The plan for my second trip in my tour of the White Mountain 4000 footers was similar to my previous trip, drive/hike on days 1 and 4 and hike on days 2 and 3. It worked and I lucked out with great weather, if only a little too warm and humid.
Aug. 5. South Twin, North Twin, Galehead, Garfield. This is another trip chosen for the driving day because the trailhead is near I-93 north of Franconia Notch. Leaving home very early allowed me start the hike at 9:00. This hike is a partial loop and I started with a road walk from the Garfield to Gale River trailheads. In a nutshell--I went up the Gale River trail, past the Galehead hut, up the steep 0.8 mile climb to South Twin, over to North Twin and back, down to the hut, up the 11 minute climb to mighty Galehead, back to the hut, climbed the ups and downs on the AT to the summit of Garfield, then descended the nice Garfield trail back to the trailhead. Besides meeting Onaclearday on the Twins ridge—nicetomeetya-- the highlight of the trip was hearing strange noises coming from the old foundation on top of Garfield. I saw a young couple with a 2-year old child in a winter playsuit and a little dog; they were having a great time in this makeshift playpen out of the wind.
Aug. 6. Isolation; East Osceola, Osceola. This is a strange combination of peaks with a long drive in-between. Isolation is a “loner” (doesn’t combine well with other peaks) and I still had the Osceolas to do from the Kancamagus highway, left over from my previous trip. For the first time, I took the usual Rocky Branch approach following the trail all the way. I had considered the Engine Hill bushwhack (as I did last winter, which saves at least a mile) but decided not because of the wet conditions after the rain the night before. Thoughts of Kerry and her unfortunate broken arm on this hike last month kept me extra careful. I had the summit all to myself and the view was nice but the clouds still clung to the higher peaks of the Presidentials. Back to the car I had what in peakbagging vernacular is called a “driving lunch” on my way to the Greeley Ponds trailhead. The climb of East Osceola is steep and rocky most of the way, but I still like this approach. After a quick out-and-back to Osceola I was skidding down the rock and rubble to the trailhead. There was a USFS officer there taking photos of two cars. I first thought he was giving parking tickets but then saw that the side windows had been smashed out by thieves—in the middle of the afternoon at a busy trailhead right beside the highway. What nerve!
Aug. 7. Field, Willey, Tom; Carrigain. The first three are an easy loop from Crawford Notch where I was staying at the AMC Lodge. I guess I would say they are not very interesting, but still they are very popular with hikers. After a short drive down Rt 302, I was at the trailhead for Carrigain. Sawyer River road to the usual trailhead is repaired from Irene damage but the gate is still closed, adding another 1.9 miles each way. A mile or so of trail was being relocated by a USFS trail crew to the other side of the brook, evidently also because of Irene damage. On the climb I’m not sure what the problem was, but this hike seemed longer and harder than I remembered. Most of this trail is scattered irregular rocks, making footing difficult and annoying. My legs just seemed not to have any strength. When I looked back at the previous hike time, it was five minutes faster—duh. I did enjoy seeing the amusing contrasts of hiker groups, Hasidic Jewish boys in their longsleeve white shirts and early teen girls with colorful tight tank tops. But great to see them out there hiking.
Aug. 8. Cabot and Waumbek. These two peaks are good for driving days, being hard to combine with other peaks and not too difficult for worn out legs. Cabot is the northernmost 4000 footer and requires a longish drive to the trailhead on York Pond road. The trail up through Bunnell Notch is very nice; it too had some damage from Irene. The upper part of the trail is rocky like Carrigain but over more quickly. Driving between trailheads around lunch time is nice, just stop and have lunch on the way rather than eat trail food. The Starr King trail to Waumbek is very well graded and maintained with a nice ridge walk between Starr King peak (the nicer summit) and Waumbek. The latter’s summit is nothing to crow about, just say you’ve done it, turn around and head back.
So ends another nice trip to the Whites. Only 13 peaks this time but with similar mileage (81.9 miles) and ascent (26000 feet) to my previous trip. As for next time, let’s just say I will be moving east and higher. There are still more nice mountains to visit and explore.
