No Gale on Galehead.

March 17 2012

    Galehead is a Mountain with no views from it’s actual summit and is a short hike from Galehead Hut  and the Garfield Ridge Trail. For those reasons it is often done in conjunction with surrounding peaks, most requiring a car spot. Since I was hiking alone today that wasn’t an option. In winter, and I am using the term loosely for today’s hike, you must add a mile to the hike because the road that accesses the usual starting point is closed. There is much to redeem this hike on it’s own though and just being out in the mountains on a day like this was an added bonus.
    The weather forecast was for clearing skies in the afternoon but you can never count on that in the White Mountains. As I drove across Route 2 to Twin Mountain, the roads were slick in places with a light coating of ice from some precipitation that had fallen during the night. I adjusted my speed accordingly and arrived at the trailhead half an hour behind schedule.
    Beaver Brook rest area is a wayside stop on route 3, just South of Twin Mountain N.H. There is a small network of ungroomed XC ski trails there and one of these is used to gain access  to the  Gale River Trailhead in winter. This adds a mile on both ends of the hike. I geared up and left the parking area at 8:40 AM.

The Summer Trail head

 The first four miles of this hike are nearly flat and I made great time. The trail was mostly bare of snow for much of this distance with soft ice becoming more prevalent as I gained a little elevation.

Gale River

At about the three mile mark the ground was mostly covered with a few inches of snow.  As the terrain steepened, my pace slowed and I took more frequent breaks. As I paused to catch my breath, I began to notice movement in the woods around me. As the  warmth of the day was building, Old Man Winter was releasing his grip on the land.  Branches, weighed down by snow, were melting out and springing up, trickles of melt water could be heard under the snow and water dripping from branches created sights and sounds that although early, were music for my soul.

Galehead Hut

Field repair to my snowshoe.

     At about the four mile mark, with the snow depth increasing, I began to think about putting on snowshoes. I put it off as long as possible because I go much slower with them on. When I did put them on, I noticed that one of the bindings was broken. This was the first time ever that I’ve had a gear failure. I’m not even sure when it occurred. I used them last weekend for a Relay for Life event and noticed, I was tripping or catching the crampons on them and that it seemed to be the left all the time but I thought it was because I was tired. Anyway, I tried twice to repair it on the trail and it kept coming apart. I didn’t have any plastic wire ties or enough parachute cord to effect a good repair. I figured I’d  dig into my pack and maybe use a drawstring from one of my stuff sacks to lash it together. As the terrain steepened and the snow depth increased, I was increasingly worried, the other side would let go and I’d be screwed. In a winter of more snow I would have turned around and hiked out without a second thought but this year and in this instance I continued on knowing, if it failed completely, it would be unpleasant but that I could get off the mountain.
    I got to Galehead Hut about 1:00 and two hikers who had passed me earlier were there soaking up the sun and enjoying the view. Temperatures were in the mid fifties and I enjoyed the rest on the porch. I mentioned my problem with the snowshoe binding and one of the young men offered a length of  parachute cord for me to lash the binding with. I made the repair and it lasted the rest of the hike. After a rest and a well deserved sandwich I headed up the last half mile to the summit. As I was leaving , a group of four hikers from New York came down off Galehead. Two of them were finishing up their winter 48 on Garfield in a couple of hours.          

Galehead Mountain

The Hut from Galehead Outlook

The Summit

                                                                                                                                                The outlook just before the summit provided nice views down the valley to the Bonds and up to South Twin. After  a few pictures there and at the actual top, I headed back to the hut and then down. I’d been on the summit at 2:00 and with 6.5 miles to go, I knew I’d have to hustle if  I was going to get home by 6:00, which was the time I told Linda I’d be home. The New York Folks were still at the hut and I stopped for a couple of minutes to chat with them as they were preparing to head over to Garfield.
    I stowed my GPS in my pack so as I hiked down, I didn’t know what time it was but I felt like it was getting late and except for a couple of stops for water and a short “pack off” stop to remove my snowshoes, I moved steadily down the mountain. I was really surprised when I got to the parking lot and it was only 4:40. With the short breaks I’d taken, I covered six and a half miles in 2.5 hours. Boy are my legs tired!


