Hiking and Nature with Angela: Pinkham Notch Winter Hike

Location: Pinkham Notch
Trails: Appalachian Trail, Raymond Path, Huntington Ravine, Tuckerman Ravine
Mileage: ~5.5
Difficulty: Moderate
Extra Gear: Microspikes
Companion: Jesse

The second hike for the second day of the new year was chosen by Jesse. I had picked out the previous two. He said this area had some nice trails and he was right. It was the most beautiful due to the fresh snow and solitude here. The day started off foggy so there were no grandiose views of Mount Washington, but the beauty on this hike lay within the heart of the trail itself rather than the view beyond it.

We begin the hike heading up Old Jackson Road or the Appalachian Trail. The increase in elevation here was gradual and not bad at all.

Jesse decided on our last day hiking up here that he should probably pick up some microspikes. I'd been wearing mine for all the other hikes, but as we started up on this one the ice was hard to see and covered by the snow so he decided they were necessary to have. We had already hiked a half mile so he hiked back to the visitor center to buy some while I continued on. He'd catch up to me, hiking an extra mile more than me. ( He hikes that fast and I hike that slow lol) While I waited for him to catch back up to me I took lots of photos of the trail and hiked leisurely.

I really loved hiking the Appalachian Trail here. It was quiet and peaceful, like another world.

Many times along the trail there would be sudden bursts of wind that blew snow strongly up the trail interrupting the calm. Sometimes I would fear the burst was really an avalanche starting up. It was that windy. Once we got to the Raymond Path it was stronger. I didn't get too many photos/videos of the strong gusts though now I wish I did. At the time, I would throw my hood up and turn my back to the gusts and maybe let a quiet scream out in anticipation of it's burst on my back. Then I'd watch the snow flakes dissipate and settle back down again. It was really beautiful.

We met back up at the first turn, just before reaching the Raymond Path.

It was a chilly day out, but hiking made it warm up pretty fast.

Snowflakes on the brow of my honey

A view point

Jesse is in the picture above if you look very closely. It is a winter wonderland, a canvas of freshly fallen snow. I've come to love winter hiking for it's beauty alone, but also for many other reasons. Each season has it's pluses and minuses. Jesse would often hike ahead of me then stop and let me catch up. He'd be waiting there for me with some hot tea and crackers and then we'd start back up again. Tea was a great pick me up in the cold weather and I was grateful he thought to bring it along.

The Raymond Path had more changes in elevation and constant ups and downs. A bit harder than I had expected. Jesse was the first to plant footprints in it for the day.

We reached the intersection for the Huntington Ravine trail. Here we saw a few people coming down from Mount Washington with their ice axes. Conquering Mount Washington in winter isn't on my wish list. But whenever we come across ice axe wielding mountaineers they look a lot more professional than the average hiker and they still awe me.

The descent down this short section of Huntington Ravine was very steep and I was glad we were going down rather than up.

There were sections it seemed we were walking over ice as well.

Huntington Ravine was short in mileage, but felt longer due to steepness. It was fun sliding down the steep parts. We then reached the Tuckerman Ravine intersection.