January 31, 2015 Mt. Waumbek. Peak # 29

With very cold and very windy conditions on tap, Jillian and I decided on Mt. Waumbek today. We figured we would be looking at a day of trail breaking with all the snow we received, and while we don't mind breaking trail, it is hard on Jillian. So we figured a shorter hike would be for the best. We parked at the winter lot located across Rt. 2 from Starr King Road figuring that the summer lot would be inaccessible. It was snowshoes for sure today. The snow was about knee deep with drifts well over my waist.

As we were getting towards Starr King we ran into of all people the same hiker who we met on the previous Saturday on our  Mt. Monroe, Mt. Washington, & Mt. Jefferson trip, so we joined up with him again having enjoyed his company the week before. From there on he and I shared the trail breaking duties, which I am always happy to share.

 On the summit of Mt. Waumbek Jillian's thermometer was bottomed out at -20 F so I don't know how cold it was, but needless to say, it was quite cold especially with the winds. The summit photo is poor because I was having a hard time with the camera and the cold but it will have to do.

Sorry about the frost on the lens.

We passed a few hikers on the way out and the trail was in much better shape and starting to pack down a bit. A nice day all around.

29 down 19 to go