And on the last day of Winter...

New England had an extremely mellow winter this year, which has its pros and cons. In terms of hiking, it means the trails will be free of snow and ice much earlier this year than most years.

Last weekend, a friend and I drove up to the Waterville Valley area to hike Welch-Dickey, a short loop complete with ledges, rock scrambles and views galore. It's a great early season warm-up hike. We were blessed with blue skies and pleasant temperatures. We took our time and enjoyed the beautiful day. There were a few small patches of ice still lingering in the shade, but the slabs were dry enough to scramble up.

February: Short, but sweet!

The past couple of weekends have been a little busy, so I've been trying to squeeze in a hike when I can. This means that early on Saturday mornings, Em & I have been driving up to New Hampshire and ticking of some smaller mountains from 52 with a View, a list of mountains under 4,000ft with rewarding views.

New Year's Adventures

I am happy to say that I got to start 2016 off with a couple of hikes in the first few days...

Em headed to the summit of Mt. Liberty.

On New Year's Day, Em and I hiked Mt. Liberty from Franconia Notch. Despite a sunny start, by the time we reached the ridge we were socked in and it was snowing. There were a few people out on the trail, but we had the summit to ourselves.

Franconia Ridge trail.

The next day, my parents, some family friends, and I did a traverse of Mt. Pisgah which overlooks Lake Willoughby in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. It was a gorgeous hike made all the more beautiful by the freshly fallen snow, which blanketed the trees.

Walking in a winter wonderland!

With the parents on the ledges of Mt. Pisgah overlooking Lake Willoughby.

Headed down from the summit to the southern trailhead. 

'Twas the day after Christmas...

At the outlook, which offers amazing views of Franconia Ridge across the way. 

The day after Christmas, some friends and I met up at the base of Cannon by the aerial tram for a relaxed day hike to the summit. The weather was perfect, and it was practically balmy for Franconia Notch in December. We encountered occasional ice on the trail, which was avoidable, and our microspikes remained in our packs for the entirety of the hike. 

Part of Franconia Ridge (Lafayette & Lincoln).

The Kinsman Ridge trail was a relentless climb for the first mile or so, and the switchbacks pass through one of the glades from the ski area. At the summit, we climbed the observation deck to soak in the 360 degree views before heading to the tramway cafeteria to eat lunch out of the wind and cold.

Lafayette and Lincoln from the Cannon Mtn. observation deck.

Descending the shoulder of Cannon Mtn.

Headed back down the Kinsman Ridge trail.

Osceola & East Osceola

It's that time of year in New England: when the mountains start to get snow, and yet it's still balmy down in Massachusetts. I'll admit I love snow, though I am sure that most people in New England (especially after last winter) might not be so enthusiastic about it.

Unfortunately, the early season snow I had encountered on Cannon didn't last long. So, this past weekend I was hoping that Em would finally get a real winter hike experience. And she did!

I was slightly concerned, because there wasn't any snow on the ground in Lincoln, but as the car headed up the Kancamagus small patches started to appear, growing in size.

As we started down the Greeley Ponds trail, we were treated to a winter wonderland!

The trail up Mt. Osceola was relentlessly steep, and has a thin layer of snow in addition to large icy sections. Without a cloud in the sky, the solar radiation was impressive. Depending on what side of ridge you were on it could feel like a spring day in the sunshine, or a bitter, windy, winter day in the shade.

We passed the wooded summit of East Osceola without barely even registering it, and continued along the ridge between the two summits. After a steep scramble up the chimney, we soon came to the summit ledges of Osceola, where we sat and snacked in the sunshine before retracing our steps.

Mt. Wiley: Father-Daughter Hike

This past Christmas, I gave my father the gift of going for a hike together. He made it 11 months before he cashed in. His only requests were: 1) a 4,000 footer; 2) a 4,000 footer I had not yet hiked; and 3) to come back in one piece. Just kidding, the third qualification was my own - don't kill your father. 

So, Mt. Willey it was! At 4285 feet, it is the second highest and southernmost mountain of the Willey Range, and is situated on the western side of Crawford Notch. The route using the Ethan Pond trail and the Willey Range trail is not very long, but is notoriously steep for the last mile or so. 

We got a rather mild November day; overcast and temperatures in the high 30s. The ground was free of snow, but as we gained elevation we encountered patches of ice. 

The view from the summit isn't very impressive, but a short spur lead to an outlook with incredible views of the Presidential range to the northeast,

Hiking Ike!

A friendly reminder about being above tree line in the Presidential Range.

Em and I got on the road early this past Saturday and drove up to Crawford Notch. This was to be Em's first wintery hike, complete with cold temps, some ice, and the endless quest to find a perfect layering system. 

Em nearing the summit of Eisenhower.

There was a bite in the air as we started up the trail, but we warmed up as we gained elevation. We soon encountered ice and mircrospikes went on.

In the distance: Washington, Monroe, and Franklin.

Our goal today was Mount Eisenhower (4,780ft), one of the mountains in the Southern Presidential Range. Many people were out, and when we got to the summit we were not alone. It was a little breezy, so we snapped a few photos and then continued down to complete the summit loop.

Descending Eisenhower: We found snow!