My friends and I spent the weekend hiking at beautiful Zealand Falls, in New Hampshire's White Mountains. It was a fantastic trip: the weather was pleasant, and the scenery was gorgeous. However, I was a little unprepared for all the snow. It completely covered the trails and was quite treacherous -- I found myself constantly sinking into snowy 'potholes,' some of which were a good 2-3 feet deep. Fortunately, AMC volunteers at Crawford Notch lent us hiking poles and gaiters, which helped a lot. To add to the excitement, we were warned that there was an aggressive bull moose frequenting the trail. Though we didn't see him, his tracks were everywhere (along with other signs of his presence: the big guy seemed to be going through some sort of digestive crisis).
Our hike took us to the Zealand Falls hut, around seven miles from the highway. We were among the first people to arrive at the hut, but as the hours passed, more and more hikers filed in. The atmosphere was very communal: everyone crowded into the small common area and kitchen to cook or share stories about their exploits. Soon after arriving, we decided to head up to Zeacliff, roughly 1.5 miles away and 1000 feet up. It was a challenging hike due to the snow, but the view of the surrounding area (below) was certainly worth it.
After spending the night at the hut, we set out for home, only to find that much of the trail had completely frozen overnight. The resulting hike down the icy path was tedious, and the skies threatened to open up while we were sliding around on the trail. Fortunately, we got back to our car before the rain started, safe and relatively dry.
