Rainbow and I wanted to hike. We had been considering Mt. Pierce since it was socked in the last time she had been there. However, the forecast was showing temps in the teens and 40 MPH winds. No, thank you. So we opted for Arethusa Falls. I’ve heard they are amazing, and that they freeze in winter! As we were planning that, Rainbow saw a book event happening in Gorham, NH. Author Ty Gagne would be speaking about his new book, “The Lions of Winter, Survival and Sacrifice on Mount Washington”. I loved his other books, and as an aspiring writer, this was a no-brainer. We would go up Saturday night to attend the book event, stay over, and hike the falls on Sunday.

We met at the hotel at 4PM, checked in, dropped our stuff, and headed to Big Day Brewing. It’s on the list for the New Hampshire Views and Brews list, so I had to get a beer for the patch. (HAD to!)

On our way back to the car, we checked out the “planet parade” supposedly visible and I think we found 3 of the four planets that were visible. Then we drove to the Medallion Opera House, where the event was being held. To my surprise, it was a panel of speakers, not just the author. Including Matt Combs from North Woods Law. Now, if you’ve spoken to me at all in the last five years, you’ve probably heard me mention North Woods Law! It’s like Cops meets New Hampshire outdoor recreation. Ha! They often feature hiking search and rescue missions led by New Hampshire Fish and Game. My hiking buddies and I often joke “Just don’t end up on North Woods Law” when we’re hiking. So when I saw Matt Combs on the stage, I was giddy.

The event was really interesting. Ty Gagne walked us through the event that is covered in the book. And had the panelists weigh in with their expertise. In addition to NH Fish and Game, there was someone from the Androscoggin Search and Rescue, the Mount Washington Observatory, the Mount Washington Avalanche Center, and the Mount Washington State Park.

Then after the event, while Rainbow went to get her book signed, I GOT A SELFIE WITH MATT COMBS

With that life goal accomplished, we went back to the hotel and slept.

Since the hike to Arethusa Falls is fairly short and we didn’t have a long drive to get there, we got to sleep in! We woke up to snow, which was expected. We grabbed some breakfast and coffee at the White Mountain Cafe and Bookstore. Then headed to Arethusa Falls. Along the way, we stopped at this spring on the side of the road!

Apparently, during most of the year, there are lots of people here getting water. It’s a natural spring, privately owned by the Carter family, but they allow the public to access it and fill up. I saw some comments online where people tested the water and confirmed, it’s super clean and full of minerals!

The sun peaked through the clouds a bit on our way there, and I had to snap this photo from the car.

As always, it’s super cool to be driving along and realize I’VE HIKED THOSE MOUNTAINS.

We arrived at the trailhead, and it was surprisingly (to me, anyway) busy. I’d soon figure out why.

Given the forecast with more snow falling and my uncertainty about how packed out or not this trail would be, we both brought our microspikes and snowshoes. However, we started out “bare boot” as neither were needed at the beginning.

It’s a lovely hike with not too much elevation gain, through the woods. With all the snow, and more snow falling, it was very enjoyable. We did see quite a few people, most all had spikes on, no one had snow shoes.

We crossed a couple of bridges, the water under them buried in snow and ice. Came to this sign, which made me panick as I thought it said 2 miles to the falls, but it was 0.2 miles. I think it was shortly after this that the trail began to descend and we finally put on our microspikes. As we had warmed up from the hike, I was just in my base layers. The snow really started to come down and I was happy to know I had a dry shirt in my pack. I wasn’t yet cold, but I knew once we stopped, that could change.

The falls! I know it doesn’t LOOK like falls, but those hikers are standing at the base of Arethusa Falls. The white expanse behind them are the falls, frozen over and coated in snow. Just as we arrived, we put down our packs and put on our warmer layers, and the snow stopped! The clouds began to part. And we could see ice climbers!

It’s hard to get a photo that adequately shows the angle of the falls. In many of these photos, the slope looks more gradual. But I assure you, these are falls, that go mostly vertical.

On the left of the left photo, you can see a climber, as well as two people in the upper right. The right hand photo shows the angle a bit better, as you can see a climber starting to rappel down.

Again, the left photo is the left side of the falls, with various climbers visible. The right photo is a little bit of a zoom in which shows the rappelling climber and the angle a bit better.

Photo credit: Rainbow, for this “selfie” by the falls

Photo on the left, was the view to the right of the falls. Photo on the right, is the view down the river. Very cool that none of these photos would be possible in summer as I’d be standing in the middle of the river.

Tons of cool ice and snow formations all around as the water freezes, melts, gets snowed on, melts, etc.

This video was more for the audio! A little hole in the snow and ice to the river below us, you can hear it trickling by.

After a snack, we were on our way back to the trailhead.

• Distance: 2.9 miles
• Elevation gain: 850 feet
• Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
• Moving time: 2 hours, 9 minutes

Bonus view from the AMC Highland Center, where we stopped in after the hike to use the restrooms and warm up a bit.