Kearsarge North Mountain, NH, 04/14/07
Kearsarge North Mountain, NH
Date Hiked: 04/14/07
Trails(s) Hiked: Kearsarge North Trail
Difficulty: Moderate
Conditions: Packed powder, slush
Originally, my intent was to ski Wildcat in the morning and hike Kearsarge North in the afternoon. I then made the mistake of laying down on my couch for a moment. Nonetheless, I was able to get my act together in time for a noon start for hiking.
Upon arriving at the trailhead, the sky was very cloudy and the parking lot was full. This is where a 4 wheel drive pick up comes in handy - you can park in a snowbank and not worry too much about it.
The trail was well packed by previous snowshoers and hikers, so I decided to hike it with just Stablicers. After snowshoeing for what seemed to be forever on Belknap Mountain the night before, I was glad to have a lighter load on my feet.
The beginning of the trail is rather flat - allowing me to do some jogging. Once the brook could be heard, things steepened up a bit - nothing too bad, however.
After just about an hour of hiking, things started to open up - isolated snow fields, lower evergreen growth, etc. In addition, the clouds moved out and it turned sunny. Near the summit, a northwestern view could be seen through the trees as the trail started to get steep in a few short bursts.
The summit fire tower is one of the nicer ones around - with the nearly bare summit, the one story high tower offers excellent views in all directions - and has a nice sized cab open to the public, as well as a wrap around deck.
Seeking my bag of trail mix, I realized my backpack was open...and gloves and winter hat were missing. Opps.
Trying to push myself to exhaustion, I decided to jog much of the way down. Near the very end of the trail, I was fortunate enough to discover my hat and gloves were hung up on trees by some hikers. A good end to a nice hike.
Kearsarge North Mountain, NH
Date Hiked: 04/14/07
Trails(s) Hiked: Kearsarge North Trail
Difficulty: Moderate
Conditions: Packed powder, slush
Originally, my intent was to ski Wildcat in the morning and hike Kearsarge North in the afternoon. I then made the mistake of laying down on my couch for a moment. Nonetheless, I was able to get my act together in time for a noon start for hiking.
Upon arriving at the trailhead, the sky was very cloudy and the parking lot was full. This is where a 4 wheel drive pick up comes in handy - you can park in a snowbank and not worry too much about it.
The trail was well packed by previous snowshoers and hikers, so I decided to hike it with just Stablicers. After snowshoeing for what seemed to be forever on Belknap Mountain the night before, I was glad to have a lighter load on my feet.
The beginning of the trail is rather flat - allowing me to do some jogging. Once the brook could be heard, things steepened up a bit - nothing too bad, however.
After just about an hour of hiking, things started to open up - isolated snow fields, lower evergreen growth, etc. In addition, the clouds moved out and it turned sunny. Near the summit, a northwestern view could be seen through the trees as the trail started to get steep in a few short bursts.
The summit fire tower is one of the nicer ones around - with the nearly bare summit, the one story high tower offers excellent views in all directions - and has a nice sized cab open to the public, as well as a wrap around deck.
Seeking my bag of trail mix, I realized my backpack was open...and gloves and winter hat were missing. Opps.
Trying to push myself to exhaustion, I decided to jog much of the way down. Near the very end of the trail, I was fortunate enough to discover my hat and gloves were hung up on trees by some hikers. A good end to a nice hike.
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