The Winter Mountains after the rain, snow and the ice!

Driving through Jefferson I noticed how amazing the clouds were on top of the 

White Mountains in front of me (Presidential Range). The clouds followed the ridge 

and then you can see white snow under the clouds. 

So beautiful. I had to stop for a picture. 

 

 As I drove on route 2 I noticed the sun was setting behind the mountains, so I snapped a picture to share. Such a gorgeous sky!

When I got near the parking place that starts the hike up to Mt. Madison, I noticed three cars in the lot. After the rain, snow and ice we had the past few days, I hope the hikers had just started their hike and were safe someplace up in the mountains.

 I took this last picture half way up Gorham hill. Love the White Mountains. Lived here my whole life and still pull over to take pictures and sometimes just stare....I am so lucky to live here!

Great Time to Hike in the White Mountains ... Autumn has arrived!

 I love hiking in the White Mountain and the best time of year is autumn! The colors are amazing on the trees and when hiking you will see patches of red, orange and yellow trees in the distance! I traveled through Crawford Notch over the week and saw such beautiful colors, so I drove down to Franconia notch with my mom and my dog Stitch to see the colors of fall in the White Mountains. We hiked the 1/2 mile loop and here are some pics I took along the way,

Cannon Mt

View from Bald Mountain

Stitch enjoying the view from Bald Mountain

(Only until the 28th! Help him win!) Dont forget 2 cast a vote 4 Stitch the Hiking Dog! He just loves 2 hike the White Mountains..He's smiles all the way! http://949whom.listenernetwork.com/Contest/2NBCDP/UGC/ViewEntry?submissionId=143816 …

Stitch and I on Bald Mountain

View from Artist Bluff

Autumn has arrived but it won't stay long so get to the White Mountains and enjoy the colors! Happy Hiking!!

Trail Report: Mt. Willey 4285' and the nine ladders!

Since I was young, I have heard stories of the Willey family and the landslide that had killed all nine of them. I have stopped at the Willey House historic Site, hiked the trails around the pond, but never hiked the Willey Mountain. Guess I was afraid of what I might find. I have been told that there was a den up on the mountain that people believed was the devil's den. The den was found by Mr. Crawford back in the day, with bones of which he believed to be of humans. Hearing all these stories have keep me from hiking, but not this year! This year I decided to hike up and O, what I hike it turned out to be!

Parked in the lower parking lot on route 302, walked up the small road to the trail. The trail we hiked was Ethan Pond Trail, which we followed for 1.6 miles to a section where we connected to Willey Range Trail. This trail had some surprises! A small section  of the trail was washed away, stairs were after, followed by NINE ladders! The ladders were fine going up, but I was nervous when coming back down them. This trail was was 1.1 miles to the top of Mt. Willey! Here are a few pics of what you will find as you head up to a beautiful view!

The sign near the tracks when you start the trail Ethan Pond

The stairs after a mini wash away trail

The ladders and there were nine!

This is when you are on top of the ladders looking down!

The view when you reach the top ladder!

The ladders are safe, but if you afraid  of heights, this could be a tough climb for you. Going down is tricky, the ladders are side by side, so you have to reach over to get to the next ladder. When you are on top, looking down, it's steep! Made me nervous since I was hiking with a 12 year old, who thought he was part ninja and part Batman. I had to keep on reminding him of safety as we stepped down the ladders.

The view from the top at a Look Out point

Webster Cliffs and beyond! Would see more but clouds were low that day.

Me and my wonderful hiking buddy!

Over all the hike was 6 miles (when you park at the end of route 302) and took us about 6 hours.
Great views! Beautiful Day!

One Last Pic...

If you go to the back side of Mt. Willey, there is another view of Ethan Pond! It was just as gorgeous!

 

Happy Hiking EVERYONE!

BTW, never found any Den, though it still could be up there someplace! Be careful!

Trail Report: Over to Carter Dome and Beyond! (Part two)

So in my last post I ended on Mt. Hight 4675'. After resting on top, I left Mt. Hight and  traveled on Carter Dome trail over to Carter Dome 4832'. Carter Dome was a little depressing for me. There was a view point I found to take  picture from, but the trail on top was surrounded by trees.

On Top of Carter Dome

The Marker

The view from Carter Dome over the trees

After Carter Dome, headed down the Carter Dome trail 1.4 to the Carter Notch Hut. As we neared the steep climb down the side over to the Hut, there was a sign for a view! I love a good view so I hiked up the trail which was short to see this...

You can see the Hut below from the view

You are very close to a cliff at the view, be safe!

After the view, we traveled down to the Hut. The Hut is smaller then some of the others I have been to, like Lake of the Clouds. There were four tables to sit at, they said not as many people have been staying this summer, though that night they were going to have 40 people which as great! When you stay at the Hut, the care takers will wake you up at 6:30am! So you better be an early bird if you stay at the Hut!

There are other buildings that are for sleeping (as shown) with a nice view of the mountains near by. The bathrooms are located in a separate building off the side of the other buildings.

After leaving Carter Notch Hut, we traveled down the 19 miles Brook Tr, which is 3.9 miles from the Hut, back to the parking. The Hike itself was 10.4 miles, and we started at 10am to just about 6pm. It was worth the hike. Perfect Day as well.

Happy Hiking!

