My friend and I had a tough but satisfying overnight in the Whites recently. We both parked on the Kancamagus Highway, hiking over Mts. Passaconaway and Whiteface on Day 1 and the Tripyramids on Day 2. We crossed the Kate Sleeper Trail which connects those peaks and overnighted in the woods while the winds howled. Temps were in the the single digits for much of Day 1 but rose over the night and by the time we descended on Day 2 it was in the 40s and felt like a spring day. This was definitely a tough trip and I'm not sure why I thought it would be wise to not prepare for the weight of a 40 lb pack. Stubbornness got me through in the end though I'd certainly recommend prep hikes to get used to the weight.
As always, this hiked featured challenges and mistakes. My whisperlite seemed clogged and didn't produce a great flame. At least it took care of my dinner and evening needs. But it wasn't working in the morning. And I chumped it on the Winterdream tie-outs, opting to use a single pole which didn't do enough to keep the tarp from blowing in on me. I tried to use a second pole and got frustrated when I couldn't get it deep into the snow. It's stressful for me when it's cold and I'm trying to get camp set up so I moved on and told myself I would fix it later but that didn't happen. Wasn't a huge thing but definitely a lesson learned for next time to take the time to get the tie-outs right.
Overall though this was a great adventure. Always nice to have a friend along, especially for winter camping.
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Originally Posted by Shug
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