“New Year’s Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery.” ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach
Happy 2018!
I hope everyone had a fabulous, fun, festive, and safe New Years! I know I did! It was pretty low key, as I am STILL recovering from the creeping crud. Going on a month peeps, how I have not lost my sanity I have no idea, but then I am a ball of mucus (sorry for that vision) and my brain is mush.
Thus I spent the evening with my amazing Sister-in-law and her family. We played games (who knew charades could turn into a workout!) and actually almost missed the ball drop because we were to engrossed in the game.
New Year’s Day
The last five years, I have done a New Year’s Day hike. It is my way to start it on the right foot, or boot. I may not hike for the rest of the year, but by nature I did it on New Year’s Day! Kidding….sorta!
Creeping crud aside, if you have been following the news, live in the Northeast, or just see all the Facebook statuses about weather, you know it has been cold AF.
Double Negative Digits
For realz! I know I have turned into a city slicker and anything below forty turns me into an icicle, but guys, even the rugged New Hampshirites who live in the White Mountains have admitted that it is beyond brutal.
It has been double negative digits.
Yes, you read that right. It isn’t even proper grammar THAT is how wrong this weather is.
With that in mind, a real traversing mountains hike was out of the equation. Even something as small as Arethusa and Willard was pushing it. I have been known for my go-getter attitude, (Fractured landing foot? I can still jump! In the hospital. Sure I will hike a four thousand footer!) but starting 2018 with loss of limbs or pneumonia, really had no appeal to me.
Glen Ellis Falls
We settled on Glen Ellis Falls which is a sixty-four foot waterfall located in Jackson, New Hampshire. During the summer months, the trail is made of well packed dirt with stairs, making it easily accessible. It is also why I typically do a double take when people call it a “hike.”
There is a parking lot across the street and combined with that, the trail is maybe a mile round trip.
While it is say during the Summer months, Winter is a whole other animal! They do not pave the parking lot or keep the trails groomed. We had to park along the side of the road and walk a little ways, until we reached the entrance where we had to climb over snowbanks to get down to the trail head.
Frozen Tundra
The waterfall is usually rushing, even when there is little to no rain. But thanks to the sub arctic temps, it had turned into a stunningly large formation of icicles, seemingly freezing the water in time.
The path splits giving the hiker the option to go to the top of the waterfall or to the bottom. We chose to go to the top first. It was cool to see, as sprawled out before us was a frozen tundra that even Frosty would have been envious of.
We then walked to the base of the Waterfall. Thanks to the frozen winter wonderland, we were able to get much closer, stepping out onto the water which was inches thick and snow covered.
Not going to lie it was ridiculously cold. Thanks to the magical heat of hot hands (thanks Sarah!) we were able to last longer then I thought we would. As well as take all the pictures, which really did not do it justice. Even still, we were only there for about an hour, which was actually impressive since it was negative 12 out and with the windchill, it was more like negative thirty.
While I can be a wimp in the cold, it was a great way to kick off the New Year and definitely made me feel a bit bad ass braving the elements. While I do prefer hiking in the Summer, (give me nineties any day!) their is something so raw and beautiful to step out into the cold of Winter and embrace nature in its most primitive yet powerful form.
How did you spend the first day of 2018? What do you hope to accomplish this year? Do you hike in the Winter?
Beautiful pics. That looks like it was fun
Thank you so much! That means a lot to me. I am glad you enjoyed it! <3
I’ve heard it’s freezing and even parts of the south have snow! Crazy. Is it still really cold? I have to say it looks a really refreshing way to start the year and it looks beautiful all frozen with ice☺ x
It was and they did! Why Mother Nature why?!?! Lol. See a month ago I would have said yes it is freezing, but after two weeks of negatives, thirty degrees feels like a heat wave! ;p Lol.
It really is. I love this tradition, even if it was double negatives. Lol. <3
It likes beautiful with all the ice! Sounds like a nice trip!
It really is! I think you guys walked here during the Summer:) You will have to visit over the Winter and we can do a Winter hike:) <3
Yesssssss! lol (HIKING NOT WALKING LOL)
That is one way to kick off 2018! Haha, I don’t think I could get out of bed let alone go for a hike if the weather was in the negatives! 🙂
Bwahaha it really is! It was a struggle, part of me wanted to bail especially because it is so cold, but I am so happy I went! <3
And here I am complaining that my bedroom is cold! 😂 …what an amazing way to start the new year though, good for you! x
Hehehe, I will never say thirty degrees is freezing again! ;p Thank you sweets! It really was! Even if I lost all feeling in my toes and legs! :p lol. <3
Double negative digits?! You are a champ for living through that! I thought it was cold in Pittsburgh, but I am officially a wuss!
I hope you start to feel better ASAP!! Also, I love your tradition! That’s such a fun idea!
Yup it was brutal! Haha I admit, except for this one crazy hiking excursion, I was a hermit. My television and I got MIGHTY cozy! ;p lol.
Thank you so much sweets! Hopefully! Thanks! I love it too! And now I can say I hiked in double negatives! ;p Lol. <3
You are a far braver woman than I! I spent new year’s day hungover and I think I would still take the hangover over negative twelve degrees!! 😀
Haha. It was brutal, but thank the lord (and you!:) for the hand warmers! <3
Amazing photos. A ‘winter wonderland’ is completely the perfect description for this place, it looks totally magical and you did amazing to go out hiking in the cold, most people would have taken one look at the temperature and thought nope, not today. You go gal! Hiking is definitely a brilliant way to start off the year on as you said, the right foot. It really sets the tone for the rest of the year. Also I love charades and its totally a workout, my mum had me in stitches last year trying to act out Wicked. It sounds like you had the perfect start to 2018 hun, I hope the rest of your year is just as wonderful x
Awe thank you sweets it really was crazy how frozen everything was! Haha thank you! It was definitely tempting! My brother was like want to hike a mountain and I was like NO! lol. Not this year! It really does! I love being in nature, and for the most part the trails are quiet. A contemplative way to start:)
Oh my gosh! It was intense! And Wicked would be hard! I got The Grinch, and pretended to steal a Christmas tree and they still had a hard time with it! Lol.
I really did! Thanks beaut! I hope that 2018 is an amazing year for you! <3
Oh gosh I imagine it would be so dangerous hiking in a mountain in the snow. Me too, I love nature and going on walks! Honestly it took us ages to guess Wicked, in fact I don’t think we ever actually guessed I think my mum had to just tell us in the end. Great thinking for The Grinch although I think I would deffo struggle with that even so! Thank you hun and you! xx