MIDDLE AND FIRST SISTER: 4/3/14

I was fortunate enough to have another sunny spring beauty for a day off - the fourth such gem in the last two weeks. The plan was to head up the Champney Falls Trail on the north side of Mt. Chocorua. While the temperatures were still fairly cold in the morning, keeping the deep snowpack firm, I'd bushwhack through birch glades to a favorite view ledge on the NW shoulder of the mountain. In the afternoon, when the snow off-trail would become soft and unsupportive, I'd head up the well-packed trail to more views on Middle and First Sisters, which have views as good as Chocoura itself and are often snowshoeable while the main summit will often feature ice and bare rock. It turned out to be a great day, and despite the glorious weather I didn't see another hiker on the entire trek.

The snow on the trail was rock-solid in the morning, so I started out in Microspikes.

The snow bridge over Twin Brook was solid at both the beginning and end of the day.

View of Champney Brook partway up the trail.

Still a good deep snowpack, even at lower elevations.

Above about 2400 ft. there were many little ice chunks in the trail, fallen from trees after an icing event a few days earlier.

Donning my snowshoes, I was delighted to find that the snowpack was still firm on the NW shoulder at 11:00 am.

Great birch glade wandering in the bright spring sun.

Been waiting all winter for this!

A good deep snowpack at 2700 ft.

My snowshoes were making only light impressions; on the way back in early afternoon I started punching through occasionally.

A Kilkenny or "Engine Hill bushwhack" type experience.

Arriving at the back of the outlook ledge with the snow sparkling under beautiful skies.

The ledge has a great 180-degree view to the west.

An intimate view of Mt. Paugus rising from the Paugus Brook valley.

Mt. Whiteface and Mt. Passaconaway.

Snow-sculptured granite.

The Tripyramids. The little white patch under the Middle-North col is the only open spot left from a century-old slide.

Mt. Passaconaway, showing the white slash of a 1938 slide.

A jumble of peaks to the north.

An hour passed very quickly here.

The Sisters glimpsed through the trees on the way back to the trail.

Couldn't get enough of these birch glades!

Back on the Champney Falls Trail, along one of the upper switchbacks.

Remnants of the ice storm clinging to the trees.

I followed a partly broken, postholed track along the Champney Falls Cutoff, soon reaching that trail's great open outlook ledge.

Westerly vista from the big sloping slab.

The Cutoff slices across a steep sidehill, and in these shady woods the snow was rock-solid. If you slipped off the trail it would be a long, quick ride down through the woods.

Trail signs at the junction in the col between the Sisters.

Climbing in the open through soft spring snow on the south face of Middle Sister.

View north down the Champney Brook valley.

Mt. Chocorua peers over nearby First Sister.

The foundation of the old fire lookout atop Middle Sister, which operated from 1927 to 1948. A Forest Service radio repeater is inside.

View towards the Moat Range.

Peaks and ledges, with Mt. Moosilauke on the horizon.

After enjoying the views on Middle Sister, I headed across to First Sister. When I paused to take a photo while climbing up through the spruce forest on the north side of the peak, a male Spruce Grouse emerged from the trees and approached me boldly, making guttural calls that indicated his displeasure at my presence.

I took them to mean something like, "You'd best be moving on before I kick your butt!"

Although the mating season doesn't normally begin until late April, this handsome fellow apparently had his turf picked out and was prepared to defend it! This is about as far south as this rare and protected bird is found in New Hampshire.

When I began to move away, he attacked my legs, flapping his wings and pecking with his beak, and continued to do so for about 200 feet until I got out of his territory. It might be best to avoid this trail section for a while, especially if hiking with a dog.

After surviving the grouse assault, I continued up towards First Sister, with a view back to Middle Sister.

Approaching the wide open summit of First Sister, fully deserving of its former name, Bald Mountain.

A window to the west between two rock knobs on the summit.

Looking towards Mt. Chocorua and a big ledgy patch on an intermediate knob.

The great horn of Chocorua.

The spread of the Presidentials. The excellent views from the Sisters include 32 of the White Mountain 4000-footers.

Late afternoon on First Sister.

Descending the south side of First Sister in slushy spring snow, I lost a ski pole basket in a seemingly bottomless drift.

Looking back at First Sister from a viewpoint off the Champney Falls Trail.

So many great view spots on this mountain!

End of the day on the lower Champney Falls Trail.

