BIGEarl
Well-known member
September 20, 2013: Ice Gulch Loop - CCW
Trails: Ice Gulch Path, Cook Path, Boothman Spring Cutoff
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
I don’t know the history of the trail but I’m pretty sure the person that decided to run a trail through Ice Gulch must have had an interesting sense of humor (some might describe it as twisted). I’m not complaining – a scramble of that distance is unusual, and lots of fun.
Our plan for the day was mainly to go snowman hunting, and if there was time remaining we could head to another hike on the September list. Sue has built a snowman in eleven of the twelve months and has only September remaining to complete the frozen twelve. Sue decided Ice Gulch was probably a good place to fill her September vacancy and we set a plan for a little snowman hunting there.
We both studied the information available in the White Mountain Guide and in various on-line postings and decided to hike the Ice Gulch loop in a counter-clockwise direction. From the standpoint of elevation it makes no difference; the road walk between the starting and ending trailheads is a level section of Randolph Hill Road. The White Mountain Guide recommends ascending through Ice Gulch, and that was the choice we went with.
We located the trailhead for Ice Gulch Path, which is roughly 1.2 miles from Route 2 on Randolph Hill Road. There we found a sign directing us to park on the opposite side of the road. We pulled in, grabbed our things, and started our snowman hunting adventure.
Ice Gulch Path is a very pleasant trail, for a while. The trail wanders through some great sections of hardwood which is probably a beautiful place in full color. There is some mud, but not a lot and it’s all relatively easy to get past with clean boots. The stream crossings are easy rock hops. Eventually we reached the landmark identified as the “Marked Birch”. Soon after this point in the adventure, the trail pitched down off a ridge to a stream, made a left heading upstream, and we were on a direct route to Ice Gulch. As we worked our way along the stream, which I believe is output from Fairy Spring, we crossed from one side to the other multiple times. Eventually, we passed the marker for Fairy Spring and the conditions became drier. We also soon entered Ice Gulch.
This place is littered with granite blocks of all shapes, most much larger than a Volkswagen. They all seemed to have one thing in common; treacherous footing. In the bottom of the gulch the air is cool, as the warmer air moved in a great amount of condensation seemed to form on the surfaces of the rocks resulting in a very slippery surface condition. Many of the boulders are also moss-covered making things even more interesting. In many cases, the gaps between the rocks were much deeper than we were tall. It was definitely a place that required complete attention and respect. Fortunately, we were hunting for a snowman we heard might be hiding there and were in no real rush to reach the upper end of Ice Gulch; not without first punching Sue’s September Snowman Ticket of course.
The first third of Ice Gulch is sheltered from the sun. We were constantly working across, over, and around moss-covered boulders. At the same time we were carefully searching underneath the boulders for ice. Eventually we found ourselves in a section of Ice Gulch that was generally open and getting full exposure to the sun. Certainly, this area wouldn’t have what we were after but we kept searching, just in case. We cleared this sunny section and went back into covered conditions. I believe we were at the upper third of the trail through Ice Gulch, again working with moss-covered granite blocks and boulders, when the terrain dropped a little. This small drop caused the trail to be sheltered from even the early morning sun. There we found much cooler conditions, and ice.
The first discovery could be seen but I’m not sure we could come up with a way to get to it. We kept looking and made a second discovery. It was better than the first but still not good enough. Even after trying to go to the opposite side of the boulder for better access it wasn’t very good. Then, we made a third discovery (third times a charm) and Sue went to work.
It didn’t take very long before Sue had harvested quite a pile of snowman body parts. Once there were adequate raw materials, Sue went to work on the final assembly of her friend. First the ice was converted to snow (sort of) and then it was balled and stacked. After the finishing touches of arms and facial features Sue had a September Snowman. We took the necessary pictures and were soon on our way through the final third of Ice Gulch.
This top section was possibly the most difficult. The climbs of the boulders became more significant, there was moss; wet, slippery moss everywhere. It was really an interesting challenge to find safe footing for the climb out. We were patient and carefully picked our routes through the boulders. I remembered the guidebook indicated the final .1 was very steep terrain. Yeah, I’d agree with that assessment; steep but no boulders or granite blocks to scramble past. The final .1 is actually trail-like leading to Cook Path.
We reached the junction with Cook Path and stopped for a short break. There we found the trail sign for Cook Path on the ground; some lag screws are needed for the repair. We set off for the trailhead via Boothman Spring Cutoff. The plan was to follow Cook Path and Boothman Spring Cutoff back to Randolph Hill Road. The walk to the trail junction was again an easy and very pleasant walk through sections of hardwoods. Along the way we found more mud than at the east end of Ice Gulch but still managed to get past all of it with little trouble. At Boothman Spring Cutoff we found the trails to be very well marked; we made the turn and headed for Randolph Hill Road as planned.
As we arrived to Randolph Hill Road the trail passes through some private property. We stayed on course and followed the driveway for the final walk to the road. When we reached Randolph Hill Road I noticed there was no trail sign. That seemed odd but I thought it was simply missing in action (souvenir collector possibly).
Then, as we were starting to leave the area I noticed a small notice by Randolph Mountain Club nailed to a large tree stating the Boothman Spring Cutoff was closed and indicated hikers should use Cook Path. One of those notices would be helpful back at the junction of Cook Path and Boothman Spring Cutoff.
We made the short ~.4 mile road walk back to the truck arriving a couple hours later than planned. Ice Gulch was far rougher than I think either of us expected.
A fun time for sure. And, Sue finished her Snowman list.
