Elevation: 1,647 ft (overall) 1,920 ft (total)
Time: 2:24 Summit 3:37 Total
Trails: Old Toll Road, Sidefoot Trail, Noble Trail, Cliff Walk Trail, Smith Connecting Link, White Dot Trail, White Arrow Trail, Old Toll Road
Trying to get one more day of the year checked off my Monadnock hiking list, I did an early morning hike for New Years Eve day. I normally go away for the holiday, so this was another hard to hike day of the year. This year though I was able to hike up just after sunrise and be done in time to head north for the long weekend.
There was finally some snow on the ground, but not enough for snowshoes yet. To save time today, I used the Old Toll Road instead of the Halfway House Trail like I normally do. It wasn't plowed yet, but was on the descent. At the Halfway House Site there were some views out past the clouds, but the summit showed to be in the clouds. I put on my Microspikes and headed for the Noble Trail.
Halfway House Site view
No one had been up the Noble Trial yet since it snowed. It hasn't been many days since the snow, but it's not a popular trail in winter anyways. Conditions were pretty good and I made it up just fine. There had been some traffic on the Cliff Walk Trail and Bald Rock had a thin layer of ice on most things. Smith Connecting Link had tracks until the Amphitheater Trail, but nothing above that. It's pretty easy to follow until the open rocks right at the end though and I have been on it many times before. The remainder of the climb to the summit became increasingly icy, but spikes were good enough traction.
Noble Trail
Cliff Walk Trail
Bald Rock
Ice covered rock near the summit
The summit was in the clouds and the wind was blowing around 20 mph. Since there were no views, I didn't stay long. I did have the summit to myself while I was there though. The White Arrow Trail wasn't bad to descend, since it had a bit less ice than the White Dot Trail. The trail markings were mostly covered in snow and ice though, so it was good to be familiar with the route.
At the summit
Miles the Mountain Monkey on the ice covered rocks
The ice bulge a bit below treeline on the White Arrow Trail hasn't really formed yet. Warm temps kept it pretty small so far. There was running water going down over it though which I am sure will add ice quickly. Heading down more, the ice got better, but spikes were certainly still helpful. One pair of hikers didn't appear to have traction and I thought I heard one of them say they hoped there wasn't more ice higher up. Hopefully they made it safely or turned around when things got bad.
The stone steps on the White Arrow Trail
For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE
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