Mount Moosilauke

I headed north last weekend to finally hike Mt. Moosilauke in true winter. Although both of my previous trips up Moosilauke were snowy, they were in October and November. It was a perfect day for a winter hike - crystal clear with temperatures in the upper twenties.

The trail started out with soft snow but quickly turned slick as higher elevations were reached. Soon the trail was as icy as a bobsled run, probably due to the unseasonably warm weather and freezing rain in the preceding days. Had we remembered crampons (stupid, stupid, stupid), we would have been all set. As it was, we tried our best to get enough traction. Eventually, after being passed by many better-prepared hikers, it was time to don the snowshoes, which helped a lot with traction.

The ice and snow covered summit was beautiful as the wind whipped the clouds across the top. The rime ice was just starting to accumulate again after the warm weather.

When we headed back down and reached the really icy sections, we confirmed what we had already feared - snowshoe crampons don't work very well while descending icy trails. Foolish as I'm sure we looked, we were forced to walk backwards down long sections of the trail.

The last mile was spent walking through snow, which bore a strong resemblance to mashed potatoes. Finally, the snowshoes were put to good use.

It was a great day all around.