rocksnrolls
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The plan was to bag 7 new summits on this day (4 Howks and 3 Adamses) - but things don't always work out according to plan, do they?
Heading to East Randolph I noticed that Appalachia was rapidly filling up. I was pleasantly surprised to arrive at an empty trailhead
at 9am on the nose. I quickly geared up and hit the trail. I was looking forward to checking out the various falls and rock formations that I had read about on the Howker Ridge Tr and they all lived up to my expectations.
Stairs Falls is very well named - it practically looks man-made. Coosauk Falls actually had quite a bit of water flowing over it, despite the guidebooks claim otherwise. The Devil's Kitchen is an awesome little gorge with great stone cliffs on both sides. People who know how much I love unusual rock formations won't be surprised that I spent some time checking this area out. I had just crossed the brook at the base of Hitchcock Falls and was soaking my hat in the cool water when I heard a voice behind me - ScenicNH had caught up with me. He had not been sure if he could make it today, but had gotten his work done early enough to ruin my hopes to solo bag a couple more 4Ks .
So on we climbed, taking our time, joking around and enjoying this beautiful trail. I like a trail with a bunch of ups-n-downs (at least when I'm not already exhausted) and this one had them in grand style! A couple scrambly spots where a little on the tricky side so they needed a little hands-on effort. We stopped to enjoy the views along the way and each Howk was a little different. I especially liked looking back at the previous Howk as we summited another. Thankfully the clouds weren't too bad yet so the views went on for many miles.
I can't remember where exactly along the trail that Death made it's visit, but here's what happened. It was on a relatively gentle section so I was just carrying my trekking poles. Suddenly, from out of a little hole in the ground a small mouse darted out and went right under my descending foot. Unable to stop myself in time, it was crushed under my boot . I watched as it twitched, hoping I hadn't killed it, but it soon stopped breathing and I knew it was a goner. Sorry little fella...
Anyway, we eventually reached the junction with the Pine Link and our first encounter with other hikers - a relaxing half dozen 20-somethings with the aroma of a certain herb in the air around them.
We continued our assault, summiting the final Howks and then the rock pile known as Mt Madison. Up on the summit the wind was blasting and the clouds were blowing in. We had layered up and I was glad to have brought extra warm clothes. We didn't spend any time on the peak, instead heading off to the south to get out of the wind and down to the hut.
We stopped for a short rest (and some lousy lemonade) at the hut before heading out to take the Star Lake Tr to Adams. Unfortunately the weather started to get worse as we headed past Star Lake. The rain wasn't too bad, but ScenicNH had been on this trail before and we knew that we had some tricky climbing ahead of us. I weighed several factors in my mind: we had some wet rock scrambles ahead of us, the storm was coming from the north so we wouldn't really see how bad it was getting until we hit the summit of Adams (forcasts included the possibility of thunderstorms), and this looked like the kind of trail I would really enjoy if I was able to take my time and really enjoy it. So the decision was made to retreat back to the hut and take one of my bailout routes. As we approached the hut first the weather calmed a bit but it soon truned even worse with driving, near-horizontal rain with some HAIL mixed in for effect. I was getting soaked and very cold but felt invigorated by the experience. We briefly stopped at the hut to layer up a little more and then headed down Valley Way.
From there we headed down the Lower Bruin, Watson Path, Brookside and Kelten Trails. The first three had some tricky short and steep sections, but we weren't in a hurry and took our time and were very careful. The Brookside is especially beautiful and I enjoyed stopping to check out Duck Falls and Salamacis Falls. It's too bad most people take the Valley Way instead of this trail.
The Kelton Tr was a pleasure after a long hike. Soft earth to walk on, a nice wide path and gentle grades (mostly). We stopped to enjoy the views from the Upper Inlook and Kelton Crag and were soon back on the Howker Ridge Tr and then back at our cars.
So, I didn't get over to the Adams peaks I had hoped for, but this was a great hike and an awesome time in the Northern Presis. Thanks to ScenicNH for joining me!
