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NEW YEAR'S 2010  XC SKI TRIP
White Mountains, New Hampshire
.
Map ... Other adventures (biking)
 LYNNE & RICK
Dec. 30, 2009
- Jan. 2, 2010
  Jan. 2: Goodbye, Boulder Motor Court. (We had stayed here for part of our September bike trip, too.)  A tip of the hat to Stacey and Tom for the hospitality.
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We reached Zealand Falls Hut at 1 p.m., parking our skis to hoof it up the last steep bit. Of the eight Appalachian Mountain Club huts in the White Mountains, Zealand is one of three that are open in winter. We saw six pairs of people on their way down from the hut after overnights there: a couple on cross-country skis with backpacks, another couple on telemark skis, and two men on snowshoes with their gear on a sled.
 We started at 9:30 at the same place on Route 302 we had started Dec. 30. We skied all the way up the unplowed Zealand Road, then started up the Zealand Trail, not sure if we'd get all the way to Zealand Falls Hut.

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2.7 miles to
go
at 11 a.m.
It snowed all day and the powder was perfect. We lost a bit of time on the way up searching in vain for an alternate path where the hiking trail left the railroad bed and got steep and twisty. We saw ski tracks but they petered out or were covered by fresh snow, and the deep, unpacked snow was difficult to navigate. We ended up walking a short stretch before the hiking trail smoothed out again.
The caretaker, Ryan, took our picture inside the hut. Ryan was expecting a dozen overnighters -- six from the night before who were out on day treks, and six more due to arrive that afternoon -- but we were the only people there at the moment.
 		We had tea and cocoa
and wolfed down the rest of our food.
The wood stove wasn't on. Rick had last been to this hut when he was in college,
and it was the first time for me.
We headed back down the Zealand Trail.
With snowfall rapidly freshening the path, it was easier going down than we had expected.

Going back down Zealand Road was a cruise. We got back to the car about 4 p.m. Round trip on skis was about 14 miles.
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On the drive home, a whiteout stopped traffic for a little while in Franconia Notch. After that it was smooth sailing. We stopped to refuel at Karma, an Asian restaurant in Westford, Mass. Happy New Year!
PREVIOUS
NEW YEAR'S 2010  XC SKI TRIP
White Mountains, New Hampshire
.
Map ... Other adventures (biking)
Click on any photo to enlarge it
LYNNE & RICK
Dec. 30, 2009
- Jan. 2, 2010