Middle Sugarloaf
Submitted by Pat
Stats
Mountain: Middle Sugarloaf (2,539)
Date: November 17, 2017
Weather: Cloudy, windy, low 20s, chance of snow showers
Miles: 3.2
Elevation Gain: 1,069
Trails: Trestle Trail — Sugarloaf Trail
It’s an early rise – 5:00 am – for today’s hike. Coffee and last-minute packing, then out to the car. I enjoy listening to my audio book and driving the Kancamagus with snow flying and winds gusting. I meet Nancy at the MacDonald’s in Lincoln, NH and together we drive to Flapjacks Pancake House just up the road. Nancy’s best breakfast and my worst – the pancakes are thick and doughy and there isn’t enough butter. Nancy is understandably anxious about the cold and the wind and doesn’t know if we should be hiking, but calms down and puts on her wind pants and her boots.
We park at the end of Zealand Rd. Two cars of guys are organizing for an overnight backpack. We are ready and off down Zealand Rd at 9:00 am. The road is snow-covered and pellets of snow fly through the air, powered by gusts of wind. Clouds loom and it feels like late afternoon instead of early morning.
The hill we climb on the road causes me to start breathing heavily. I am able to stay close to Nancy and I start sweating. Not a good sign. I don’t actually dress down until we are on the Trestle Trail. There is a sign stating that the Trestle Bridge is out and crossing the river is hazardous in high water. That immediately makes me angry and anxious. I look at the map and don’t see a water crossing on our route but am short with Nancy when she wants to look at the map too. I hate when I take out my anxiety on someone else.
The trail has about an inch of snow on it, maybe a little more. We bare boot, occasionally slipping on hidden roots. The rain I drove in yesterday doesn’t seem to have made an impact on the trail. I expect a lot more snow, but am happy that everything has at least a dusting covering it. Turns out we don’t have to cross the river. Instead we turn left onto the Sugarloaf Trail and start climbing. All that anxiety for nothing. I’m able to keep up with Nancy until I’m sidetracked sweeping branches off the trail.
Before we hit the steep section, we walk through a garden of erratics, huge boulders spread about by the action of glaciers in a small area. Very cool. As we climb, I start breathing hard again. My mood is okay. I’m not feeling depressed or hopeless, but I’m very aware that I shouldn’t be breathing so hard on this trail. It’s just not that steep or challenging. Nevertheless, I’m struggling. Harsh breathing begins to sap my strength and I grow tired. Nothing makes sense about this, and Nancy notices that I am having a tough time. She says she wishes we could find an answer to why I am struggling with hiking, especially when I climb.
We reach the junction between North and Middle Sugarloaf. Middle Sugarloaf is the one that counts, but North Sugarloaf is only .3 from the junction. I say I want to try to bag North Sugarloaf and head off. The cold is burying itself in my sweaty fleece, making me feel nervous and uncomfortable. After 100 yards, I stop and look up at the steep rock scramble ahead of us and I cave.
We walk back to the trail junction and climb the .4 of a mile up to Middle Sugarloaf. I expect the wind to be devastating but it isn’t. The views are limited but the cloud deck only hides some of the summits. We take pictures and head back down.
I know I’ll feel more comfortable wearing traction for the descent, so we put on our microspikes. I struggle putting mine on but finally yank them on with a growl. The walk down is a quick one. 3.2 miles is a whole lot easier than a 9 miler.
Down and safe.