Waddling through a winter wonderlandMount Monadnock, New Hampshire (Nov 29, 2019)
Stuffed to the gills with Thanksgiving turkey, a rotund GaliWalker waddled up and over Mount Monadnock the next day to try and work off some of the previous night's gluttony. This was my 4th consecutive year of selecting this particular hike as my post-Thanksgiving 'turkey-burn'.
Route: Take the White Dot Trail to the summit - retrace my steps to pick up the Smith Connecting Trail - continue down the Cliff Walk - a left on the Lost Farm Trail - finish the loop via the Parker Trail.
Hiking/Photography stats: 5mi, 2000ft elevation gain, 4.5hrs
Mount Monadnock is so beautiful at this time of the year: ice and snow decorate the granite slabs that comprise the mountain’s summit plateau. Unfortunately, it's also invariably windy up there, so one needs to be prepared for the elements. This time around the wind on the summit was the fiercest I've encountered on any hike I've ever done: by my estimate it was 60mph, constant. Coupled with a temperature of 20°F the wind-chill would have clocked in at around -5°F. Bundled up in my heaviest cap and balaclava, with only a narrow slit left open for my eyes, and being careful to keep my ski gloves on, even if that made photography a cumbersome proposition, I was able to withstand the punishing wind and cold in good order.
1- Breaking out into the open
2- Dangerous ice (spikes mandatory)
3- First sight of the summit, wreathed in mist and spindrift
4
5
6- Summit (I was being buffeted by a 60mph wind)
7- Summit and a hint of sun
8- Summit
9
10
11
12
13- Narnia
14- Looking down at Bald Rock (my exit route)
15- Summit from Bald Rock
16
17- A hiker admires the views (selfie)
'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker
bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!"
Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
0
'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker
bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!"
Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
The last three Thanksgivings I found it extremely difficult to take pictures here because of the cold weather and because I used my tripod each time. This trip, the wind was so brutal that there was no way the tripod (plus camera) would not have been blown off the mountain if I'd tried to use it. Hence, every photo above is handheld - which made picture taking so much easier - except for the very last one (the selfie), because I was out of the worst of the wind by then.
'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker
bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!"
Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
0
'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker
bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!"
Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
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