Reaching the summit, in a steady snowfall

[Carol]

I went out Sunday to snowshoe up Pack Monadnock in steady snow. The scenery was beautiful, but the conditions made for an extra challenge. The temps hovered around freezing; the snow and rime stuck to everything -- my glasses, my hair (which froze), the camera, my gloves, etc. The scenery, however, was quite breathtaking

The usual entrance to the trail was moved a few hundred feet up the seasonal auto road:

Pack Monadnock Snowfall 009 by Sikaranista, on Flickr

Note the heavy ice over the yellow triangle blazes:

Pack Monadnock Snowfall 010 by Sikaranista, on Flickr

Pack Monadnock Snowfall 011 by Sikaranista, on Flickr

Visibility was a bit limited:

Pack Monadnock Snowfall 013 by Sikaranista, on Flickr

The large white splotch is (I think) Cranberry Meadow Pond:

Pack Monadnock Snowfall 016 by Sikaranista, on Flickr

 

[Carol]

Pack Monadnock Snowfall 015 by Sikaranista, on Flickr


Pack Monadnock Snowfall 019 by Sikaranista, on Flickr


Pack Monadnock Snowfall 024 by Sikaranista, on Flickr

This was a welcome site...the clearing is the summit

Pack Monadnock Snowfall 025 by Sikaranista, on Flickr


Pack Monadnock Snowfall 026 by Sikaranista, on Flickr

 

[Carol]

At the summit:


Pack Monadnock Snowfall 028 by Sikaranista, on Flickr


Pack Monadnock Snowfall 035 by Sikaranista, on Flickr


Pack Monadnock Snowfall 029 by Sikaranista, on Flickr


Pack Monadnock Snowfall 031 by Sikaranista, on Flickr

More shots tomorrow...

 

[granfire]

looking at pretty winter when it's raining outside...

 

[Sukerkin]

Lovely shots of a lovely place, Carol. I wish so hard that my Michelle had recovered and we'd had some more time, for I had planned in my heart, as our delayed honeymoon, to fly over to you and for us to see those stunning mountains and forests with our own eyes. Of course, 'Shel would have loved to see all the American cars too - a passion I could never get her to see the wrongness of .

 

[Cyriacus]

I love snow. Probably because ive never seen it or been in it for real, but i love it. The white texture makes what would normally just be, like, a road with trees look fantastic.

 

[Carol]

I love snow. Probably because ive never seen it or been in it for real, but i love it. The white texture makes what would normally just be, like, a road with trees look fantastic.

It really does. The winter before we received hardly any snow at all in my area (which is very unusual) and it was very depressing. I'm glad we got a decent amount this year

 

[Carol]

Lovely shots of a lovely place, Carol. I wish so hard that my Michelle had recovered and we'd had some more time, for I had planned in my heart, as our delayed honeymoon, to fly over to you and for us to see those stunning mountains and forests with our own eyes. Of course, 'Shel would have loved to see all the American cars too - a passion I could never get her to see the wrongness of .

I would have loved that too...and you are still most welcome here to take in it all, you and the part of dear Michelle that remains forever with you

Although Michelle might be surprised at how many New Englanders up here, myself included, do not drive "American" cars. I'd guess you are more likely to see more Hondas, Toyotas, and Subarus (many of these are made in the USA -- hence my reason for putting "American" in quotes) at a trailhead than you are Ford, Chevy, or Dodge.

 

[Sukerkin]

If I can get the money together I would love to do that, Carol. But I fear it may be a while yet, sad to say.

A wedding closely followed by a funeral and then suddenly having to balance the books with a single wage coming in have, however, given me a bit of a fiscal pummelling in top of the traumatic emotional loss to deal with. Life, as has often been observed, is far from fair . To steal my darling wife from me, robbing me of our next three decades or so together and then on top of that smack me with my possibly not being able to afford to keep our house is on the brink of being more than I can bear.