May is the Cruelest Month: the White Mountains between Seasons

Last snow. That’s what we’ll think for weeks to come.

Close sun sets up a glare that smarts like a good cry.

Last Snow - Heid E. Erdrich

In the White Mountains May, not April, is the cruelest month.

In April the snow is still thick to the trail head most years. 
You may have bare ground at home, but the mountains are still cold and deep in snow. It is in May that the transition begins, bare rock and mud appear at the start only to relinquish the trail to icy monorail or softening snow pack higher up. For those of us that love winter it is a time to mourn its inevitable loss. For those eager for summer it is a time of frustration at the lingering snow. Nothing is consistent or easy in these mountains in May.

Since my son decided to seek the grid, and his best friend now is interested in that goal for herself, we must get out when we can, regardless of the month. We thought that the snow will still be firm enough for a quick loop of the Tom-Field-Willey ridge last weekend. But May conditions are often anything but quick. We started out on bare dirt for the first time since last November. Just half a mile up the Avalon trail we found the monorail. While it was thick and flat at the start once the snow filled in the woods beside, the mono rail became balance beam narrow. The sides of the trail were littered with 3 foot deep post holes. The width of the mono rail kept shrinking until in sections it was like walking on a tight rope. Snowshoes were as useless as clown shoes would have been. I stepped side foot just like traversing a slack line top stay on balance. One slip off the hard rail meant sinking in to my hip.

slipping off the monorail can be perilous

But we were hiking. And the air temperature was warm enough to strip down to t-shirts on the way up. Winter is receding though not without a fight in the White Mountains. While Mud Season is in full effect and Black Fly Season is just around the corner in the valleys, the snow and cold are weathering the siege in the high peaks.

The lingering winter conditions are a cruel surprise to people from further away this time of year. We crossed paths with less prepared folks on each hike we've been on this month. The shivering and deer in the head lights look in their eyes was a dead give away that someone did not read the latest trail reports. I've seen too many guys in trail runners and shorts struggling down the trail in the snow. Their expectations of fair weather and bare trails ran ahead of reality. In fact there were two separate rescues of solo hikers in sneakers this past week alone. While flowers are likely blooming in your back yard, it is a different world above 3000 feet in the Whites.

mud, ice and deep snow are just steps apart at 4000 feet.

The cruelest part of May is how rapidly the conditions change. We've hiked up cement hard monorail in the morning only to return on melting lemon sherbet in the afternoon. I imagine that a few days after I post this cautionary missive folks will go up trails completely free of snow and ice. Then again, we could have a foot or more of snow hit the high peaks the following day too. The trail conditions sometimes change by the hour in this transition from deep winter to something like summer over the next few weeks.

still goofing means still enjoying the trail

So if you're anxious for summer, practice patience. If you yearn for more snow, be grateful for what is left. This is the season for being focused on the now. Prepare for everything, expect nothing, hike in the present. With that thought, friends, walk in peace, joy, and laughter.