Breaking Trail
Looking East towards Mt. Chocorua
Checking the weather came up with a solid blue bird day on Friday and I was aiming towards pushing myself so the Whiteface and Passaconaway loop standing at over 12 miles, a 900-foot col 2 mile between the peaks and an almost 5 mile trek back to the car would suffice. This would be the longest hike I have ever done and its where my weakness lies with hiking. The elevation is hard, but the miles is when I start to push it, however I am intentionally getting my body into better hiking shape as there are some 17-mile hikes in my future.
When I was gearing up a car pulled up and a father and 12-year-old daughter pulled in. They were both going for their 38th and 39th 4000-footer which was just incredible. We ended leapfrogging each other all day, maybe 20 times and had brief conversations each time. It was nice to know that they were around for the entire day and it proved to be valuable for both of us. At one point up towards Whiteface there is the Blueberry Ridge which requires some mountaineering effort, and I offered my trekking pole to the father to assist his daughter up the very dangerous and difficult ascent. And then on the way down from Passaconaway I hear this loud call "Bryan". I turn around and it’s the father on a sled yelling that he has one of my snowshoes. He spun off the sled, twisted, hit a small tree, and fell over. I didn’t have the energy to be animated but was very thankful. He said that the small clip for the buckle had snagged a spruce limb and was just hanging there. He told me that he didn’t want me to hike back up when I noticed it was gone and I simply told him that I wouldn’t, and it would have been the end of my winter hiking with a small smile. It was a good thing that we shared the experience together as it he might have not noticed it was mine and left it there. Small hiking miracle. I also broke trail for him and his daughter so there was certainly reciprocal today.
On the ridge between the peaks
After Whiteface you walk along a ridge and I was following a snowshoer all day (side note: thankfully as there was a lot of drifting and the Sandwich Range is significantly less blazed than other AMC trails) and he must have been half of my weight because he was able to ride on top of the last bit of snow down to the icing we had, and I was not. I completely sank down 5 feet of snow and was breaking trail of these massive drifts with waist-high step ups. It was like trying to get traction in quicksand and took all my being and effort to overcome the 200 or so feet of this environment. Being stuck in snow up to your waist is brutal… add that to the list of hiking in the Whites.
Whiteface was icy and required microspikes for the 4-mile trek upward but offered some brief but important flat sections to catch your breath. At the top I drank some hot cocoa and listened to the father talking about some of his 4000-foot adventures which is always enjoying hearing. As soon as I left the top of Whiteface and headed over to Passaconaway I quickly realized that I had to put on snowshoes which is also an effort being done in 4 feet of powder - every movement I sunk lower and lower. The ridge walk was amazing - straight down and peek-a-boos through the trees of nothing but mountains, lakes, and blue skies for as far as you could see. You could also see Mount Washington to the North all covered in snow, Chocorua to the East, and Squam lake towards the South.
Just getting to Blueberry Ridge
The trail was tight for many miles and I felt as though I was a lightweight boxer and dodging and weaving to not get swiped in the face from branches. Also, I essentially hiked a half marathon today.
Getting up Passaconaway took every last bit of energy I had as I was on mile 8 and still going up. Something in my head told me to go get it and I got into this rhythm of foot, pole, foot, pole, head down, back bent, small steps which worked. I passed two older ladies who seem to think it was impressive to do Whiteface as well and asked about the Ridge part but I still had the deep drifts of breaking trail as the hardest part. I offered a picture of them towards the top on my descent overlooking Mount Washington. When I got to the top, I changed out my top layers, sat on my folding mat, drank more Hot cocoa, ate a bar, and tried to just rest. I only rested once before on the top and that was after Tripyramid. I was done. I did it but I know I had a long walk back the car.
I ran into two older gentlemen on the way down of a steep section and took the opportunity to chat with them. One of them was wearing a '48 over 70' club hat and had the 4000-footer patch on his hip sack. He told me that this is his second time around doing the 48 which is really impressive. I told them of my journey and they of theirs. I told them about Hiker Ed, and he told me about this girl who hikes with a cat. I told them that I saw that on Mt. Hale a couple weeks ago. The older one (70) said that she was attractive and the younger one (68) told me that at his age he should not be thinking such thoughts which cracked me up. I showed them my slide step maneuver down the snow and away I went.
After a couple of miles when the trail started to flatten out, I put in my ear pods, put on some Paul Simon, and "slip siding away". The down trail is a good time to think as its less technical and that feeling of accomplishment combined with tiredness allows your brain to slow down and think. However, I was too tired and just drifted in and out of the words from the songs. Not thinking on hiking is just as good as thinking. I certainly broke trail on this one. Oh and a milestone… I am halfway done with the 48 4000-footers.
Date
February 26th 2021
Distance
12.14 miles
Elevation Gain
3,802 feet
All Trails
Comments