[hikethesummits]

This would be a lucky, ducky day;
My brother thought all night of his friends foolish way;
Foolish to be climbing Mt. Washington in snow coulds of gray;
Forocious winds and 20 below windchills the report did say;

So a call I got at 7:30 in the morning;
My brother did call and ask if I was hiking;
Scott was sick and I would be home sulking;
But not now, we were soon off for some 4000 foot peak bagging;

We parked at Ferncroft at ten-o-eight and headed up Blueberry Ledge;
Sky's were mostly sunny, a snow packed trail we climbed the steep ridge;
Jeremy kept a quick pace, I kept the pics to a minimum which made me cringe;
We soon took off the heavy outer-gear as it was warm just a smidge;

Just below the ledges we met up with an older couple on the trail;
The very funny lady said to go ahead, that she "moved like a snail";
Over the steep ledges we went, making it to the false summit with a joyous wail;
It was 1pm so we ate our lunch and they did the same, the woman and male;

Tummy's full, pushing on to the true summit with excitment a-fluttered;
Down and up almost missing the cairn, with snow most of it was covered;
Now the dreaded Rollins Trail..."this trail will surely kill us", I muttered;
I thought of this long, annoying, PUD infested trail, ugh, I shuttered;

But much to my surprise it was packed pretty well;
So we charged down this ridge like two bats-out-of-hell;
A long hour and a half later, behind us this ridge fell;
My brother and I exhausted with signs of defeat did I smell;

But one last challenging push did we have to complete this story;
Long switchbacks and steep pitches, boy was this trail ornery;
Then finally reaching the top at three p.m, oh the exictement and glory!
And down to the view for one last look to the North, oh so stormy;

We hussled down now to reach the truck before we lost the light;
Passing the couple we had seen earlier drained like us of their might;
Sliding and scurrying we reached the end, timed just right;
5 pm, on the road we arrived, the sunset a warm, comforting sight.

Hike Overview:

Bagged my 26/48 4000 footer
Bagged my first 2 winter 4k's!

Total Time: 7 hours

Total Mileage: 11.5 miles

Total Elevation Gain: 4,450 ft.

Weather: Mostly Sunny Sky's, Clouding over around 2:30pm. Winds off and on in areas 20 mph. Temps ranged from low 40's at the base to low 30's/upper 20's on the summits. Trails well packed. Light traction required on the Whiteface ledges and Passaconaway. Another beautiful February day!

Pics Here>

[Ben Smith]

It's not fair you guys still have winter hiking out there. It's been so warm here on the island that the snow is getting to the point where you punch through with every step, so we've been relegated to valley hikes until the rest of the snow either melts away or firms up (with rain on the way for tomorrow, I'm guessing it'll be melting away).