Aug. 5. South Twin, North Twin, Galehead, Garfield. This is another trip chosen for the driving day because the trailhead is near I-93 north of Franconia Notch. Leaving home very early allowed me start the hike at 9:00. This hike is a partial loop and I started with a road walk from the Garfield to Gale River trailheads. In a nutshell--I went up the Gale River trail, past the Galehead hut, up the steep 0.8 mile climb to South Twin, over to North Twin and back, down to the hut, up the 11 minute climb to mighty Galehead, back to the hut, climbed the ups and downs on the AT to the summit of Garfield, then descended the nice Garfield trail back to the trailhead. Besides meeting Onaclearday on the Twins ridge—nicetomeetya-- the highlight of the trip was hearing strange noises coming from the old foundation on top of Garfield. I saw a young couple with a 2-year old child in a winter playsuit and a little dog; they were having a great time in this makeshift playpen out of the wind.
Aug. 6. Isolation; East Osceola, Osceola. This is a strange combination of peaks with a long drive in-between. Isolation is a “loner” (doesn’t combine well with other peaks) and I still had the Osceolas to do from the Kancamagus highway, left over from my previous trip. For the first time, I took the usual Rocky Branch approach following the trail all the way. I had considered the Engine Hill bushwhack (as I did last winter, which saves at least a mile) but decided not because of the wet conditions after the rain the night before. Thoughts of Kerry and her unfortunate broken arm on this hike last month kept me extra careful. I had the summit all to myself and the view was nice but the clouds still clung to the higher peaks of the Presidentials. Back to the car I had what in peakbagging vernacular is called a “driving lunch” on my way to the Greeley Ponds trailhead. The climb of East Osceola is steep and rocky most of the way, but I still like this approach. After a quick out-and-back to Osceola I was skidding down the rock and rubble to the trailhead. There was a USFS officer there taking photos of two cars. I first thought he was giving parking tickets but then saw that the side windows had been smashed out by thieves—in the middle of the afternoon at a busy trailhead right beside the highway. What nerve!
Aug. 7. Field, Willey, Tom; Carrigain. The first three are an easy loop from Crawford Notch where I was staying at the AMC Lodge. I guess I would say they are not very interesting, but still they are very popular with hikers. After a short drive down Rt 302, I was at the trailhead for Carrigain. Sawyer River road to the usual trailhead is repaired from Irene damage but the gate is still closed, adding another 1.9 miles each way. A mile or so of trail was being relocated by a USFS trail crew to the other side of the brook, evidently also because of Irene damage. On the climb I’m not sure what the problem was, but this hike seemed longer and harder than I remembered. Most of this trail is scattered irregular rocks, making footing difficult and annoying. My legs just seemed not to have any strength. When I looked back at the previous hike time, it was five minutes faster—duh. I did enjoy seeing the amusing contrasts of hiker groups, Hasidic Jewish boys in their longsleeve white shirts and early teen girls with colorful tight tank tops. But great to see them out there hiking.
Aug. 8. Cabot and Waumbek. These two peaks are good for driving days, being hard to combine with other peaks and not too difficult for worn out legs. Cabot is the northernmost 4000 footer and requires a longish drive to the trailhead on York Pond road. The trail up through Bunnell Notch is very nice; it too had some damage from Irene. The upper part of the trail is rocky like Carrigain but over more quickly. Driving between trailheads around lunch time is nice, just stop and have lunch on the way rather than eat trail food. The Starr King trail to Waumbek is very well graded and maintained with a nice ridge walk between Starr King peak (the nicer summit) and Waumbek. The latter’s summit is nothing to crow about, just say you’ve done it, turn around and head back.
So ends another nice trip to the Whites. Only 13 peaks this time but with similar mileage (81.9 miles) and ascent (26000 feet) to my previous trip. As for next time, let’s just say I will be moving east and higher. There are still more nice mountains to visit and explore.
