This was a solo traverse of the White Mountains 4000 footers south of the Kancamangus Highway.
Start: Sawyer Ponds Trailhead Parking (then short road walk to Oliverian Brook trailhead)
End: Hancock Notch Trailhead Parking (short road walk from Greeley Ponds Trailhead)
4000 footers: Passaconaway, Whiteface, M. Tripyramid, N. Tripyramid, Tecumseh, Osceola, E. Osceola
Start: Saturday May 19, 10:30 am.
End: Sunday May 20, 10:20 am
Distance: about 31 miles
Elevation gain: about 11,382’
Time hiking (including short stops): 16:20
Time stopped to camp: 7:30
Starting logistics: I left Cape Cod Saturday 5:15 am, drove to the Sawyer Ponds Trailhead, stashed my pack (minus food), drove back to the Hancock Notch Trailhead, left the car, biked 11 miles back to the Sawyer Ponds Trailhead parking, stashed the bike, retrieved and reassembled the pack, and finally was walking at 10:30 am. Phew!
I passed a trail work crew on the Oliverian Brook Trial—thanks! Overall, the trails were in great shape with minimal mud and only a few blowdowns. Warm days, but water was still plentiful, with the longest (expected) waterless stretch between the Downe’s Brook below Whiteface and the bottom of North Slide below N. Tripyramid.
The hike down North Slide was spectacular--basically just a great steep slab of avalanche-swept rock-- who would think to put a “trail” on something like that?? To add to the fun, the late afternoon sun was blazing hard and the black flies were out in force. As I got close to the bottom I was thinking how I really wouldn’t want to hike down this when the rocks are wet, and then came to the part where the slide is just a v-shaped gash in the rocks--all wet. I did some interesting hanging from slide-wracked vegetation and butt sliding there. Finally I hit the dirt trail again and was relieved to get moving faster than most of the black flies.
I was afraid I’d be but swarmed again when I stopped to make dinner underneath the bridge over the W. Branch of the Mad River, but there wasn’t a bug to be seen—maybe the reek of the newly creosoted bridge timbers did the trick—kind of smelled like Old Woodsman’s.
After dinner, I did a short easy bushwack directly over to the Waterville Ski are parking lot to avoid some road walking. After hiking a mile or so up the Mt. Tecumseh trail, it was starting to get dark so I backcountry camped in nice open hardwoods with the peaceful melody of the evening birds songs. Got back on the trail around 3:30 am on Sunday and summited Techumseh almost exactly as the sun broke the horizon. Then after dropping down to the next saddle I bushwacked down about 1 mile to connect with the Mt. Osceola trail. The bushwack was never easy, but never horrible either, taking about 1:15 which I think was faster than finishing the Mt. Techumseh trail and walking up Tripoli Rd. From there it was a nice graded climb up Osceola on the cooler side of the mountain at the start of another hot day. The trail down E. Osceola was one of those super steep rockgardens the Whites are famous for, and I didn’t envy the people grunting up in the full blazing sun. I finished the hike—and remembered to pick up the bike!
Start: Sawyer Ponds Trailhead Parking (then short road walk to Oliverian Brook trailhead)
End: Hancock Notch Trailhead Parking (short road walk from Greeley Ponds Trailhead)
4000 footers: Passaconaway, Whiteface, M. Tripyramid, N. Tripyramid, Tecumseh, Osceola, E. Osceola
Start: Saturday May 19, 10:30 am.
End: Sunday May 20, 10:20 am
Distance: about 31 miles
Elevation gain: about 11,382’
Time hiking (including short stops): 16:20
Time stopped to camp: 7:30
Starting logistics: I left Cape Cod Saturday 5:15 am, drove to the Sawyer Ponds Trailhead, stashed my pack (minus food), drove back to the Hancock Notch Trailhead, left the car, biked 11 miles back to the Sawyer Ponds Trailhead parking, stashed the bike, retrieved and reassembled the pack, and finally was walking at 10:30 am. Phew!
I passed a trail work crew on the Oliverian Brook Trial—thanks! Overall, the trails were in great shape with minimal mud and only a few blowdowns. Warm days, but water was still plentiful, with the longest (expected) waterless stretch between the Downe’s Brook below Whiteface and the bottom of North Slide below N. Tripyramid.
The hike down North Slide was spectacular--basically just a great steep slab of avalanche-swept rock-- who would think to put a “trail” on something like that?? To add to the fun, the late afternoon sun was blazing hard and the black flies were out in force. As I got close to the bottom I was thinking how I really wouldn’t want to hike down this when the rocks are wet, and then came to the part where the slide is just a v-shaped gash in the rocks--all wet. I did some interesting hanging from slide-wracked vegetation and butt sliding there. Finally I hit the dirt trail again and was relieved to get moving faster than most of the black flies.
I was afraid I’d be but swarmed again when I stopped to make dinner underneath the bridge over the W. Branch of the Mad River, but there wasn’t a bug to be seen—maybe the reek of the newly creosoted bridge timbers did the trick—kind of smelled like Old Woodsman’s.
After dinner, I did a short easy bushwack directly over to the Waterville Ski are parking lot to avoid some road walking. After hiking a mile or so up the Mt. Tecumseh trail, it was starting to get dark so I backcountry camped in nice open hardwoods with the peaceful melody of the evening birds songs. Got back on the trail around 3:30 am on Sunday and summited Techumseh almost exactly as the sun broke the horizon. Then after dropping down to the next saddle I bushwacked down about 1 mile to connect with the Mt. Osceola trail. The bushwack was never easy, but never horrible either, taking about 1:15 which I think was faster than finishing the Mt. Techumseh trail and walking up Tripoli Rd. From there it was a nice graded climb up Osceola on the cooler side of the mountain at the start of another hot day. The trail down E. Osceola was one of those super steep rockgardens the Whites are famous for, and I didn’t envy the people grunting up in the full blazing sun. I finished the hike—and remembered to pick up the bike!
) were you aware of the cross country ski trail that runs up to the ski area from tripoli rd adjacent to the bridge?