Thanks, Sue, for sharing the day with me, and for taking me hunting.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Ice Gulch Path, Cook Path, Boothman Spring Cutoff
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
I don’t know the history of the trail but I’m pretty sure the person that decided to run a trail through Ice Gulch must have had an interesting sense of humor (some might describe it as twisted). I’m not complaining – a scramble of that distance is unusual, and lots of fun.
Our plan for the day was mainly to go snowman hunting, and if there was time remaining we could head to another hike on the September list. Sue has built a snowman in eleven of the twelve months and has only September remaining to complete the frozen twelve. Sue decided Ice Gulch was probably a good place to fill her September vacancy and we set a plan for a little snowman hunting there.
We both studied the information available in the White Mountain Guide and in various on-line postings and decided to hike the Ice Gulch loop in a counter-clockwise direction. From the standpoint of elevation it makes no difference; the road walk between the starting and ending trailheads is a level section of Randolph Hill Road. The White Mountain Guide recommends ascending through Ice Gulch, and that was the choice we went with.
We located the trailhead for Ice Gulch Path, which is roughly 1.2 miles from Route 2 on Randolph Hill Road. There we found a sign directing us to park on the opposite side of the road. We pulled in, grabbed our things, and started our snowman hunting adventure.
Ice Gulch Path is a very pleasant trail, for a while. The trail wanders through some great sections of hardwood which is probably a beautiful place in full color. There is some mud, but not a lot and it’s all relatively easy to get past with clean boots. The stream crossings are easy rock hops. Eventually we reached the landmark identified as the “Marked Birch”. Soon after this point in the adventure, the trail pitched down off a ridge to a stream, made a left heading upstream, and we were on a direct route to Ice Gulch. As we worked our way along the stream, which I believe is output from Fairy Spring, we crossed from one side to the other multiple times. Eventually, we passed the marker for Fairy Spring and the conditions became drier. We also soon entered Ice Gulch.
This place is littered with granite blocks of all shapes, most much larger than a Volkswagen. They all seemed to have one thing in common; treacherous footing. In the bottom of the gulch the air is cool, as the warmer air moved in a great amount of condensation seemed to form on the surfaces of the rocks resulting in a very slippery surface condition. Many of the boulders are also moss-covered making things even more interesting. In many cases, the gaps between the rocks were much deeper than we were tall. It was definitely a place that required complete attention and respect. Fortunately, we were hunting for a snowman we heard might be hiding there and were in no real rush to reach the upper end of Ice Gulch; not without first punching Sue’s September Snowman Ticket of course.
The first third of Ice Gulch is sheltered from the sun. We were constantly working across, over, and around moss-covered boulders. At the same time we were carefully searching underneath the boulders for ice. Eventually we found ourselves in a section of Ice Gulch that was generally open and getting full exposure to the sun. Certainly, this area wouldn’t have what we were after but we kept searching, just in case. We cleared this sunny section and went back into covered conditions. I believe we were at the upper third of the trail through Ice Gulch, again working with moss-covered granite blocks and boulders, when the terrain dropped a little. This small drop caused the trail to be sheltered from even the early morning sun. There we found much cooler conditions, and ice.
The first discovery could be seen but I’m not sure we could come up with a way to get to it. We kept looking and made a second discovery. It was better than the first but still not good enough. Even after trying to go to the opposite side of the boulder for better access it wasn’t very good. Then, we made a third discovery (third times a charm) and Sue went to work.
It didn’t take very long before Sue had harvested quite a pile of snowman body parts. Once there were adequate raw materials, Sue went to work on the final assembly of her friend. First the ice was converted to snow (sort of) and then it was balled and stacked. After the finishing touches of arms and facial features Sue had a September Snowman. We took the necessary pictures and were soon on our way through the final third of Ice Gulch.
This top section was possibly the most difficult. The climbs of the boulders became more significant, there was moss; wet, slippery moss everywhere. It was really an interesting challenge to find safe footing for the climb out. We were patient and carefully picked our routes through the boulders. I remembered the guidebook indicated the final .1 was very steep terrain. Yeah, I’d agree with that assessment; steep but no boulders or granite blocks to scramble past. The final .1 is actually trail-like leading to Cook Path.
We reached the junction with Cook Path and stopped for a short break. There we found the trail sign for Cook Path on the ground; some lag screws are needed for the repair. We set off for the trailhead via Boothman Spring Cutoff. The plan was to follow Cook Path and Boothman Spring Cutoff back to Randolph Hill Road. The walk to the trail junction was again an easy and very pleasant walk through sections of hardwoods. Along the way we found more mud than at the east end of Ice Gulch but still managed to get past all of it with little trouble. At Boothman Spring Cutoff we found the trails to be very well marked; we made the turn and headed for Randolph Hill Road as planned.
As we arrived to Randolph Hill Road the trail passes through some private property. We stayed on course and followed the driveway for the final walk to the road. When we reached Randolph Hill Road I noticed there was no trail sign. That seemed odd but I thought it was simply missing in action (souvenir collector possibly).
Then, as we were starting to leave the area I noticed a small notice by Randolph Mountain Club nailed to a large tree stating the Boothman Spring Cutoff was closed and indicated hikers should use Cook Path. One of those notices would be helpful back at the junction of Cook Path and Boothman Spring Cutoff.
We made the short ~.4 mile road walk back to the truck arriving a couple hours later than planned. Ice Gulch was far rougher than I think either of us expected.
A fun time for sure. And, Sue finished her Snowman list.
Thanks, Sue, for sharing the day with me, and for taking me hunting.
Pictures will follow.
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