grouseking
Well-known member
For a 4 mile hike, there was quite a bit of action chocked in! Matt and I arrived at the AT Moose Mtn trailhead a little after 11am and headed off to South Moose Mtn. I was in shorts and a tee shirt, as temps were easily in the 60s....it will go down as my warmest January hike ever.
The small, shady brook areas actually kept the snow the best, and in turn the temps were coolest here. It was in the 40's where there was snow and it immediately jumped into the 60s everywhere else. The whole hike was extremely erie, with gusty winds whipping around and warm air blowing up the valleys...well actually down into the valleys. The warm air was everywhere...it made no sense. You expect to see more snow the higher in elevation you go, but there was none...none at all. It just got muddier and muddier as the day progressed. I actually wore my stabilicers to keep traction on the patches of leftover ice and the mud. I was shocked at how much traction it gave me on mud. I rarely slipped in it and hopefully that made a difference with trail erosion.
The weather was so wild that the wildlife was on edge as well. We saw three grouse in a one mile stretch and one poor snowshoe hare....it was big, cute and white....and there was no snow at all. I have a feeling he is in trouble. Oh, and there was about 20-30 ravens circling over our head as we climbed.....really strange.
Views from the summit weer actually quite nice (Mt Cardigan, Goose Pond, Mt Kearsarge and others). At first Matt and I were going to head over to the Moose Mtn shelter but decided against it. Instead we headed back and began the descent. Mud was at an all time high now and matt was slip-sliding his way down, while I was doing allright but getting wet thanks to splashing thru all the water. There was one area where the trail was completely flooded and we had to gingerly find a way over.
Before we descended the steeper section toward the bottom, Matt wanted to check out the tributary of Mink Brook, so we bushwhacked down thru the woods to the brook, and then followed a very well beaten road down. I can't remember the name of it, but I'm sure someone out on this forum knows. When we hit the bottom of the hill we came across a Dartmouth cabin that was being rebuilt (again, didn't pay close attention to the name). But it really looked impressive and I took a few pics of it. Finally, we followed the trail back to the AT, hung out at the tributary of Mink Brook (which was flowing really high) and headed out to the car. We arrived back at around 2:30ish, and not a moment too soon, because downpours and thunderstorms swept thru the area.....on January 6th, in northern New England. Oh yeah, and it hit the upper 60s in Lebanon.....
What the heck is goin on?? Let's all stomp out El Nino, change the jet stream and bring winter back for a Feb-April stay!!!!
But it was a real fun hike! Here are the pictures. http://grouseking.phanfare.com/album/185390
grouseking
The small, shady brook areas actually kept the snow the best, and in turn the temps were coolest here. It was in the 40's where there was snow and it immediately jumped into the 60s everywhere else. The whole hike was extremely erie, with gusty winds whipping around and warm air blowing up the valleys...well actually down into the valleys. The warm air was everywhere...it made no sense. You expect to see more snow the higher in elevation you go, but there was none...none at all. It just got muddier and muddier as the day progressed. I actually wore my stabilicers to keep traction on the patches of leftover ice and the mud. I was shocked at how much traction it gave me on mud. I rarely slipped in it and hopefully that made a difference with trail erosion.
The weather was so wild that the wildlife was on edge as well. We saw three grouse in a one mile stretch and one poor snowshoe hare....it was big, cute and white....and there was no snow at all. I have a feeling he is in trouble. Oh, and there was about 20-30 ravens circling over our head as we climbed.....really strange.
Views from the summit weer actually quite nice (Mt Cardigan, Goose Pond, Mt Kearsarge and others). At first Matt and I were going to head over to the Moose Mtn shelter but decided against it. Instead we headed back and began the descent. Mud was at an all time high now and matt was slip-sliding his way down, while I was doing allright but getting wet thanks to splashing thru all the water. There was one area where the trail was completely flooded and we had to gingerly find a way over.
Before we descended the steeper section toward the bottom, Matt wanted to check out the tributary of Mink Brook, so we bushwhacked down thru the woods to the brook, and then followed a very well beaten road down. I can't remember the name of it, but I'm sure someone out on this forum knows. When we hit the bottom of the hill we came across a Dartmouth cabin that was being rebuilt (again, didn't pay close attention to the name). But it really looked impressive and I took a few pics of it. Finally, we followed the trail back to the AT, hung out at the tributary of Mink Brook (which was flowing really high) and headed out to the car. We arrived back at around 2:30ish, and not a moment too soon, because downpours and thunderstorms swept thru the area.....on January 6th, in northern New England. Oh yeah, and it hit the upper 60s in Lebanon.....
What the heck is goin on?? Let's all stomp out El Nino, change the jet stream and bring winter back for a Feb-April stay!!!!
But it was a real fun hike! Here are the pictures. http://grouseking.phanfare.com/album/185390
grouseking
-Mattl