Trail Report: Views from Mt. Hight 4675' (part one)

This past Monday I took a hike up Mt. Hight 4675' and over to Carter Dome 4832' before stopping in at AMC Carter Notch Hut. The hiking trip was 10.4 miles in all. This was a full day hike. We started a little before 10am and finished by 6pm. The views were amazing!!! Mt. Hight gave us 360 degree views.

The sign that leads you to Mt. Hight from 19 Mile Brook Tr

You travel on Route 16 to the start of the trail, which is close to Great Glen Trails. The trail you start on is 19 Mile Brook Trail for 1.9 before turning on Carter Dome Trail which you follow the rest of the way up to Mt. Hight.

View when nearing the top of Mt. Hight

One of the views from Mt. Hight

Another view, being Mt. Washington in clouds

It was a perfect day for  hike. I really enjoyed spending time on top of Mt. Hight. There are no trees, so wind was zipping through me. I recommend to take jackets and hats when you hike for the top. it was nice, but chilly.

Next post... Carter Dome and Hut

Happy Hiking!

Mt. Washington Hotel in the evening!

Mt. Washington Hotel in the evening! Mt. Washington in the back ground. July 27th 2013! Happy Hiking!

Putting the Old Man back on the Mountain!

 He's Back! The Old Man is back in a unique way, YOU put the Old Man back on the Mountain...How, you ask? Well like this...

 

 You stand on your height, there are feet to stand on and look up! you will see this....

 Looks very much like the Old Man! This opened up a few years ago but now they are opening a gift shop for those that want to take something of the White Mountains home with them. I haven't been in the gift shop, it was still in the works when I visited the site in Franconia Notch, But it's opened now! Opened up on June 29th of this year..so check it out and get yourself a little something to remember the Old Man by!

Great place to stop if you are site seeing, traveling or hiking in Franconia Notch!
Happy Hiking Everyone!

Trail Report: Georgiana Falls

So, as we were trailing through Lincoln, we noticed on our map a trail for Georgiana Falls. There is a two falls, Georgiana and the Upper Georgiana. The trail is 1.2 miles, but the end to the upper Georgiana Falls was a little scary. I had my eleven year old step son and didn't want to him to fall of the cliffs. Yes, at one point you are walking right near the edge and it was a long ways down.

The parking was hard to find, there is no sign you are even at the falls until you are on the trail. You park at the end of a street, and go under the highway, after that you see the signs. The road that leads to parking is not far from Whale's Tale. The hike took us about 2.5 hours, since we sat at the top of awhile. It was beautiful when you reach the upper falls, you are so close.

The Georgiana Falls

This picture shows the Upper Falls, and we are on the cliff. The rock in front is right at the edge. There is a ledge you can't see but we are at the top looking over and down. And its a long ways down, glad there is a rock in front of us.

If you are in the Lincoln area, I recommend this lovely small hike. It was worth hiking up!
Happy Hiking :)

Trail Report: Middle Sugarloaf 2539'

Middle Sugarloaf is 2539' and located in the White Mountains. You can get to the mountain by traveling on route 302 ad than head up Zealand Road, There is parking and it cost $3.00. The trail is 1.3 miles up to the top. You can also stop at North Sugarloaf along the way, which will add .3 miles to your hike one way. Each mountain has a view. My friend gave me a few of her pics when she wet hiking and said that she enjoyed the views from Middle Sugarloaf more, then North. The trail was mostly cleared, a few falling trees. Here are a few of the pictures I collected from her hike:

The trail up to the top of Mt. Middle Sugarloaf

The view of Mt.Washington

I love this picture. I have a picture also of my feet in the picture when hiking.

 Hope you have enjoyed these great pictures. My friend is thinking of starting her own Hiking Blog, I hope she does :) Happy Hiking!

Arethusa Falls Crawford Notch, White Mountains

A Half Frozen Arethusa Falls

 Arethusa Falls, 1.5 miles up the trail off of Route 302. Great place for a starter hike to kick off my hiking season. The fall was beautiful peaking through the snow.

A Close Up to the Falls, the water was hitting me as I snapped the picture.

 Loved how close up I was able to get with the snow still packed on the ground and the thick ice underneath. Probably won't be like that much longer with the nice weather coming up.

 This picture is of my friend close to the falls. She went to get a picture of water rushing down under the snow, in the small open section. You can see her in the distance. It was awesome on how close one could get to the fall this time of year. In the summer, I can only get to the log that is going across at the bottom of the picture.

MT. WASHINGTON with snow on a bright sunny spring day!

Mt. Washington And Hotel

Closer picture of Mt. Washington

The Mt. Washington Hotel is getting a face lift right now. They have been working on the outside of the hotel and heard also fixing some of the inside as well.

Happy Hiking!

Late Winter Giveaway from an Adventure Hiker

Even though its cold and windy up in the White Mountains, doesn't mean that stops anyone from hiking. Going through Crawford Notch the other day and saw many cars parked near the Depot while driving by. But winter hiking means you need to keep yourself warm and protected from the weather. 
That's why in this Giveaway, I'll be giving the gift of warmth...One Zippo Outdoor Hand Warmer that provides up to 12 hours of warmth. It's a trustworthy companion through everyday life and uncommon adventures. The Zippo comes with a filler cup and warming bag. To enter all you have to do is follow the Rafflecopter Giveaway. Answer the question and follow my adventures through the White Mountains. Good Luck. Happy Hiking!

To leave a comment for the first question, just answer in the comment section below post. Thanks


a Rafflecopter giveaway

A video on How to use a Zippo Hand Warmer... Great to have for Winter and Spring hiking!