I usually am a pretty late starter. Way too often that means I miss some of the nicest part of the hiking day.
So on this trip I managed to actually get up fairly early and be on the trail by about 7.
I didn't get the kind of views I usually try for ... but it wasn't a wasted day :)
The Mt Clinton Rd parking lot was completely empty ... and very cold. Saddling up I kept thinking back to a nice warm bed ... I think momentum just carried me forward; at this point I didn't really want to go hiking. Ugh. Cold, dark, lonely. And cold. :)
But within a few hundred paces I was feeling warm and the sun was starting to peek over the trees...
The trail was packed down very well, I used snowshoes all the way but could have barebooted. Snow conditions down low were odd. 6-12" of hard-pack crust and ice with 6" of fluffy snow on top. At higher elevation it was all snow, and being Mt Clinton it was deeper than in the valleys. Snowshoes were good to have above 3000 ft or so, though a lot of people barebooted anyway. They were mostly fine except when they stepped off the track into the thigh-deep snow.
I had the usual temp management issues on the ascent, trying to balance the heat of the climb and the cold. I *always* sweat on ascent; stopping for a breather is chilly when you're down to shirtsleeves and damp. It was cold enough that stopping for a breather meant that when I put my hat on I could feel little frozen iceballs in my hair.
Just below tree line I stopped for a bit to dry off and change layers and was passed by another soloist; he came back in a few minutes with the comment that the wind was biting. He declined the summit today.
Moving forward ... I came out of tree line and of course immediately found he was right about the wind. He hadn't mentioned clouds, but Eisenhower was completely hidden, even most of the col was obscured. Clinton itself was not in the clouds, though.
Here, I made a dumb mistake. I started out of tree line without first putting on my goggles. About 50' from treeline I realized I needed to get out of the wind a little and put the goggles on. But then I realized that there was no real shelter from the wind in front of me. Turning to head back below treeline I was hit in the face with the wind and snow/ice. It's hard to imagine sitting here in front of the computer, but going forward into that driven snow/ice was just not on the agenda.
I've always been fascinated by the 'Not without Peril' stories, and how just a few feet or a little shelter can make a vital difference. And here I was finding myself 50' from shelter and having trouble getting back to it. Hmmm ... Well, the situation was an interesting experience, but I was pretty well equipped and did find a spot where the wind was a little blocked. I managed to get my goggles on, and a face mask. After that, it was merely cold, and I proceeded up to the summit.
There was some drifting on the Webster cliff trail to the summit, but not much. Mostly wind-scoured rock & ice. The wind made walking a little difficult, and imperative not to get stuck - or to dawdle. No pictures from this exposed section of trail today! But the summit itself had enough low trees to provide a bit of a haven and take a few pics.
Getting back below treeline was comforting. At this point, other people started showing up. A few planned to go on to Eisenhower ; not for me hiking a couple miles of exposure in what? -30 windchill? In clouds? Um, no thanks :)
Continuing down I met the usual array of hikers on a popular summit. But no flip flops or tennis shoes today! Though some of the mid-afternoon ascenders left me hoping they had headlamps ...
At the junction with Mizpah cutoff I decided to head up to the hut and maybe past that back toward the summit. The skies had been clearing as I descended and I thought maybe I'd catch a view from the ascent on that side. But I met some friendly fellows who told me the trail beyond the hut was not broken out. Tired, solo, cold and the trail past the hut steep and unbroken. Oh well, another ...
Leapfrogged with CrazySage and Mystery Guest ;) on the rest of the descent until the junction with the spur to the Crawford Cliff. Despite having been up Clinton several times, I've never gone to the cliff. So I went in to check it out. It was easy for a way, but then reached a spot too steep for snowshoes. This too I decided could wait for another day.
After that it was a quick exit and a drive back thru the notch to Conway to hit Ragged Mountain and invigorate the local economy a little. A little more than I had planned; I hit the first day of their Winter Clearance sale. Found some stuff I actually have been looking for - new socks, a new jacket and new mittens at 30% off! Score!
The microphone on my camera is pretty susceptible to wind noise; at the end you can just barely hear me say something ( like "it's too cold to stand here taking video !" :) I was in a hurry to get back below treeline! Just wanted to capture the cloud/ice blowing by. Brrr!