Gear Tip
    Take a look at your gear and imagine what would happen if you had a catastrophic failure of  a key piece, miles from the parking lot. Having a snowshoe break is not the end of the world most of the time. It can mean an unpleasant hike out and getting to the parking lot a little later than you wanted to. If conditions are not good as with deep unconsolidated snow or deep and rapidly melting snow pack, a broken snowshoe can mean a life threatening situation. Imagine wading in snow to your waist and how tiring that would be, even for a short distance. Imagine plunging your legs time after time, thigh deep into heavy, wet, clinging snow. One of the things I worry about is having downhill momentum and suddenly breaking through up to my knee and hyper extending a knee. That could be devastating if you were miles from the parking lot with no one around and night falling. I took some nylon twine out of my pack to use for something and never put it back. I also took out the three heavy nylon wire ties I usually carry and I can’t remember why…but that stuff is now in my repair kit again. Duct tape can repair a pack or tent, a couple of safety pins can hold a jacket with a broken zipper together. It doesn’t take much to repair gear well enough to get you out of the woods but you have to remember to keep these things in your pack.

A Mountain Too Far.

Saturday January 7 2012


Once again, I found myself driving the two hours to Franconia Notch to hike. Chris and I decided to wait and see what the weather was at the trail head parking lot to decide which Mountains to climb. The options were, North and South Kinsman or Lincoln and Lafayette. The latter two require a pretty good weather day because there are two miles of above treeline hiking. Exposure to both weather and falls in some areas and trails that can be difficult to follow in low visibility, make weather an important factor. We got to the parking lot about 8:15 and were on the trail by 8:30. We made the call to go up over the ridge since the weather looked Ok at that time.

Moses at the beginning of Falling Waters

We headed up Falling Waters Trail which for three miles climbs up to Franconia Ridge and Little Haystack Mountain which at 4,760 feet is higher itself than most of the four thousand footers.  It does not qualify as one of the 4000ers however because it is not separated by a col or saddle of more than 200 feet in depth. Falling Waters follows, oddly enough, Dry Brook. It is not dry and in winter there are quite a few places that it forms formidable ice bulges which require traction devices to negotiate.

We put on microspikes before starting and had no trouble.

Crampons

We got to the most troublesome spot and changed to full crampons as the microspikes were collecting snow on the bottom and the reduced traction could have been a problem. It was here, a young couple overtook us and neither was wearing traction devices. We questioned them about that and they

Microspikes

thought they’d be okay. We watched as they slowly went up the icy pitch and foundered around below a particularly nasty spot, trying to find a safe way over. I easily scrambled up and over the worst looking section to demonstrate the usefulness of traction devices. We moved on and left them to decide what to do. We learned later, they turned around right there.

Ice Flows Beside the Trail

We got to the summit of Little Haystack about 11:30. Just before we broke out above tree line we stopped to add layers and have a snack. There were plenty of people out on the ridge today. Starting across to Lincoln, we met several groups coming across from Lafayette. The weather had closed in a bit and visibility was down to a hundred yards or so.

Little Haystack

Cannon Cliffs from Little Haystack

 We reached the summit of Lincoln about 1:00 and then had a discussion about whether to continue or not. I preferred to go back as my legs were getting about to their limit and I knew we had to go down about 250 feet and then climb 350 more in the next mile to summit Lafayette and connect with Greenleaf Trail which would take us down to Greenleaf Hut and The Old Bridal Path which in turn would take us back to the parking lot. I also felt that given the weather conditions, I’d rather come back on a better day when the views would be better. I knew Chris would want to go across because he wanted to be able to say, he got Moses across the ridge In winter. So rather than listen to him complain about turning around, I acquiesced and trudged across. I did not enjoy it. I was moving so slowly, I couldn’t take time to take pictures or even celebrate going across the ridge. Hiking is something I do because I love it. When it stops being fun, It’s time to turn around, period. I have absolutely nothing to prove to anyone but myself. I didn’t need to summit Lafayette. I already had twice. Chris didn’t need to cross the ridge. He had done it multiple times. Moses didn’t care whether he went across or not. We got to the Summit of Lafayette at about 2:00.

Hiker in The Fog Near Lincoln Summit

Lafayette Summit

Back Alleys of Lafayette

We headed down the Greenleaf Trail and I had a bit of a chuckle when I heard Chris’s emergency whistle and a shout because he had gotten off trail and looked back and couldn’t see me. I hollered back and assured him he wasn’t too far off. He got back on the trail and we continued down.

At Greenleaf hut, we stopped for a few minutes and had a lunch and a rest before heading down. I took my time descending because, as tired as my legs were, I didn’t want to risk a fall or a twisted ankle. We got back to the parking lot about 4:30 and headed home.



Tips and Hints.

