The Breathtaking Beauty I Discovered Deep in the New Hampshire Mountains… and How It Led to My Love of Winter Hiking

I hate the cold. So it might surprise you to know I have trudged through knee-deep water in the winter (six times in a row), hiked to countless frozen waterfalls, and climbed a mountain when it's negative 16 below. How? Well, I learned a valuable lesson that has helped me overcome all of this and dared to brave the cold temperatures. Do you want to know what that lesson is? I will get to that in just a moment. Our story takes place in Maine and eventually leads to some of the best New Hampshire hikes in the state. 

Growing up in the cold and harsh northeast will either make you resilient or bitter; I had become the latter. When the frozen months settled in I stayed inside and tried to get as warm as I could, but it was always a losing battle. We had planned to go snowshoeing which was new for me since I wanted to try something to help fight off cabin fever. After canceling our plans once due to an ice storm and twice from snow, I said enough was enough. I declared that we were going to go outside the next Saturday and I didn’t care if it was a blizzard. Fortunately, there was no snow in the forecast, but it was about 10 degrees outside. We bundled up, went snowshoeing, and guess what? I loved it! I was terribly cold, yes, but I was finally outside again and I learned that day that I really can have fun in these conditions. 

This lesson turned my whole outlook on winter around as we started planning more and more hikes. There is this bizarre culture around staying indoors when it's cold and I no longer was bound to those old restraints. We started saying, "There is no such thing as bad weather, just a bad choice in clothing." This mindset became our mantra as we pressed on to greater and greater adventures.

This new way of life eventually led us across the border into the White Mountains National Forest. This was a lovely place for hiking and scenic drives in the fall, but seemed like a monumental task to tackle in the winter. Doubts used to roll through my mind like, What if it snows?, What if it's icy?, What if it’s too cold? Those thoughts were now silenced with a few steps in good planning. I had snow tires on my vehicle; I had amazing microspikes to wear; and I'd researched on AllTrails what other people had experienced a few days before us, so we were well prepared. 

The forest looks completely different in the winter too. Without leaves, you can see views of the distant mountains and suddenly the color of a red carnal in the snow pops in the most delightful way. Our adventures led us to some of the best hikes in NH many times and one of my favorites was Arethusa Falls. The tallest waterfall in New Hampshire can turn into a trickle in the dry summer, but in the winter, the falls become a frozen wall of ice that holds an entirely different beauty.  

Part of the fun of visiting the New Hampshire mountains was not knowing exactly what to expect. You can only plan so much; sometimes, we found ourselves blazing a trail on snow-covered roads way out in the country and other times, we would go on a hike to find all the snow had melted. Every time we left, our car was loaded for the day with all the gear we needed so we were ready to conquer whatever Mother Nature threw at us.

After slogging through the mud, bouncing over rocks to cross a raging river, precariously balancing down a steep sheet of ice incline, standing in front of frozen waterfalls, and battling through sub-zero weather I can confidently say I broke out of my cabin fever. This change in mindset has been life changing. We can do hard things and find joy even when conditions aren't "perfect." I also learned that my passion for the outdoors far outweighs my comfort level.  

My hope is to inspire you to do the same. There are some amazing New Hampshire hikes just waiting to be explored, and why wait for the perfect three months of the year to lace up your boots? Even if you have been to places like Glen Ellis Falls or Artist Bluff before, trust me, it's a whole different experience in the winter. So if you find yourself being bitter about the cold, try busting out and seeing what our beautiful world has to offer, I am willing to bet you will be pleasantly surprised.