chasing the 'snow moon'

once a month, the moon rises close to the same time the sun sets. give or take a day from the the full moon, MOC hikes up cardigan for the view. the winter is always the trickiest as we have to start hiking close enough to 3:00p--right when school gets out--that very few students, if any, ever show. maybe the cold keeps them away too, but i like to think it is just scheduling.

my schedule was sort of cramped today, friday, as well. i got off the chiropractor's table shortly after 2:00p and drove home to prep a winter pack. i left the house at 3:15p to be up to the winter parking lot for the 3:45p start hiking time. as i drove out the drive i thought, maybe i should have brought a sled, or even skis, but then, if kids showed up, i wouldn't be likely to use them. that and i assumed there still wasn't enough snow to make the descent anything less than fast and furious.

i had skied a quick loop at la salette on thursday's snow day with matt--who did a desperate solo, early morning up and down tecumsah under very icy conditions before any snow built up--and he had asked about the moonrise-sunset hike. maybe i should have called him and suggested skis, but cardigan is much tighter than la salette and i figured it would be super slick, so i didn't. matt wasn't there at 3:45p nor was anybody else, so i started up alone, following two skiers' tracks, skinning up, and cutting turns coming down. at the looks of things then, i cursed my leaving all sliding equipment at home.

by the summer parking lot i had stopped cursing and started contemplating coming back in the morning with skis. whoever had gone up before me today, had pretty much retraced their tracks coming down the hiking trail. this left the ski trail unmarked. when i passed the bottom of the second ski section, it too, was unmarked. the upper section was un-skied as well, but now that i had seen the conditions, i started to think it might be worth waiting for a bit more coverage. four inches of fluff on top of that ice layer meant faster than a speeding bullet. of course on the weekend, all kinds of people could be out in the woods tracking things up.

i was weighing all the possibilities, factoring in the forecasted snow, a bit of fluff tomorrow and another possible storm on sunday into monday, when my feet slipped back and i found myself in plank position. my hands were getting cold and wet so i slid back to a spot where i could kneel and then sit. i took out my creepers right there and 'spiked up'! this was just at tree line and as i got back up and started, even micro-spikes made for sketchy walking. now, instead of skis or a sled, i was thinking full fledged crampons and a walking ice axe would be the ticket.

with a bit of carful route planning--staying to the spotty ice on rock where the sun had deteriorated it enough for my spikes to grip it--i made it up to the top just as the full 'snow moon' was coming up. besides being full there was a partial eclipse and a comet due tonight. while i probably would miss that, according to my time clock, in six minutes, the sun would be setting. because of a substantial cloud bank i was going to miss that too. i took this shot anyway hoping something would show up on the image and maybe even look as beautiful as it did to me in real time.

beautiful or not, i took one more picture of the moon, brighter now as it rose out of the horizon mist, put the camera away and bundled up for the cold and wind on the bare upper part. picking my way down the 'good' rotten ice that held my creepers, i went through a couple of drifts, one almost waist deep. the prevailing winds had packed and sculpted them into long lines running northwest to southeast. as i dipped into the low trees the wind was much reduced and i could unzip my jacket. snow replaced ice, and i picked up the pace to match the more sure footing.

solid footing was good as it was getting darker amonst the trees. i stayed on the hiking trail just in case i decided to try skiing in the morning. soon enough i was below the waterfall, then past the south ridge-west ridge junction sign. as i dropped toward the creek crossing, a dark form approached and said, "hey!" it was adam, a MOC graduate back in the day--one of owen's best buddies--snowshoeing up with sled in hand and head lamps, "three of them" in pack. we chatted about life and such for a bit and continued in opposite directions. as i went, it occured to me, if i had a sled i could have gone back up with him. at the least, i should have taken his picture to post. regretting both failures, it crossed my mind that maybe he would take a selfie and i could snag it.

i got down to the truck and motored home happy with the outing. as i came around the last curve to our drive, an extra car in front of pam's and one across the road in the extra parking made me even happier--it was both sawyer and sadie. i parked across the road and walked in at the same time soy was coming out with his skis and boots. he was headed south and wanted to be prepared for the forecasted snow. sadie i assumed was staying for dinner, so i got at preparing the crust for friday, pizza night. while i built the pie, sadie whooped, "papa adam just posted a selfie!" my day was complete!



