king tut
New member
When you see a beautiful gal walk by you, you can't help but take a little extra look, maybe do a little neck snap after she walks by. Your heart beats a little faster, and you feel like God took a little extra time on that one. I get that feeling once in a while, but mostly I feel that way when I see something special a little higher up, ok about 4,000 or 5,000 feet higher up.
I have a dozen or so peaks left to finish up the NH 4k's, but to be honest, none of the remaining peaks really look all that appealing to me. I was thinking about doing one of them, maybe Tecumseh, Cabot, a Carter, A Tri-pyramid or a Hancock. Rather than hike a list, I decided to return back to the Dack's and find another nice view or two to stare at.
I left the casa a little before 6, and arrived at the Au Sable country club parking lot right around 8 a.m. It is not a 2 hour drive from Burlington VT to the trailhead, but when you take the wrong turns time and again, the drive ends up being longer.... Apparently there is a route 9 and a route 9N very close to one another. I ended up stopping at a gas station in Keene and buying a map, so from there I was well on my way to finding the right roads. I have been to the Dak's a few times, so I wasn't too lost, but maps are good to have now and then.
There are a few parking lots off of route 73 at the base of a dirt road to the Au Sable country club. I got one of the last spots and headed up the .9 mile dirt road up to the country club and the trailheads. I headed up the something "White" trail over to the Wolfjaw mountains. The trail is 3.5 miles to the summit of Lower Wolfjaw mountain. It ascends very quickly the first mile and then levels out over the last 2.5 miles.
From Lower Wolf Jaw the trail dips and then ascends up to Upper Wolfjaw mountain. There are a few views here and there, but the trail is really non-rememberable compared to the rest of the hike. The trail descends minimally from Upper Wolfjaw before climbing up Armstrong Mountain. There are quite a few 15-30 foot ascents up mini rock walls and cliffs on the way from Lower Wolfjaw to Armstrong. Quite a few times I had to wedge my feet into the cracks of the rock walls in order to gain a foothold to climb up these sections. Definitely a lot tougher than I imagined it would be, and this section kept me interested while climbing these below tree-line peaks.These multiple scrambles were a bit tricky as I was nursing a sprained wrist, bruised shin, and a strained groin. I am soo accident prone.
I made it over to the Gothics summit just around noon time. This was the half way point in my hike, a little over 8 miles into the journey. From the peak, there are great views along the ridgeline to Saddleback, Skylight, and Marcy, plus many other 46'er peaks. I had read a few reports the prior night about the cables strung along the route up to Gothics over the steep sheer rocks, but it turns out that I did not hit up that trail section. I guess it must be on the way north to Marcy. I thought about heading north to Saddleback to grab another 46'er or two, but I decided instead to head back down the valley towards Pyramid and Sawteeth.
The trail dops off steeply from Gothics, and then ascends a little ways up to Pyramid Mt. I stoppped at the top and took quite a few pictures of the beautiful slides and sheer exposed rock that was all around the surrounding peaks. I soaked in the view, it's not often that my neck snaps back and my jaw drops open.
The trail drops a mile down from Gothics to the junction of Sawteeth MT. I climbed Sawteeth next, only a minimal 500 foot ascent, and was treated to some nice views of Lower Au Sable Lake during the three mile descent down to the head of the lake.
I took the West River trail down the valley for about a mile until I got to a nice water fall. I think it was the Beaver Meadows Falls....maybe???
I took a quick shower in the falls and then headed back down the Lake road for the last several miles. I arrived back at my car around 4. It was a really nice trek, about 16-17 miles, somewhere around 4500 or 5000 vertical and about 8 hours. I climbed 5 new 46'ers and enjoyed a nice summers day. On an excellent sidenote, all of the road signs were in their correct place on the way home, and I shaved 15 miles off the morning drive. Great day for Dak attack Number 3. What an awesome area, I can't wait to go back.
pics
I have a dozen or so peaks left to finish up the NH 4k's, but to be honest, none of the remaining peaks really look all that appealing to me. I was thinking about doing one of them, maybe Tecumseh, Cabot, a Carter, A Tri-pyramid or a Hancock. Rather than hike a list, I decided to return back to the Dack's and find another nice view or two to stare at.
I left the casa a little before 6, and arrived at the Au Sable country club parking lot right around 8 a.m. It is not a 2 hour drive from Burlington VT to the trailhead, but when you take the wrong turns time and again, the drive ends up being longer.... Apparently there is a route 9 and a route 9N very close to one another. I ended up stopping at a gas station in Keene and buying a map, so from there I was well on my way to finding the right roads. I have been to the Dak's a few times, so I wasn't too lost, but maps are good to have now and then.
There are a few parking lots off of route 73 at the base of a dirt road to the Au Sable country club. I got one of the last spots and headed up the .9 mile dirt road up to the country club and the trailheads. I headed up the something "White" trail over to the Wolfjaw mountains. The trail is 3.5 miles to the summit of Lower Wolfjaw mountain. It ascends very quickly the first mile and then levels out over the last 2.5 miles.
From Lower Wolf Jaw the trail dips and then ascends up to Upper Wolfjaw mountain. There are a few views here and there, but the trail is really non-rememberable compared to the rest of the hike. The trail descends minimally from Upper Wolfjaw before climbing up Armstrong Mountain. There are quite a few 15-30 foot ascents up mini rock walls and cliffs on the way from Lower Wolfjaw to Armstrong. Quite a few times I had to wedge my feet into the cracks of the rock walls in order to gain a foothold to climb up these sections. Definitely a lot tougher than I imagined it would be, and this section kept me interested while climbing these below tree-line peaks.These multiple scrambles were a bit tricky as I was nursing a sprained wrist, bruised shin, and a strained groin. I am soo accident prone.
I made it over to the Gothics summit just around noon time. This was the half way point in my hike, a little over 8 miles into the journey. From the peak, there are great views along the ridgeline to Saddleback, Skylight, and Marcy, plus many other 46'er peaks. I had read a few reports the prior night about the cables strung along the route up to Gothics over the steep sheer rocks, but it turns out that I did not hit up that trail section. I guess it must be on the way north to Marcy. I thought about heading north to Saddleback to grab another 46'er or two, but I decided instead to head back down the valley towards Pyramid and Sawteeth.
The trail dops off steeply from Gothics, and then ascends a little ways up to Pyramid Mt. I stoppped at the top and took quite a few pictures of the beautiful slides and sheer exposed rock that was all around the surrounding peaks. I soaked in the view, it's not often that my neck snaps back and my jaw drops open.
The trail drops a mile down from Gothics to the junction of Sawteeth MT. I climbed Sawteeth next, only a minimal 500 foot ascent, and was treated to some nice views of Lower Au Sable Lake during the three mile descent down to the head of the lake.
I took the West River trail down the valley for about a mile until I got to a nice water fall. I think it was the Beaver Meadows Falls....maybe???
I took a quick shower in the falls and then headed back down the Lake road for the last several miles. I arrived back at my car around 4. It was a really nice trek, about 16-17 miles, somewhere around 4500 or 5000 vertical and about 8 hours. I climbed 5 new 46'ers and enjoyed a nice summers day. On an excellent sidenote, all of the road signs were in their correct place on the way home, and I shaved 15 miles off the morning drive. Great day for Dak attack Number 3. What an awesome area, I can't wait to go back.
pics
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