[pct-l] Trip Report - Winter day trip in NH White Mountains.

[Rebecca Williams <rebecca_pct@usa.net>]

Well, this isn't hiking on the pct, but I thought I'd share a 
trip report from a really cool hike I co-led
this past wkend in the white mountains of New Hampshire.
(Well it's kinda related, in the sense that it's part of my preparation
for a 99 thru hike.)
Matt Regan, the other leader for the trip, wrote
the trip report. The trip was a MITOC (MIT Outing Club) winter school
trip. He left out that we also saw a couple of beautiful birds, I think 
he said they were Canada Jays. Their coloring was grey black & white.
Plump little birds.

Rebecca Williams
rebecca_pct@usa.net

Trip Report: Mt. Pierce via the Crawford Path
Sunday, January 17, 1999

After leaving MIT bright and early, ten MITOC Winter Schoolers
met at the AMC Crawford Notch hostel for a day hike up Mt. Pierce in the
Southern Presidentials.  By 10am Rebecca, Darren, Marie, Krzysztof, Dave,
Juli, and Olivera, and I were packed, suited up, and ready to play in the
snow.

After some miserable weather earlier in the weekend, we were greeted by partly
cloudy skies and some light flurries.  After a group portrait in front of the
trailhead sign, we started up the Crawford Path and found that the trail was
well-packed and smooth, despite a wicked crust in the woods.  The Friday night
ice storm had coated many of the trees with a light layer of ice, giving us a
beautiful backdrop for a climb.  The Path gives an even, moderate grade, with
few steep spots and a beaten path just wide enough for a snowshoe-clad hiker.
The first two or so miles passed without incident, and we reached the junction
with the Mizpah Cutoff ahead of schedule.

From here, the Path slanted north, climbing the ridge below
Mt. Pierce.  A few clearings to the west gave brief views of the Notch, and
soon the trees decreased in size (and the snow became deeper) as we approached
treeline.  We passed a few campsites along the way, as well as several other
groups headed to and from the summit.

We broke out into the alpine zone after dressing up in everything in our
packs, and we were greeted by fairly good conditions--fog, 20-30 mph winds,
and temperatures in the "balmy" mid-20's.  Some hardy souls decided they liked
this weather so much they'd camp in it, and their tent seemed to have survived
the night quite well.  Several other groups joined us at the summit, and a few
of them were happy that we'd brought a compass ("No, that path goes out onto
the ridge, not down to the parking lot").  Unfortunately, some equipment
problems appeared around this time, as some sets of snowshoes wouldn't stay on
and the summit winds made this a bad place to be adjusting equipment.
Luckily, the summit had been blown clean of snow, and the ice wasn't
particularly dangerous.

Heading south from the summit, we descended into the scrub and followed the
lightly-tracked Webster Cliff Trail toward Mizpah Springs Hut.  The trail was
sheltered from the northwest winds, and deep snow and an icy coating made for
surreal and beautiful scenery.  We hiked over breakable crust through scrub,
pine woods, through a small col, and on the lesser summit of Pierce broke out
of the clouds and got our first views of the surrounding mountains, including
Jackson, Attitash, Chocorua, and Carrigain.  The sun had come out everywhere
but the Presidential summits, and we enjoyed a beautiful sunny day.  Below the
lookouts, the trail dropped steeply toward the Jackson-Pierce col, providing
several opportunities for glissade and self-arrest practice. Most people
didn't bother with the self-arrest part, though, since windblown powder made
for a nice soft slide through the woods.  We arrived at Mizpah Spring tired,
snow-covered, and hungry.

We weren't the only hungry ones on the mountain, though.  While we heated
water for drink and filled up on fat and sugar, a hungry fox came right up to
our picnic spot.  Everyone got great photos as it circled just a few feet
around our group, smelling all of our equipment and checking to see if we'd be
generous.  We declined to share--with the fox's best interests in mind--and it
went on its way.

The cookies and hot chocolate ran out around 3:30, and we headed down the
Mizpah Cutoff with the sun quickly setting in the west.  The cutoff was only
lightly tracked, and those who kept their snowshoes in their packs had some
serious trouble with the breakable crust, but less than a mile later we
connected with the Crawford Path and had a speedy descent on the well-packed
trail.  We managed to reach the trailhead in a mere 90 minutes with only a bit
of easy jogging.  After a flash photo by the trailhead sign, we loaded into
our cars and finished the day with some pizza from Elvios in Lincoln.

Thanks to everyone for a great trip!


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