    Hiking companions

It probably isn’t possible to find someone who hikes exactly the same way you do. It sounds funny, I mean hiking is hiking, right? Maybe not so much. In summer hiking with other people is fairly straight forward. Everyone in the group can hike more or less at the pace of the slowest person, which is how it’s supposed to be. My rule for faster hikers in my groups is that the lead person will stop at any trail junction or anywhere the trail is not well defined. That is only with experienced hikers whom I know. Anyone else stays within sight.
 In winter it’s a whole different ballgame. Days are much shorter so you must start earlier or move faster. If your metabolisms aren’t the same, one person may move much slower than another and maintain the same comfort level as far as staying warm. I find that I can move very fast on the flat sections but very slowly on the steeps. Some people move at a constant speed throughout. Physical conditioning plays a big roll too. The rule of thumb is, the bigger the group the slower the hike. The trick is to make sure you stay closer together so the lead hikers don’t have to stop and wait too long and the slower hikers can stop long enough to get a rest.
Combine the physical differences with potential differences in comfort levels in extreme conditions and just plain differences of opinion and you run the risk of someone not enjoying themselves. So choose your hiking partners carefully and try to hike your own hike. If you hike in winter, it’s harder to find people to hike with because oddly enough, most people don’t like to hike in the cold!

Back Door to Cannon

Monday January 2 2012

    It was a nice day for the first hike of 2012. It was almost too warm for a winter hike. I drove across town to pick up Chris and Moses the hiking dog. It was 44° in town as we left at 6:15. We figured it would be about 20 degrees colder on the mountain. As I drove the two hours to Franconia Notch I was wondering how I’d do today. It’s been over two months since I hiked because of a surgery in late October and then the Holidays and two mandatory overtime Saturdays. I was concerned too, about the hip belt from my pack irritating the site of the incision. Turned out, as usual, I was worried about nothing. There is a trail that goes up the same side of Cannon as the ski slopes but though it is shorter, it is very steep so we elected to take the long way up the back side.
    We got to the Lafayette Place parking lot around 8:15 and were on the trail a few minutes later.

Lonesome Lake Trail goes from the campground to the Kinsman Ridge Trail. The trail first climbs a ridge for a few hundred feet of elevation gain and then drops down to a trail junction on the East shore of Lonesome Lake.

 We took a short break for snacks and photos. Taking  the left for four tenths of a mile leads you to Lonesome Lake hut which can be seen from the East shore and is open year round. The right, which we took, is a continuation of the Lonesome Lake Trail. It skirts the northeast side of the lake on a series of bog bridges then veers North to ascend the Kinsman Ridge at a moderate rate. The trail joins the Kinsman Ridge Trail on the  saddle between Cannon and Northwest Cannonball.

It follows the saddle along and then ascends Cannon steeply on the West side. There are several places where a slip could result in a nasty fall but nothing death defying. Moses, as usual negotiated everything with ease. One area of boulders we went through were covered with ice that froze in some unusual patterns on the undersides.

  Once on the upper ridge the grade moderates and for the next half mile it’s a pleasant walk in the woods.

Just before the summit, we stopped to add some warm layers to fight the cold wind we’d experience on the tower platform.  My new down parka kept me very warm.

    As I said, there is  platform on top of Cannon. Four set of stairs lead you up to a large observation platform. Everything at this elevation is covered in rime ice. The views from there are very nice.

Some clouds obscured Lafayette and Mount Washington but pretty much everything else was in view. After a round of photos, we headed down to a more sheltered place to have lunch. We spoke to several groups going to and from the summit. There are several hiking trails and a couple of ski lifts that provide access to the summit. We saw probably 30 people on the trail today, an indication of how popular hiking in the Whites has become. We headed back down the trail and within a couple of hours we were back at the parking lot. Another wonderful day in the mountains of New England.



Tips and hints

 Layer and body heat management

Controlling your  body temperature in winter is essential to being safe. Everyone's inner furnace runs a bit differently so it is important to find out what works best for you. On a twenty degree day I see everything from people who put on all their insulating layers in the parking lot and keep them on all day, to people who, as I often do, putting on  light layers in the parking lot and then removing them in 15 or twenty minutes after the furnace really fires up.

My layers in winter consist of ; A poly-pro liner sock and a pair of medium weight wool socks. Poly-pro long johns top and bottom. A pair of nylon hiking shorts (for the pockets and modesty). A pair of Gore-tex gaiters. A medium weight zip neck pullover of wool or poly-pro. A light pair of wool gloves. This is what I wear in temps down to 15 or 20 degrees if there is not much wind. In temps below that I'll add a light fleece zip pullover. When above treeline or for longish breaks I'll put on Gore-Tex pants and hooded jacket. In severe cold and wind I also put on a hooded down parka, a balaklava and Gore-Tex over-mitts. I also carry but have never worn, a pair of fleece pants for extra insulation. I also have a neoprene face mask and goggles that I wear in severe conditions.

