05 October 2015: Mount Tom, Mount Field, Mount Willey, Mount Avalon

Admittedly I have been slacking this year on hiking the 4000 footers, and here was a chance for me to bag a few in one pass. I persuaded Bishop X to come with me on this one, the selling point being that we were going to not only bag 3 of the NH48, but a 52WAV as well. The Willey range has a nice drop-down to Mount Avalon as well, which was a worthy sidetrip on the descent.

History: Mount Tom is named for Thomas Crawford, whose family had a number of inns in the area of Crawford Notch during the 1800’s. Mountt Willey was named for Samuael Willey, whose family lived I the area in the 1820’s and were killed in a landslide in Crawford Notch. Mount Field is named for Darby Field, the first European to climb Mt Washington back in 1642. He was also known for his ability to translate between the Native and Settler populations. I was unable to find a naming etymology for Mount Avalon, but Avalon was a mythical place from the Authurian era, so it could be related to that.


Peak Elevation: 4052ft (Tom), 4327 ft (Field), 4255 ft. (Willey), 3442 ft (Avalon)
Elevation Gain: 2358 ft
Trails: Avalon Trail, A-Z trail, Mt Tom Spur, Willey Range trail
Length: 10.2 mi.
Time on Trail: 0920
Time off Trail: 1630ish


The trip started out at Crawford Depot on the west side of US-302, parking is free here. Crossing the tracks you can see the herdpath to the Avalon trailhead sign pretty clearly. After just over a mile you reach the junction of the A-Z trail, having ventured past the Beecher and Pearl cascades with not a lot of elevation gain to this point (maybe 800ft). Continuing on up the A-Z trail to get to the Willey Range trail for another mile of so, gaining just shy of 1800 ft in elevation gain until you get to the Mt Tom Spur trail. The trip to Mount Tom from here is just over a half mile, and at this point we were glad to have the hefty elevation gains out of the way. Ok I was gladder than Bishop X was because he’s in far better condition than me, and today i was exceptionally slower than he.


Moving on we ventured onward to the Willey Range Trail junction and moved on toward Mt Field, crossing paths with our descending point, the upper terminus of the Avalon Trail. Mt. Field has a side path with a small outlook, but the weather was kind of blah so we did not stay there long. The next stop was Mount Willey, which also has a viewpoint from an unmarked side trail. I find it peculiar that this range is named for Willey but is not the highest mountain on the range, granted there is only a net 20 foot elevation drop here. After bagging the 3rd 4000footer of the day I was keen on getting down and home; Mount Avalon was on the way and we decided that if we made good time we would bag it, but if not we would leave it for another day.


Having made good time we trekked up towards Avalon, which offers great views of the Southern Presidentials and to the southeast of the Willey range. The quick sidetrip (a few hundred yards, maybe?) was worth it for the brief view we took, as there were 2 dudes just taking a nap up there when we arrived, kind of weirded us out so we just snapped a few pictures and moved on. The descent was pretty tame after that point.


Photos:

Mt. Tom, Mt. Field, Mt. Willey, Mt. Avalon 05OCT15

This entry was backdated, written in 2017.

11 September 2015: Mt Tecumseh

This was supposed to be a decent hiking day but turned out to be a foggy, muggy experience. New England weather, am i right? I took my Brother with me - he felt now that he had quit smoking this would be a good way to hack up all the bad stuff while getting some exercise.

History: This peak is named in honor of the Shawnee tribe leader. The mountain also serves as the slopes for Waterville Valley Ski Resort.

Peak Elevation: 4003 ft.
Elevation Gain: 2283 ft.
Trail: Mt Tecumseh Tr., Sosman Tr.
Length: 5.0 mi.
Time on Trail : 0857
Time off Trail: 1345

Today we hiked Mt Tecumseh, starting at the parking area for Waterville Valley. This was done on 9/11, when "flags on the 48" happens. This is a wonderful thing, where hikers summit the NH48 with american flags on 9/11 every year in remembrance of those who died in the terrorist attacks. I appear to not have caught them when they were out that day though. The hike was pretty easy grading most of the way, and well groomed. The view into the ski trails was nice - i imagine skiers looking for a more wooded slope try their hand here in the wintertime. The top would have given a nice view if it were not for the dense fog which began dissipating once we ended the day. At the top we met a guy who was completing his Nh48 adventure - he claims to have done 30 peaks in a month "just to get it done" - that's wild, and nearly unbelievable. The sosman trail provides antoher side quest for those inclined to do so, though not much was gained in doing so.

Photos:

Mt Tecumseh 15SEP15

Not many photos this time around, mostly due to the fog.

28 August 2015: Owl's Head Mountain

Owl’s Head seems to be the one NH48 that hikers seem to dread the most. The mileage is on the high side to get there and back again. There is only one way to get in there that is a reliable pathway. There is nothing noteworthy about the summit, which is wooded, aside from the rather sketchy slide trail to it’s summit which offers good views of the Southern Tier Franconia Ridge on clear days. This trip I was brought out by Bob The Lovegoat (his trip report can be seen here). As a Boy Scout, I was taken on a trip to hike AROUND owl’s head once, so I knew what kind of misery laid ahead of me.

