alpinista
Active member
What better way to kick off the new year than with a hike?! 
Sure, the weather, to put it bluntly, sucked! Some wine and bubbly the night before made a few of us a bit dehydrated! And yes, waking up early in the morning made us groggy and grouchy.
But what the heck. It was a day off from work, the mountains were beckoning, and we had a peak to bag! It just wasn't the peak we originally planned.
At first, the plan was to hike Mt. Waumbek. But the freezing rain prompted us to switch gears at the last minute: Mt. Tecumseh would instead be our destination.
Frankly, I was thinking that the only sensible plan was to bag it all and not venture outdoors. But AMSTony and Bobby were voting in favor of getting out and simply scaling back the plan, and I'm a sucker for seeing those guys slog up the trail in nasty weather, so I went along for sh**s and giggles.
We hit the trailhead at Waterville Valley ski area at 10:30 a.m., being greeted by Bobby who was getting his gear in order. Soon, BigEarl and Jennifer showed up, Jennifer sporting some stylish new boots with pink trim! Nicely done!
It was raining, albeit not that hard. Basically, it was a steady drizzle/mist. The gang used stabilicers, while I donned my plastics and crampons (mostly so my toesies would be toasty).
We took off up the trail that was coated with some snow and some ice. About 5 minutes into the hike, AMSTony asked if I'd brought my camera. But I opted to keep it in the car _ so he ran back to the car to grab his camera to record the hike. Glad he did since it was a lovely walk in the woods and a great way to ring in the new year!
It didn't take long for my left crampon to come loose. I put it back on, remembering yet again how even the simplest of tasks can be complicated in the winter. About 10 minutes later, it came loose again _ so I took it off and put it on my pack, and plodded along with just one crampon. It was more than sufficient, particularly since the plastic boots excel at crunching through thin layers of ice.
I'm the slow poke in the group, so I brought up the rear _ a nice treat since that meant most everyone else was breaking trail.
Occasionally, we could hear the sounds of skiers and snowboarders maneuvering down the adjacent slopes _ though surely, they were having less fun on what has so far been an awful ski season than we were in these peaceful woods.
It took us about three hours to reach the summit. I barely had a view the last time I was here (March of 2001), and we certainly didn't have any views this time either. We were socked in. But we enjoyed a little respite on the summit, munching on gorp, and chocolate and Fig Newtons, and refueling with water before heading back down.
The top third of the hike is quite steep _ but much nicer on the way down! What took about three hours to hike up, took about 90 minutes to get down.
It may not have been the most beautiful of days, but the company was perfect. It was great to get out, get a workout in, and to kick off the New Year in style! A big thank you to Tony for arranging the hike _ and to everyone else for joining in!
Pics will be posted later this evening.
Sure, the weather, to put it bluntly, sucked! Some wine and bubbly the night before made a few of us a bit dehydrated! And yes, waking up early in the morning made us groggy and grouchy.
But what the heck. It was a day off from work, the mountains were beckoning, and we had a peak to bag! It just wasn't the peak we originally planned.
At first, the plan was to hike Mt. Waumbek. But the freezing rain prompted us to switch gears at the last minute: Mt. Tecumseh would instead be our destination.
Frankly, I was thinking that the only sensible plan was to bag it all and not venture outdoors. But AMSTony and Bobby were voting in favor of getting out and simply scaling back the plan, and I'm a sucker for seeing those guys slog up the trail in nasty weather, so I went along for sh**s and giggles.
We hit the trailhead at Waterville Valley ski area at 10:30 a.m., being greeted by Bobby who was getting his gear in order. Soon, BigEarl and Jennifer showed up, Jennifer sporting some stylish new boots with pink trim! Nicely done!
It was raining, albeit not that hard. Basically, it was a steady drizzle/mist. The gang used stabilicers, while I donned my plastics and crampons (mostly so my toesies would be toasty).
We took off up the trail that was coated with some snow and some ice. About 5 minutes into the hike, AMSTony asked if I'd brought my camera. But I opted to keep it in the car _ so he ran back to the car to grab his camera to record the hike. Glad he did since it was a lovely walk in the woods and a great way to ring in the new year!
It didn't take long for my left crampon to come loose. I put it back on, remembering yet again how even the simplest of tasks can be complicated in the winter. About 10 minutes later, it came loose again _ so I took it off and put it on my pack, and plodded along with just one crampon. It was more than sufficient, particularly since the plastic boots excel at crunching through thin layers of ice.
I'm the slow poke in the group, so I brought up the rear _ a nice treat since that meant most everyone else was breaking trail.
Occasionally, we could hear the sounds of skiers and snowboarders maneuvering down the adjacent slopes _ though surely, they were having less fun on what has so far been an awful ski season than we were in these peaceful woods.
It took us about three hours to reach the summit. I barely had a view the last time I was here (March of 2001), and we certainly didn't have any views this time either. We were socked in. But we enjoyed a little respite on the summit, munching on gorp, and chocolate and Fig Newtons, and refueling with water before heading back down.
The top third of the hike is quite steep _ but much nicer on the way down! What took about three hours to hike up, took about 90 minutes to get down.
It may not have been the most beautiful of days, but the company was perfect. It was great to get out, get a workout in, and to kick off the New Year in style!
A big thank you to Tony for arranging the hike _ and to everyone else for joining in!Pics will be posted later this evening.
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