Hiking up Pack Monadnock after the snowstorm

[Silent3]

3. I wish I'd started out earlier in the day.

I'd have loved to have gotten all the way out to North Pack, but I was pretty sure I'd run out of daylight, or at least cut my margin of safety more than I'd have cared to, if I made the attempt. So I went as far north along the Wapack Trail as I could get before 1:30, then just turned around to come back.

Since this was my first hike in heavy snow I needed this one outing to get a handle on what a longer hike might be like. Climbing Pack took me about 50 minutes, compared to my usual 30 or so. Considering that part of that slow down was taking more pictures than usual, I'm going to estimate that these conditions make traversing ground take about 50% longer.

Although the going was a bit slower, it was also easier in some ways. With spikes strapped to my boots and most of the rougher, rockier parts of the path filled in and smoothed out by the snow, I found myself a lot less worried about my footing.