History: Owl’s Head Moutain resides in the middle of the Pemigewasset Wilderness, surrounded by the Bonds to the east and by Franconia to the west, with Garfield ridge and Mount Guyot to the north. The infamous Pemi Loop is comprised of these peaks.


Peak Elevation: 4025 ft
Elevation Gain: 2035 ft
Trail: Lincoln Woods Trail, Franconia Brook Trail, Black pond Trail, Bushwack, Lincoln Brook Trail, Owl’s Head Path.
Length: 20ish mi.
Time on Trail : 0745
Time off Trail: 1845


The trip starts out at Lincoln Woods, via the Lincoln Woods Trail (Parking fees apply). Mr Lovegoat wanted to get out to try a new way to get to Owl’s head in a slightly more direct manner. I obliged because having someone with me to keep me on task during the boring flats on this trip would ensure I at least finished with daylight left. The majority of the trip is flat, mundane former rail bed. During Autumn I imagine it is picturesque as the color change and leaves begin to fall.

In an effort to shave off some length of this hike, Mr Lovegoat and I were going to try a bushwack that was intended to save us about 1 mile of hiking. This bushwack was not at all marked and we had to wing it. In hindsight, while we did save a mile, we probably burned just as much if not a bit more time bushwacking. But, bushwacking can be fun too. This bushwask had us venture off to Black Pond via the Black Pond trail, then continue on to a heading to the Loncoln Brook Trail. We happened upon a fisherman’s bushwash trail, which included a small likely illegal campfire pit at the side of Loncoln Brook. From there we rejoined actual trails to get to the base of the unofficial trail up to Owl’s Head Mountain. This wooded peak has a few blowdowns where some views are present. I imagine that if this mountain were not completely wooded, it would be a top 5 viewing peak in the whites due to what encompasses it. After lunching up there and picking up some garbage left behind by others, we descended. Lovegoat let me go down first, which about ½ way down the slide trail a large rock went tumbling and almost took out my leg, had I not strategically lifted it in time to dodge it. I did yell down below as I did that in case anyone was ascending.

After that I knew the worst of this trip was ahead – the mundane descent through the flats back to Lincoln Woods. With about 4 mile left I started getting cramps in my feet, which would turn into a mild form of Plantar Fasciitis for a few days after. Rolling my foot out on a lacrosse ball helped immensely in pain relief. Anyway, the bridge that spans Franconia Brook was the most welcome sight as we were losing daylight. The foot pain really slowed us down at the end of the day. This was the longest hike I had done in a very long time, so breakdown was inevitable. Im just glad it was on a flat path when I did.

Photos:

Owl's Head Mountain 28AUG15

This is a backdated entry, written in 2017.

06 June 2015: Mount Chocorua

Mount Chocourua is one of those peaks that people just love, even though it is just as accessible as the 4000 footers, it provides a great number of trails to pursue and has phenomenal 360 degree views. Today I went with my friend who I haven't come up with a I’ll call MeowMerp. MeowMerp and I are friends since college – and she is great to spend time with out on the trail. Yes, that is be here in the friend zone.


History: There is no definite story behind the name of Mount Chocorua, but there is an ongoing legend about a native local to that area who got on friendly terms with early settlers in the area. The story goes that his n was with a local family and died under their watch, so as revenge Chocorua killed the women and children of the family while the patriarch was away. Upon discovering this, the man pursued Chocorua up this peak, and after being shot, Chocorua laid some kind of curse on the homes, crops and animals of the settlers. There are a few variants of the story but this one seemed the best one to perpetuate.


Peak Elevation: 3480 ft.
Elevation Gain: 2563 ft
Trail: Liberty Trail, Piper trail
Length: 7.6 mi.
Time on Trail : 1130ish
Time off Trail: 1800ish


Unfortunately MeowMerp isn’t a fan of getting up at the asscrack of dawn to get on trail early. I conceded a late start, and we arrived at the trailhead, which is accessible by a dirt road that isn’t friendly to sedans. As we had a late start we didn’t have the best parking options of this full lot which has 2 trailheads. The ascent wasn’t too bad, but I still was not in the best of shape. MeowMerp and I would be heading out to explore Utah a month from this hike, so this helped us bond some before we spent 7 or 8 days together, nonstop. The liberty trail is the easiest ascent this peak has to offer, and that was fine by me. On the way Up we checked out the Liberty Cabin and used the shade to hydrate before moving onward.
The section that gave us the most issues was the upper ledges as we completed the ascent, but with some patience we made it up just fine. The views were as amazing as you have heard this is one of the best views in NH, hands down. The descent was OK once we got past the aforementioned ledges. We had spent a good deal of time up top taking in the views so book time was not on my mind, and im not even mad at the time taken on this hike. I’d love to hik from the otherside one day, maybe when I grab another peak nearby?


Photos:

Mt Chocorua 06Jun15

Note that this is a backdated entry made in 2017.

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.