Winter hiking: What a great Sabbaday!

Winter hiking is an entirely different beast than hiking during the remaining three seasons of the year. Yesterday's hike up the Sabbaday Brook trail to Middle Tripyramid is a fine example of the challenges hikers face in the New England winter. Here are just a few of those challenges...

1) Limited daylight means getting up before it's light out in order to take advantage of the short days in the northern hemisphere. It also means making a timeline, being flexible with plans, and having the ability to turn around or stop when time is running short. 

2) Finding the trailhead. This can be quite tricky when the snowbanks are taller than you are and the signposts come dangerously close to being buried. 

3) Maintaining just the right temperature while hiking...not too hot, not too cold. Despite the chilly temps, you tend to overdress, and within 10 minutes of starting up the trail it becomes necessary to undress and rearrange the 7,234 layers you put on when first stepping out of the sauna that was your car. The second half of this challenge is to avoid not getting cold while taking a break. For me, winter breaks tend to be no longer than 5 minutes. After about 5 minutes, the sweat starts to cool, and the chills start in. Keep moving!

4) Did I mention snow? New England has plenty of that white stuff, and it usually isn't very light and fluffy. Yesterday happened to be in the high 30s with plenty of sunshine to start us out with. The snow changed from a layer of crunchy ice with powder beneath to a heavy and somewhat slushy consistency as we tromped from the shade of the evergreens into clear sunny patches.

Headed back to the trailhead on the Sabbaday Brook trail.

5) Microspikes? Snowshoes? Bare boot? So many options, and all dependent on the snowpack for that day. Yesterday, we opted for snowshoes, which was the right choice. 

6) Breaking trail. It's hard work. Unbeknownst to us, there was a group ahead of us breaking trail for the first 2.5 miles, so we cruised through the early miles and caught up to them just as the trail started up. Then we got to break trail. My friend, Hannah, was in the front for the majority of the uphill. Fact: Breaking trail is exhausting, especially uphill and when the snowpack is a crusty top layer with about 8+ inches of fluffy white stuff beneath. Snowshoes don't grip in powder. Not one bit. We would take a step only to slide back down and try again; it was slow progress. We did make it to the top, but our legs were shaking and burning by the time we made the summit. Pure exhaustion. Borderline insanity. 

I know this all sounds a wee bit crazy, but winter hiking has it perks too. 

1) For starters, most people are completely deterred by winter hiking. This leaves the trails for those who find joy in windburn, frost-nipped fingers, silence and solitude. We are the lucky few. 

From the top of Middle Tripyramid: Looking out at Mt. Passaconaway and Chocorua.

2) Trees sans leaves make for amazing views. Everything looks different in the winter. You get a completely different perspective of the mountains and surrounding area.

Pool and ice off of the Sabbaday Brook trail.

3) It makes you feel like a little kid. Playing in the snow, snowflakes dancing in the air and glissading down steep trails is all part of the joy of winter. As adults, it's easy to get stuck in the daily grind and look at winter as an endless inconvenience of potholes, shoveling, school cancelations and the sniffles. Just a little change in attitude and altitude can make a huge difference.

We made it! 

4) It's a great way to get rid of the cabin fever and get the blood flowing. Personally, I find the gym to be stuffy and crowded this time of year. Not to mention, the elliptical, treadmill and stationary bike are boring. Minutes drag by and you're stuck watching some horrible reality TV show on the row of screens in front of you. Trust me, the last thing you'll be thinking of as you wander through the woods is which housewife would win in a cat-fight. In fact, you'll most likely be having fascinating conversations with your friends or even just alone inside your head. Enjoy it.