Heading to East Randolph I noticed that Appalachia was rapidly filling up. I was pleasantly surprised to arrive at an empty trailhead
at 9am on the nose. I quickly geared up and hit the trail. I was looking forward to checking out the various falls and rock formations that I had read about on the Howker Ridge Tr and they all lived up to my expectations.Stairs Falls is very well named - it practically looks man-made. Coosauk Falls actually had quite a bit of water flowing over it, despite the guidebooks claim otherwise. The Devil's Kitchen is an awesome little gorge with great stone cliffs on both sides. People who know how much I love unusual rock formations won't be surprised that I spent some time checking this area out. I had just crossed the brook at the base of Hitchcock Falls and was soaking my hat in the cool water when I heard a voice behind me - ScenicNH had caught up with me. He had not been sure if he could make it today, but had gotten his work done early enough to ruin my hopes to solo bag a couple more 4Ks
.So on we climbed, taking our time, joking around and enjoying this beautiful trail. I like a trail with a bunch of ups-n-downs (at least when I'm not already exhausted) and this one had them in grand style! A couple scrambly spots where a little on the tricky side so they needed a little hands-on effort. We stopped to enjoy the views along the way and each Howk was a little different. I especially liked looking back at the previous Howk as we summited another. Thankfully the clouds weren't too bad yet so the views went on for many miles.
I can't remember where exactly along the trail that Death made it's visit, but here's what happened. It was on a relatively gentle section so I was just carrying my trekking poles. Suddenly, from out of a little hole in the ground a small mouse darted out and went right under my descending foot. Unable to stop myself in time, it was crushed under my boot
. I watched as it twitched, hoping I hadn't killed it, but it soon stopped breathing and I knew it was a goner. Sorry little fella...Anyway, we eventually reached the junction with the Pine Link and our first encounter with other hikers - a relaxing half dozen 20-somethings with the aroma of a certain herb
in the air around them. We continued our assault, summiting the final Howks and then the rock pile known as Mt Madison. Up on the summit the wind was blasting and the clouds were blowing in. We had layered up and I was glad to have brought extra warm clothes. We didn't spend any time on the peak, instead heading off to the south to get out of the wind and down to the hut.
We stopped for a short rest (and some lousy lemonade) at the hut before heading out to take the Star Lake Tr to Adams. Unfortunately the weather started to get worse as we headed past Star Lake. The rain wasn't too bad, but ScenicNH had been on this trail before and we knew that we had some tricky climbing ahead of us. I weighed several factors in my mind: we had some wet rock scrambles ahead of us, the storm was coming from the north so we wouldn't really see how bad it was getting until we hit the summit of Adams (forcasts included the possibility of thunderstorms), and this looked like the kind of trail I would really enjoy if I was able to take my time and really enjoy it. So the decision was made to retreat back to the hut and take one of my bailout routes. As we approached the hut first the weather calmed a bit but it soon truned even worse with driving, near-horizontal rain with some HAIL mixed in for effect. I was getting soaked and very cold but felt invigorated by the experience. We briefly stopped at the hut to layer up a little more and then headed down Valley Way.
From there we headed down the Lower Bruin, Watson Path, Brookside and Kelten Trails. The first three had some tricky short and steep sections, but we weren't in a hurry and took our time and were very careful. The Brookside is especially beautiful and I enjoyed stopping to check out Duck Falls and Salamacis Falls. It's too bad most people take the Valley Way instead of this trail.
The Kelton Tr was a pleasure after a long hike. Soft earth to walk on, a nice wide path and gentle grades (mostly). We stopped to enjoy the views from the Upper Inlook and Kelton Crag and were soon back on the Howker Ridge Tr and then back at our cars.
So, I didn't get over to the Adams peaks I had hoped for, but this was a great hike and an awesome time in the Northern Presis. Thanks to ScenicNH for joining me!
