coming true. A little way below Taft Lodge I found myself out on the side of a ski trail, which I did not remember coming to this past summer when I was here. Still, it was a good spot for a short break, before I turned around and found the filled-in snowshoe trench that continued the actual trail.

Some blue skies here and there, but overall it was cloudy.

Lots of ski traffic here!

Ski trail (Chin Clip I believe)

Unbroken trail approaching Taft Lodge

The trail above the ski trial was not broken out since the last snowfall, but it was pretty easy going though about 6" of new powder up to Taft Lodge. At Taft Lodge I followed the sign pointing to the Profanity Trail and began heading up. Now the snow was deeper, at least a foot, so the breaking was harder, but still manageable. I was in no rush. But soon the trail popped into an open area and I realized I must still be on the Long Trail! This wasn't where I wanted to be! Still, I decided to give it a shot anyway, what the heck, right? I could always turn around and try to find the Profanity Trail again. Some tough trail breaking, but I was soon at the col between the Chin (the highest summit of Mansfield) and the Adam's Apple. The snow was about 3 feet deep here, maybe a little more, based on the sign in the col.

The summit of Mansfield. Um, I should be a lot further to the left if this was the Profanity Trail!

Note the amount of snow, compare to the below picture from this summer.

The same spot from above this past summer - I estimate close to 3 feet of snow depth was needed to cover the lower signs.

The scrambles North of the Chin in summer (July 2013)

The scrambles on this hike - note the trees are almost buried, which are 6+' tall!

Now I took a good snack break, and layered up too as I could hear the wind blowing around fairly strongly. Finding the trail initially took a lot of trial and error, and I found a few small spruce traps. Seeing the above comparison now, I realize just how deep the snow was in there, it must have been over 6' deep in spots! The first ledge, which is more of a crack, took some doing to get up as the deep powder left my snowshoes little to grab, but I did get up it after a few tries (thankfully there was no ice), and I continued on.

The Adam's Apple from partway up The Chin

There were a few more short tricky spots, but the crux came a little further up where I got to a long, steeply-angled section that I had to get up to reach the summit ridge. At this point I was thinking of aborting, but looking down at some of the very steep sections I had already come up, getting back down wasn't going to be easy either (though I still could if I was careful). I determined based on how the snow had behaved so far that I would be OK to continue on this section, which had a bit of a drop off down the slope should I slip too far. The snow had been compacting down well with multiple stomps before shifting my weight, and there had not been any hidden ice thus far, so I continued along, making sure each step was secure before transferring my weight onto it. The snow was very deep; even after compacting it the snow was usually over my knee. But slowly and surely (3-4 steps at a time!) I made it up to where the grade eases shortly before the summit, and reach the summit I did. It took me roughly 50 minutes to go the 3/10-mile from the col to the summit! It is hard to convey just how tough and tricky this ascent was, but take my word for it when I say it was probably the toughest 3/10-mile of trail I have ever done in winter! That's not something I want to do again, not in such conditions at least!

The sunny skies predicted for the day still weren't coming true, but there were still some near-by views and the clouds were mostly above me, so I enjoyed those views until the wind became too much to hang around comfortably. I made my way South to the upper junction of the Profanity Trail, but had to spend a few minutes figuring out where it descended off the ridge. There was one blaze I stumbled across that gave me a clue, but a few cairns would have made it much easier. It basically heads down a gulley below the summit proper, a bit North of a cut-over to the ski trails that several skiers were hiking up in order to reach the summit themselves.

Summit! New England 4000-Footer #49 in winter!

The Stowe Ski Area

The Nose

The Mansfield Ridge, leading to The Nose (which has all the antennas)

Faintly in the distance I could see the pointed peak of Camel's Hump, my goal for the next day.