 Gear management takes practice. In very cold windy conditions, you need to be quick about getting on extra layers so your core temp doesn't drop too much. A balky zipper or buckle, when it's relatively warm is a pain but in severe conditions it is dangerous. Getting used to getting clothing as well as traction devices out of your pack and getting them on as quickly as possible is an essential skill in winter conditions. I try to familiarize myself with any new piece of gear before I need to use it on the mountain.

No Danger on the Tripyramids.

Sunday October 16 2011,

    Went for a fall hike in the White Mountains against the advice of a store clerk I spoke with yesterday at Ragged Mountain Sports in North Conway, New Hampshire.  I’m not too sure why people are so free with advice or why most of it is so bad. I mentioned to him in conversation that I was going to climb the Tripyramids today and he warned me against it. The rivers are all at flood stage, he said. There are a lot of brook crossings, he said. There’s apt to be ice on the ledges up high, he said. The winds on Mount Washington are forecast to be 70 - 80 MPH and there is a long ridge-walk, he said. His sage advice unheeded, I went anyway.  Neither I nor my hiking partner Chris or Moses the hiking dog or any of the thirty or so other people we saw suffered any ill effects as far as I could tell.
     I looked at a map and saw that the brooks we had to cross were on moderately  steep terrain and knew that the water would have come down since the heavy rains on Friday.  I also knew that the conditions on Mount Washington would be greatly diminished  by lower elevation and shelter of trees on this hike. I asked Chris about the stream crossings since he had climbed these mountains  twice before. He couldn’t remember any tough crossings. If you do your homework before a hike, go prepared for the worst conditions you are likely to encounter and rely on your own experience and that of experienced hikers who know you and your abilities you will have a safe and enjoyable hike.  Chris and I could have and would have done this hike in any but the most extreme conditions. Torrential rains with the threat of flash floods or a blinding snowstorm might dissuade us but not much else.  The lesson here for me is, if you are going to be dispensing advice to hikers, you might at least find out what their skill level is first and if it surpasses yours, keep your advice to yourself or ask for some pointers.

Hiking sticks at the trailhead.

    Now on to the hike. I picked Chris and Moses up at 6:30 and headed for New Hampshire.  We were both looking forward to doing a big hike. North and Middle Tripyramid are to the Southeast of the Kancamagus Highway. There are several trails to their summits. We chose the Pine Bend Brook Trail.

One of many brook crossings

The trailhead is a gravel pullout with about enough room for two cars. When we got there at 8:00, there was only one other vehicle. We got ready to go and stepped off about 8:10.  We hiked up the little valley that contains the brook the trail is named for. It is pretty gradual for the first mile or two following and crossing the brook in several places. None of the crossings was difficult and we rock-hopped most of them, once crossing on a convenient log.  At the head of the valley, the trail crosses a last time and climbs steeply up to a ridge.

Recent rains made for many attractive waterfalls.

Me on the summit of North Tripyramid

We were halfway up the ridge when we heard voices down below and  kind of stepped up our pace a bit to stay ahead of them. I’m not sure what it is, pride, competitive drive or just foolishness but it bothers me when people pass me on the trail. We stopped a couple of times above a steep pitch to catch our breath and evidently the party below did as well because they never caught up to us.
    We made it to North Tripyramid by 11:00 and took the obligatory summit photos. Since there are trees surrounding the summit, the views are spotty at best. We soon set off to Middle Tripyramid and met the occupant of the car that we saw at the road and talked to him for a few minutes. He was from Londonderry NH and had started about 40 minutes ahead of us. Continuing on, we met a woman with a dog who had come up from the Tripoli road and soon after, a couple of guys who had come up the Sabbaday Falls trail.

Middle Tripyramid

View South. Passaconaway in the foreground Chocorua and the Sister in the middle background.

We made it to the top by noon and immediately dropped our packs and dug into them looking for food. There were nice views to the North and South from ledges. Views East and West were obscured by trees. Soon the group of people behind us caught up and Chris knew one of the women who was from Bethel. We had a leisurely lunch and chatted with this friendly group of four.
    Soon it was time to head down and we all began together. I had a nice talk with the gentleman of the group. We started meeting more hikers headed across the saddle between the two peaks and after crossing the North peak there were even more and we were steeping aside to wait for people to pass every few minutes.

A huge glacial erratic along the trail.

