A cold day on the Presidential Range

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Oct 4: After our much needed break in Gorham, the weather did not improve at all but we are adapting. Our first night out of Gorham we stayed with a couple of SOBOs, Tom Thumb and Mountain Bear, who were a lot of fun. Since our overnight with the SOBOs, the last couple of days have brought plenty of snow and freezing rain. The White Mountains' trademark high winds have seemed extra fierce in these colder temperatures.
Today the weather seemed especially painful because of the large sections of alpine hiking. Last night we camped about 1000ft below treeline which offered good protection from the weather. But this morning our first task was to climb up to Presidential range and out of the security of the woods. As soon as we started climbing up the snow started falling. At first, the snow was light, swirling gently in the restrained wind. As we continued to climb the conditions degenerated quickly. Once in the alpine zone, winds were gusting over 50mph while the snow continued to fall. We only traversed two miles of the range before we decided we should not hike in those conditions all day. If we had all the proper winter alpine gear the conditions would not have been a problem but we are carrying lightweight thru-hiking packs, set-up to cover miles not frozen peaks. We descended a side trail from Madison Hut and devised an alternative route that could still take us to our destination. Though we still had to go over Mt Washington, we managed to bypass much of the alpine hiking. Some would scold us for blue blazing but we hiked the Presidential range last year and the detour was the best plan for the day.
But right now the bad weather is not a worry. Tonight we did a work for stay in the AMC Mizpah Hut. Although it is terrible to relinquish our autonomy, warm meals and a roof over our heads are worth the compromise. After such a hard day of hiking it is nice be inside for a few hours.
We are looking forward to leaving the AMC-controlled Whites and having the entire system of free shelters at our disposal once again. Last night we had to pitch our tarps on tent platforms and we are hesitant to go through that ordeal again.
Tomorrow we will tackle the Fraconian range but hopefully the harshest hiking is behind us.

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Photos

Snow hiking
Hiking in the snow is not a problem in the woods.