Middle Sugarloaf 2/22/14 Zealand Road, Sugarloaf Trail

I had such high hopes for this weekend.  Heck, I had high expectations for this week.  However, Mother Nature and teacher exhaustion put a damper on my plans.  So Wednesday, I made a decision.  I realized that if I did not leave Thursday, I would be stuck at home for the rest of the week.  A storm was coming in and I wanted to get above the Notch before it was too late.

I had planned to read all day Friday.  Finish a few books.  Then the sun came out, so I went out.  Zealand had a HUGE snowbank at the entrance, so no Sugarloaves.  Another snowbank for the approaches to Martha/Owl's Head.  So I settled for Willard.  After getting pelted in the face by stuff from the sky and looking for goggles, I made a return trip for no view.  Last time I had a view but no camera.  BOO.

View of the trees.

I would not pee here.  Just saying.

 A good meal and sleep led to decisions for Saturday.  The Willey Range was always an option, but my legs were not having it.  So off to the Sugarloaves.  I had the trail almost to myself, except for a 3 hikers and skiers coming down from the hut.  Yeah, I think I will stick to hiking.  Oh yeah and snowmobiles.  Once on the Sugarloaf trail, everyone seemed to disappear.  I had it to myself, nothing but blue skies and a few woodland creatures.  I hadn't hiked anything with much elevation in 3 weeks, so I took my time.   It is a very nice trail and some nice people on snowshoes packed it well.  That is one thing about winter hiking, you almost can't get lost.  You can, but if you are on a well traversed trail, you are golden.

Beautiful day on Zealand Road.

Tight squeeze.

The trail is mostly flat until about halfway, then there are some steep sections.  Not terribly steep, but steep.  The path to Middle Sugarloaf is steep, but with some winding.  And the ladder (stairs).  I took off my pack and snowshoes and slowly headed up the ladder to the summit.  By now the sun was taking a siesta, but the views were awesome.  I am sure there were more, but without snowshoes, I was limited.  It got windy, so I headed back.  I was thinking of North, but I was tired and wanted a nap.

The Ladder

Now going up, the steepness was hard.  Coming down is another story.  At the split between Middle and North, I donned my rainpants and prepared for the fun.  Yes, I butt luged about half the trail down.  And let me tell you, my cheap rainpants can go fast.  It was the first time I had used them in 2 years.  I really liked this use.  In between flying, I tried barebooting, but the snow was too soft and I sank a bit.  I covered the places where my foot sank.  I finally went back to snowshoes and made my way home.  It was a warm day, so the snow was quite soft on Zealand Road.  It made for a hard mile.  When I got back to 302, I took off my snowshoes and walked back to the car.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Friends don't let friends posthole.

A great day on a great trail.  I hope to get back to 4Ks before winter ends.  The snow complicates things, but it also makes some hikes easier (no rocks, roots, bugs).  It is like a smooth, frozen, wooded highway.

Alan welcomed me back to Carlson's Lodge when I returned.  He is spoiled and loves the attention.