Saturday was a grand old time to play in the Wildcat Mountains with Yen, Annette, Rebecca, Ravi, Sean along with Sarah, Jenny and I. We stopped in at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center to read the current conditions on the rock pile. It read "90 mph sustained wind with gusts up to 129 mph." How inviting! Instead of crossing the Ellis River and its high water, we took the gentle Lost Pond Trail to the Wildcat Ridge Trail and begun our journey.

The trail and the mountains had lots of ice, snow (to 4" in depth), water, mud, wind, and stunning views. All the mountains were covered in a winter wonderland of snow. It is like looking at white porcelain snow trees. The Presis had a spectacular waterfall of clouds rolling over the summits all day. How breathtaking! We had so much fun on this hike that we wanted more, and agreed to meet at Mr Steak in Gorham for a big dinner and libations. Everyone went! So much fun, I didn't get home until 10 pm to get ready for the next day's hike!!

Which peaks did you hit? A? D?

Best view? Could you see the Carters?

The snow definitely came early this year, and its got me itching to go! I love the cool/cold weather hiking, the heat just kills me. And it really is beatiful with a nice layer of white, like Magic described...

I must mention on WildCat Ridge Trail, the upper, offset, pinned steps were quite an exhilarating experience with a half inch of ice on them. Our group of eight traversed all 5 peaks, 'E' to 'A'. One new hiker, a beautiful 30 year lady EMT and a R.N., had a bit of a slow going on the elevation gain, but I talked her into finishing the hike to the ridge. Once there, she was fine for the remainder of the hike. On the descent she lead us on a nicely fast pace. And she will be returning to join us again.

Views of all the Carters and into the Balface-Royce Range were incredible, and even beyond way into Maine! My favorite was to continuously look at the entire Presi Range and the enchanting waterfall of clouds rolling down the slopes. Mindblowing!