Gear:
- Insulated Winter Hiking Boots
- ULA Ohm 2.0 pack
- Montbell 30* sleeping bag
- Thermalrest x-lite sleep pad
- Hiking Poles
- Down pants/booties/jacket
- Two person tent - did not use
Starting temps Saturday morning were lingering around maybe 45-50* and sunny. I had heard/read a forecast of possible rain coming in the afternoon and then stopping by nightfall. Temps should drop to around freezing.
This was my first hike with my friend, Joe, back from school. I was to meet him at the trailhead in the morning and we would hike the mountain and spend the night somewhere (two different shelters up there).
Let me tell you, this day started off very well. The weather was perfectly sunny and temps were rising. I contemplated using snowshoes but there was absolutely no snow near the bottom. I also contemplated wearing just low top gore-tex hiking shoes. I forgot to pack my shoes so the decision on which footwear to lace up was made simple. I would wear my heavy boots. Good choice!
We quickly made it to the junction where the first shelter was, Camp Penacook. This junction lead to a spur that goes up a ways on a steep incline to finally make it to the three-sided shelter. There were also a few tent platforms behind the shelter. The view was decent and we decided that it was good enough that we may return to this shelter. We made our way back to the junction and continued up the mountain.
As we gained elevation, the snow started to appear. There is still a significant amount of the white stuff remaining. Towards the top of the mountain the snow was starting to become very soft and mushy as the sun shined down upon us. We would fall through several feet if we divulged from the path even a foot or two.
The summit was absolutely beautiful. There were a handful of others along with a cute and energetic doggy who went ahead of it's owner and followed Joe and I for the final 5 minutes of climbing. We spent a good 30 minutes up on top soaking up the sun and splendid 360* views. You could see the snow capped Presidentials along with the Franconia ridge line off in the distance to the north.
Our plan from here was to trek down the other side of the mountain for .5 miles where we would end up at the Jim Liberty Cabin. We were to check it out and decide if we wanted to stay there for the night or head back up to the summit and hike all the way back to the first shelter at Camp Penacook. As we started down, we passed by this one girl who had fallen into the snow and was stuck. It took her a good 5 minutes of struggling to get her leg out of the hole it fell through. The warm sun was definitely turning the trail into a bit of a mess.
We continued on to the next junction where we read the sign and followed the path... This trail was a lot more difficult because of the incline angle, the soft snow, and the ice still remaining on the rock surfaces. Ten minutes later both Joe and I were wondering if we were actually still on the trail. We found a yellow blaze a couple hundred feet further and continued. By now, both Joe and I were a little bit perplexed. The Cabin was only .3 miles from the previous junction and we had been traveling for quite some time. I checked the map and was thinking we were possibly on the incorrect trail. We confirmed this with a compass reading as we were even heading in the wrong direction altogether.
Our backtrack uphill was actually far easier than descending and we made it back to the first junction in a couple minutes. The two trails were very obvious. I don't know how we missed the correct trail but that tends to happen when I go hiking...
We trudged through soft melting snow and made it to the Jim Liberty Cabin around 1:00 pm. We were the only ones there and hoped it would stay that way the entire night. The cabin was nice and having four sides was a welcome benefit compared to the previous shelter. We would stay here tonight.
The next few hours are almost a blur. We relaxed, emptied our packs, got our bedding situated, and started the coffee. The weather was near perfect when we arrived and gradually turned for the worst. The clouds moved in and light rain fell from the sky. That's alright as we had shelter and warmth. The light rain turned into a torrential downpour that started with 5 minutes of HAIL! These BB sized pellets must have wrecked havoc with everyone still on the mountain unsheltered. The thunder and lightning arrived. This was awesome! We were witnessing an intense thunderstorm right above us from 3000ft up.
This is when the chaos started. We heard a few voices from the woods and soon saw one individual, Brian. Brian came into the shelter where Joe and I both greeted him. Now, I'm not 100% on the order of events here. More people started showing up so I decided to move my bedding over to near Joe so we could make more room. It was mass confusion as others started pouring in seeking shelter and warmth from the weather.
I overhear people asking to get out their med kit. I'm thinking "hmm did someone fall or something?" I turn around and see this one girl come into the cabin with her legs completely soaked in blood from the knees down. "Omg this is kinda serious, huh?" While everyone was fumbling about looking for ways to help this young girl, I calmly went into my pack and grabbed a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide to help sterilize the wounds. One of the girls from another party was helping bandage her up. The conversations during and after all this commotion was mind boggling. We had several people who were clearly unprepared for the weather up on the mountains.
For a bit more on lessons in preparedness, visit Joe's blog over at joejarvisexplainsitall.com
After a little bit of time, the weather was starting to break again and people were discussing their exit plans, as most were just doing day hikes. Brian and his family of 4 total were staying the night. The girl from earlier who was stuck in the snow showed up a midst the commotion and she as well was going to stay the night at the Cabin. That makes seven of us combined staying at the shelter.
Soon after, everyone else was gone.
The rest of the afternoon involved a lot of small talk and laughter between all of us. We all did our own camp chores like setting up camp, refilling water, cooking dinner, etc. Our nightcap involved going outside and admiring the night sky. The North Star was very bright!
It was a frigid night getting to below freezing. Most of us were comfortable enough. I slept well minus the pee break at 2:30 and not having a pillow. I did not even use my down pants or jacket in the bag this night. Brian had mentioned that he had a rough cold night but he seemed the type who can simply deal with it.
My morning started as my alarm went off for 5:30am. I was startled and fumbled around looking for my phone so I could shut off that evil buzzing of the alarm. I think I woke everyone up...
Anyways, I was up at that time to catch the sunrise from the top of the mountain. There is a nice clearing only a few yards from the Cabin where you can see out into the horizon looking southeast. I have seen only a handful of sunrises but everyone I see I am simply amazed. The beauty is tantalizing and surreal. Everyone should witness a sunrise from the top of a mountain. It is worth getting up at the crack of dawn with sub freezing temperatures to see a sunrise. The pictures will NEVER do it justice. A sunrise is one of those things that truly needs to be witnessed.
We slowly packed up after everyone else had left and took our last photos of the summit. The hike down was very nice and calm. We slowed our pace but still made excellent timing and were below snow line within an hour or so. One river crossing made the hike a little interesting but was no problem, at all. We made it to the parking lot in no time. We ended our trip with a nice breakfast at a cozy old school breakfast diner right off the main road.
