[Bill Menke’s journal entry for January 20-21, 2006]. Six of us undertake an overnight hike to Zealand Falls Hut in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Dallas and I are joined by Dallas' cousins, Paul and Gigi and their two friends, Al and Sue. All of us are experienced hikers. Al is the oldest, at 78, and I am the youngest, at 51,

We arrive at the trailhead at about 11 AM on the morning of the 20th. The weather is predicted to be warm, somewhat above freezing, and with a chance of rain or sleet. The day is indeed grey, though bright enough to offer some hope of large vistas. The snow conditions are poor; thin and icy, after rain earlier in the week. We forsake skis, debating whether even to take snowshoes. In the end, we decide to take only two pair, and to rely mainly on crampons. We also take two homemade tote sled, because we are carrying some fairly heavy supplies, including two large containers of spaghetti sauce. We have used these sleds successfully in previous yeas. Nevertheless, we recognize that they might present problems in the steeper terrain because of the thin snow cover. Dallas and I start out with four-point instep crampons. I wear only a long-sleeve undershirt for a top.

We meet two women hikers as we crossed the bridge over the Ammonoosuc River. They take our photograph. The park access road has been plowed and partially sanded recently, so we have to travel along its edge. Apparently, trucks need to access the Bethlehem water works facility every time the weather thaws.

We have some nice views of Zealand Creek as we hike along the road. One section has an impressive meander that threatens to erode away the road. I note that a second creek access point sports a stone levy and a park bench for viewing. Today is the first time that I notice these features, for although this is my fifth hike to the hut, I have done it only during previous winters when the snow was much deeper. The rain has broken up the ice on one of the creek's tributaries. It overflowed the road, leaving impressive, thick plates of ice on its surface. Some of the rock outcrops along the side of the road sport pretty icicles. Many of the trees along the side of the road, and especially the birches, are doubled over and broken from some recent ice storm.

Visibility is excellent. We can see neighboring peaks, such as Sugarloaf, very well. We chat with a man carrying skis. He says he is one of the Zealand Falls Hut caretakers. He has fallen several times on the ice while skiing, and has given it up and is hiking out. He says that his shift is over, and that we will meet another caretaker, Jess, when we arrive at the hut.

Gigi and I are the first to reach the upper parking lot, which is about halfway to the Hut. (The Hut is six miles from the car). Our route follows trails from there on. I set up my MSR stove and boiled water for rice and beans and for hot chocolate. The stove gives me trouble at first, It needs to be thoroughly cleaned. But it suffices to boil the water. The rice and beans take rather too long to soften up. I wind up eating them as we began the second leg of our hike.

I switch to snowshoes and rig tethers to the rear of the sleds to assist lifting them over rocks and streams. We then take them up the trail. It is pretty rough going, as we need to constantly lift them past obstacles. Dallas gives up on her sled, opting instead to carry her pack. I take her excess baggage on my sled, and Al decides to try her sled, loaded just with his pack. I break one of the tow bars of my sled, which are made of PVC pipe, while carrying it across a particularly wide and rocky stream bed. Fortunately, a quick repair made with black electrical tape works fine.

The highland marshes, covered only with thin ice, are very interesting. I am surprised by the number of beaver dams, arranged one after another every hundred yards or so. I have completely missed their existence in previous years, because of the deeper snow then. One beech tree on the trail is newly beaver-chewed, I guess, for I surely would have spotted it before? To our surprise, we spot a largish beaver slowly swimming in an span of open water in one of the marsh pools. It gives us absolutely no notice, even though we are only fifty feet, or so, away. We wonder whether its behavior is normal, or whether it is suffering from some disease or abnormality.

Whitewall Mountain, to the left, and the ZeaCliff, on the right, come into view, indicating that we are approaching our destination. But we have two more difficult stream crossings before reaching the ski rack at the bottom of the hill on which is built Zealand Falls Hut. We empty both sleds, and leave the unbroken one at the rack. I carry the broken sled to the Hut, for repair.

I view the falls from a vantage point down a short side trail. This is the first time I have viewed it from below. Once again, the deeper snow in previous years had put me off. It is largely ice covered, but has a slot though which a torrent of water pours.

I arrive at the Hut 4:48 after leaving the car. The going was very slow this year. Last year Hannah and I did it in just 3:05! But I have seen quite a bit more than ever before, and have had time to take photographs, as well.

We take photos of the Hut's absolutely spectacular view of the distant mountains. We all agree that here is the best view in the White Mountains. I don my TheNorthFace Himalayan suit. Its two-inch down is a bit of overkill, as the temperature is not all that cold. Still, now that we are inactive, the damp air feels quite chilly. I also repair the sled, using the awl tool from Sue's Swiss army knife to bore holes through the PVC, then connecting the ends with nylon cord. The result looks pretty trustworthy.