go outside and play!

highs and lows...

last wednesday sawyer took me along with him for a hike he and colin had planned. colin and eliza are having a house built over on 4A between mcdanials marsh and aaron ledge.

we were going to hike west to the marsh--the low point on the left side of the picture above--then back to the house site, cross 4A, and head up to aaron ledge--the high point, those tiny blue spots to the east in the upper right.


tuesday evening, it had snowed a couple of fluffy inches and made the world winter-beautiful. we got out to 4A and the new frame sheathed in plywood. colin showed us around as the crew ate muffins and drank coffee--their morning break just delivered by eliza's father, mike, a local house builder-mover. the rafters were not up yet, but we got a good sense of the floor plan and could look out the 'windows' to visualize things. to the south outside the bedroom there was a frozen brook winding by which promised some lovely bubbling once it thawed come spring. i put a mark on the google shot about where the house is being built, left of the large plowed land. the former owner had grown corn there. the site was very pleasant, and colin's excitement was obvious.



we were also excited about the hike too so we shouldered our packs and headed out towards the marsh.  as we wandered up the drive, mike invited us to stop in at his shop when we were going by towards aaron ledge. as we turned down an old woods road, the snow got a bit less crusty under the fresh inches on top. it made for good walking. colin had scoped things out pretty well, both on foot and virtually on google maps. he hiked us right to the feeder stream coming in from the southeast (toward the bottom right on the picture below). we found a spot to cross at an old beaver dam and picked our way over. nobody got wet feet.



the plan was to stay dry and make a clockwise loop coming back to the stream and walking onto the open marsh. we dipped in and out of the woods, marshy openings, and isolated little hollows, some with frozen 'ponds', some dry. at one point soy and i put on our creepers before heading down a slippery slope. with a bit of bushwhacking through balsam loaded with fresh snow--poised to dump down the back of your neck--we met up with the stream again and followed it toward the marsh. an otter had the same idea and alternating foot prints and belly slides led us on. i had found an old topo map and we figured to come out right at the long-ish island where the stream enters the main body of water. that seemed to work.



once we stepped out onto the ice, we were able to take stock, match up the map with the surroundings, and point ourselves back along the shoreline until we found another water entry. the picture above is oriented north at the top, which meant we walked northeast-ish past the two large copses of trees and then cut back toward the stream. once we got past that point of trees sticking out into the marsh grass, we angled through the woods and rejoined the trail we started on.

as we came out into the field next to colin's house site, we found a downed tree, brushed off space to sit, and ate a spot of lunch. the sun came out warming our backs and casting our shadows down in front of us. after lunch, we crossed 4A headed toward the ledges. we cut through a field and hooked up with shad hill road. another short cut over a snowmobile trail and we found the road again along with mike's shop. outside, the giant house moving wheel sets and i-beams were impressive. inside, amidst the usual jumble of everything but the kitchen sink, was a horse drawn sleigh project mike was finishing. as we left we picked up woody the "handsome" dog who bolted from the cab of mike's truck where he had been waiting for us.

woody tore off in front of us as we kept on back the road, now called carter brook rd. we passed by mike and nancy's house, and one other year rounder before the plowing ended and the woods closed in. snowmobiles used the track, but none had been over it recently. as we came to a turn, i pointed off road and asked, "shall we?" without giving anybody much time to say no, i took off into the woods on a more direct line toward the top. as we went up, woody bounding ahead, i took note of the glade like terrain and fairly deep snow coverage. with a foot of fluff on top, this would be a sweet ski. in the moment, the hiking was just as good as the crust kept you up, but allowed for some traction.

we worked our way up and through some fresh logging (you can see a road scar to the left on the google picture) and came out on the ledges through some thicker softwoods. before getting too close, colin put woody on a lead to keep him from skittering over an edge.



















the picture colin snapped, is us standing on summit ledges (the rock with a white stripe toward the top right of the google image). i am looking pretty much east, sawyer and woody are mostly north. all the tracks were ours, made as we snacked and looked about.

