It was supposed to rain in the night and early morning, but we lucked out a little bit. We got up early and packed up while it was still dry out. It began to drizzle as we were finishing breakfast, around 7am. We had a long climb up the mountain and it rained most of the way up. Fortunately it meant we didn’t get hot on the way up, but it also meant no views. We were totally socked in at the summit, and the lack of trees to break the wind made it chilly. This was our first taste of the Alpine tundra of the White Mountains and how quickly the weather can turn from warm and calm to cold and windy. The descent was harder than the ascent was, steep and slippery as it followed a waterfall down the north side of the mountain. It took us about 6 hours to get up and over, a long time for only 8 miles or so, but it was a good day nonetheless. Of course the sun came out once we got down!
4802′ Nice! Glad to see you’re enjoying the Whites!
Seems like spirits are bright and fitness is good. Get ready for frosty weather and tough terrain! Godspeed!