An Old Fashioned Winter on Old Bridle Path: 2/18/25

Since New Year's it's been a winter of abundant snowfall, prolonged cold and busy winds. The current mantra is "it's a good old fashioned New England winter." I concur with that assessment after a solo trek breaking trail up the ultra-popular Old Bridle Path to its ledgy outlooks on a cold, windy day. 

 

There was only one car in the parking lot when I pulled in late morning after bailing on a hike out towards the Hancocks due to an unplowed parking lot. I had my doubts as I sat in my wind-buffeted car, with a temperature of 8 degrees and the trees swaying overhead. I figured I'd strap on my snowshoes and give it a go, with the option to turn back at any point and head for a shorter, lower elevation hike.

 

As it turned out, I was breaking trail right from the start. Whoever was in the other car headed up Falling Waters Trail, and mostly used the old route of Old Bridle Path to reach the junction.  I quickly discovered that the old snowshoe track for OBP was almost completely obscured by the heavy, wind-drifted snow from the weekend's storm. With the exception of a few short stretches, the only way to stay atop the old track was to probe with a pole and feel for it.  

The wind was whipping through the hardwoods on the lower part as I slowly plodded my way upward.

There was a serious snowpack in the woods beside the trail. If I stepped atop the old track I would sink in a foot in most places; off the track it was more like two feet.

These drifted-in troughs were tedious to navigate due to hidden deep soft holes.

When I plunged into this hole about 0.8 mile up, I seriously considered turning back.

Drifting was the name of the game this day.

Drifting away.

Pretty good snow load.

One of the few spots where the old snowshoe track was discernible.

Slow and steady wins the day.

Where's the trail?

Are we there yet?

Site of a future short relocation of the trail.

 

On the last quarter-mile climb to the sharp left turn at 1.6 miles, the wind had packed the slope into a slanted sidehill. Here the snow varied from soft and deep to hard crust.

First glimpse up to Mt. Lincoln.

And Little Haystack.

The hardest breaking of the day was on the steep pitch leading up to the left turn.

 

The narrow traverse above that turn was a rather nasty sidehill.

On the steep ledgy pitch just above the traverse, the wind had scoured out an old buttslide trough, providing a brief hard-packed respite from  trail breaking.

Farther up, this ledgy pitch was sheathed in hard crust, offering good grip for my MSRs.

A blaze nearly swallowed by the snowpack.

 

Deep windpacked snow in the scrub offered great views up to the ridge well before I reached the ledge outlooks.

Though winds on Mt. Washington were gusting over 90 mph at the time I was up here mid-afternoon, the OBP ridge was sheltered from the blasts and the wind here was not bad at all. A good thing, as temperatures were likely in the low single numbers at 3400 ft.

Surf's up!

Arriving at the first of three ledgy outlooks on the brink of Walker Ravine. It had taken more than three hours to ascend two miles to this magnificent viewpoint.

The classic view of Mts. Lafayette and Lincoln and the two branches of Walker Ravine.

Looking over to the amphitheatre at the head of the Dry Brook Ravine, under Little Haystack. Shining Rock Cliff is on the far right.

A closer look at Lafayette and the north branch of Walker Ravine.

Zoom on Mt. Lincoln and the south branch of Walker Ravine, including the long, narrow slide leading up to "Lincoln's Throat," just to the right of center. All told, a dozen slides on the west side of Franconia Ridge can be seen from these viewpoints.

Heading up the ridge to two more outlooks.

A backlit view of the Kinsmans across the notch.

Looking back down the ridge and out to distant southwestern horizons.

Parting shot.

Descending a steep pitch off the crest of the ridge. The varied terrain and snow conditions up here made for interesting snowshoeing.

Looking back at the sidehill traverse.

With only one set of tracks in the heavy snow, even descending was fairly strenuous.

A wind sculpture down in the hardwoods.

 

Returning to an empty parking lot late in the day. It was surprising that I was the only trekker on Old Bridle Path this day, but it certainly made for a unique winter experience on this usually busy trail.

 

 

Mount Liberty: 2/12/25

After doing a lot of trail breaking both on and off the trail over the last few weeks, I was ready for a hike on a packed trail. With a forecast for moderate winter temperatures and light winds, I decided it would be a good day to climb Mount Liberty, one of my favorite viewpoints in the Whites. There were several cars parked at the northbound Basin parking lot, and snowshoe tracks led onto the snowmobile-groomed bike path. The promise of an excellent packed powder snowshoe track was fulfilled as I turned onto the unofficial connecting path and then the Liberty Spring Trail.

Nobody had been on the Flume Slide Trail since the last snowfall.

 

The next mile of Liberty Spring Trail is a pleasant meander through hardwood forest at easy to moderate grades.

The one significant brook crossing had a solid snow bridge.

At ~2,500 ft. the trail swings right into a darker conifer and birch forest to commence a long and relentless climb to the Franconia Ridge Trail on the ridgecrest.

This stretch of trail, which has been called "soul-crushing," rises 1,700 ft. in 1.3 miles. Televators prove their worth on this climb.

The open woods beside the trail were inviting, but deep soft snow would mean arduous bushwhacking.

Well up on the climb I ran into "Postal Patty," a remarkable hiker who is a two-time Grid finisher. She was descending after having climbed both Liberty and Flume. She reported that the summit of Liberty was socked in when she was up there.

The snow is really piling up in the mountains.

Winter beauty around every bend.

Always happy to reach this landmark. Only 400 ft. of elevation left to reach the ridge.

But that last bit is a stiff climb.

There's the top!

Looks like a new post for the trail sign at the junction.

A lovely ramble through fir woods along the ridge.

Tunneling.

Blue sky, and summit in the clear!

Winter at its best.

Climbing to the sun.

First views north along the range, with Mount Garfield in the distance.

East across the Pemigewasset Wilderness to the dark, lurking mass of Owl's Head and the snow-caked Twin-Bond Range.

 

,Zoom on Mount Guyot and the Bonds.

 

Along the little ledgy ridge approaching the classic crags of Liberty.

Close-up.

Side view.

Distant Mt. Cabot and Mt. Waumbek are outlined in white between Mt. Garfield and North Twin.

From the summit, looking towards Cannon. Part of Lonesome Lake can be seen under the Cannon Balls.

 

A great perspective looking up the long East Branch valley to the farther reaches of the Pemi Wilderness, out by Mt. Carrigain and the Nancy Range.

Zoomed in a bit.

 

One of the great sights from Mt. Liberty is the slide-raked face of Mt. Flume, with the Sandwich Range and the Osceolas beyond.

Summit rocks.

 Nice light on the Twin-Bond Range. The Presidentials remained smothered in cloud beyond.

 

 

Mt. Guyot and the slides in the Redrock Brook cirques. At least twenty slides can be spotted from the summit of Liberty.

The Bonds, featuring the creased crags of Bondcliff. The Guitar Slide can be seen under Mt. Bond.

Across Franconia Notch to the Kinsmans.

 

Clouds advancing over Mt. Moosilauke. Time to head down after a marvelous summit stay of an hour and twenty minutes, with no one else here the entire time.

A total of eight hikers, including me, climbed Liberty this day, and all were in snowshoes. Yay! The snowshoe track was a beautiful thing to descend. The long steady section was still a leg burner, though. On the way down I met a woman who is closing in on completing her 4000-footers over 70, with only five peaks to go. Good luck!

What a pleasure to snowshoe down through the open hardwoods on the gentler lower half of the trail.