The Monadnocks: December 16th-December 25th, 2023

Mount Sunapee, December 16th

I was having a rough week before this hike, as I had tried to ascend Paine on Sunday only to be forced down a few hundred feet off the summit due to holes in my shoes causing me pain and risking frostbite as I was breaking trail for the last would-be mile. After I got down and got my frame bindings in the mail, I swore I would not winter hike again before the season was over. So I mounted my bindings, went to Burke, skinned up the hiking trail, and loved it right up until I popped one of the bindings right out of my ski, and had to scooter down the way. I then tried to mount my bindings to new skis, and failed to even be able to take off those ski's bindings, as the screws were exceptionally tight. Needless to say, I needed something to remind myself I was still a capable outdoorswoman, and the prospect of hiking my resort skis up Sunapee and skiing down seemed like a good way to do that. I got to the base of the resort, took one look at how many people were lining up to go down the limited runs, and decided to just hike it. It was a delightful fall hike with a nice view toward the top, and it really did make me feel a lot better about myself, which is always a nice feeling :)

Blue Ridge Mountain, December 17th

My original plan was to drive over to Brandon Gap and hike Farar Mountain via the Long Trail and a short bushwhack. After an hour-and-a-half long drive that was supposed to take an hour (there were a lot of unexpected road closures in the wake of the flooding), I got there and found the snow conditions to be way to challenging, and finding that the mountain would be better done as a ski-mountaineering trip with the skinning up and bringing mountaineering gear for the final, quite steep, bushwhack. Gillepse Peak had most of the same issues, so I decided to wildly reorient myself south to hike Blue Ridge Mountain. There is no trailhead here, just a plowed pulloff on the road that I can't use as a way to overnight between skiing Pico and Killington later this winter. That being said, the hike up is delightful, and you would get a nice view if it weren't cloudy, but alas. This hike cemented my increased self-confidence I started rebuilding on Sunapee the day before, and I had a delightful time about it :)

Pitcher Mountain, December 20th

Pitcher was a very breif hike that immediately brought me to a beautiful summit that was strongly reminiscent of Yellow Mountain in NC - the one next to shortoff and with the firetower, that is. The grass was just so southern, and the rolling hill mountains just so foothilly that it's hard not to love this delight of a mountain. If you can, stop on by - it's worth your time!

Pack Monadnock, December 20th

Pack Monadnock was a straightforward hike along the Marion Davis Trail, which was solid, albeit insistent on the ups and downs toward the start. Phenomenal views of Monadnock from the summit, and even though the summit was super developed, I was delighted by the experience. This mountain reminds me strongly of Mount Jefferson in Northwestern NC - with no views and no colonial name on this one! (Aside from the name of the state park, of course). Anyhow, the way down was a delightful stroll, and I was able to stay in my van at the tra!ilhead over night without getting told to leave by a cop, so as long as the park's closed, it is possible to do so!

Monadnock, December 21st

Monadnock is the third most-climbed mountain in the world, and because of that fact alone it was always going to be a challenge for me, since its far distance from where I live and the mega-popularity of it leaves the peak swarming with people, which isn't exactly the funnest time for me to then go whip out a trans pride flag on my own. People can be queerphobic, and I like to have the mountain to myself as much as I can. So I chose a cold weekday in december to do my ascent, and started up before eight from the old toll road, which was reminiscent of my days in the southern Appalachians. After passing by what I can only assume is a rich persons residence, I went up the White Arrow Trail, which was a lot better than the White Dot Trail that I took last year that pissed me off so much. It was a bit below freezing the entire hike, so when I got to the summit and had sustained winds ripping at me, I didn't linger long. I ended up getting my photos a couple hundred feet down off the mountain, but I think the view was still exceptional and the solitude welcome on this shortest day of the year, making this by far my favorite ascent of Monadnock - and definitely my last.

P.S. I met a middle-aged lady on the way down who was impressed with my sleeping bad and sleeping pad setup for emergencies, and she decided that she was going to start carrying more survival equipment with her on her solo hikes. It warms my heart to spread safe hiking practices, and in case any of you are reading this, be sure to remember: you're worth it to take emergency equipment :)

Moosilauke, December 25th

When Christmas rolled around and I got a day off of work, I decided it would be a prime time for my december ascent of Moosilauke, as part of my ongoing project to hike it for at least twelve calendar months in a row. I've still got eight to go, but this one rounded out the fall hiking season, because although it is after the solstice, conditions were less wintery than they were for my November ascent. That being said, calling it fall hiking conditions would be a little inaccurate, as the heavy snowfall we received in november thawed over the course of this wet and warm december, to create conditions closer to spring than strictly fall - with the well-packed trail and thick pools of ice that can only develop over the course of an extended freeze-thaw cycle with sufficient snow to fuel it. Nevertheless, the ice presented little issue, and me and my friend were able to ascend the entire way without our spikes, only using them for the somewhat-more tricky descent. Absolutely no views at the top, but it still is pretty delightful to get a mountain this big to yourselves on a day like this one, even if it was only for a few minutes. I don't celebrate christmas anymore as a step away from my religious upbringing, and I was originally planning on doing this solo, but it was delightful to have company. And when we got back, we got to spend some time with a friend who swang by, so at least I got some company out of it :)