"The forecast called for sunny skies and minimal wind, which inspired this relatively last-minute hike. The drive up was promising until I hit Franconia Notch, when I saw that not all of the morning’s clouds had dissipated. I stopped by the AMC Highland Center to check on the latest forecast which still predicted partly cloudy weather. Bolstered by the hope that the clouds would lift by the time I made the summit, I parked near the Webster-Jackson Trailhead and set off on the trail just after 10:30am. This was the first time I felt I should’ve brought snowshoes, as yesterday’s newly fallen snow created some difficulty on steep sections for my microspikes. This was most apparent on the final ascent, which was the steepest section and completely smoothed out, requiring me to grab onto trees for leverage. Despite my hopes, the clouds had not lifted, and I was met with a socked-in summit and higher-than-predicted winds, although it was not too cold. I took some pictures of the summit cairn and windblown trees for my first winter NH 4000 Footer, and 25th overall. I initially planned to hike Mt. Webster as well, but after taking two steps onto the Webster Cliff trail I postholed up to my ..." — JCalautti • Jan 12, 2025

"Tom and I left the Round Pond trail at 7 am under clear skies @21°. Micro spikes from the car to the Noonmark trail junction. From there to the summit in snow shoes. I'm normally not a bitching Karen. But I'd like to send out a big "WAY TO GO" to the 2 self-centered, inconsiderate morons who bare booted and destroyed the trail from the Noonmark junction all the way to the summit. 2 and 3 foot deep postholes nearer the summit. The views were incredible from the summit. The going was slow, taking us 6 hours to summit. The post holeing was aggravating and dangerous. 11 hours in total. Returning with head lamps. " — garyogden • Jan 12, 2025

"Rough yet beautiful day up to Nippletop. We had hoped to do the loop and grab Dial too, but the trail wasn't in the shape we were hoping for and it slowed us down. Decided it was best to take the quickest route back down. " — Right-On • Dec 26, 2024

"Mimi and I did a loop of the two Hunters starting on the Devils Path and finishing on the Spruceton trail. A beautiful blue sky sunny day that started off in the single digits then warmed up to nearly 30*. We went light by leaving the snowshoes in the car and taking only micro spikes which never got used. Nice quiet day where we only saw two other hikers all day." — Nimblefoot • Dec 26, 2024

"Participated in the annual AMC Christmas bird count. Tom, Field, and Avalon was our designated route. But due to the 'fowl' weather, only 2 chickadees and a hairy woodpecker showed up. Not even a single gray jay. Weather conditions were tough. It snowed most of the time with temps hovering around 10 F. Gusting winds blew snow everywhere. There was enough snow after the water crossings to wear snowshoes." — Alohabuffy • Dec 21, 2024