Sunrise in Crawford Notch, NH

It was a beautiful sunrise in the "notch" last Sunday. Crisp and cold, but clear.

The hike to the summit of Mt. Avalon was fairly easy and only took about an hour. Everyone seemed surprised when we reached it.

No birds or animal sightings, but some amazing views of snowy branches bracketed by beautiful blue sky. More photos here.

2.6 miles, 1,542' elevation gain (2 hours)
Summit: Mt. Avalon (3,442' high)
Route: Avalon Trail

Mt. Jackson - The joy is not just climbing to the summit!

A group of us from the AMC Winter Hiking program hiked up Mt. Jackson last Saturday. It was a truly memorable experience. And the joy was not just climbing to the summit. I partook in another sport -- glissading. In fact, I enjoyed the "sitting glissade" several times on the way down. What fun! Like skiing, but on your butt!

It took us 4 hours to get to the top, due to numerous gear issues; two in our group, Barbara Hough and Vera Kaufman, had defective snowshoes and had to bareboot it. But what an accomplishment! We all felt as high as the mountain (4,052 feet high) when we got to the top. We had successfully braved bitter cold (it was 0 degrees F. at trailhead and got down to at least -2 on the trail) and succeeded in hiking up our first 4,000 footer -- and a Presidential no less -- in winter!

It was incredibly beautiful. The tree branches were so laden with snow that we marveled that they didn't break.

Highlights included:

• my first experience glissading -- FUN!
• a gray jay joined us on the trail
  
• 2 chickadees singing in the trees
• 40-50mph gusts on the summit, fogged up sunglasses and a realization that one really does need goggles for winter hiking
• the hair around our faces turned to icicles, making us look like we had white hair!
• delicious snickerdoodle summit cookies
  
• always-smiling and helpful leaders Reji James and Michele Grzenda
  

5.6 miles, 2,150' elevation gain (6-1/2 hours - 4 up and 2-1/2 down)
Summit: Mt. Jackson (4,052' high)
Route: Webster-Jackson Trail

See more photos.

P.S. My car slid sideways into a snowbank the night before, as I was turning into the driveway of the Highland Center. Fortunately, I had a good shovel in my trunk and dug the car out; it took about 30 minutes. Vanessa Johnson had gone to get help; the rescue team of 5, including Reji James and Larry Tackiff, arrived just in time to help me out with a hefty push. An exciting way to begin the weekend at the Shapleigh Bunkhouse at AMC's Highland Center. :-)

Welch-Dickey's ice-covered ledges

During the drive north to NH, we kept wondering "Are we crazy?" It was 7am, snowing hard. Signs along Route 93 kept blinking "winter storm warning" and the roads were a mess. My hiking buddy Sheeba and I reasoned that if we really wanted to experience true winter hiking, what better time than now? Due to the poor driving conditions, we arrived at trailhead 15 min. late, but we beat the three AMC leaders by 15 min. nonetheless.

I, six winter hiking newbies and 3 experienced winter hiking leaders from the AMC started out at 10:30am amid flurries, temps of 20 degrees F. and predictions for high wind. I was a bit apprehensive: though I'd done winter hiking before, I had never used crampons. And Welch-Dickey's open ledges were sure to be covered in ice.

We returned to the parking lot at 4pm. It was challenging, but I felt good. Really good. I had conquered my apprehension, learning how to adjust and attach my crampons (they were initially too long to fit properly), and making it up and over numerous tricky spots covered in ice -- all without having to slide down on any descent.

Thanks to Alex Nedzel, Kevin McAllister and Sandy Green for sharing their experience and love of winter hiking with us! They were most helpful and generous with suggestions.

I definitely like winter hiking. But the jury is still out as to whether I am a fan of *serious* winter hiking involving crampons, ice axes and above-treeline exposure. I am doing AMC Boston Chapter's Crawford Notch program next weekend, as well as the above-treeline seminar, before I decide for certain...

4.4 miles, 1,800' elevation gain to two summits (~ 5-1/2 hours)
Summit: Mt. Welch (2,605') and Mt. Dickey (2,734')
Route: Welch-Dickey Loop

First 4000-footer in winter (conditions): Mt. Tecumseh

After the AMC's Winter Hiking Program, we were ready to tackle our first 4,000 footer in winter (though technically it's not winter, but it sure felt like it!) Just 17 degrees at trailhead at 10am. The high hit 20. But it was a fairly comfortable hike as there was no wind. A few stream crossings -- none of them difficult.

Although the trail was packed down, and we could have barebooted it the entire way, we changed to snowshoes about 1/3 of the way up, and stayed in them until the end of the hike. I feel we had much better traction in them, especially on the descent.

The view at the top is occluded by trees, but you can see the Tripyramids and the Osceolas. We also could see the ridge of the Presidentials, completely covered in snow.

See photos taken by Bruno Rijsman, a fellow hiker, at http://www.flickr.com/photos/brijsman/sets/72157623036784638/.