We met probably thirty people, the last of whom we wondered if they would have time to summit and get down before dark. We got back to the road about 4:00. At this time of year it gets dark around six so I was glad of our early start. As usual, a great day out in the mountains of New Hampshire.

Flags on the 48, on Wildcat D

September 11, 2011

    An awesome hike today with Chris and Moses the hiking dog. It’s been a while since I have done a strenuous hike or climbed a 4000 footer. My purpose in hiking today specifically was to be on a summit for Flags On the 48. Flags on the 48 is a ceremony to memorialize the victims of 9/11. An American flag is flown on each of the 48 mountains in New Hampshire that are over 4000 feet in elevation. People sign up every year for it and I have wanted to participate but the timing was never right. Today was my chance and since it is the tenth anniversary it seemed appropriate.
    I picked up Chris and Moses at 6:45 and we headed off.  On the drive down Rt. 16 we noticed a cool cloud formation over the Southern Presidential range an stopped for photos.

Wildcat D is, as you look up the ski slopes at Wildcat ski area, slightly  to the left of the top station for the gondola. We were  concerned, the trails would be washed out or have multitudes of blowdowns to deal with in the wake of Irene. Other than some evidence of minor erosion, there were no problems, at least on this trail.
    The Wildcat Ridge trial begins on route 16 at the Glen Ellis Falls Parking lot and ascends the end of the ridge to Wildcat E and then traverses across the ridge up and down through a series of saddles to D,C, B and finally Wildcat A, another 4000 footer. The trail then descends to Carter Notch to join the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail. We decided to Park at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center to avoid having to ford the Ellis River. After parking, we got our packs together and soon headed out. We crossed Route 16 to pick up the Lost Pond Trail which would take us to the Wildcat Ridge Trail.

It first crosses the Ellis River on a footbridge and then follows downstream for a half mile, passing several inviting pools that beg to be fished or waded in. The trail skirts the East shore of Lost pond.

Ledges and large boulders surround this pretty little pond. Soon we drop down to the end of the trail and turn left onto the Ridge trail and begin to climb …and climb…and climb.
    As you climb the steep trail to gain access to the ridge the rewards are quick to come.

Open ledges appear every few hundred yards with opportunities for good views and a rest. Although progress is slow, you gain elevation quickly. As we climbed, a couple of groups overtook and passed us. We were comfortable with our pace as the hike was under six miles. We only need to be on top in time for the raising of the flag which was to occur at noon.

 The day was clear and the views were getting more spectacular as we gained elevation. Glen Boulder, Slide Peak and Boote Spur were the first to show then Mounts Washington, Madison and Adams came into view.

The large glacial bowls of Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines were very impressive from our vantage point. After the last open ledges. The terrain flattened out for a bit and then started to climb again to the top of Wildcat E and then dropped into the shallow saddle between E and D. As we were going across, we began hearing an odd noise like a warning noise or alert beeper. I thought it was someone’s cell phone.

It turned out to be the Gondola which unloads within yards of the trail. I read in the trail guide that it did but wasn’t prepared for all the people and the large terminal building. We passed through quickly and began the final climb to Wildcat D. We were passed by a man who had a length of PVC pipe attached to his pack. He was the first of the group of  Boy Scouts of troop 91 from Manchester New Hampshire who were flying the flag for Flags on the Forty-Eight.
    There is a raised platform at the summit which is above the trees so there are good views from a mountain which would otherwise be viewless. We sat and ate our lunch as more of the scouts arrived and readied themselves to raise the flag. in ones and twos, the final sections of the PVC flagpole arrived on the backs of Boy Scouts. There were six four foot sections of 1 ½  inch pipe which slid into 2 inch pipe and were duct taped in place. Six guy lines were attached and tied to the railings to stabilize the pole. A pulley and lanyards secured the flag in the usual manner. The scouts and their leaders worked together to assemble everything in time to raise the flag at noon.

In due time the flag was in place and a short ceremony followed, with the Pledge of Allegiance being said and a moment of silence for the victims of 9/11. I forgot to bring binoculars on this hike but others who had them reported being able to see flags on some of the other peaks.

We hung around for a few more minutes and headed down. The hike down was, due to the steepness, nearly as hard as the climb up. Moses the hiking dog amazed me with his agility, bounding down the steep, rocky trail like a ball in a pinball machine. Head down, tail up, he seemed to be enjoying himself. The views caused us to pause at every open ledge and snap a few more photos.

We got back to Pinkham about 3:00 and headed home.  Wildcat D was my  36th 4000 footer. I have 12 left. I’m hoping to finish in the next year.