11/18/22
Day Sixty-Nine 

Today the prequel ended as winter made its presence known in The Whites over the last week. The next five months will make or break this attempt as trail conditions and weather become less reliable. I’ve been asked many times how I planned out the different hikes and if I had a strategy and the strategy is 100% dictated by things completely out of my control - weather and road closures. I have picked specific hikes for the next 5-7 months based on these two factors and don’t have room for error anymore. If I can’t do a hike, then it will only add to my already very full calendar next summer. I only have so much room to play with and the longer winter lasts the harder it will be to achieve my goal. 

Today was rough. With unconsolidated fresh powder coating the trail and having to climb Mount Martha twice (once from each side of Cherry Mtn. Trail) I felt weighed down and unaccustomed to the way you have to walk when the ground is covered in loose snow. Regardless of how slow I felt like I was going, though, I realized that I had maintained a typical pace after checking my mph at the end of the day. 

The trails were beautiful though and I saw a deer bound through the woods and bear tracks.

Daily Miles: 10.68

Daily Vert: 3504’

Overall Mileage: 770.46

Overall Vert: 230,128’

Trace: 33.3% -> 33.9%

Trails:

Cherry Mtn Trail

Martha’s Mile

Owl’s Head Tr

½ of Lower Falls