Outdoor Diversion: Windy on the Wildcats

With sustained winds around hurricane force and gusts exceeding 100mph it would not be a day for hiking the Presidentials. Today I would be hiking the Wildcats with fellow hikers Jill, Amy, Robin, Jim, Larry and Marty. Our route would take us up the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail then a steep climb to Wildcat A (4,422') and across the Wildcat Ridge Trail to Wildcat D (4,062') and down the Polecat Ski Trail at Wildcat Ski Area.

We all met at the Wildcat Ski Area parking lot. We left two cars there and drove two cars down to the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail parking area. The temperature was hovering around the freezing mark and there was a slight wind blowing that would continue to increase with elevation. We all wore microspikes and carried snowshoes on our packs. This would continue for the entire hike.

Nineteen Mile Brook Trail was well packed and solid with a little loose snow as we got higher. The water crossings had good snow and ice bridges. While the wind was not bad down at trail level we could hear it howling through the treetops. We all knew that at some point we would be hiking in that wind.

We reached the Wildcat Ridge Trail junction and started the steep climb to Wildcat A. There was loose snow and ice that required some careful footing. We got to the summit and enjoyed the scenery from the viewpoint. The warm oatmeal that I brought tasted much better than the usual frozen sandwiches that I've had in the past. It gave me a nice energy boost and I was ready to tackle the Wildcat ridgeline.

The Wildcat Ridge Trail is a series of ups and downs. At one point Robin pointed out some trail ice to me and recommended I go around it, she did and I didn't. As I neared the bottom of the icy ledge I slipped and fell on my hand. I would repeat this slipping a couple more times. I will replace my microspikes soon.

We arrived at the Wildcat A observation tower and were greeted with howling winds. We got some quick photos and kept going. It was all downhill from here. We dropped down to the top of the Wildcat Ski Area in the vicinity of the quad chairlift. The chairlift was not operating due to the high winds. The wind was incredible making it difficult to stand still without getting blown over. There were no skiers and we had the place to ourselves.

I put on my goggles and balaclava and we started our descent down the Polecat Ski Trail. We were hiking into the wind. About halfway down we saw our first skiers. That was because the Tomcat Triple Chair was operating and only goes about halfway up the mountain. We kept to the side of the trail and continued down.

We got down to the bottom and out to the parking lot where two of our cars were waiting to take us back to the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail parking area. This was a 9.5 mile hike and we did it in 6 hours and 15 minutes. It was nice not to be dealing with subzero temperatures as I have on the past several hikes this winter. The temperature today remained around 30°F. Despite the wind it was a very enjoyable hike with a fun group of hikers!

Enjoy the pics and videos!