27 May 2015: Mount Hale

I had a few hikes under my belt and wanted to venture for my first 4000 footer for this season and chose the easy, manageable, Mount Hale. At 4.4 miles the distance wasn’t going to kill me and the elevation gain looked on par with others I had done this season.

History: This peak was named for Rev. Edward Hale, son of Nathan Hale, a pastor, poet, writer and philanthropist. I have found out that he was also a mountaineer who made the first recorded ascent of the Northern peaks of Katahdin back in 1845.

Peak Elevation: 4055 ft
Elevation Gain: 2276 ft
Trail: Hale Brook Trail
Length: 4.4 mi
Time on Trail : 0900
Time off Trail: 1230

Mount Hale’s Hale Brook Trail was nice and easy grading the whole way with great footing. Some trails kind of drag on and on, but this one wasn’t quite there due to the 2.2 mile length to the summit. The summit must have been more clear-cut in the past, as there is evidence of a watch tower up there, as seen in my photos. There is also a large pile of rocks that I refuse to call a cairn at the summit – I wonder if this was part of the foundation of the aforementioned fire tower. From the top of that pile you can see the tops of the remainder of the Twin Range. Aside from that there is not much else norteworthy about this summit. After a snack I went back down.

On my way up I passed a small group of hikers, one of whom was blind. I am not making this up. After I descended I ran into two people from this party, who told me the terrain was too much for the young man without his vision. When I got down to my car I made sure to check on the guy, who had found a picnic table to relax at. I made sure he was good and let him know his party would be rejoining him in about an hour. Zealand road on the way back proved to be a challenge because of the bumpiness – my VW even as stock height and suspension was challenged by this, so I had to drive 10mph or less the entire way back to the bridge before the road is paved again. Aside from that the trailhead was easy to find and leave from.

Photos:

Mt. Hale 27MAY15

This post is a backdated entry made in 2017.

13 May 2015: Grand Monadnock

This peak is in Southern NH, is close to home and was but easy and enjoyable of a hike. I wanted to get a quick but challenging hike in so I went looking for the steepest route to take that would fit in my needs for that day.

History: This mountain’s name derives from a native term lossely translated to “island mountain”, meaning it’s pretty much out there by itself as opposed to being part of a range.

Peak Elevation: 3165 ft
Elevation Gain: 1771 ft
Trail: White Dot Trail, White Cross Trail
Length: 3.9 mi.
Time on Trail : 0945
Time off Trail: 1245

Seeing as I wanted another tune-up after the butt-kicking I got from the Moats, I opted for the White Dot trail as it is just shy of 2 miles to the summit with 1700 of elevation gain. I enjoyed the steep challenge of this trail and even got a kick out of the “halfway point” sign along the way. It’s not long before you’re above the treeline on the bare rock summit. 360 degree views make this a popular destination for the Boston hiking crowd. I descended down the White Cross trail as it ended at the same lot and provided little vista views on the way down.

It’s too bad that dogs are not allowed on this mountain due to state park rules. Here are hundred of better described versions of this hike so I’ll end this here.

Photos:

Mt Monadnock (Grand Monadnock) 13MAY15

Note: this is a backdated entry made in 2017

08 May 2015: Moat Mountain (North, Middle, and South peaks)

My first hike in May was spurned by Bob The Love Goat’s desire to attempt a traverse across the Moat mountain peaks. We got Bishop X and Bob’s dog Boomer on board to come along on a warmish day in early May.

History: The name dats back to the late 1700’s, name given by local residents of Albany NH due to the numerous beaver points that gave the appearance of “Moats” around these peaks on the Eastern side.


Peak Elevation: North Moat: 3196 ft / Middle Moat: 2805 ft. / South Moat: 2770 ft.
Elevation Gain: ~2800 ft
Trail: Moat Mountain Trail (North to south from Diana’s bath to west side road)
Length: 9.7 mi
Time on Trail : 0900
Time off Trail: 1530ish

As this was my first hike of the year, I was pretty excited to jump into another 52WAV peak with some solid elevation gain to ramp myself up for another season tackling the 4000 footers. We did a north-to-south traverse, starting at Diana’s baths and ending at the trailhead on West Side rd. We left a car on the south end of things and zoomed up the road to get going. We started just around 0900, and promptly noted how well groomed the lower section of Diana baths was. Not surprised as it is a popular destination.

Shortly on the trail, we happened upon a man and his dog, this happened to be the Gentleman who wrote Following Atticus, Tom Ryan. After a brief chat we went our separate ways towards a not-well-marked trail past the water features on that side of the mountain. It felt as if we were the first hikers on this route in a long while, judging by the leaf cover where footpaths usually tend to lie on these trails. I have a feeling there are a number of mountain bike paths out this way, too – it just had that feel to it. After a bit of balking on the GPS we decided to head to the treeline and found the trail or maybe a herdpath up the mountain. Once we were above probably 2800 ft, we found some monorail snow cover on the path we were on. I post holed a bit but once the treeline broke the snow vanished. Now would have been a great time to apply Sunscreen, if I had any with me this day. I got roasted a bit. PSA: wear sunscreen.

The summit of the north peak was mostly bald and open views due to the ledges on two sides of the mountain and no other higher peaks around for miles. On a clear day like today was, you could see out to Franconia Ridge and maybe a bit past there, in the correct light. Middle peak was nothing too crazy , but South Moat was great views as well. Going up for Boomer was easy, he loves to just go-go-go, but the rock face on the descent from south proved difficult for him as he was unsure of his footing. BobTheLoveGoat took his pack off and helped him down the few rough sections but he seemed to truck onward after those initial tough spots for a young dog.


Photos:

The Moats (North, "Middle" and South Moat Mountains) 08May15

Note: this is a backdated entry made in 2017.