A Visit to One of George's Neighbors: Mt Monroe (22-Jan-2010)
My friend Marty drove up in the morning from his home in Boston for a hike on fine winter day. Upon his arrival we had a brief discussion and quickly settled on doing the short trek to Mt. Monroe using the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail as our highway to the Presidential Range.
We got on the trail close to 11:30-ish and right from the "get-go" at The Cog parking lot, we could see that it was going to be beautiful day to be above tree line.
View from the Cog Parking Lot
We slapped on our snowshows and headed off. It was a fantastic day for snowshoeing. There was firmly packed powder until we were perhaps a tenth of a mile from the LOC Hut. At this point the trail was no longer visible due to drifted snow. However, the snow was firm enough that it was no problem to just head uphill across the trackless snow toward the hut. And within just a very few minutes, the snow-encased image of hut appeared on the horizon.
LOC Hut in Winter
Although it was a brilliant sunny day, and only a hint of a breeze, we were the only hikers up there! We would not have seen another person all day had it not been for a chance meeting with some backcountry skiers who dropped by the hut along their way down the mountainside. They swooped by just shortly after we arrived, and they immediately went up on the roof of the hut to have their lunch.
Skiers on Roof of LOC Hut
Perhaps it's not unusual, but I found it amazing that there was open water at that elevation at this time of year, and that it was actually flowing!! The aquamarine color of the water against a stark-white landscape of Mt. Washington was quite a contrast to see.
Open Water at the Doorstep of Mt Washington
After basking in the sun and having some lunch, we headed off for Mt. Monroe. Due to a lot of drifted snow, there was no obvious snowshoe track to the summit from previous hikers. That was fine with us. It was actually fun to "snow-whack" our way to the top!
Within 20 minutes or so, we arrived at a wind-free Mt. Monroe where the air temperature on my pack thermometer read a balmy 30 degrees. Of course, there were the stunning 360 degree views. And on this particular day, the southwesterly view was made especially interesting by a slight undercast. The full beauty of this view was difficult to adequately capture since it required shooting directly into the sun which was low on the horizon.
Southwesterly View from Mt. Monroe
Eventually, we had to pry ourselves off the summit and start heading for home. Marty took the lead and I lingered a bit longer to take a few more snapshots, including one of him as he hiked along the ridge of Monroe admiring the northward view of the Presidential Range.
Northward View from Mt Monroe
On our return trip back down the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, we were treated to some nice alpine glow (or is "alpenglow" the more correct term?). I've seen even more stunning demonstrations of this light phenomenon, but nonetheless, this was a pretty good show.
Alpenglow from Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail
It was also quite impressive to look overhead at the alpenglow on the treetops against a blue sky, and punctuated by a picturesque half moon.
Looking Skyward at Alpenglow Effect
This was by no means an epic hike. It was just a simple out & back. But, it was a day tailor-made for an unhurried hike above tree line to enjoy the Whites in all their wild & wonderful winter-glory.
1HappyHiker
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Originally Posted by Anna LeBlanc
