Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Whiteface & Mt. Passaconaway - 3/31/2012

Its amazing how busy life is. My summer is booking up so fast with things to do - hiking, birthdays, parties, family get-togethers, traveling - I know I won't be hiking the next few weekends, so last weekend, I wanted to finish up my second round. So there it was, 8 mountains spread out over 3 wildernesses on the docket, requiring at least 3 separate hikes and two days to do it. I didn't add up the elevation gain until after - who cares, it had to be done anyways. One thing I decided was somehow I would finish on Carter Dome - Not an easy task when you still have to hike the Wildcats and Carters.

I got a 6am sharp start at Ferncroft Road on the way to Whiteface and Passaconaway. It was pretty mild to start, and I expected the temperature to remain consistent through the day. It was very comfortable. The trail below was clear, and snow and ice started to become a factor after the tricky section of ledges. Towards Passaconaway there was definitely much more ice as you will see below.

As I made it to the first open ledges, the sunrise was beautiful despite the overcast skies. I made it to the most notable ledge and began the tricky section up towards the top of Whiteface. It is such a fun climb, and that along with the beauty of this area makes this a great hike all around, despite the lack of expansive views.

With Hale to climb later in the afternoon with a long road walk (I was dreading), the focus was to keep moving. It took me 5hrs and 40min to complete the loop, and with very few breaks, I still managed to have all of the fun you see me having below.
Me on Whiteface summit (#41, round 2)
Dicey's Mill Trail heading to Passaconaway
Presidentials from Passaconaway viewpoint
Path to Mt. Passaconaway high point (#42, round 2)

Hike Stats
Trails: Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail
Distance: 11.9 miles
Elevation Gain: 3,800
Book Time: 5hrs 40min



2 comments:

  1. Yep, that ledge in your video is the one that gave me a lot of trouble...you make it look pretty easy :-P Kudos for doing all that climbing twice just for the video.

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    1. Well it was a little scary the first time approaching the ledge and coming up to those sections, but its always much easier the second time around! Thanks! I'm sure its much more hairy when the area is full of snow, although I hear its usually a well packed path when so. I walked the log the first time, and thought it would also make great video of me coming across, and then if I fell in, it would still be a great video!

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