The Profanity Trail was a steep descent, but it was hard-packed above treeline, and not terribly deep below treeline, and so was a fairly easy (as they go) descent to Taft Lodge. And from there, I was back on familiar territory, and the descent went really smoothly. I made another break stop at the ski slope, then just continued down, making it back to the road in good order (and as a few clouds started to leave...of course). The roadwalk was easy, but I was disgusted to see the large amount of dog poo all over the road from the various folks walking their dogs. I love dogs, and am thrilled that folks are out with their dogs, but come on, clean up after them on the roads and trails please, no one wants to walk or ski through that!

Getting back to my car, I headed into Stowe to where I had a room reserved, took a shower, and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon (a nice change, usually I'm out all day and I had originally thought about doing Camel's Hump the same day as this before deciding several days before to take it easy instead, why rush?). This was a tough climb on what was supposed to be a pretty easy hike. Just goes to show you, you never know what might happen on a hike!

A peek to The Nose from the Long Trail

Now there is more blue sky...always my luck

Summary:
Route: Long Trail (to summit), Profanity Trail
Peaks: Mansfield (4393', NE4K)
Mileage: 5.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2850'
Book Time: 4hr 10min (actual time: 4hr 40min)

The lower half of the loop is the Profanity Trail, the less-exposed route to the summit ridge from Taft Lodge

A Freezingly Good Time on the Carters - Jan. 26, 2014

This was another Meetup hike I was leading for the NorthEast Peakbaggers Meetup group. With 60+mph winds and HIGH temperatures predicted to be roughly -10F at 4000 feet, there were understandably a few drops, but surprisingly we only dropped 2 of the 6 scheduled to come, and Kyle asked me last minute if he could join, so we were back to 5 hard-core hikers (hard-core merely because they came, knowing how cold it was supposed to be!). I knew that we ought to be able to handle the cold temps fine, but if it was going to be windy along the ridge, it could turn out to be a tough day. Still, the goal was to take this hike bit-by-bit and see how we would do, as there are several places to bail out if necessary. I was also hoping that the neighboring Presidential Range, a mere handful of miles to the West and 1000 feet higher, would give us some shielding from the wind.

A bit later than planned due to slippery road conditions for those driving up, we got underway on the 19-Mile Brook Trail, with a starting temperature at 8:20 of a goose egg (0F). The plan was to take this trail for 1.9 miles, then take the Carter Dome Trail all the way to Carter Dome (on the New Hampshire 4000-Footer List). Then we would reverse direction, possibly summit Mount Hight depending on the weather, before continuing on the Carter-Moriah Trail over South and Middle Carter, both on the New Hampshire 4000-Footer List. Out descent route would be the North Carter Trail, the South end of the Imp Loop, and then an old logging road that cuts through Camp Dodge, followed by a short (~3/10-mile) walk alongside Route 16. At any point, if needed, we would descend back to the car via the Carter Dome/19-Mile Brook Trail.

Most of us left the snowshoes in the car, based off of previous reports and the fact that it had only snowed ~2 inches the night before, and so we started in light traction. The climb up 19-Mile Brook Trail, and the Carter Dome Trail up to Zeta Pass went pretty quickly, and the snow depth on top of hard-packed trails was minimal. We were plenty warm, and the wind was barely heard or felt, even when we reached Zeta Pass. So far, so good.

A brief break on the 19-Mile Brook Trail

Junction #1 of many for this hike - Carter Dome Trail straight ahead

Looks cold and windy on the Presidentials!

Approaching Zeta Pass, a short stretch of mildly-drifted snow

Snack time at Zeta Pass

From Zeta Pass to Carter Dome is where it got interesting. Almost immediately we hit drifts. Deep, knee-deep at times drifts. The entire trail from Zeta Pass to Carter Dome's summit was drifted in with usually at least 8" of powder, and we were really regretting not having the snowshoes. We switched off the leader a couple times, and those in back did their best to smooth things out a little bit, but it was slow going. The bright side at least for anyone following us was the cold temps, and really fluffy powder would hide the mess we made in no time. Somewhere in here is where any thoughts of going to Hight left my mind, as I expected it would be drifted like this too. In fact, I had my doubts about getting South and Middle Carter, as if it was drifted in like that, I'd be calling an abort. Still, we did get to Carter Dome successfully, and we were pleased to feel only minimal wind on the lightly-sheltered summit. Some pictures, a brief chat with a solo fellow who had come up from the hut side and was headed the way we were (he too was regretting not bringing snowshoes for his ascent), and we all departed back for Zeta Pass for another snack break.

