blacknblue
Active member
I hadn’t been above 4000 feet – or even about 3200 feet – since a Thanksgiving expedition to Mount Adams, so the 4K bug was getting restless. With Friday forecasted to be clear, I set my sights on an early-morning trip to Mt. Carrigain. The closer I got to Friday, though, the “leave the house by 5am” line of thinking lost some steam, and the “just get to the top before sunset” dominated the Enfield caucus.
As it was, I left the house around 7:15, prepared for subzero temps and blustery winds. I got to the trailhead about two hours later, where it was probably a few degrees on either side of zero. I started snowshoeing up the Sawyer River Road at 9:35 and arrived at the trailhead at 10:10. The roadwalk was actually quite pleasant. Sunlight streamed between the deciduous trees and made it delightful.
The first stream crossing was easy as pie. The trail was very well-packed (but not icy-hard), and somebody apparently had bare-booted to the summit within the last day or two. There are several places where the bushes and saplings are bending over the trail, whacking me in the face or legs. I’ve never been on it in summertime, so I can’t really compare, but it wasn't really a big deal. Eventually, the trail bends away from the stream and passes through some open forests that were magnificent. It was really a great day to be out. I got to the junction with Carrigain Notch Trail a little after 11:00 and took a break to drink and eat.
I left the junction at 11:15 and immediately had to make the second stream crossing. The series of rocks were above water, but ice-covered. It wasn’t terribly hard, but required some care, and the tails of my snowshoes got dragged along the water a few times. There are two other minor crossing just after, and then the trail starts to climb. Mount Lowell came into view more and more, thanks to the fallen birch leaves. The trail to the ridgeline is a nice, consistent grade, seldom steep enough to require step-kicks. With the increasing snow depth, I had to duck under more and more snow-laden evergreen branches. Near the ridgeline, the branches were ice-encrusted and were coated with icicles shimmering in the sunlight. It was a magical little world up there. This, of course, is when my camera batteries decided to freeze up (literally).
I got to the first major outlook on the ridgeline at 1:15, and I stopped to put on more clothes, change camera batteries, and snack. Views from Lowell to Chocorua were sublime. Snow showers to the west prevented any clear views in that direction. Just a few steps further and the summit firetower came into view and the wind picked up at the minor south summit. It still wasn’t nearly as bad as I had anticipated or prepared for, so I just dropped my goggles and continued over the exposed stretch to the cover of the forest again. I was on top at 1:45.
I had the entire day to myself – nobody at the empty parking lot, on the trail, or the summit, except for a plump grayjay who decided to befriend me at the top. I took his picture, dropped my pack, and climbed the firetower. Snow squalls obscured views of the Osceolas, Hancocks, and Bonds. I could see Franconia Ridge, but barely, and the Presidentials were invisible. I could see Zealand Notch, Crawford Notch, and the cliffs and ledges of Carrigain Notch. Lowell, Anderson, Nancy, and Bemis were visible, as well as Attitash and Cranmore, Chocorua, Paugus, Passaconaway, Whiteface, and all the mountains closer in. The wind came and went, but generally I was quite pleasant on top. It’s pretty tough to guesstimate temperatures after/during hiking, but my hands got cold after exposed for about thirty seconds, and I did pull my neck gaiter over my cold nose after a minute or two (but kept the balaclava off).
Anyway, I forewent chugging straight from the well and left the summit at 2:10, reached the trail junction at 3:35, and was to my car at 4:55. About 7 ¼ hours roundtrip, and arrived without having to use my headlamp. I put the hatchback of my Cherokee up, sat in my camp chair, and drank hot chocolate from my Thermos in the parking lot, watching the last of the daylight fade away.
33 pics here
As it was, I left the house around 7:15, prepared for subzero temps and blustery winds. I got to the trailhead about two hours later, where it was probably a few degrees on either side of zero. I started snowshoeing up the Sawyer River Road at 9:35 and arrived at the trailhead at 10:10. The roadwalk was actually quite pleasant. Sunlight streamed between the deciduous trees and made it delightful.
The first stream crossing was easy as pie. The trail was very well-packed (but not icy-hard), and somebody apparently had bare-booted to the summit within the last day or two. There are several places where the bushes and saplings are bending over the trail, whacking me in the face or legs. I’ve never been on it in summertime, so I can’t really compare, but it wasn't really a big deal. Eventually, the trail bends away from the stream and passes through some open forests that were magnificent. It was really a great day to be out. I got to the junction with Carrigain Notch Trail a little after 11:00 and took a break to drink and eat.
I left the junction at 11:15 and immediately had to make the second stream crossing. The series of rocks were above water, but ice-covered. It wasn’t terribly hard, but required some care, and the tails of my snowshoes got dragged along the water a few times. There are two other minor crossing just after, and then the trail starts to climb. Mount Lowell came into view more and more, thanks to the fallen birch leaves. The trail to the ridgeline is a nice, consistent grade, seldom steep enough to require step-kicks. With the increasing snow depth, I had to duck under more and more snow-laden evergreen branches. Near the ridgeline, the branches were ice-encrusted and were coated with icicles shimmering in the sunlight. It was a magical little world up there. This, of course, is when my camera batteries decided to freeze up (literally).
I got to the first major outlook on the ridgeline at 1:15, and I stopped to put on more clothes, change camera batteries, and snack. Views from Lowell to Chocorua were sublime. Snow showers to the west prevented any clear views in that direction. Just a few steps further and the summit firetower came into view and the wind picked up at the minor south summit. It still wasn’t nearly as bad as I had anticipated or prepared for, so I just dropped my goggles and continued over the exposed stretch to the cover of the forest again. I was on top at 1:45.
I had the entire day to myself – nobody at the empty parking lot, on the trail, or the summit, except for a plump grayjay who decided to befriend me at the top. I took his picture, dropped my pack, and climbed the firetower. Snow squalls obscured views of the Osceolas, Hancocks, and Bonds. I could see Franconia Ridge, but barely, and the Presidentials were invisible. I could see Zealand Notch, Crawford Notch, and the cliffs and ledges of Carrigain Notch. Lowell, Anderson, Nancy, and Bemis were visible, as well as Attitash and Cranmore, Chocorua, Paugus, Passaconaway, Whiteface, and all the mountains closer in. The wind came and went, but generally I was quite pleasant on top. It’s pretty tough to guesstimate temperatures after/during hiking, but my hands got cold after exposed for about thirty seconds, and I did pull my neck gaiter over my cold nose after a minute or two (but kept the balaclava off).
Anyway, I forewent chugging straight from the well and left the summit at 2:10, reached the trail junction at 3:35, and was to my car at 4:55. About 7 ¼ hours roundtrip, and arrived without having to use my headlamp. I put the hatchback of my Cherokee up, sat in my camp chair, and drank hot chocolate from my Thermos in the parking lot, watching the last of the daylight fade away.
33 pics here
