This Got Sketchy | Winter Hiking White Mountains | Mt. Chocorua
Channel: That Mountain Moment
Date: 04/04/2021

We Had To Turn Back. DANGEROUSLY Beautiful, Mount Chocorua.

Best Trail Runs In New England: Mt. Chocorua, White Mountain National Forest. A Cursed Mountain with 55 MPH WINDS. BEST Day Hike In The White Mountains. #hiking #trailrunning #whitemountains #newhampshire
  There's a lot of old Native American history and Tales in the White Mountains Of New Hampshire. The mountains are sacred and some of them were thought to be Cursed. Mt. Chocorua is one such place and an essential trail to put on your list. One of the best 360 Degree views in New Hampshire and a summit that is likened to the Alps. For It's size though, the weather can be fierce. It's one of the best day Hikes in New Hampshire for the effort. We love to Run the White Mountains. The natural beauty is everywhere.  Taking Champney Brook Trail aka Champney Falls Trail, you quickly come to the awe inspiring and cavernous magic of a gorgeous cascading waterfall. During winter it's completely frozen in time. Encapsulating the huge granite walls like fungus on a tree, the ice can be feet thick. You could end your hike or trail run there if you were short on time or energy, or in Nikkis case...food.  Always hungry this girl. Views of the Whites and Presidential Mountain Range, The Moat Mountains and many more start to reveal themselves as the sound of the brooks fade and the forest thins just before treeline. One of my personal favorite spots is the brief saddle of land that meanders right at treeline from the view spot to the exposed summit approach. something about the way the sun peers through the spruce, pine, and balsams that feels like a convergance of where heaven on earth meets the heavens above. These mountains are where I go to worship Nature. This Wilderness is my "temple". It's where I run freely, roam quietly, observe openly, meditate in stillness, and live moment to moment. Life here takes on a new energy and a different meaning. There is no goal, my only sense of purpose is to just be here. I listen closely to what nature has in store for me everytime I'm amongst it. Sometimes we're granted full, safe passage, other times its decided that today is not our day. Mother Earth has other things to tend to: making weather, changing seasons, moving land, flowing rivers, and there is no time left to watch over us during our adventures. This mutual respect, this connection, is something I take to heart. Today was a gorgeous day to reach the summit of this mighty little mountain. Bluebird sky, fair temps, and the playfulness of Spring in the air. Once we reached above the trees though, we were met with 60 MPH gusts that at one point threw Nikki to the ground. The sheer wind blown ice that was once our trail became dangerously impassable without full crampons and an ice axe to self arrest if a slip did happen. The wind became the voice of nature's reason for us to call it a day. Only a few hundred feet from the summit, we turned around and made our decent back to the safety of the forest. Often people like to push past nature's warnings trying to justify the effort, time, or thier vacation to these mountains. Summit Envy we call it. Often times they are humbled. I'm grateful these mountains are home for Nikki and I. We can simply return tomorrow or another day to finish our hike or trail run but that's never the objective. Out here, to be truly fixated on a destination is missing the point, for as soon as I set foot in this wilderness...i've already arrived.
Give Love
Practice Gratitude
Stay Humble

If you're in the area definately stop at Schilling Beer Co. in Littleton. It's a must stop kind of place in a great town. Some of the best beer in the world and wood fired food.
@schillingbeerco


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GEAR in this video:
Nikki Shoes: Hoka Torrent 2
Caleb Shoes: Hoka Speedgoat 4 Wide https://www.hokaoneone.com
@hokaoneone

Microspikes: Kahtoola ExoSpikes trail running spikes. @kahtoola. Love the fit of these and lightweight.