This is me... STILL smiling after descending Mount Washington!
This, my friends, was an epic adventure!
(I was feeling pretty darn accomplished!)
Activity: Snow Shoeing/Hiking (***The company through whom you do this adventure requires people to have snowshoes for this adventure.... If you don't have your own you can rent snowshoes there... for $20... I am not sure why snowshoes are required, but.... play by the rules!!)
Address/Location: Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center, 1 Mount Washington Auto Road Gorham, New Hampshire 03581
Cost: $55 per person (They have other prices for other adventures... make sure to check out their webpage. They have a trip up for the sunrise which I can imagine would be pretty spectacular! )
Parking: There are two decent size lots on the property... we arrived around 10:00 a.m. and there were some spots left... but when we returned to the center, around 1:15 cars were parked along the road.
Notes: As some of you may know... I have a hard time saying that I am a hiker... I see myself as a walker... I can walk pretty good distances... but when people use the word 'hike' I used to envision summiting mountains... climbing...going up hard terrain... and getting pretty out of breath and, to be honest... being pretty miserable in the process...that a hike MUST end atop a mountain with fabulous views..... BUT.... my mindset is changing... hiking, as I now define it, is.. walking on trails that go through the woods... usually involving a variety of terrain, some inclines and declines... with beautiful things to see... that, at times, challenge me physically and mentally...
It is a good mindset shift, right? I think so... but I still have room for growth because I still doubt my abilities... maybe it is more about fearing that my abilities are not strong enough to get me to the top of mountains when... I admit, at times I would like to get to the summit! So... I have been taking this journey to becoming a hiker slowly... starting with easily accessible, short places, like Macworth Island... and adding in a place that has a bit of an increase in elevation, like Bradbury Mountain (starting with the gentler trail and then trying the trails that are shorter but steeper).... and I hope to keep working my way up to longer hikes with a bigger increase in elevation as time goes on...
So... last Saturday's hike was a pretty big step in my hiker mentality....
I hiked Mount Washington!!! I hiked DOWN Mount Washington. (Ok maybe that is not as impressive as hiking up and down the mountain... but... it is Mount Washington!!! That's a big deal!) So here is how this adventure unfolded...
It started a couple of months ago... when Shannon from FitMaine had posted in the social club that she was planning an event where you drive to NH, get driven UP Mount Washington, dropped off, and you snowshoe back to the lodge where you began... I was intrigued... but had doubts... I still do not consider myself an expert snowshoer... and this was ALL downhill... so... I was intimidated... BUT... I really love the people who attend the events from FitMaine... the adventures are always fun... I get to meet new people and talk with people I already know... and I get to be outside moving my body... So... as I have been trying to do... I said YES to adventure and signed up!!
As with the other FitMaine events those who are going coordinate carpooling... I had the pleasure of picking Wendy up at her house and driving together. We had beautiful weather for driving... we headed to North Conway NH... (I used to live in Fryeburg so I spent time in North Conway.. but I never went beyond that... so I had no idea the beauty that was beyond that!!) Just beyond North Conway was a beautiful place to stop and look at the mountains... We were a little ahead of schedule, so ... we stopped! (It was cool and a little intimidating to see where we were headed!)
We took a selfie!
(I mean who isn't happy BEFORE a crazy adventure?? I just hoped we would be as happy at the end!)
(A total aside: We kept driving and went through Jackson, NH... I was super excited about that because I have investigated xc skiing there and wondered if it was really beginner friendly. It was such a cute area and YES there were places that looked to be beginner friendly... I hope I get a chance to go there before the end of the season!)
Then... then we arrived at our meeting spot... Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center! This was our view from the paring area... looking up at some of the presidential mountains! (The building in the right part of the photo is The Glen House. It is an inn as well as the bar/restaurant we visited at the end of our adventure! VERY good food and atmosphere!)
The outdoor center is kind of like a lodge... I assume that anyway, I haven't been to many lodges... they rent equipment here... I knew I was in a winter recreational place when I saw this sign...
No skis in the dining area?!! Ha! Made me laugh! (The sign didn't say anything about snowshoes!!!!)
Ok.. this photo is actually from the end of the trip...but I thought putting it here sets the tone!
The Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center has THE Mount Washington Snow Coach! (Actually they have a fleet of snow coaches!)
What is a snowcoach you may ask?? THIS... this is a snowcoach!
A bad ass van with bad ass treads that climb Mount Washington in the winter!!
We had 2 snowcoaches for our party... this was my snowcoach with our driver, also named Shannon.
(Photo by Shannon Bryan www.fitmaine.com)
So... we all got in... and we were excited!
(I was also a little nervous...wondering what exactly I had gotten myself into... I was more excited than nervous.)
