NORTH RIDGE OF MIDDLE SISTER: 3/6/18

Mark Klim and I bushwhacked up the northern spur ridge of Middle Sister to a sunny view ledge. Off-trail snow conditions were excellent, providing some of the best snowshoeing of the season, and the views were crystal-clear.

The snow bridge over Twin Brook at the start of Champney Falls Trail was still holding up.

A beautiful late winter day in the Champney Brook valley.

Squirrel convention.

Champney Brook above the falls.

View from a brookside ledge above the falls: Mt. Carrigain, Vose Spur, Owls Cliff, Mt. Tremont.

Heading up the ridge on firm snow with a soft layer on top.

Snowshoe hare.

Bobcat?

A happy snowshoer.

Nice woods.

One area had a dozen or more moose scrapings.

Typical varied woods along the ridge.

Blue sky and bright March sun.

A wandering grouse.

Mt. Washington and Mt. Monroe.

This area was burned in a 1915 fire, and the birches that grew in afterwards are now dying off.

A peek at Mt. Willey and Mt. Field with Bartlett Haystack in front.

A nice open corridor higher up on the ridge.

The final push to the ledge through deeper, sugary snow and denser woods.

Sandwich Range view from just above the ledge, elevation 2800+ ft.

Mark makes his way down to a sitting rock.

The Sandwich Range 4000-footers.

Mts. Paugus, Whiteface and Passaconaway.

Mt. Tripyramid and ledges on a northern spur of Mt. Paugus.

The Hancocks and Mt. Carrigain across the Albany Intervale.

A jumble of peaks to the east of Carrigain.

Mark takes it all in.

Side view of the ledge.

Parting panorama. The first time I visited this ledge a decade ago I continued snowshoe-whacking up the steep upper ridge to Middle Sister, but today we decided to just stay here and enjoy the sun and the views for an hour and a half.

An opening along the ridge reveals the Presidentials from Eisenhower to Madison. All told, we spotted 26 4000-footers from our vantage points.

Great snowshoeing heading back down the ridge.

Enjoying the late afternoon sun.

Ledges at the top of Champney Falls.

HEDGEHOG EAST LEDGES: 2/28/18

Bare rock beckoned on this sunny, near 50 degree day. A short bushwhack put a new twist on an old favorite.

Brilliant sun in the hardwoods along the east loop of the UNH Trail. Conditions were sloppy, especially in the afternoon. I wore small snowshoes for more stable footing.

The headwaters of White Brook.

Near the top of the east loop I diverted to a bushwhack route up a draw between the East Ledges and the main summit. This is approximately the route of a long-abandoned section of trail. Despite the warm temps, the snow base was rock-solid under the top 3" layer of wet newer snow.

One of the larger red spruces I've seen recently.

The route took me along the base of a hidden cliff.

Another angle.

A Pileated Woodpecker masterpiece.

From the East Ledges, the classic view of Mt. Passaconaway. To the left are Nanamocomuck Peak (marked by a 1938 slide) and Wonalancet Hedgehog.

Looking west to the Sleepers and South Tripyramid.

Looking up to the summit cliffs of Hedgehog.

Not normal for February 28, but we'll take it!

Had an excellent look at a pair of Red Crossbills in a spruce down below. The mix of red and orange plumage suggests that this is a young male. We saw Red Crossbills on Great Hill the day before, and have seen a number of White-winged Crossbills this winter as well. Pine Siskins seem to be everywhere.

Chocorua off to the east.

On the way down I removed a couple of blowdowns on my adopted trail section.

I didn't mess with this leaner - these can be dangerous to remove solo and are best done with at least two maintainers.We'll get it in the spring.

GREAT HILL & WHITE LAKE: 2/27/18

Carol and I had a beautiful spring-like day for a day of mellow hiking and geocaching on the southeast side of the mountains.

Mt. Whiteface from Great Hill School Pond (aka Duck Pond) in Hemenway State Forest.
 

We made the easy hike up to the firetower on Great Hill (1300 ft.).

It's an historic tower.

The Great Hill tower has, well, great views of the Sandwich Range, including this look at Whiteface and Passaconaway.

Sprawling Mt. Paugus with its many cliffs and crags.

The horn of Chocorua.

Hello down there!

More views of the Sandwich Range from the south shore of White Lake, in White Lake State Park.

Chocorua and the Sisters.

There is a very nice 2 mile loop trail around the lake. We found variable spring conditions on the sunny eastern shore and consistent snow coverage on the shadier western side.

Geocaching.

We extended the loop along the Pitch Pine Trail, which passes through a stand of pitch pines (familiar from Cape Cod and other sandy places) that is a National Natural Landmark.

One of two black spruce bogs in a town of Tamworth preserve.

Snowshoe tracks along the edge of White Lake.

Chocorua peeking over.

Quiet evening at White Lake. This is a very busy place in summer, and is also popular as a snowmobiling spot, but there was no one around this day.