Silverfox
New member
Trail Conditions: Benton Trail..initial crossing a little high but doable with wet shoes..lower trail leaf covered but not particularly slippery.. Much running water on the trail above the lower outlook to the spring area..Good footing from the Beaver Brook Jct to summit though winds and rime ice had you picking your way. Above treeline summit area cloaked in blowing fog and rime ice..spectacular..35 degrees, 25 mph winds at summit
Equipment..not quite ready for traction here but soon..other than that shells and fleece..gloves and hat..hot fluids felt good at break time..pole helped on brook crossing
Comments..Original plan was for Ike/Munroe but forcast sounded a bit iffy so we opted for somewhat sheltered Benton Trail on Moosilauke. I worried about the brook crossing due to yesterdays downpours but it was no problem and we made quick time to the fogged in viewpoint over a bed of fallen leaves. Quite a bit of water running down the trail above there..spent some time playing water engineer and emptied out a few puddles and blocked waterbars.
As we climbed the wind picked up..we stopped to layer up at the Beaver Brook Jct and were soon passing through ice coated conifers..Once breaking free of the trees all the grass and rocks had a coating of ice though the trail itself felt safe without traction and we followed the cairns through the blowing fog..
No reason to linger at the summit today..socked in and after snapping photos along the way we soon dropped out of the wind and snacked a bit. The descent was a bit slower as the wet rocks and leaves seemed to get more slippy on the descent.. At the lookout , ridges in the distance glowed orange through the fog ..it is indeed peak foliage in the Kinsman Notch area..this would be a great trail on a sunny day over the weekend..enjoy..
Enjoyed a brief chat with Steve Smith at the mountain Wanderer and Chuck at Lahouts and then relaxed as Grumpygran sped down 93 leaving me to admire the brilliant foliage...Excellent day out
some mundane pics at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverfox777/sets/7215762254530170/
Equipment..not quite ready for traction here but soon..other than that shells and fleece..gloves and hat..hot fluids felt good at break time..pole helped on brook crossing
Comments..Original plan was for Ike/Munroe but forcast sounded a bit iffy so we opted for somewhat sheltered Benton Trail on Moosilauke. I worried about the brook crossing due to yesterdays downpours but it was no problem and we made quick time to the fogged in viewpoint over a bed of fallen leaves. Quite a bit of water running down the trail above there..spent some time playing water engineer and emptied out a few puddles and blocked waterbars.
As we climbed the wind picked up..we stopped to layer up at the Beaver Brook Jct and were soon passing through ice coated conifers..Once breaking free of the trees all the grass and rocks had a coating of ice though the trail itself felt safe without traction and we followed the cairns through the blowing fog..
No reason to linger at the summit today..socked in and after snapping photos along the way we soon dropped out of the wind and snacked a bit. The descent was a bit slower as the wet rocks and leaves seemed to get more slippy on the descent.. At the lookout , ridges in the distance glowed orange through the fog ..it is indeed peak foliage in the Kinsman Notch area..this would be a great trail on a sunny day over the weekend..enjoy..
Enjoyed a brief chat with Steve Smith at the mountain Wanderer and Chuck at Lahouts and then relaxed as Grumpygran sped down 93 leaving me to admire the brilliant foliage...Excellent day out
some mundane pics at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverfox777/sets/7215762254530170/