(Photo by Shannon Bryan www.fitmaine.com)
So... we got into the vans... they are pretty bumpy as the tracks go across pavement... we crossed the road and started to head up THE 'Auto Road.' (Many New Englanders know the Auto Road... it is kind of legendary!) I had never been here before, not in the summer and definitely not in the winter... As we ascended Mount Washington our driver shared a lot of information with us...about the climates as we got higher and higher... what wildlife lives in those areas...and stories about the presedentials... it was very informative. She told us that as we were climbing we could, at any point, tell her to stop, and we could descend from that point... While tempting, especially after it had been a while since passing the three mile mark... I was ALL IN for this adventure... and wanted to see the top. (I should say here that we did not go all the way to the top of Mount Washington... the snowcoaches are not allowed beyond a certain point due to weather/wind conditions as well as the conditions on the auto road... there are only a couple of machines that are allowed to go all the way up to the weather station...I think you can go up with them, and even spend a night or two at the weather station, but I have no idea where to get that info.)
As we climbed the mountain I had a few thoughts... 1 - Holy shit! We are climbing HIGH! 2 - The auto road is NARROW! How the heck do vehicles pass each other without falling off the edge? and I will NEVER drive up this thing!!! 3 - I thought the description of the trip said it was a 3 mile hike down... 4 - Can I do this? (Why does doubt ALWAYS creep in?)
So... eventually we got to the highest point we could get to in the snowcoaches... 4200 feet! As you can see... the views were pretty incredible! Our driver told us to NOT open the doors... because the wind gusts can rip the doors off the vans... so she asked that she hold the doors as we get out. Oh... and I should add... the wind gusts at this point were 30+ mph!!
(Photo by Shannon Bryan www.fitmaine.com)
This was our entire party... at 4200 feet!
(Photo by Shannon Bryan www.fitmaine.com)
We got out of the vans and got ready... I was so excited... and in awe of the beauty I saw! I was bundled up to stay warm!! I was glad I had all my layers, even my crazy bomber hat!!
Sticking with the happy theme... me & Wendy!
and.. Wendy and our fearless leader, Shannon Bryan from FitMaine!
I felt like I was on top of the world!!!!
And... in a way I was... I mean Mount Washington is pretty high!! (For the east coast!)
I had o do this pose... it is my 'embracing adventure' pose... (which started on one of my first snowshoe adventures and one of my first adventures with Shannon as friends... on Mackworth Island... I walked out onto the breakwater and felt great and raised my arms up like this... embracing winter, embracing being active, embracing living my life.... and she snapped a photo... since then it has been one of my things on each adventure!
Here is that photo... taken about a year ago!
One of my favorite pics of the day... taken by Wendy! (Thanks Wendy!)
Seeing these views... this incredibly blue sky... I can understand why people like to get to the top of mountains...
As much snow as they get here... there was bare ground.... because of the wind!!
We have to have some fun along the way!!
Before long we got to the post that said we were at 4000 feet in elevation... I felt like I should do a moment of meditation... you know.. like we see in the cartoons... a shaman sitting, legs crossed, atop a mountain... so this was my best impression... breathing in and out...
Ok.. so the meditation was short lived... I was too excited to be calm!
Then we got to the 4 mile mark... did I mention I had thought this was a 3 mile trek?
That ski slope off in the distance is Wildcat...
I now truly understand why people call days like this 'bluebird' days!
The snow banks that had been plowed had lines from the wind... beautiful texture!
Picture perfect!
After we made the corner and got just below the treeline it felt A LOT warmer... so we paused to take off some layers. I was wicked surprised that the temperatures were mild...
and by the bottom, I had taken off my neckwarmer and mittens...
We kept trekking and made it to the three mile marker... so far, so good!
Hiking DOWN a mountain...
in some ways that sounds pretty easy... but... some people say the down is the hardest part. Cardio wise it is not as strenuous... but... muscle engagement... well...let's just say my muscles were engaged... It's funny... I didn't really feel much as far as soreness on he way down... but when we would stop... my legs felt a little different... if I turned to try to take a picture and had my feet pointed up the mountain I felt a little off balance...
The views..... so pretty!
This was looking down over the edge... at snowballs that had rolled down...
People were still smiling!!
At this point... probably 1.5 miles in... people were starting to feel it... it is hard on the knees!!! Some people said they had put on their knee braces and/or taped their knees to try to help...
I really like this pic, except I had my phone out! I was getting ready to take photos, but it looks like I am not in the moment! I do not use my phone, except its camera, when adventuring!
This is Peggy! I am so glad I am getting to know her!
We heard the snowcoaches making another trip up the mountain! When that happens we were told to stay to the right... but stay ON the packed snow... because off the packed snow risked falling into 10+feet of snow!