after our snack and some water, we turned around and let woody loose so he could lead back along our footprints. on the way down woody and i got in a good amount of stick time, each of us running flat out for short bits, letting gravity work us until we had to stop and regain some control. it was a much faster down than it had been up and in no time we were back on the snowmobile trail. as we were coming on to the plowed road, we met the last house owner walking his two dogs. while we talked with him, woody chased about and wrestled with the dogs.

back on the road we came up to mike and nancy's and dropped off woody with nancy who came out to say hi before she went to water the horses. we backtracked on our shortcuts and came to 4A and the house site. at the cars we hugged goodbyes and turned toward home. it was a grand day out and i was thankful for the 'boys' letting me tag along. now, if we just got some snow, i would come back and test out some of those trails. 

community service...

helping the shaker museum with a relatively snowless snowshoe festival. i have been working with the enfield shaker museum doing a winter festival for years now. the last five or so, we have called it the snowshoe festival, encouraging people to come out and tromp about the lower shaker wildlife management area trails. back when we started with a winter celebration, i did some trail work for the event and have been the go-to trail guy ever since.




i had great hope for snow on the trails this year, skiing them--three times, each with increasing coverage--before the new year. on the last day of the year, three of us set some good tracks pretty much anywhere we wanted, woods or trails. i actually told my buddies, "at least this year we'll have some snow!" but then we got a couple 'wintry mix' events, a bunch of rain, some days of warm weather, and deep coverage was not to be. in fact, i felt pretty lucky with the scant amount we have left.




regardless of the sketchy coverage, i started flagging the three trails we mark, a few weekends before the event. pam went with on the first go out round the blue loop. she noted that she was very thankful to have her micro-spikes on. i went back alone the next day and put out the green tape. i ended up cutting a few blowdowns out of the trail as well. then last friday, i brought over the high school loner snowshoes, and finished the yellow trail, all the while wondering if many people would venture out given such icy conditions.



early saturday morning, i headed over to do one more loop around to leave a few footprints for people to follow. when i came back down to the start at the stone mill, where they had set up the loner snowshoes, i found olivia and amy, NHS students volunteering for the day. both of them are also active in the MOC and i was pleased to see them. while amy stayed at the mill to help with the snowshoes, olivia and i went back out to loop the green trail--the only one i hadn't done in the past week. at the height of land, just before the 'potato field', we ran into a large ash that had been leaning over for years, but now was on the ground. we worked at clearing that for quite a while, as it was over 12 inches in diameter, and heavy.

we got to the blue-green junction and met up with harrison, another trail guide, and chatted a bit. we took off after a large group of shoe-rs went by. i wanted to be sure of a fairly messy stream crossing before they got there. we got to the crossing ahead of the group and cleaned up the large beech that obstructed the easiest way over the stream. after directing a few other groups, some going one direction, some the other, we took off toward the yellow-blue junction at the top of the upper hay field.

at that junction, we stopped for a while directing people coming and going. it got to be after noon, so we decided to head down to the great stone dwelling where they had a lunch set up. as we were passing a connection into the hayfield i crossed over to help a group of about a dozen micro-spikers, shoe-rs, and plain ol' booters. turns out it was joe's family gathering with three of the denzer kids. i see owen at this event every year, sometimes margaret. this year hannah was with. we stopped for a group shot of the old and new MOC members.

we got to talking so, that olivia finally escaped to go get some lunch. the rest of us slowly made our way down. at a tricky part in the trail, we met betsy--harrison's wife, fellow trail guide, and mother of meg who just happens to be one of hannah's good friends. it is a small world. (speaking of which, check out jan 28's post on coincidence.)

we finally made it down to lunch and kept chatting over chili and mac & cheese. the event was winding down as we split up and i went back out to pack up the loner snowshoes. as i pulled away from the mill headed down the icy drive, i wondered if next year we would have better snow.

