Hiking NH

So far, a really great family trip to NH.  We mulled over taking advantage of Wildcat's offer for the last day of skiing for the season.  But it looked bleak.  The temp fell in the 70's.  Wildcat had no beginner trails open.  So we drove over and made the decision to hike instead.  We landed at Pinkham Notch, which is part of the Appalachian Trail.  It was packed with people hiking up to Tuckerman's Ravine to ski.  I was a little worried at first, since I couldn't get a lot of information on the trails from the "rangers" there.  I think they were old timers, just futzing around.
     We ended up hiking for 2 hours on the Long Pond Trail.  The sun shined brightly, with enough warmth in amongst the treeline.  It struck me as odd to be walking over layers of snow still.  We saw the Saco River running low from not enough spring rainfall.  We encountered a loud flock of mallards.  The boys made themselves walking sticks.  Demi captured the moments on film.  When we finally got back to the base lodge, I found a reliable source to help me pick out a good map for future hikes.  We could come back for years and not hit all the trails.  Looking forward to trying.