Upper Valley: November 24th-December 1st, 2023

Smarts Mountain, November 24th

For Smarts, I headed up the AT from the Ranger Trailhead, and since I didn't pace myself properly I sweated a ton on the way up, which came back to bite me with the wind piercing the trees on the ridge. Regardless, the hike up was delightful, and the views on both Lambert and Smarts were notable!

Moose Mountain, November 25th

For Moose, I hiked with a friend up from the Three Mile Rd trailhead along the AT, and got some delightful views from the south peak before heading off early when a bunch of old geezers got there. Anyhow, up toward the main peak was nice in and of itself

Mount Kearsarge, November 29th

For Kearsarge, I started up the Winslow trail after walking up Kearsarge Mtn Rd, which was a delightful and very icy ascent that saw me seriously question the sharpness of my microspikes. There was also some sustained winds the whole way up that definitely made for a single digit wind chill, which I was prepared equipment-wise, but not physiologically so early in the season. Anyway, terrific views at the top and I was still able to get a more wide-angle shot in spite of the fact that I forgot me tripod at the bottom - oh well!

Mount Ascutney, December 1st

Ascutney is undoubtibly my favorite mountain in the Upper Valley, and I was reminded why today. I took the Weathersfield trail up the south side, as opposed to my typical route of the Windsor trail. Truth be told, I do prefer the Windsor trail, but I figured it was worth a shot to try another way up the mountain! The fire tower had breathtaking views, as always, and there were a number of nice outlooks between the trees the whole way up. Overall fantastic mountain, and just like with Kearsarge the previous day, I didn't see a soul the entire hike - which is also fantastic imo