Alander Mountain on a Beautiful Winter's Day

Yesterday was perfect for a walk up Mt. Alander from the Mt. Washington State Park Headquarters. It was in the high 20s and bright and sunny with beautiful clouds in a deep blue sky. The trail was icy in spots but with traction devices on our boots we had good footing. I honestly never felt cold, unusual for me. I have been to the top of Alander many times but never in the snow. The views all around were spectacular.

We followed fresh tracks all the way up and met more hikers on the way down. When we started, our car was the only one in the parking lot, but on our return the lot was almost full. It's nice to see so many people enjoying our winter hiking trails.

Here, an animal (mink or maybe an otter)
came out of the water, walked across the snow-covered ice
and back into the water.

How beautiful and quiet the trail was!

The sun and blue sky raised our spirits!

Almost to the top.

View to south and west. 

Top of the world?!

An easy water crossing.

Campbell Falls with Ice!

It's was couple weeks into January and the ice had just started forming on Campbell Falls in New Marlborough. You can see the contrast with a few weeks ago. The falls and rocks were dramatic in their whiteness making for an entirely different look. It was a very cold, gray day making for a mostly monochromatic scene--winter light. I love the changes of the seasons!