15 October 2014: Mount Flume, Mount Liberty

I think everyone has one of these whether they admit it or not – this is the time that I hiked alone and almost died. Not being overly melodramatic here. I’ll get more into that later. The day was a foggy, cold but humid day in October that I saw as my last chance to get out for the season.

Peak Elevation: Liberty - 4459 ft. Flume - 4327 ft.
Elevation Gain: 3014 ft
Trail: Whitehouse Trail, Flume Slide Trial, Franconia Ridge Trail, Liberty Springs Trail
Length: 9.8 mi
Time on Trail : 0745
Time off Trail: 1515

I started the day not knowing what the trails would offer – my friends told me that the flume slide was a must-do if I had the chance do do it, so I figured “why not I can handle anything!”. I didn’t check into the Flume visitors center where they can provide insight on trails in the area. I’m a stubborn man and nobody was going to dissuade me otherwise from my plan for the day. The trail starts a ways in on the paved bike path in the area from the Flume center, and eventually veers off into the woods to head up to the Liberty Spring Trail. After less than a mile you approach the junction with the Flume Slide Trail. Going up here is 2ish miles, about half of which proved to be steep open rock face that was nt only wet from the fog but weeping water as well in many places. I was sure to take my time here but about 1/3 of the way up I slipped and slid about 200 ft before I was able to regain footing. I had picked up a walking stick earlier in the walk and lost this here. Oh well. Along the way I came across a coffee can that someone seems to have used as a cooking stove or something.
I pushed my way to the top of this section and the fog was really dense on Flume, I didn’t really take any pictures. There was a ledge that had dense fog so I didn’t spend much time here as I didn’t want to have a misstep. I made my way over to Liberty, which was also foggy but not as dangerously so. There were brief breaks in the fog where I could see down to Rt 3 and I-93, but nothing much picture wise was seen. The fog wasn’t going to be burning off anytime soon so I made an executive decision to head down and call it a day after bagging 3 and 4 of NH48. The way down was not too bad, only rolled my ankle once. The Liberty Tentsite would be a neat place to shack up sometime, and there is water here but I don’t trust water on mountainsides, and I had plenty to get me to the bottom. My knees and feet hated me at this point, having not worked this hard in a while.

Photos:

Mt Liberty, Mt. FLume  15OCT14

Note: this entry is backdated, from 2017.

11 October 2014: Mount Jackson, Mount Webster

Next up was a trip up Mount Jackson and Mount Webster, which are on two different lists but are taken together as a loop on the southern tier of the presidential range. I did this one as a solo job.

History:

Peak Elevation: Jackson - 4052 ft Webster – 3911 ft.
Elevation Gain: ~2100 ft
Trail: Webster-Jackson Trail (loop), Webster Cliff Trail
Length: 6.5 mi.
Time on Trail : 0830
Time off Trail: 1400

As my first solo job I took on the Jackson-Webster loop, short mileage, decent elevation gain. Still not yet in shape I took my time getting up there and had a nice break on the peak of Webster. Book time for this is just about 5 hours. The trail, part of the AT, starts alongside US-302 just past highland center. The signage is right at the edge of the treeline but isn’t too hard to find if you know that detail. The trail has steep sections but nothing I couldn’t manage with a little planning. About half a mile up there is a spur to Bugle Cliff – I didn’t spend much time here.
The Summit of Webster offered nice views into Crawford notch, with the willey range being what I could see most clearly, but some squinting I could see some other peaks which I could not yet name. I learned about the Grey Jays here but did not feed them. I took the trek to Jackson to bag #3 for my journey. Jackson wasn’t too bad, only a bit higher than Webster but has a nice drop between the two. My descent went alright, I think I took only 2 diggers and rolled an ankle once.

After finishing I took a quick trip back up the trail to check out Elephant head. From WMG online: “Elephant Head is an interesting ledge that forms the east side of the Gate of the Notch, a mass of gray rock striped with veins of white quartz providing a remarkable likeness to an elephant’s head and trunk.” Short trip would be great for younger kids with parents to get them outside and to check things out. After I descended I looked up and can see where the name came from for this. Otherwise I would have missed this, had I not seen the signage for the short trail to go see it.

Photos:

Mt Jackson, Mt. Webster 11OCT14

Note: This is a backdated post made in 2017

26 September 2014: Mount Garfield

My next hike could not come soon enough – I wanted to do something slightly less aggressive trail wise so I talked Bishop X into doing Mt Garfield with me. I picked this one arbitrarily, I admit, simply because the distance and elevation change was average for what I would be seeing henceforth.

Peak Elevation: 4500 ft
Elevation Gain: 2961 ft
Trail: Mt Garfield Trail
Length: 10.1 mi
Time on Trail: 0840
Time off Trail: 1410

Parking for the trail is on Gale River Loop road, near the 5 corners intersection. If you have found the Gale River Trailhead, you’ve gone about 2 miles too far.
This trail, which I guess is classified as a Class 1 (EASY) trail, provided a good 2nd hike contrast for me ads I bagged my 2nd 4000 footer. I was still not in good shape so this was a welcome change from last time. Bishop X was almost don e his NH48 journey but was glad to get out and didn’t mind redoing this one as the cold weather prompted a slight bit of color change in late September. The trail has a few steep sections that are pretty short. The trail appears to follow an old logging/access road for a former fire tower at the summit.

This summit has great views into the valley below (Pemi wilderness) from its ledges that are still mostly bare. The foundation of the former fire tower provides good wind breakage if you need it, but on this warm day we baked in the sun eating a snack before descending.

Photos:

Mt Garfield 26Sep14

This is a backdated entry, made in 2017.

12 Sepember 2014: Mount Moosilauke

I had done a few 4000 footers as a boy scout but I am re-starting the list as I seem to have forgotten what peaks I did aside from the Franconia ridge, which I will not mind doing time and time again. One hike I did was just for the mileage – a lap AROUND owl’s head mountain for about 19 miles – to complete the merit badge.

My quest started when I let my friend Bobthelovegoat and BishopX convince me to come out with them one fine September day to bag Moosilauke. I had no idea what I was in for but I think I packed adequately for not having all the fancy gear most people do, nor the endurance for such an undertaking.

History: Mt Moosilauke is derived from a native tribal name for “Bald Place”, loosely translated.

Peak Elevation: 4802ft
Elevation Gain: ~ 3150ft
Trail: Beaver Brook Trail
Length: 7.6 mi
Time on Trail : 0745
Time off Trail: 1430ish

The trail is rated to be on what is called the “Terrifying 25”, due to the rugged steepness that mandated a sign at the trailhead as a warning to those unaware. Along the trail are numerous waterfalls and a few water crossings. The other neat features of the trail were wooden ladders and steps to aid hikers along the eroded or otherwise dangerous portions. About halfway up there is a shelter platform and a privy. Thanks goes to the Dartmouth Outing Club for maintaining that and the trails out here.

The summit once you broke the treeline was windy – the musty day we were out in proved to give us fog at the sumit until you got to the very top – once the fog rolled by we were sitting above the clouds, making for some neat photo ops. We were chilled from the wind, despite the rock wall we used to break said wind; so we ate a quick lunch and got off the mountain for my first 4000 footer. Needless to say, I'm hooked.

Photos:

Mt. Moosilauke  12SEP14

Note: This is a backdated entry made in 2017.