Thanks to Mohamed Ellozy, Sandy Green and Claudine Kos for leading the hike!

6 miles, 2,200' elevation gain to summit (~ 6 hours)
Summit: Mt. Tecumseh (4,003')
Route: Mt. Tecumseh Trail to summit, Sosman Trail spur, then Mt. Tecumseh Trail back down

Shaking our groove thangs at The Donkey Show

The Donkey Show -- a re-imagining of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with a 70s disco theme -- is less theater than a disco dance party. You are enticed into dancing to all the popular disco songs from that era from the moment you walk onto the set.

Christine, Jim, Janet, Jessica and Derek and I thoroughly enjoyed dancing together to the disco hits after the show as well. Heck, that's got to be the best part of the show -- dancing to those great songs from way back when. So much fun that this was Christine's second time, and Janet and Jim vowed to go back another night! I might join them...

Mt. Crawford & Parker Traverse (NH)

I met NH Chapter AMC leader Ray Caron, Audrey, Pat and a friend of theirs at 7am at the Highland Center for breakfast on Sunday. The others decided to climb to Wildcat for "grander" views. Ray and I stuck to the original plan - a bootleg traverse (the scheduled AMC hike was rained out the previous weekend) that would take us over Mt. Crawford, the Resolutions and Mt. Parker to the town of Bartlett.

At the height of the fall foliage in the Whites, visiting 3,000' high peaks instead of doing a 4,000 footer enabled us to better view the stunning foliage because we were effectively closer to the fabulous colors.

The Crawford-Resolution-Parker traverse that took us up and over 4 summits - Mt. Crawford, Mt. Resolution (though we didn't go to the "true" summit), South Resolution, and Mt. Parker -- in that order.

(Ray wrote an excellent trip report on VFTT which includes stunning photos of the fall foliage and magnificent mountain scenery.)

All four mountains, located NW of North Conway, NH off of Route 302, have either treeless summits or treeless ledges, offering fine views. We did a car spot, with one car at the Davis Path trailhead and the second one in Bartlett at the end of the Langdon Path.

The hike to the summit of Mount Crawford is short, but steep. From there, if the weather cooperates, one has a full 360 degree view of the mountains surrounding the Presidential Range. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating for us while we were there, so we couldn't see Mt. Washington. No worries, because the valleys in all directions were at peak color. Just stunning!

For many, the summit of Mt. Crawford is the final destination and they return the way they came. But we continued along the Davis Path north, to the intersection with the Mt. Parker Trail. Turning southeast, we hiked to the ledges of Mt. Resolution but did not attempt to find the true summit, which is off-trail, hidden among trees. More great views. Then on to South Resolution, a "bump" where we ate lunch and enjoyed more fall colors.

Finding the trail to South Resolution was quite an effort. But find it we did, and Ray used the tiny saw on his Leatherman to clear the path and make it more visible to hikers. We also placed several cairns on the top to enable hikers to find their way back down to the main trail.

After our trail maintenance near South Resolution, we headed for Mt. Parker, which is further south along the Mt. Parker Trail. It's another treeless summit with good views. Miraculously, the sky cleared when we hit Mt. Parker, so that we had magnificent, clear views of Mount Washington. We couldn't get enough of the beautiful fall colors.

I strongly recommend Mt. Parker, which can be ascended from Bartlett via the Mt. Langdon Trail in Bartlett. As with Mt. Crawford, the views are tremendous.

10.4 miles, 2,400' to Mt. Resolution, then some additional ups and downs (~ 9 leisurely hours)
Summits: Mt. Crawford (3,119'), Mt. Resolution (3,415'), South Resolution (~2,900'), and Mt. Parker (3,004')
Route: Davis Path to Mt. Parker Trail to Mt. Langdon Trail (ending in Barlett)

Exhilarating Macbeth

I saw the premier of the ART's "Sleep No More" on Thursday night and am still digesting it. If you are a traditionalist, you will not like the participatory nature of this production, or the requirement to wander and explore. It is a totally immersive experience. Bizarre and surreal. The darkness, peculiar sets and the actors' performances in various rooms was disorienting -- in a good way.

I felt like I was visiting a museum from the 1930's which had just been reopened. But there were actors and actresses performing around me, references to the 1500's and Macbeth, interesting smells, curious floor coverings, and the odd juxtaposition of school hallways and lockers -- all of which contributed to the dream-like state of the theater goers.

The bar which begins and ends the show is a clever idea. It's actually essential for those couples and friends who get separated to rendezvous. My favorite area was the Collector's Room, and the two-headed skeleton under the dusty glass.

Overall, Sleep No More was mysterious and exhilarating at the same time. Quite an imaginative staging of Macbeth. Congratulations to Diane Paulus and the ART for its courage in introducing Boston audiences to the Punchdrunk concept of participatory theater. Bravo!