December 26, 2021
Start/end: Grafton Notch trailhead
Miles: 7.93
Elevation gain: 3386′
I was up early, and despite a few inches of snow on the ground that hadn’t been plowed yet, I headed out from the trailhead in my snowshoes by 7:15am. The trail wasn’t in bad condition. Four people had hiked to West Baldpate since the last snowfall and maybe 2 of them had pushed to Baldpate, though their tracks in the col were mostly obliterated by the wind. The top of the climb to West Baldpate was extremely icy; it wasn’t too bad going up but I fell multiple times on the way down.
Thankfully, the exposed rock slabs going up Baldpate weren’t icy – only snowy. I made good time on this hike and really enjoyed my time on the mountain. It was socked in going across to Baldpate, but what I could see was very pretty. I finished before 12pm and decided that I’d try to fit in another shorter hike on my way to my evening’s motel.
