From the camp we can see the SE ledges of Mt Langdon - very scenic ledges, striped from the leaching of minerals (so I've heard, anyway - geologist I am not). I've been looking at Mt Langdon for 3 decades and thinking there must be a view up there somewhere .... but never getting around to it.
With the waning winter I was thinking I might not have a lot of chances left to see much winter view this year. And with this being the first clear weekend in a while I figured the usual hikes would be pretty crowded. So heading up Langdon seemed a good idea.
The first hurdle was crossing the Rocky Branch.
A little daunting - solo river crossing with pack and snowshoes.
That past, it became a walk thru some woods, pretty open most of the way. It wasnt long before I got a hint of what views might await, and, awash in endorphins I said a little prayer that, no matter how the day turned out, I was grateful for being out there on such a beautiful day.That prayer turns out to have been a good thing :)
Around 1800 ft or so the spruce/hemlock got pretty tangled, and the climb steeper, but I eventually broke out on some ledges and was rewarded with even better-that-hoped-for views of the Rocky Branch Valley and Mt Washington.
Heading south I was hoping to break out onto the SE ledges and look toward Conway, but time and energy ran out before the brush did. No need to be greedy, anyway - I had ample reward for the effort. On the way down, I stopped to take a few more pics. Click, click, cli ... wha?? My camera died mid-click. Unable to resuscitate it. Oddly enough, I was carrying my trusty old Canon too, so i was able to get a few more shots on the way down.
Remember my little prayer? I did. Usually I'd have been very upset - I really (really!) like that camera. But after saying you're grateful No matter what ... well, you can't rightly get upset can you ?
So , down I went, uneventfully but pleasantly. And when I got back to camp, TLV was there with food and a bonfire.
An excellent day for which I'm very grateful :)