Mt. Carrigain by Road and Trail--1/30/14

A perfect day for a hike to a summit with a 360 degree view. I used Altai Skis from the well-plowed parking area up the Sawyer River Road to the trailhead. I tried these skis on the SRT but discovered that their partial skins did not provide enough friction on the well-packed trail. I switched to microspikes but noticed that the skis would have been perfect in the glades above the section of the trail near the river. Water levels were low so rock-hopping was easy for the water crossing. I switched to snowshoes when the ascent began and wore them to the top. I had the tower to myself with perfect views in all directions with hardly any wind. But no gray jays! The return was easy and I made it a little shorter by using the old trail which branches off a little before the water crossing. I used snowshoes to where things leveled off, then microspikes, then skied the road. The skis are new and I had hoped to just glide to the parking lot but it took a cross-country stride but with some "free" glide. The trail is in great shape. I met one man using light traction all the way. But hats off to Nick who used full sized skis w/ skins to ski both up and down. He wants to ski all 48--good luck. Another aspect of this hike was my learning recently of my relation to Col. Joseph Whipple (a distant cousin) who was the employer of Nancy Barton, who encouraged her fiance to head to Portsmouth with her money to buy a uniform, and who thus was responsible for her death. (She froze to death pursuing them). So when the hike was over I was glad there was no ghost lingering to exact retribution on the family. Nancy is obviously judged better by history--she has many things named after while Col. Whipple only has one mountain named after him (on the Pliny ridge). #40!

Interesting bit of history. I would say that the Nancy Pond trail blows away the Col Whipple trail.