on sunday morning, pam and i went back to the trails to meet betsy and harrison and sweep the trails, removing the flagging. new hampshire fish and game, who own most of the land the trails pass over, has asked us to take down the flagging each year. i am not real sure why this is a priority for them, but we get to use the trails, so i am happy to do it. we split up in a fashion to get it done fairly quickly with nobody having to walk the whole system. we met up again at the blue-green junction and walked the final half-mile back to the vehicles.

out the icy drive one last time, i wondered again about snow. i won't hold my breath for next year but, it would be nice to get a little this winter. the MOC deep freeze overnight olivia is helping me organize happens over february break, in just three weeks. i will let you know...

anatomy of a disappointing snowfall...

looks beautiful, but is so fast and furious to ski in the backcountry, i should be wearing a helmet. and if you know me, that would be just wrong. but hope reigns supreme, and those forecasts linda gave me--see the last post--had me drive over to kevin's and poise myself close to the whites, with my poles crossed.

i left for the north country right after work on tuesday and got there in time to help trim mariel's new skins to fit her new skis, and dinner. we finished both those things, cleaned up, and headed off to bed. it didn't start snowing until my first wake-up-to-pee and it felt kind of wet, not a great sign, but it was snowing. in the morning, there was only about two inches, another less than wonderful sign. but it was still snowing and after we cleaned up the drive to help the boys get off, it was quickly covered again. hope was alive as we loaded up our gear and headed out.

i had brought up my notes on the nh 4000 footers and after looking though the maps, we headed toward the top of crawford notch with mt jackson in mind. the roads were bad enough to keep some hope going, but the more i looked the less new snow i saw atop the old. as we passed attitash ski area, there were some folks out on the slopes, and it was still snowing. when we pulled into the parking area at the trailhead, i ran across the road and over the plow pile onto the trail. two, maybe three inches of new snow covered a well packed trail up to jackson--i convinced myself and kevin and mariel it might be doable.

we booted up, attached skis, and started skinning toward my third 4000 footer. soon enough i stopped and turned to my partners, "this is definitely thin, icy, steep, and will not be pretty coming down--how about trying mt willard?" kevin was basically already turning around as he wholeheartedly agreed. we crossed back over the road, the railroad tracks, and went through the woods toward the willard trail. the coverage this side of the tracks was not much better, but it was not nearly as steep and should be doable. 

of course i had said that before. but after getting up about a mile we came into some long gentle sections that i convinced myself would even be fun. a bit more than a half mile of that, we came out of the woods to the top of the willard cliffs. i had not been up here in a long time, and not by the trail approach. back in the 70's i worked with a mtn rescue team and we did a few practices on these cliffs. we always climbed up from the railroad tracks below. i remember playing the injured climber once and getting a free ride down, lowered in a litter. 

the view today was not nearly as good as the one i had then, but we enjoyed a snack and planned to have as much fun on the decent. at least i was thinking that. kevin and mariel were a bit more skeptical of the lack of coverage and narrow passage, especially where it got steeper on the bottom half. i hoped to use the woods where i could to slow myself and avoid rocks. they were thinking taking off their skis and booting down.

turns out, we both had some of the answer. we all had some fun swooshing down the wider and gentle parts. the pictures show some of that joy of just being out in the woods in a winter wonderland--minus a foot of snow, but wonderful.

then it got narrow and steep. while i kept my skis on and used the woods, it was sketchy at times and not "the best skiing ever!" as skip would say. kevin and mariel still smiling, were more comfortable with skis in hand and walking out, only a little tempted to follow my tracks. at one point, i turned around and went back up and tempted them some more. we all skied out glad we outside and playing.

at one point on the way up, the two of them offered to go up willard together and let me go up jackson, summiting a 4000 footer, whittling away at the winter's goal. i stayed on willard thinking that maybe i would give it a try on the way home thursday. that idea, made more and more sense to me, as it kept snowing into the night. it was not really building up, but it was still snowing on my first wake-up-to-pee. the sun and fresh snow in the morning was so beautiful, i convinced mariel to come along for a second try--she on snow shoes and me on skis.

