I also took this picture of the ice that was hanging off of the ledges here.
I took off on the trail for a bit and realized that I was making very good time and slowly but surely, views started opening up to the North on the switchbacks towards the end of the Champney Falls Trail. I finished my first liter of water here and was surprised that nobody had caught up to me on the mountain yet and that I hadn't seen anyone else. This is a very popular mountain and on a day like today I figured I would see more people.
A little under an hour after starting along the trail again, I saw a short spur path that said "View" on it which I had never noticed before. I bushwacked the 30' up the trail which had quite a snow pack which made the going difficult, but the reward was great. I took in the view and this is what I saw.
Before I knew it, I was above treeline and at the steepest part of the day which is right near the top of the mountain. Shelby hates this part as she is not too keene on any amount of exposure at all.
I reached the top and I sat down and had my tuna sandwitch and some GORP. I sat around eating and taking pictures and enjoying the day for about 20 minutes. The temperature was in the 20's or so, (Best Guess) and the wind was calm maybe hiting 5 miles per hour. There were 360 degree views from the Ossippe's to Mt. Washington and more.
I love days like this and I can't believe that there was nobody else up there. There are a number of trails that lead to the summit, but the entire time I was even above tree line and on the trail, I never saw anyone. I did take this picture of Whiteface and Passaconaway while at the summit. I hiked these two peaks in 2007. They were my 3rd and 4th 4000' peaks.
I made it to the car in about 4 hours from the start and had another great day in the White's.
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