Almost Winter Already? Snow shoeing down from Mt. Pierce

Heading down from Mt. Pierce

As I've mentioned before, I estimate Northern New England has ten seasons: Winter, Thaw, Still Winter, Sugar, Mud, Black Fly, Tourist, Foliage, Twig (Shoulder), and Almost Winter. Last week I wrote about how I've learned to love Twig Season. I expected it would last another few weeks. But Mother Nature has other ideas about the length of our 9th season this year. Mount Washington got 15" of snow last Wednesday night and 29" for the week. Wildcat Ski area has enough for its earliest opening ever. But we are still a few days from Halloween. Its not really Almost Winter already, is it?

near the Pierce Juncture on Crawford Path

My two little mountain goats would not be deterred though by some early season snow. Both have been skiing since shortly after they could walk, so the idea of trekking up into winter conditions caused them more delight than concern. I on the other hand had plenty to be concerned about, mostly getting the winter gear out while piles of summer gear still cluttered the mud room. I spent a good part of Saturday afternoon sorting through puffy coats, shell pants, gaiters, snow shoes, trail spikes, fleece jackets, thermal bottles, winter gloves, balaclavas, & goggles. There may still be leaves on the lawn but at least half our winter wear is already accounted for. The first "serious season" trip to the mountains always causes me some equipment anxiety. That anxiety is double when it comes early and I'm taking my son up too.

I picked a route for Sunday that was modest but would get another 4k peak check off my son's list, Mount Pierce. The weather forecast indicated that rain showers would end early in the morning. The temperature up high would be cold enough to retain any new snow. The pictures of trail conditions on other peaks this week revealed deep snow any where drifts could form. I encountered 8"+ depth at the top on my mid week run up Tecumseh. I expected we should find at least that much and maybe more on the Crawford Path. But I also counted on the route to Mount Pierce being mostly sheltered and likely packed.

Deep Post Holes on Crawford Path

I was almost correct. My concern started on the drive up to Crawford Notch. The rain started as soon as we got in the car. It became heavier through Franconia Notch and did not let up much down past Bretton Woods. But as soon as we parked at the AMC Highland Center the drizzle slowed, we shouldered our packs, and headed across Rte 302 to Crawford Path. The lower section of the trail was a thin layer of slushy snow over soaked leaves. After a mile of slick hiking we found snow covering the entire trail and got out the spikes. Some folks had bare booted the entire climb as I could tell from their tread prints in the snow. But I was happy not to slip & slide up the trail. Still there was no ice, just deep soft snow above 2500 feet. The higher we went on Crawford Path the deeper the snow became. The last 1/2 a mile to the Mt. Pierce junction had drifts as deep as 2-3 feet. The kids learned the frustration of walking in OPP, Other Peoples Post holes. Once we made the turn to the Mt. Pierce summit the climbing was easy since the snow was scrubbed hard by the wind.

Already Almost Winter means snow shoes for trackless trails

The morning precipitation and just above freezing temperature meant no views all day. The entire valley was shrouded in snow fog. So we did not linger on Mount Pierce. The kids decided that descending the trackless Mizpah trail would be better than going back down through the post holes on Crawford Path. We switched out trail spikes for snow shoes and readied ourselves for adventure. I broke trail for the first 2/3rds of a mile. The soft snow meant slow going. When we came to the long descent the kids asked to lead. They were all smiles as they slid down the steeper pitches. Both wished they had skis even on these modest slopes. We then talked about our excitement for the ski season to come; which friends will be on the Middle School Nordic team, where we might go back country skinning, what new places we might explore this winter. We were so enthralled by our conversation that we made it down to the Mizpah Hut in no time. On the trail down to Crawford Path we found some dangerous "orange snow", where water is running under full snow cover turning the surface orange. Falling through a patch of this weak surface means soaked boots & pants at best. We also found a very very slow moving toad in the middle of the trail. It seemed that it had been caught out by the early snow fall. We hoped it would find a burrow to hibernate in after we left.

nearly frozen toad on the Mizpah Trail

Once we reached Crawford Path we had a snack and took off our snow shoes. The last two miles back would be too thin to need them. The kids had fun "boot skiing" down some of the slick patches on the descent. While they were frustrated with the slow pace going up, they were all giggles sliding down from our taste of winter on Mount Pierce. I expect a few warm weeks ahead to finish Twig Season chores, yet I was happy to see some deep snow up high too. Almost Winter may not have reached the valleys, but above treeline it's already here.