Theresa almost to Carter Dome (the rocky point of Hight in the right background)

The summit area of Carter Dome

Theresa and Kyle on Carter Dome

We had a short break again at Zeta Pass, and the decision was made to attempt South Carter and see how it went. If we ran into more heavy drifting, we'd bail back down the Carter Dome Trail to our cars. One member of our party (Doug) had carried his snowshoes up despite the trailhead decision to leave them, and he led the way, but really the snow depth on this side of Zeta Pass was minimal and the going was much, much easier. We had no trouble getting to South Carter and then Middle Carter (aside from tired legs). We enjoyed all the various viewpoints along the way, and were pleased that the wind, which we felt here and there, was more than manageable.

Hight (L) and Carter Dome (R) from near South Carter

Baldfaces

Wild River Valley

The Northern Presidentials

Moriah/Shelburne Moriah

The only tough spot left was an open series of ledges North of Middle Carter, but while windy, we managed without too much trouble. Then it was down, down, down, first on the steep North Carter Trail, then on the more gradual, but also icy (in a few stretches) Imp Loop. The fast descent on the North Carter Trail came before we had a good snack break, and by the time we hit the junction with the Imp Loop, several of us were dragging pretty hard. A good snack break later though, and we were in business. Reaching the old logging road that leads into Camp Dodge, we hooked onto that, and walked the short distance down Route 16 back to the cars.

It had never gotten warmer than -10F on the ridge (we measured between -12 to -10 every time we checked), but keeping moving, and layering properly meant we all completed the hike without much trouble. This was easily the longest cold hike I've done before (I'd hit -10F once or twice, but only on single peak days without a ridge walk), but it was good to experience it with plenty of opportunity to abort if it got uncomfortable. A great job by all, and congrats to all that got winter checkmarks, the cold way! Quickly changing a few pieces of gear, we headed into North Conway, where it was quieter than I've ever seen that town (and it was 5:30 in the evening at this point), but that meant we got seated and served very quickly. Mmmm, pizza and beer!

Summary:
Route: 19-Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail (out-and-back to Carter Dome), Carter-Moriah Trail, North Carter Trail, Imp Loop (South loop), Camp Dodge Shortcut, Route 16
Peaks: Carter Dome (4832', NH4K), South Carter (4430', NH4K), Middle Carter (4610', NH4K)
Mileage: 13.1 miles
Elevation Gain: 4400ft
Book Time: 8hr 45min (actual 8hr 15min)

Walking through Camp Dodge

Cabot Winter Wonderland - Jan 25, 2014

This was apparently the day to meet people. During the long 4-hour drive to the Berlin Fish Hatchery, I made my usual stop for a second breakfast in Lincoln, where I ran into 4 people I knew, including grid finishers Sue and Earl, who were also on their way up to hike Mount Cabot on this day. Arriving a few minutes early to the trailhead at the end of York Pond Road, I did the final gear-up while chatting with Linda, who was coming on this hike that I was leading for the NorthEast Peakbaggers Meetup group. Shortly, Chris, who I hadn’t seen in about a year, showed up to complete our small group of 3, and we were soon off on the old logging road that the York Pond Trail starts off on, having made the call to leave the snowshoes in the car based on recent trip reports.

Looking back up the York Pond Road from the trailhead

Off we go!

The temperatures were mild compared to what they have been lately, though there were occasional flakes in the air. Still, with Cabot offering very little in the way of views except from Bunnell Rock and some limited views from near the cabin, we weren’t going to miss out on much. With only an inch or two of snow on top of an icy crust, light traction (I was using my new Hillsound Trail Crampons on this hike for only the second time) was the way to go. We made fast time up the flat section of the Bunnell Notch Trail, and only slowed slightly through the mild ups and downs it does in the middle section. Somewhere in this stretch we leap-frogged Sue and Earl a couple of times before finally passing them a final time (we'd cross paths later at the cabin).

