First mountain of the year. A beautiful but ambitious way to start the season considering our physical dormancy over the winter. We picked the coolest day of the week, and started from the Lead Cove Trail at 10am. From there, we took Bote Mountain Trail to the northbound AT, all the while soaking in the warm greens of the forest and the shimmering white treetops from the previous night’s precipitation and freezing temperatures. All trails kept a fairly steady incline throughout, with easy footing and beautiful scenery. Every trailbend brought a weather change, and nearly every wind pelted us with ice falling from branches, but it was well worth it.