On Saturday Mat and I hiked Mount Moosilauke, one of New Hampshires “4000-footers.” The weather was warm (40s), although the day was overcast and the summit was fogged in. We got a late start after a wrong turn (kids, bring maps!), so we were a bit concerned about daylight.
A trail report from a few days earlier indicated that it would be smooth going, but apparently we mis-read it, because everyone else on the mountain that day had either skis, snowshoes, or both. We had neither, and for the first 3+ miles almost ever step resulted in snow up to our knees.
We held out hope that as we gained elevation (and colder weather) the base would be harder-packed. That was the case eventually, but the slow going coupled with our late start made us decide to turn back prior to the summit. It was an adventure regardless, and on the way down we got in a lot of “sledding” on our behinds, which was a blast.