Arriving at the height-of-land where the Kilkenny Ridge Trail comes in from Mount Terrace, we headed downhill to where the old Mount Cabot Trail (the trailhead of which has been closed for over a decade due to a landowner dispute) came in, which signifies the beginning of the real climbing. Though steady, the climb never gets excessively steep, and we basically just kept climbing with a few of the usual catch-your-breath stops. The one stop we did make was at the Bunnell Rock viewpoint (sign), where we had probably the best views I have had from this spot in 3 trips now. That still isn’t saying much, but hey, Terrace Mountain was looming right in front of us, and in back was the long ridge of Mount Waumbek/Starr King. I’d never seen past Terrace from here before, it looks like on a clear day this is probably a really nice spot.

Terrace Mountain, with Starr King and Waumbek in the background

 As the trees became more and more caked in snow, transforming the woods into a winter wonderland, we knew we were getting close to the cabin, and sure enough we popped out at the cabin shortly thereafter. We made the decision to continue to the summit now, and stop back inside on the way down for a lunch break. Knowing there were at least 2, if not more, people ahead of us (there were 2 other cars in the lot besides ours and Earl’s), we figured we would be running into them shortly. And sure enough we ran into 2 guys just past the clearing near the cabin (which many people mistake for the summit, but the summit is in fact about 4/10-mile past the cabin!), and right behind them was Rachel and Isis! Rachel keeps a great blog of her trips, and Isis is her very friendly and playful dog that is getting very close to finishing the 4000-Footers of New Hampshire herself. It was great to meet them both at last after seeing so many of their adventures chronicled online.

The woods up here above the cabin are pretty open and the trail tends to get drifted badly in winter, but it was in decent shape today (it might have just been due to the 3 people and a dog ahead of us this day) and while snowshoes would have worked fine here, it would have been wasteful to haul them all the way up the mountain for this short stretch (and it wasn't that deep anyway). Those ahead of us had done a great job of route-finding right along the true trail corridor, right to the stick sign on the back of a tree that signals the actual high point of this wooded mountain. The USFS sign that usually adorns this peak (a few dozen yards from the stick sign) was gone, not sure what the deal is there. With the wind howling above the trees (not too bad in the trees where we were though), we took a few pictures and made the u-turn back to the cabin, after noting the trail continuing North to The Bulge was completely filled in (it wasn’t planned to head there anyway on this hike).

Chris taking a picture near Cabot Cabin

The stick sign marking the high point on Mount Cabot

Chris

Chris and Linda on Cabot

After a snack break at the cabin, we were getting ready to leave when Pete and Kelly and Kelly’s mom arrived too! I hadn’t seen Pete and Kelly since hiking Jefferson-Washington-Monroe with them a couple winters back when they finished their Winter New Hampshire 4000-Footers, so it was great to see them again. Like I said, this was the day to meet people. Cabot was a popular spot on this day, with probably close to 2 dozen people on that mountain which is impressive considering how far a drive it is for just about everyone, and a rather uninspiring mountain. Still, Cabot is a great winter hike and it was great to see so many people I knew or knew of on this hike.

We had a very quick exit hike, and made it back to the cars barely 5.5 hours after leaving them. With both Linda and Chris needing to drive back to Massachusetts and several inches of snow due to fall in the afternoon and evening (it was lightly snowing at this point), it was good that we finished so fast, as it allowed them several daylight hours to drive in before sunset. Both of them are now down to single digits on their Winter New Hampshire 4000-Footer lists if I am not mistaken, and it was great to hike with both of them. For me, this was my 4^th time on Mount Cabot, the second in calendar winter, and it put me exactly halfway through a 4^th round of the New Hampshire 4000-Footers.

Summary:

Route: York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail

Peaks: Cabot (4170’, NH4K)

Mileage: 9.6 miles

Elevation Gain: 2900’

Book Time: 6hr 15min (actual 5hr 30min)