We meet Jess, the caretaker. She says we have the Hut all to ourselves, tonight. No one else has signed in. A pity, because we often meet very interesting people. We all sit around talking, drinking hot, rum-flavored cider and eating snacks, while the spaghetti sauce warms up on the Hut's stove. When it’s done, we eat dinner. I’ve brought the big stainless steel mixing spoon that I found yesterday in Tallman Park. We use it, and donate it to the Hut. Jess joins us for dinner. She is a graduate of Oberlin College, and had studied Visual Arts, as well as some earth science. She was advised by one of Dallas and my colleagues, Bruce Simonson. A small world! I spend some time outside on the porch, looking at the night sky. Orion is visible through a hole in the clouds, high in the sky. We talk until about 9:30 PM, and then get ready for bed.

I have taken my zero-Fahrenheit Maxwell Daemon sleeping bag, leaving my minus-twenty bag at home. Its keeps me plenty warm, given the warm - well, about freezing - temperatures in the bunk room. I wake about 7:30 AM, and eat hot chocolate and slices of Gigi's Christmas Stolen for breakfast. Gigi and I discuss whether to attempt to hike to the summit of Zealand Mountain. Jess gives us the weather report that she has received via radio. Rain and high wind is predicted, and poor visibility, too, so we decide not to try. Gigi is disappointed, for she had hoped to bag another "winter 4000 footer".

I accompany Gigi and Sue as they retrieve water from the hand pumped water well, which is located a few hundred feet up the trail above the Hut. Jess accompanies us, so she can inspect a crack in the well casing. She describes the various exercises that can be done while operating the hand pump. I carry one container - the largest - back to the Hut. The trail is icy and trecherous. Next time I will wear crampons.

The weather is looking good enough that we decide to risk a hike up to the ZeaCliff, which is about a mile up the hill. Jess decides to accompany us, at least on the outward leg. My biggest worry is being able to cross Zealand Creek, because the ice on it is broken up, at least near the Hut, and it looks pretty dangerous. But it is narrower at the trail crossing, and though the rocks are a bit slippery, we help each other across without incident. I am wearing my full 10-point crampons.

We come across a set of largish animal tracks, an animal with paws that are one and a half inches across. It has traveled over the snow in leaps, as groups of four closely-spaced footprints are separated by five or six feet. We wonder what kind of animal made them. We also spot a tree that a moose has used for polishing its antlers. The bark has been stripped off, with vertical scratches left behind. We see no moose, though. As we are hiking, the sky clears, which is pretty remarkable, given the forecast!

It takes us about an hour to ascend the hill. When we reach the ZeaCliff, the sky is blue and the sun shines brightly. The dramatic white profile of Mount Washington is visible, as are the nearer peaks such as Whitewall Mountain. Jess head on off, taking a different trail back than us. We loiter on the cliff, taking photographs. I am wearing only a long undershirt for a top, and begin to chill. So I take the lead heading back. But before leaving the area of the cliff, I find a rock that looks out in the opposite direction, across beautiful, but dwarfed, evergreens, towards a mountain with a prominent avalanche scar on its wooded side. Gigi and I the race down the hill, with the others well behind. We wait at the creek crossing for them, eating hard-boiled eggs for a snack, and help them across when they arrive.

The Saturday crowd has begun to arrive at the Hut. It is a full house, tonight. We pack, and head on out. I carry the two sleds, intending to deploy them only when we reach the upper parking lot. A light rain is beginning to fall. I take out my rain jacket, but clip it onto my pack, preferring to wear just the undershirt for now. This proves a mistake, because it falls off along the way. Al and Sue, who are behind me, see it on the ground, but not realizing it is mine, leave it behind. I spot some moose tracks along the path. They were not there yesterday, proving that moose are nearby.

I transfer my gear to the repaired sled when I arrive at the upper parking lot. The rest of the party arrive, first Al and Sue, and then Paul, Gigi and Dallas. Paul is carrying my lost rain coat. Gigi had spotted my name on its collar as she passed it by. This is lucky fortune, for the rain is growing heavier and the wind is picking up. We meet two skiers at the upper parking lot. They are on their way back from the falls. They say that, while the snow is not the greatest, they have nevertheless found some spots where they have had good runs. We continue our trek, with Gigi and me in the lead.

We experience a short, but intense gale, complete with wet hail and thunder. We have to bow down low to prevent the wind-driven ice from blinding us. I find the chilly wind on my neck rather unpleasant. But it is over in a few minutes. A tree has fallen over, right near the end of the road. Gigi tries to guide my sled over it, but I lose my balance and fall. Nothing bruised, fortunately, but my dignity.

We reach the parking lot at about 4 PM, so the total trip time was about 28 hours. During this time we hiked 14 miles, 12 between the car and the Hut and back, and 2 from the Hut to the ZeaCliff and back. 28:00.