The tough part of the Hancocks is that once you get to the top of one, you have an easy time getting across to the other, and then make quick time back to the car. And along the way, you’ve completely forgotten that while the approach is pretty flat, the last half-three quarters of a mile or so are completely relentless.
Winter Hiking
70 posts
The fire warden’s trail is a bit of a secret handshake. But for those trampers who are given to wander, the solitude is amazing.
Last week was a struggle to break trail to 3,600 feet. Today, with a lovely monorail, a far easier ascent… and victory!
Garfield Mountain (4,500 feet). Franconia, NH. 2021-02-04 (Thursday.) Via Garfield Trail. 26 dF at the trailhead. Winds were negligible in the trees. Cloudy throughout. Trailhead: 1015. Turnaround: 1400. Car: 1630. Approx 30 minute road walk. There was a snowstorm. Expectations were low. So there was hiking. But no summit was attained. Never mind, there were clouds everywhere, too. One thing I’ll say is that there was no shortage of winter […]
North Twin trail follows fairly easy grades for the first half, and then you get whacked hard in the second half on a fall-line trail. You don’t get to hike the mountain you want. Rather, you hike the mountain you get.
Galehead was harder than I remembered from my first trip. It’s also easier than I remembered, too. And despite the clouds, I can’t wait to come back.
Sometimes you get what you want. And sometimes you don’t, but you get something unexpected. It’s all good.
Cannon doesn’t let up until you’re at the summit. There’s a difference between knowing, and being in the thick of it.
Bluebird days can, contrary to popular opinion, come in unexpected forms. It’s crucial you leave your mind open.
The last of winter hiking for this season saw me heading out toward the Sawyer River along an old rail bed.
The trail provides. Sometimes it’s just the healing quietude of an otherwise unremarkable trip.
2 months of convalescing was enough. 8 miles of tramping around in the woods was just the prescription I needed. A day in Lincoln Woods is time well spent.