Mt. Whiteface and Beyond

I learned the exquisite torture today of thinking I was at the summit when I really had over a quarter mile to go. My hike of Mt. Whiteface was the first for me in nearly two months and the first of 2011. The former condition was a problem since at 52 it doesn’t take long for me to get out of shape. I really need to have a regular exercise routine. I enjoy each and every hike I go on whether with other people or by myself but I sometimes suffer. Today was one of those days.
 I got to the trailhead a bit later than I wanted. It was a bit slippery when I left home and it turned out to be further to the trailhead than I thought.

I arrived there at 9:00 and got ready to go which meant getting hikers and gaiters on and  packing away or taking out things I don’t think I’ll need based on trail conditions and expected weather. There were three women from Mass already there and gearing up to climb Passaconaway which is nearby and accessed from the same parking lot. They along with two people I saw upon returning to the parking lot were the only others I saw all day.

Wonalancet, New Hampshire is an area that was first settled around the time of the Revolutionary War. A very picturesque valley where my hike started. The first half-mile is a road walk up to the head of the valley where I could see the Eastern ledges of Whiteface in the distance. Once on the actual trail my trial began. The warm weather of the past few days made the trails a mess.
  Hiking on the slushy snow and subsequent freezing provided for icy, uneven  footing that made futile, any attempt at an even, steady pace.

I had Micro-spikes with me but the icy spots were interspersed with sections of mostly rock and then ledge. Nearer the top I did put them on because ice covered ledges really made their use essential. I made my way slowly up the mountain feeling the effects of my long layoff.
 Once I played hide and seek with a friendly squirrel for a few minutes until he held still in the open long enough for me to take his picture. Another time, after a short break I startled a moose and it startled me. The wind was blowing hard enough to mask any noise either of us was making but when I started hiking and my metal micro-spikes hit a rock, the woods to my left shuddered, shook and snapped as the moose did an about face and bolted in the other direction. The trees were so thick at this point that I couldn’t see him but I could see the tops of the trees sway as he pushed his way through.
After the excitement died down I continued on my way. A short time later I was at the base of a series of steep ledges below the summit or so I thought. I checked the GPS, another tenth of a mile or so to go. Not bad. I carefully climbed the ledges and the views which had been minimal to this point, began to improve. I took a series of pictures as I gain each higher ledge until I reached the top.

The GPS showed I was on the summit but it also showed less than 4000 feet elevation. I looked Northwest and realized, there was higher ground in that direction.  The White Mountain Guide had said, Whiteface had a wooded summit .3 miles beyond the ledges. Now I could have stopped there and no one would have been the wiser but I wouldn’t have felt right about it so, tired and sore as I was I hike over and got my summit shot at the “actual” summit.

It was now 1:15 and with four miles to go and dicey footing slowing me down, I knew I was going to be later than I had said I would be, getting home. I headed off and went as fast as I could safely go.  It took me until nearly 4:00 to get back down. It would have been nice to have someone at this point to commiserate with but there was nobody to hear my lament but the squirrels and a few chickadees.  I was really happy to be sitting in my vehicle!