Ritzhikes

Where: Mt. Garfield, NH When: 3/11/95-3/12/95 With: Chip After our success on Mt. Kinsman, Chip was raring for another winter hike so we started to look at the maps. I suggested the Garfield Trail to Mt. Garfield. I'd been up in that area about 10 years ago and have always thought the shelter up there - perched on the ridge - would be an interesting place to stay. The walk in would be very similar to our last hike. A gentle approach, then a steep climb to a high ridge and a shelter for the night. One difference though...instead of hiking back out the way we came in, I proposed that we ski out on a different route, along the Franconia Brook trail and the Wilderness trail, going straight south on a couple of old railroad beds. It would be a long ski (8+ miles), but Chip and I had been on the trails long ago and we thought we recalled them to be flat and smooth...very skiable. To do this required a couple of things. First, snow. There hadn't been enough to ski on in January,...