Hiking to Black and Blueberry Mountains

A beautiful Spring day was in the forecast. I wanted to take a break from hiking the 4,000 footers with their nasty Spring trail conditions of snow, ice and slush. I decided to hike a couple of lower elevation summits on the 52 with a View list. I would be joining Larry for a hike to Blueberry Mountain and Black Mountain, two separate but short hikes.

Wintry Trail Conditions on Whiteface and Passaconaway

Summits: Mount Whiteface (4,020'), Mount Passaconaway (4,043')

Trail route: Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail

Trail conditions: Dry trail, wet trail, snow increased with elevation gain up to 12+ inches, sloppy slush on the way down

Weather: Cool, temps above freezing, cloudy sky with some breaks of sunshine

Total miles: 11.9

Total time:  7:35

Beautiful Spring Day on the Kinsmans

Summit: North Kinsman (4,293'), South Kinsman (4,358')

Trail route: Mt. Kinsman Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail

Trail conditions: Bare ground to start then monorail to solid trail then softening trail as it got warmer with deteriorating monorail and mashed potatoes

Weather: Cool start to warm temps, sunshine and blue sky

Total miles: 10

Total time:  6:30

Twins and Galehead on a Warm Spring Day

Summits: North Twin Mountain (4,761'), South Twin Mountain (4,902'), Galehead Mountain (4,024')

Trail route: Little River Road, Haystack Road, North Twin Trail, Twinway, Garfield Ridge Trail, Gale River Trail, Gale River Loop Road

Trail conditions: Variety of dry, wet, hard pack snow, soft snow, monorail

Weather: Cool start, temps warmed up, sunny sky with passing clouds

Total miles: 15

Total time:  11:00

Wild Wind and Snow on a Zealand Bonds Traverse

Summits:  Zealand (4,260'), Guyot (4,580'), West Bond (4,540'), Mount Bond (4,698'), Bondcliff (4,265') 

Trail route:  Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zeacliff Spur, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trail 

Trail conditions: Variety, lots of snow, some wet and muddy sections, monorail both stable and unstable

Weather: Cool and cloudy, very windy and snowy at higher elevations

Total miles: 23.5

Total time:  12:30