BIGEarl
Well-known member
January 12, 2013: Hale
Trails: North Twin Trail, Fire Warden’s Trail, and a couple herd paths.
Summits: Hale
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
After digging through my hiking records I zeroed in on some target hikes for the month. For various reasons Hale looked like a good one to start 2013. Sue and I haven’t hiked the abandoned Fire Warden’s Trail since last winter and decided it would be our approach for the day.
The forecast for the early part of the day wasn’t good and we planned a start time that would hopefully get us past the real wet overnight conditions. When we arrived to the end of Little River Road there was one other vehicle already there and another pulled in as we were starting out. The latest arrival was also headed to Mount Hale via Fire Warden’s Trail.
Before leaving the truck both Sue and I went with snowshoes. The conditions were warm and misty. Along with the overnight rain the trail most likely was very soft. Bare booting the hike would most likely cause a great deal of postholing damage to the trail. I was unable to locate recent reports of hikers using the Fire Warden’s Trail approach to Hale since the last storm and thought we might end up spending some time trail breaking. As it turned out, the trail was a terrific snowshoe track from the end of Little River Road all the way to the summit.
We crossed the bridge over Little River and followed the herd path to the summer trailhead at the end of Haystack Road. This initial warm-up had us very encouraged with the overall trail condition. The fellow that pulled in as we were leaving started out bare booting the hike and soon after passing us he stopped to get his snowshoes on. Good move!
We headed out North Twin Trail with the misty conditions slowly drying out. The day was warm and humid and it seemed we started out with the right layers for the conditions. At the first crossing of Little River the set of tracks we were following continued across but we continued on the herd path that follows the right bank of Little River. Soon we would make the turn onto Fire Warden’s Trail and start climbing.
When we reached the trail junction (N 44 13.547 W071 32.287, elevation 2205') the majority of traffic had followed Fire Warden’s Trail. The herd path leading to the later crossings of Little River and back onto the North Twin Trail was broken but there was no sign of recent traffic. We made the turn and started our climb.
Soon after starting up the Fire Warden’s Trail the trail surface was less solid. I decided it was time for a little more flotation and stopped to add the extension tails to my MSR snowshoes. Sue decided this was an ideal time for a snowman. I worked on my snowshoes and Sue worked on a snowman. Soon, the distraction was done and we were again ready to continue our climb. The lower part of the Fire Warden’s Trail is through a beautiful birch glade. There was a fair amount of sign that backcountry skiers had been in the area but they always crossed the trail without causing damage.
Eventually we made our way to the upper elevation of our climb and reached the conifers above the glades. By now the trees were pretty loaded with snow and the warm conditions had a fast melt underway. Hiking the conifers seemed like we were hiking in a rainstorm. We both added a waterproof layer to take care of staying dry for the remainder of the climb.
Toward the top of the climb is an area where views to The Presidentials are pretty nice but the overcast conditions limited these views. We stopped to enjoy the available scenery and soon continued to the summit.
As we arrived to the summit clearing we found three others already there. These guys came up via Hale Brook Trail. We visited for a while, got the usual summit pictures, shared some cookies, made our u-turn, and headed for the truck.
As we were descending through the conifers we met a group of friends. Delilah (one of the nicest canines on the trail) was out for a walk with Dennis, Amy, Bob, and Melissa (Delilah’s owner). What a terrific surprise to bump into this group! It’s been a while since we’ve seen any of these folks. Unfortunately, Delilah didn’t remember me from our last hike together and didn’t want to have a thing to do with me. Or, maybe she did remember me. We all stopped to visit for a while, in the conifers, in the simulated rainstorm, with all of us in rain gear. Soon, it was time to go; Dennis and the gang ascending – Sue and me descending.
A hundred feet in elevation down the mountain we bumped into another hiker. It was Red Oak. I’ve seen the name on-line but never met him. It was another very nice surprise. Again we stopped for a brief visit and the usual pictures. Soon, we were again on our exit hike.
The remainder of the hike to the truck went without any surprises. As we passed the snowman it was clear the warm conditions were not treating him very well. He was a little smaller than when we left, and leaning to the left. But, he still had his BIG smile. Nice work, Sue.
Before long we reached the truck, packed our things, and hit the highway south. The Fire Warden’s Trail is definitely a great approach to Mount Hale and at least for our hike the trail was in outstanding shape.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: North Twin Trail, Fire Warden’s Trail, and a couple herd paths.
