McRat
New member
The trip to the Osceolas, having lost an original partner, switched to a less difficult Moosilauke trip. Then at the last minute, my new partner backed out. Rain / possible T-storms predicted. But, hey... It's a day off for hiking, and I figured I'd try to bag the Moose.
After carrying the heavier pack, I was amazed how light and easy the daypack felt. I crossed the bridge and headed up to the Snapper trail. By the time I hit the Carriage road, it began misting to light showers. I took the run out to the south peak, but the view was limited to 100-200'. By the time I cleared the treeline, the visibility extended about as far as the second cairn.
Buffeted by stinging cold mist and wind, I walked among the clouds and arrived at the summit. I'm told the view is typically great here, so I tried imagining other peaks by compass reading, quickly deciding it was too wet and cold to contemplate such nonsense and hurried back down the Gorge Brook trail. The rest of the day was a nice walk in the woods with light showers. Everything is so GREEN even compared to a week ago, and any remaining snow posed no hinderance.
The trails seem well maintained and were completely cleared of blowdowns. I was impressed by the careful work for drainage control. My initial impression is a big thumbs up for to the Dartmouth Outing Club. Thanks for some nice trails, I suppose I will have to go back there on a better day. Please talk to the deer about the droppings on the carriage road - their commitment to LNT is sorely lacking.
Normally I'd feel a bit cheated on visiting a viewless open summit, but thank God for lists. Moosilauke became sweet sixteen for my NH48 this year. Another reassuring green pin in the map. 1/3rd done and feeling great about it. Even beat book time by 45 minutes, a rarity in and of itself!
After carrying the heavier pack, I was amazed how light and easy the daypack felt. I crossed the bridge and headed up to the Snapper trail. By the time I hit the Carriage road, it began misting to light showers. I took the run out to the south peak, but the view was limited to 100-200'. By the time I cleared the treeline, the visibility extended about as far as the second cairn.
Buffeted by stinging cold mist and wind, I walked among the clouds and arrived at the summit. I'm told the view is typically great here, so I tried imagining other peaks by compass reading, quickly deciding it was too wet and cold to contemplate such nonsense and hurried back down the Gorge Brook trail. The rest of the day was a nice walk in the woods with light showers. Everything is so GREEN even compared to a week ago, and any remaining snow posed no hinderance.
The trails seem well maintained and were completely cleared of blowdowns. I was impressed by the careful work for drainage control. My initial impression is a big thumbs up for to the Dartmouth Outing Club. Thanks for some nice trails, I suppose I will have to go back there on a better day. Please talk to the deer about the droppings on the carriage road - their commitment to LNT is sorely lacking.
Normally I'd feel a bit cheated on visiting a viewless open summit, but thank God for lists. Moosilauke became sweet sixteen for my NH48 this year. Another reassuring green pin in the map. 1/3rd done and feeling great about it. Even beat book time by 45 minutes, a rarity in and of itself!
