First snowshoe adventure
This hike wrecked me because it was the first time snowshoeing a mountain, in fact, the first time ever and the grade was greater than 30 degrees for a big part of the hike. Pine Bend Brook trail in the Sandwich range had seen 2 or 3 feet of snow already and had an inch or two that was fresh. The trail was mostly packed down from previous snowshoes which was nice, but I still sunk in a little. Snowshoes have this pointed fork on the toe which you drive into the snow to get grip which is a lot of work. Then you add in the steep incline which would cause you to slide backward if not doing it correctly. Also, there is this bar that you can flip up, so your foot stays relatively flat as you walk up hill. However, the trail goes flat sometimes, and you must lean down to flip back and if you get lazy then it’s like what I imagine walking in high heels is like - kudos to the ladies and the drag queens for sure.
Pine Bend Brook trail is an easy 2 or so miles at first following a small stream and with sparse trees unlike any of my previous hikes that allows you to see longer distances and even some of the mountains around. The conditions had an easy navigable trail from previous snowshoers which props to them for breaking trail as I could not imagine how much more physical effort that would entail. It’s nice not having to think about where to go next and get into a good flow. That ended once I hit the bowl section that went straight up and steep for three more miles. Although there was one stretch on the ridge by Scaur trail that was just magical with trees straight out of a Dr. Seuss book with arched tops. Walking on snow covered trails with no sound except the crunch of your feet is therapeutic and downright enriching to the spirit. I was reminded of a life lesson on this trail where taking the hard path can create reward. This was literally a hard path and this moment was the reward.
Up again after the ridge walk that was even steeper. When I got to the top of North Tripyramid I had to take all my top layers off and change out of them from the amount of sweat that I created. It was starting to get that chill factor after any brief stop which I needed to take precaution against hypothermia. Thank goodness I only saw three other people on the trail as getting to the summit to a half-naked man is probably not what they are after in their hikes. There is no view on the top and I needed to peak bag Middle Tripyramid which was another .4 miles away which had fantastic, limited views. The trail was out and back so as soon as I headed back, I feel straight on my butt because of the down grade and the snowshoes not able to grab traction due to the loose snow. It was a big o'crap moment when I had 5 more miles back to my car. By the time I saw my car I had feel down maybe 25 times and at certain points decided just to slide down the trail on my butt. It was extremely exhausting with my thighs taking on most of the work. Towards the end I was leaning to one side like those marathon runners on their last bit of energy.
Middle Tripyramid summit looking west to Waterville Valley
Middle Tripyramid summit looking south
So, all in all lessons learned 1) I maybe can manage high heels 2) snowshoeing is more fun on flatter trails 3) when hit by gravity go with it 4) winter hiking is a cornucopia of visualization.
Date
January 20th 2021
Distance
10.6 miles
Elevation Gain
3,278 feet
All Trails