Hiking in the White Mountain National Forest is quite the experience. In the winter, most of the NH 48 4000-footers are summited by folks wearing snowshoes. Being that some of the trailheads are accessed by seasonal forest service and other roads, however, many of those winter hikes involve more snowshoeing than normal. Or, in the case of this tour led by Redline Guide Will Murphy, they involved some skiing. When we learned Mt Hale was on the docket — as our returning guest’s 30th of the her 48 — we suggested Nordic ski access to: 1) make life a little easier (hopefully) and; 2) make it more interesting… and fun. Will and our guest both cross country ski so it was a great choice.
Will offered the following summary…
The day looked promising with the recent snowfall to provide a beautiful winterscape with an ascent of Mt Hale as the objective. Our pre-planning included discussion of Nordic skiing the Zealand approach road and then switching to snowshoes for the hike up Hale Brook Trail. With the conditions we agreed to the Nordic/snowshoe combination. Skiing Zealand Road made for quick and enjoyable progress. At the start of the Hale Brook Trail, we switched to snowshoes and proceeded to break trail the full distance to the summit of Mt Hale. Along the way the birch forest and snow did not disappoint with beautiful scenery.
After a quick lunch and a couple photos on the snowy Mt Hale summit, the descent to the trailhead went quickly. Switching back to skis for the exit made for a nice finish.
All in all, our guest was thrilled with the Nordic skiing/snowshoeing combo as a first for her, the beautiful scenery and reaching the summit of Mt Hale. —Will
Both Will and guest provided these photos, so we whipped up a little video to show them…
Great job team. Thanks for again choosing Redline Guiding for your ski/snowshoe adventure.