Hike up to Mt Liberty and Flume

Liberty Spring trail (2.9)
Franconia Ridge trail (1.5)
Osseo trail (4.1)
Lincoln Woods trail (1.4)
April 6th. Group of 9 people.


The plan was to do Franconia Ridge including all five peaks. When we got to the trailhead Michael (organizer) let us know we were doing only Liberty and Flume due to high winds on the ridge and temperatures close to single digits.
I was a little disappointed but since we already drove for 3 hours it was better to hike up those two peaks than nothing! On  our way to the trailhead we almost had a collision with wild turkey. Crazy guy was flying so low that we barely got to slow down before he flyby us trying to get across the highway.
When we got out of the car i was shocked by how cold it was. My hands immediately started to freeze and i had to put extra layers not to get too cold. We had to wait for one more person so i did not want be under dressed before even starting the hike. After 15 min we decided that he was not coming so everybody got ready and we started the hike at 8:05.

First section was fairly easy, i got warm pretty quickly and had to shed some layers. But when we got to the steeper section, pace of the group slowed down and i started to get chilly. We made several short stops to catch a breath and get a drink. It was cold and each stop had to be limited to just couple minutes to not have to put layers on. Before we got to the tree line we put windbreakers on and face protection. We knew the winds up high were gonna be strong. I started to get really cold, and back of my thighs started to get numb.
When we got out of the trees it was like in a different world. Wind was so high and it was so much colder. I had my warmest mittens on. I rushed to the peak to get some quick pics and be ready to leave the peak when the whole group got to the summit. Sky was clear and sun was up but it was not pleasant at the top of the mountain.

After we went down part of our 9 people group decided to turn back due to difficulty getting over the steeps of the mountains. 3 people went back and the rest of us was going to go up Flume.
Stretch from Liberty to Flume was much warmer and easy. I started to feel all additional layers that i had on getting hot on me. I even managed to take my hat off and my mitts for some time.
We also changed to snowshoes at this time because the trail was not as heavy packed as all the way to Liberty. We met a group of three people going down Flume. They were very happy to see us wearing snowshoes. They told us that there was a group of barebooters that made walking on the trail uneasy.

Right before the reaching Flume we put the face protection back on and we were ready to get to the peak. It was not as windy as before but still very cold, that is why we did not spend much time on the summit. We took couple of group shots and headed down to Osseo trail. At the intersection below the summit we took little break in the sunny spot.

We all decided the we were going to continue down the Osseo trail instead getting back the way we came.
From now on it was really easy and fast hike. Mostly downhill with much less snow. Trail was nicely packed but we wore snowshoes till almost the end. When we got to Lincoln Woods trail there was much less snow so we took the snowshoes off.

From there there was a lot of icy patches and several of us took some crazy falls on their butts!
Last stretch went by very quickly. It was first time that i got to go on Lincoln Woods trail during the day hours and that way it didnt feel that long and ugly.
It was still sunny when we got back down to Lincoln Woods. We waited around 30 min for our remaining friends to come and get us to our cars.

It was very nice hike and even though
we did not manage to do what we planned it was very satisfying  day.

 I was thinking about hiking Tom, Field and Willey range for quite some time, and finally on March 23rd me the dogs and Garrett with Boone set up for the trip. We were not rushing, started the hike a little after 9. It was very windy and snowing. We put our snowshoes on right away when we got out of the car, we were advised at the Highland Center that with at least 4 inches of fresh powder that would be the best option.

Misha on the summit of Avalon

There were three sets of people going before us, but as usually we passed them pretty quickly. 
Because the three groups started ahead of us the trail was broken for the first 20 min. I was not worried about anything, but after we passed all the people it started to look worse. Normally i would not worry, but that day Kappa was with us, and he has been having hard time lately with his back legs, i was afraid that breaking the trail might be too much for him. And being him silly self he would not let anybody in front of him.

We got to Avalon pretty quickly, some parts of the trail were hard to find but for most of the time we did not have hard time following the trail. Summit did not greet us with any nice views so we went back down pretty quickly.