Summits: Hale
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
After digging through my hiking records I zeroed in on some target hikes for the month. For various reasons Hale looked like a good one to start 2013. Sue and I haven’t hiked the abandoned Fire Warden’s Trail since last winter and decided it would be our approach for the day.
The forecast for the early part of the day wasn’t good and we planned a start time that would hopefully get us past the real wet overnight conditions. When we arrived to the end of Little River Road there was one other vehicle already there and another pulled in as we were starting out. The latest arrival was also headed to Mount Hale via Fire Warden’s Trail.
Before leaving the truck both Sue and I went with snowshoes. The conditions were warm and misty. Along with the overnight rain the trail most likely was very soft. Bare booting the hike would most likely cause a great deal of postholing damage to the trail. I was unable to locate recent reports of hikers using the Fire Warden’s Trail approach to Hale since the last storm and thought we might end up spending some time trail breaking. As it turned out, the trail was a terrific snowshoe track from the end of Little River Road all the way to the summit.
We crossed the bridge over Little River and followed the herd path to the summer trailhead at the end of Haystack Road. This initial warm-up had us very encouraged with the overall trail condition. The fellow that pulled in as we were leaving started out bare booting the hike and soon after passing us he stopped to get his snowshoes on. Good move!
We headed out North Twin Trail with the misty conditions slowly drying out. The day was warm and humid and it seemed we started out with the right layers for the conditions. At the first crossing of Little River the set of tracks we were following continued across but we continued on the herd path that follows the right bank of Little River. Soon we would make the turn onto Fire Warden’s Trail and start climbing.
When we reached the trail junction (N 44 13.547 W071 32.287, elevation 2205') the majority of traffic had followed Fire Warden’s Trail. The herd path leading to the later crossings of Little River and back onto the North Twin Trail was broken but there was no sign of recent traffic. We made the turn and started our climb.
Soon after starting up the Fire Warden’s Trail the trail surface was less solid. I decided it was time for a little more flotation and stopped to add the extension tails to my MSR snowshoes. Sue decided this was an ideal time for a snowman. I worked on my snowshoes and Sue worked on a snowman. Soon, the distraction was done and we were again ready to continue our climb. The lower part of the Fire Warden’s Trail is through a beautiful birch glade. There was a fair amount of sign that backcountry skiers had been in the area but they always crossed the trail without causing damage.
Eventually we made our way to the upper elevation of our climb and reached the conifers above the glades. By now the trees were pretty loaded with snow and the warm conditions had a fast melt underway. Hiking the conifers seemed like we were hiking in a rainstorm. We both added a waterproof layer to take care of staying dry for the remainder of the climb.
Toward the top of the climb is an area where views to The Presidentials are pretty nice but the overcast conditions limited these views. We stopped to enjoy the available scenery and soon continued to the summit.
As we arrived to the summit clearing we found three others already there. These guys came up via Hale Brook Trail. We visited for a while, got the usual summit pictures, shared some cookies, made our u-turn, and headed for the truck.
As we were descending through the conifers we met a group of friends. Delilah (one of the nicest canines on the trail) was out for a walk with Dennis, Amy, Bob, and Melissa (Delilah’s owner). What a terrific surprise to bump into this group! It’s been a while since we’ve seen any of these folks. Unfortunately, Delilah didn’t remember me from our last hike together and didn’t want to have a thing to do with me. Or, maybe she did remember me. We all stopped to visit for a while, in the conifers, in the simulated rainstorm, with all of us in rain gear. Soon, it was time to go; Dennis and the gang ascending – Sue and me descending.
A hundred feet in elevation down the mountain we bumped into another hiker. It was Red Oak. I’ve seen the name on-line but never met him. It was another very nice surprise. Again we stopped for a brief visit and the usual pictures. Soon, we were again on our exit hike.
The remainder of the hike to the truck went without any surprises. As we passed the snowman it was clear the warm conditions were not treating him very well. He was a little smaller than when we left, and leaning to the left. But, he still had his BIG smile. Nice work, Sue.
Before long we reached the truck, packed our things, and hit the highway south. The Fire Warden’s Trail is definitely a great approach to Mount Hale and at least for our hike the trail was in outstanding shape.
Pictures will follow.
