A Warm Winter Hike to Passaconaway

A check of the forecast on Tuesday indicated very nice weather for today. I decided it would be a great day to hike Mount Passaconaway (4,043'). Last Saturday I hiked Mount Whiteface with hiking companions Jill and Amy. These two summits are usually done in the same hike but they already had Passaconaway for the lists they are working on. They were willing to loop around while I went up and tagged the Passaconaway summit but when we saw the postholes on the Rollins Trail we decided to turn around and go back down over the ledges of Whiteface. I decided to go back another day and hike Passaconaway, well today was the day!

Up and Down the Ledges of Mount Whiteface

The initial hike planned for today was Mount Adams and Mount Madison. Winds on the high summits were forecast to be hurricane force sustained with 100+ mph gusts. This prompted a change of plans for a hike that would be protected from the wind. I would join Jill and Amy for a hike to Mount Whiteface (4,020'). This was another summit that I needed for my winter 48 4,000 footers. I also needed Mount Passaconaway but Jill and Amy did not so we would decide whether or not to do the loop depending on the conditions.

Fresh Snow on the Hancocks

I had not been feeling well the past couple of days so I decided when I woke up this morning that I felt good enough to go hiking. I would be joining fellow hikers Larry, Marty and Brent for a hike to the two Hancock summits, Mount Hancock (4,420') and South Hancock (4,319'). There had been several inches of new snow overnight so I was not sure if this would be another trail breaking hike. Our route would take us across the Hancock Notch Trail from the Kancamagus Highway then up the Cedar Brook Trail to the Hancock Loop Trail.

Breakin' Trail Over the Twins to Galehead

With the weather forecast looking rather drab, dreary and less than optimal a group of us decided to hike North Twin and South Twin then down to Galehead. There was the possibility that we would be breaking out the trails to these summits. There's strength in numbers and I would be joining Guy, Mark, Jim, Jill, Robin, Amy D, Amy L, and Dolores for this hike today.

Another Snowy Sunday Morning on Waumbek

After a frigid Saturday I postponed my hike to this morning. With some light snow overnight and more forecast for today I was looking for a short hike with a short drive. I decided on Mount Waumbek (4,006'). This is a 7.2 mile hike and about a 40 minute drive for me. Trail reports indicated a solid trail and the need for only microspikes. This would be the second time that I've hiked Waumbek on a snowy Sunday morning.