 From that point trail was getting harder to break. I had to shoe Kappa away and go first, i could see he was getting more tired, this time he didnt even object and went behing Misha and Boone. I started getting tired as well. Snow was well above the ankle, some spots with drifts, close to knee level. Around 0,3 miles from Field we let the group of 5 people go in front of us because i did not think i could continue with that deep snow with the dogs.

What a great idea that was!!!! Walking behind them was like a dream, trail was packed and easy to follow. We reached Field summit in a strong wind and i decided that we should head down, skipping Willey . I thought we might try go for Tom if Kappa does ok when we reach Tom spur cutoff. 
Almost at the intersection for Tom spur trail i realized that i left my poles at the AZ-Avalon trails intersection. I was really upset because those were pretty new poles, but i also knew that i did not want Kappa to get additional miles added on. SO i decided i will hope for somebody else to retrieve them for me.
We got to Tom summit in a pretty nice time, on a way passing single women which we talked to on the summit as well.

It was still very windy and it was still snowing. We did not spend much time at the summit. We went back down without stopping much, passing couple of people on skis going up. 
We reached the parking lot around 2:20. I went ahead to Highland center to leave info about my poles and around 2:45 we were already on the road home.
So the day did not go as expected. We did not reach the 4th summit of the day, Kappa got really tired and i lost my poles.
Hopefully i will get back to Willey some time soon.

Washington , Monroe, winter approach on a beautiful , sunny day.

I was anticipating that trip for quite a while. I have done similar hike two years ago on a last day of Wnter. At that time i did not know much about my abilities, and with the large group the climb was slow. I could notice i was able to get higher faster and with less effort.

It was March 9th, we had 5 people in the group. We met at 8 am at the parking lot and after around 20 minutes we were ready to start. We snapped one picture before heading up. At the Marshfield station we saw several groups doing last check up of gear, adjusting packs and snowshoes. We started for Ammonoosuc ravine without any delay.

Marshfield Station

It is only 3.1 miles to the Lakes of the Clouds hut and with a pretty fast pace it did not take us too long. I believe a little over two hours and we saw roof of the hut on the horizon. The weather was very nice, i had hard time keeping my hat on. It was very sunny and warm. The trail was lost in couple of places and we followed little off trail paths used by previous hikers. There was not much ice as i remembered from two years ago.
At the hut we met several people, some were already getting ready to go towards Washington, some to Monroe. I suggested to leave the packs behind and the group agreed. I went towards Monroe not waiting for the rest of the group. There was no way we could loose vision of any member of the group on that day.
When i got to the summit there were several people there chatting and enjoying beautiful views. We snapped several pictures, talked to many people and after around 30 min headed down.
I always have that feeling of happiness when i am above tree line. I find tons of extra energy and go faster and faster.
We got to the hut, ate some snacks and started our climb toward Mt Washingotn. First half a mile was pretty fast. The trail was nicely broken and with snowshoes on, it was not that hard. Unfortunately thats about where two big groups going down passed me.  All of their members were wearing crampons. They ripped the trail apart. It was hard to walk and in many places i had to go off to the side to be able to avoid postholes.

Also thats about where the climb got a little slower and i had to take several short breaks to catch my breath. The group was still behind me and it was harder to tell them apart. I decided to push on and wait for them at the summit.
What a surprise it was to see all the people already there when i reached the peak. I think there were at least 100 people enjoying the day on the top of Mt Washington.

Everybody managed to get a summit picture and we settled down for some lunch and sun tanning. After a little while it started to get a little chilly so we decided it was time to get back. It didn't take long until we got our sleds out and slid down the slopes. That way we cut down on time going back.
 We used the sleds in many places during our decent. Sometimes it was enough to just sit on your butt without anything else. We were not the only ones having that sort of fun on that day.

I was a little disappointed we had to go back, i love being above the tree line and every time i have to leave its making me little nostalgic.
We got to our cars a little after 4 pm. Everybody was in good mood and happy about our achievement. The sun was still up and we were driving home in daylight.

That was another one of those great days that only makes you thrive for more!!