Spring hike at Grafton Notch, pack snow boots

It is always interesting to visit a hiking trail in different seasons. Grafton Notch State Park is a favorite mountain climb for my family. We have hiked at this park in the summer and early fall but never in the spring. We had put off our trek up to Grafton Notch for a couple of weeks because of the continued snow storms. But a few days ago we ventured northwest and found a winter wonderland with 50 degree temperatures.

It was awesome.

One of the things about spring hiking is the uncertainty of conditions. You don't know exactly what a trail system is going to look like before you get there. And generally speaking there is not an easy way to find out ahead of time. Spring hiking in Maine, particularly inland, is sort of a crapshoot so you need to be prepared for just about any sort of conditions.

The trail had well-packed snow - clearly others have been hiking this trail all winter - so as long as we stayed on the narrow walking path, we didn't need snowshoes.

But if we took a step off the pack in either direction, we sunk to our upper thighs.

All of us took a misstep at least a couple of times on the hike. But we were all happy to keep the snowshoes in the car. None of us are big fans of climbing mountains with that gear.

The girls and I talked about how different things felt with the snow versus our usual greener season visits to the park.

The large boulders climbing up the trail were actually much easier because the snow graded the climb to be a less steep slope.

The rails to climb up and down the final slope to get to Table Rock were not visible. It required we crouch and slide down the steep bit, which the girls and I thought was easier.

This part of the climb was a lot more fun sliding down in the snow.

The view early spring view from Table Rock was as wonderful as the other times we've visited. But I am nostalgic for how much my babies have grown after digging out our summer of 2007 photo from this spot.

The trail to Table Rock is about a 1,000-foot elevation gain and covers about 2 1/2 miles. Usually you can climb up the AT portion of the trail and go down the mountain on the Table Rock Trail (which passes by some interesting caves) so it's a loop. Our visit this time did not have a packed snow trail going down the by the caves so we back-tracked the way we climbed up.

I am not sure many are interested in seeing any more snow this season but if you have a chance to visit Grafton Notch in the next few weeks you won't be disappointed. And my kids would tell you they think hiking the trail in the snow was actually a bit easier.

Hiking to Table Rock at Grafton Notch