Distance: 4.51 miles
Elevation: 1545 feet
Time: 3 hours, 5 minutes (2 hours, 55 minutes)
Hiking Challenges: 52 With-a-View
The Hike
Red Hill was step three, and now onto step four, Mt. Cube! This one was a bit longer, a bit higher, and a bit north-er, which would mean more winter-er. I was feeling good after Red Hill, so I made the hour drive from one trailhead to the other. The sun was surprisingly shining strong, and the temperate varied from the low 30s to the low 40s during the drive. Untimately, on the snowy dirt Baker Road that the parking area is on, it was 30 degrees with little to no breeze. I was an absolute mess getting suited up for this hike. I kept putting things on in the wrong order, spilled my water, spent what felt like six days putting the insulator on my bladder tube, dropped my buff, and had my shell on and off. EVENTUALLY, I did the short dirt road walk, turned left to the trail kiosk, and finally started my second hike of the day!
The trail had about an inch of snow on top of ice at the beginning, but was not slipper at all (thankfully, I was way too lazy and annoyed at myself to worry about spikes just yet). The lower stretch is full of bare decidious trees, which created a really beautiful early-winter forest. Like Red Hill, the incline never gets too intense on this hike, but I was still very bad at not sweating. My legs were definitely feeling tired since I've fallen out of hiking shape, but I continued on. There were also lots of, what I believe to be, Hairy Woodpeckers (I thought they were the red-bellied at first, but there was no red on any of them), which created a lovely soundscape for this hike. There were partial/seasonal views of nearby hills through the trees, and after a certain point, the trail immediately switches to an incredible conifer forest (Hemlocks, I believe), that truly resembled a winter wonderland.
The switch happened right at the first contonour before the first switchback, and WOW. The tree trunks were painted white and the smaller evergreens were completely powdered with snow. I took way too many photos, but it was so beautiful. I definitely caught the winter hiking bug at this point. I passed my first person of the hike right at the beginning of this section, and it reminded me just how much I enjoy hikers. Some of the nicest people you'll ever meet, and they never want to chat for too long - dream come true! There were rabbit prints throughout, and I was still able to bareboot this section, but the other hiker warned me it will start to get slippery.
There was a "peek-a-boo" view around the first switchback (I can't remember if before or after) of Sunday Mountain, another Cross-Rivendell Trail peak, where I stopped to put my spikes on. Apparently, I picked the perfect moment to put them on, because just after this view was 80% ice. I couldn't stop gawking at how beautiful this forest was - and naturally, I had "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" stuck in my head the whole time.
There is a second view at what I think was the last major switchback, which had a great view of Smarts Mountain, another snow-crusted peak (also on the 52 With-a-View list). I had originally planned to hike Smarts Mountain, but read that the trail was super icy and the 52 With-a-View Guidebook said the Cube via CRT was a great winter hike - I'll be back for Smarts! There was a group of three hikers deciding what their celebratory shot was going to be at the second view, so I skirted past them and continued on my way. I was curious why they didn't do their shot at the summit, but I'll learn why soon.
This last stretch of trail felt like an eternity. Mentally, I thought I was much closer than I was the whole time. The further I went, the longer it felt. It was much icier on this final stretch, and the closer I got to the summit area, the stronger the winds were (which explains why those hikers took the calm second view to celebrate their hike). When I finally broke above the trees, the winds were whipping with really strong gusts. There were also a few scrambles to hit the official summit. I was stressed, but took my time and followed previous hikers' footsteps to make my way. Just as I hit the summit, the clouds rolled in from Vermont and the temperature dropped. I found the summit sign, took a few photos, and quickly made my way back down. I wanted to hit the north peak, but I will save that for another, calmer day.
My return trip involved me moving quickly to stay warm on my tired legs. I only took a few photos on the return trip, but still enjoyed the scenery. I heard my only bit of wildlfie of the hike - one singular red squirrel with that indistinguishable chatter. I finished my water just after hitting the decidious forest, and my jelly legs were so excited to finally hit the trail kiosk, take off the snow-crusted spikes, and do the short road walk back to the car.
The parking area was in eyeshot of someones house, so my changing had to be quick and as "view"less as possible. I managed to get it all done just as the residents returned home - yikes. I've been wanting to invest in one of those car changing room canopy things (a big sheet that attaches to the hatchback via magnets and cloth covers you) - I think I might try to make one. It doesn't seem too difficult. I just need a light fabric, some good magnets, and a sewing machine (which I already have). Should work? One way to find out. One final thing of note - I put on my hard shell in that final stretch of the climb and wore it all the way to the bottom. I did not realize how sweaty it was in there - it was a whole microclimate. I'll need to figure that out too before the next one!
Final thoughts: I am glad I'm finally getting back into hiking. I picked a good day to hike becuase the next day there was 1-2 feet of snow in the region. I'm excited to continue getting better at winter hiking. I don't think I'm ready yet for snowshoes? I need to do four more hikes to officially complete my 52 hike challenge, and I think I can accomplish that!
**Writing this sentence a week later - I just realized this was my 100th hike of the year!
Step-by-Step
Park on the pullover on Baker road.
Follow the blue blazes up Baker road, then turn left into the woods.
Continue to follow blue blazes all the way to the summit of Mt. Cube.
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