On the way up our driver had told us if any of us needed to get a ride back to the lodge to flag down the snowcoaches and we could jump in at any point. Honestly, having that 'out' was great for my mindset. Knowing that if my body told me to stop... I had options!
(Word of caution... if you need to get in to one of the snowcoaches... flag them down whenever you see them... this coach went by us... and to be honest... we didn't see it again until we were almost to the bottom... which was about 2 miles away... apparently if it is not a drop off trip, they stop a lot and share more information... so it takes a long time for the snow coaches to do a round trip... so if you want to be picked up... flag them down... don't hesitate!)
Somehow we missed the 2 mile marker... It was around this point where I thought about taking my snowshoes off and walking without them. (Thinking about my snowshoe adventure in Lovell where we really didn't need the snowshoes.....) But... since the company emphasized having snowshoes... we tried to follow the rules! (And did... until mile 1)
This was the widest part of the road... the only place I could imagine two vehicles passing each other!
We finally got to the one mile mark!!! We were trying to do different poses at each marker... and I decided for this one I needed to be dramatic... so I dropped to the ground (notice without snowshoes) trying to look like I was wiped out...
Others joined in on my dramatic antics!!
Truth be told... I was tired at that point... I would not have been disappointed had this been the stopping point... But... I also had enough fuel left in the tank to keep going!
Wendy helped me secure my snowshoes to my backpack.... telling me I now had angel wings... I felt tougher than an angel... and had to strike a pose of power!
We kept going....
And finally we were almost there... the bottom of the auto road!
It felt a bit like it feels when you do the Maine Half Marathon (of the full I suppose) when you are in the final stretch... you can see the finish line but you still have a ways to go! We had to get to the bottom, then walk another half mile or so UP an incline to get back to the Outdoor Center...
This was looking back at the auto road... and the peak...
I was feeling pretty proud! (Yes this is the pic at the beginning of the post!)
I HIKED ... I hiked DOWN a MOUNTAIN! Over 4 miles... downhill...
I felt great! I definitely felt like I had done something... but mostly I was proud!!
We returned to the truck... I changed my clothes... I have found that after an outdoor winter adventure I need to change out my outer layers or else I get chilled...
We all headed across the street to the Glen House and had a great meal with great conversation!
Here is a photo of the moose hanging over their fireplace! Funky!
This adventure was very unique! I mean... the idea of wanting to be exposed to Mount Washington Weather conditions... in the winter! And to snowshoe down... 4 miles!!! What is even more insane... in my mind.. was the people who were xc skiing UP the mountain!! (Yes that is a thing! And they ski back down... they have specific rules about skiing down because it can be dangerous.)
I would say that this is an activity you should do only if you feel like you could walk 5 or 6 miles... make sure you have done some snowshoeing before this event... walking with snowshoes attached to your feet changes your gait... you have to walk with a bit of a wider stance... and lift your knees a little higher than you do when walking.
You will be sore after this! Of course everyone's body is different so your soreness will be different...
I had taken a 'tiger tail' with me... not that brand but a similar roller to massage my muscles. I knew I would be sore after this adventure and wanted to try to prevent it from being worse than it needed to be. (I had also taken some aleve that morning! A friend told me that she takes either aleve or advil before a strenuous hike to help at the end of the hike... I don't take medication often, but I think it makes sense...and for me, it didn't hurt!)
I used the roller on my legs before we got in the truck to drive home.
Partway home I stopped to get gas and after having sat in the truck for a while I could feel my body stiffening up a bit. By the time I got home I was sore enough to use my foam roller... (I have a love hate relationship with that thing... usually more hate than love!)
The next morning, Sunday, I got up... I was less sore than I expected to be! But sore enough to think that I should probably do a short walk of some sort to help prevent getting more stiff. (Holy mindset change... before working to get healthier... I would have just laid on the couch all day!) Gladys and I walked along the trail at Royal River Park in Yarmouth. (More on that in another post!) It was less than two miles with only a couple of very small inclines/declines... and I think it was a great thing to do to try to keep my muscles from tightening too much. I got home and did some stretching and once again used my foam roller and tiger tail.
Monday I woke up and felt more stiff than I had on Sunday... throughout the day I found myself rubbing my IT bands, bending to stretch my hamstrings, and massaging my calf muscles... I definitely felt my body... but I will say, I was less sore than I was from the Pound class I had taken!
At least the soreness was less concentrated than it was after that class!
I will DEFINITELY sign up for this adventure again next year! Maybe I will see you there??!!
I can't believe that winter is ending! I am not sad to welcome spring... it means KAYAKING adventures are on the way!!! Ooooooooh Yeah!!!! But I still have more adventures involving the snow that I want to do!! I also need to start looking for other adventures!!
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