POTASH MOUNTAIN: 4/1/14

There was no sign of winter foolin' with the weather today: bright sunny skies with temps into the mid to upper 40s. This kind of a day has been a long time coming with the winter that never seems to end. It would be too warm for any extended snowshoe bushwhacking, so a packed-out trail hike was in order. I considered the Tripyramids, but weekend reports of postholes and butt-slid steeps, and the thought of the 2,000 stream crossings on Pine Bend Brook Trail with softening snow, nixed that idea.

Little 2700-ft. Potash Mountain seemed like a good choice for the day. It has one of the best views of the Sandwich Range, and at 4 1/2 miles round trip would be manageable if the snow conditions became punky. When I was heading to Hedgehog Mountain last Thursday, I saw a snowshoe track heading up the Downes Brook Trail. I hoped that the track would be intact, and that the snow bridge over Downes Brook was still solid. Spring conditions are unpredictable, which makes choosing a hike tricky at times, but I lucked out on both counts this day.

Before heading across the Kanc Highway I stopped at the Loon Mountain bridge for a look at snow-capped Mt. Moosilauke rising beyond the East Branch.

The snowshoe track leading along the Downes Brook Trail and onto the Mount Potash Trail (for some reason it's Potash Mountain but Mount Potash Trail) was in great shape with minimal postholing from barebooters. Phew!

And Downes Brook was still deeply buried in snow, with a solid track leading across.

But it won't be long before openings like this start to expand.

As I climbed into hemlock and spruce forest, I was sprinkled with "rain" from the melting of ice that had coated the trees during a recent storm.

I could see it was a special view day upon emerging at the first outlook - Passaconaway and the north shoulder of Whiteface, their upper slopes shimmering from the recent icing.

The northern spur of Whiteface and the remote head of the Downes Brook valley - five miles in by trail.

Hedgehog Mountain nearby to the east, with Square Ledge peeking over the R side of the Hedgehog-Passaconaway col.

Nice spruce woods on the shoulder beyond the outlook.

The trail makes a traversing climb along the SE side of the summit cone.

A big open slab at 2550 ft. opens a view across to Chocorua, Hedgehog and Paugus.

The trail then swings right for a steep ledgy climb up the south face of the summit - a fun
stretch of snowshoeing.

An intimate view of Mt. Passaconaway, with the Downes Brook Slide well-displayed.

A zoom on two great slides on the north ridge of Whiteface, plunging into the Downes Brook valley.

The sun was pouring down on the summit, and there was no wind. I dropped down over deep, windpacked spring snow to my favorite Potash perch on the SW side. This spot has a unique perspective looking up both the Downes and Sabbaday valleys, ringed by the high peaks of the Sandwich Range Wilderness. Rising in a sweeping arc around you are nine peaks higher than 3500 ft. It's one of my favorite places in the Whites.

I love this view of The Sleepers rising above the Sabbaday Brook valley. Potash is the best place to see the 2011 Tropical Storm Irene slide on West Sleeper.

The complex ridges of the Tripyramids are close by to the west.

The bulk of the Fool Killer blocks much of Tripyramid itself.

South and Middle Tripyramid - a great example of mountain architecture.

A zoom on the headwall of the Downes Brook valley.

Mt. Carrigain rises impressively to the north.

Today's summit stay was measured in hours, with a snooze and an ample dose of Vitamin D.

Not a bad spot to hang out!

I interrupted my reverie for a bushwhack exploration across the broad summit area, looking for views in other directions. The deep snow in the shady spruces was surprisingly firm and held up under my snowshoes with a few exceptions. I made my way down and across to a perch with a wide view to the NE.

Church Pond and Church Pond Bog in front, Mt. Tremont in the middle, Presys on the left, Wildcats and Carter Dome on the right.

Zoom on the Wildcats and Carter Dome.

The Baldface Range and the Doubleheads through Bear Notch.

Washington and Tremont.

From another spot I enjoyed a view across the Albany Intervale to the Moats.

Leaving the summit mid-afternoon, I descended through soft spring snow in the sun.

From one of the outlooks, a zoom on Chocorua and Hedgehog.

Parting shot from the lower outlook.

The spring snowshoe track held up admirably down through the conifers. It was mushier in the hardwoods, but I only slid off the side a handful of times. And the snow bridge across Downes Brook was still sound, even at 48 degrees! All in all, a great early spring day on Potash.