as we drove back up the notch, the peaks all around were socked in with clouds. but it was definitely clearing. unfortunately, there was barely any more coverage. we geared up and started happy enough, but didn't get much higher than the day before. this time, it was my third slide-fall off the trail on the bulges of ice that lurked under the three inches or so of fresh snow that stopped the effort. mariel would have been happy to keep going while i went back and got boots and spikes, but i was not in the mood to hike, especially with my cold.

two attempts, two bails, two words--more snow! the goal of summiting all 48 nh 4000 footers was being inverted, but i had little interest in being reckless and getting hurt. as we headed back down the notch, i naturally turned to the next best thing to being outside playing, taking pictures of the outside. this one's for you sawyer, maybe you and i can get out in that coming storm forecasted for next week...

skating away...

two days, two lakes, the two of us, and two others. so last weekend, i started hearing about a forecast for some significant snow tuesday night and into wednesday. after two days of flagging the shaker trails, any snow would be much appreciated and help there actually be a snowshoe fest in two weeks. at that moment things were extremely thin and very icy. saturday, pam went with me and was really thankful to have her micro-spikes on. sunday i marked another trail on a cautious solo loop, spending some time cutting a couple of large blowdowns.



when i got home there was still plenty of daylight left to coax pam to grab her skates and go out for a glide around canaan street lake. we met linda and skip already out on the lake and linda repeated the hopeful snow forecast, throwing in noah's confirmation of 3-5 inches, maybe even emphasizing the 5. the ice was marginal, but as the sun was going down coloring the sky pinkish-orange, we were happily flying around a large smooth area over in the cardigan bay.


we headed back toward the town beach and our boots (about "street" in canaan street on the google picture) and discussed a possible skate for monday--martin luther king jr. day. pam would be home and skip and linda would not have school. skip suggested grafton pond which sounded good, possibly smoother ice. it would be worth a try it at least.

pam finished her salad lunch and we loaded the skates about one o'clock. as we got to the dam on the pond a car came at us with the "bearded" driver wildly waving. at least that is what pam described, i was trying to stay on the narrow road. turned out it was colin, who had just had a fine skate and was headed home. so the pendletons, already out on the ice, came back and reported when they saw us gearing up. 

grafton pond is much larger and convoluted along the shoreline, as well as around the many islands scattered about. it is one of our favorite places to skate, and today only cemented that bias. the ice was indeed fine, smooth and with very few 'bad' spots. i tend to fly about faster than the others so i was able to swing around many of the islands and bays, circling back to pam and linda. skip was circling his own path, his hockey skates not as long as my nordic blades, and hence not as speedy.

but, speed was not the reason we were out there. the sun was shining and the surface as smooth as could be expected given our winter so far. it was a perfect day to circumnavigate pretty much the entire perimeter, which made for a wonderful afternoon and big smiles. we met another skater skating a large oval along the furtherest end of the northern cove (the top right of the google picture), the ice there zamboni smooth. we joined his loop until our legs said time to get back to the dam and our boots (the middle left where the road meets the dam on the google picture).

of course there was one other very large, and quite smooth, cove to circle. going in well ahead of the others i lowered my back, put my head down, and pumped hard. i felt like hans brinker as i cornered, my inside arm tucked behind the back, the other swinging with each crossover and clack of the skate snapping back. linda and skip were taking a rest when i lapped them. i whizzed past and shot out back into the middle of the pond. toward a little island that i thought i spotted a rope swing hanging over the ice. just visible on the far side of the island in the picture below.

true enough, as i approached the rope i thought this might be fun. dodging a few ice fishing holes i took aim and grabbed ahold swinging way up off the ice and turning in midair. as i whipped back onto the ice i was laughing aloud and planning to go at it again with a bit more speed maybe. the second time up and down, i saw skip coming over--i encouraged him with a "faster" or two. we traded a couple more goes each when pam went at it. i didn't know if it was for real, but gave a whistle and clapped when she grabbed ahold, launched--ever so slightly, reversed, and came back toward with her own little whoop. it truly is the little things in life that make us happy.

by the time we got back to the dam the sun was dipping behind some clouds moving in. linda announced them to be the "weather" that was to bring us snow. if indeed they were, we were all ecstatic to have gotten in a few hours of "the best [skating] ever!" at least that is what skip would say...