BIGEarl
Well-known member
March 15, 2014: Moosilauke
Trails: Glencliff Trail, Carriage Road
Summits: Moosilauke
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
In case there are others out there that have never checked; driving from the south to the Glencliff trailhead is 16 miles shorter if Route 25 from Plymouth is used instead of Routes 112/118 from Lincoln. Also, Route 118 is really rough in winter.
Northern New England was hit hard by a late winter storm on Wednesday and Thursday. I was pretty sure the trails would be unbroken and buried under deep snow. Based on various reports I was thinking the western side of Moosilauke (Glencliff Trail) would have less snow than Beaver Brook or Gorge Brook. The general new snow depth was roughly twelve inches with some big drifts up high.
We arrived to find a couple other vehicles in the lot. This was a good sign. Perhaps the trail is being broken out ahead of us. The first short section of trail leading to Hurricane Trail junction was in fact broken out and showed a snowshoe track – rough but broken. From Hurricane Trail, bare boot tracks continued for a short distance and then ended. From there we were hiking on unbroken trail for roughly half of Glencliff Trail.
Sue was in the lead and I was following with an alternating foot placement attempting to leave as good a track as two sets of snowshoes can create under the conditions. I believe the two of us were doing a pretty good job. The trail wasn’t packed but it was broken and smooth. As long as the barebooters stayed away there was a chance it could become a solid, smooth, late season snowshoe track to Carriage Road, and on to the summit. Our plan allowed for up to ~eleven hours completing the hike; and we definitely planned to complete the hike. Considering the trail-breaking assist we had on the early part of the trail and the overall lower amount of snow, we allowed for plenty of time.
We made it through the lower hardwoods and were starting into the upper-elevation conifers when a solo hiker and his canine friend came up. They were behind us for a while but eventually passed. We would see them a while later after their decision to call it a day after having trouble following the trail. That was an unfortunate call since they were relatively close to the junction with Carriage Road mid-way through the steep climb. A short distance later, a solo skier and his canine friend came up and passed us as well. Soon we also met them again having turned around at the treeline due to poor visibility.
The two of us kept at it with an alternating foot placement working to leave a good track. We were both on MSRs, I had my extension tails on. Neither of us had any traction problems on the climb; the MSRs did the job. Once we got into the steep section I also raised my heel lifts for a little additional assist. We reached the place where the trail leveled off, passed the end of the South Peak spur and met Carriage Road. We could see there had been some ski traffic on Carriage Road. There was no way to know how much traffic but we had a very nice trail to enjoy to the treeline.
At Carriage Road junction the wind had increased and the temperature seemed to have dropped. We pulled out additional layers, head gear, etc. Ready for the test waiting for us above the treeline we headed to the summit.
By the time we reached the treeline a thick cloud layer was dropping fast. Visibility was way down. We left the scrub and worked our way along the trail to the summit. Visibility was very poor but we could usually see at least one cairn ahead. These navigation aids did their job. We had no trouble at all in finding the summit. Soon we were at the summit sign post and digging out the cameras for a couple pictures.
As we were going through the usual summit picture-taking formalities the wind suddenly and significantly increased. It didn’t take long for either of us to decide it was time to leave. All it took was a mutual glance at each other and I think we both knew what the other was thinking. We both turned and started for the exit.
The exit hike went quickly back to the treeline. Soon we were in the shelter of the short trees along Carriage Road and then back on Glencliff Trail. As we descended we also dropped out of the wind. On our way to the trailhead we met a group of four ascending, leapfrogged a pair descending (they also were unable to summit), and Sue found a large snowman hanging on the side of the trail. After leaving the snowman, the rain started to fall. It was nothing significant at first but by the time we were packed and ready to leave the trailhead the rain was increasing and getting into the truck was our main objective.
Soon we were on the highway south. Good day.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Glencliff Trail, Carriage Road
Summits: Moosilauke
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
In case there are others out there that have never checked; driving from the south to the Glencliff trailhead is 16 miles shorter if Route 25 from Plymouth is used instead of Routes 112/118 from Lincoln. Also, Route 118 is really rough in winter.
Northern New England was hit hard by a late winter storm on Wednesday and Thursday. I was pretty sure the trails would be unbroken and buried under deep snow. Based on various reports I was thinking the western side of Moosilauke (Glencliff Trail) would have less snow than Beaver Brook or Gorge Brook. The general new snow depth was roughly twelve inches with some big drifts up high.
We arrived to find a couple other vehicles in the lot. This was a good sign. Perhaps the trail is being broken out ahead of us. The first short section of trail leading to Hurricane Trail junction was in fact broken out and showed a snowshoe track – rough but broken. From Hurricane Trail, bare boot tracks continued for a short distance and then ended. From there we were hiking on unbroken trail for roughly half of Glencliff Trail.
Sue was in the lead and I was following with an alternating foot placement attempting to leave as good a track as two sets of snowshoes can create under the conditions. I believe the two of us were doing a pretty good job. The trail wasn’t packed but it was broken and smooth. As long as the barebooters stayed away there was a chance it could become a solid, smooth, late season snowshoe track to Carriage Road, and on to the summit. Our plan allowed for up to ~eleven hours completing the hike; and we definitely planned to complete the hike. Considering the trail-breaking assist we had on the early part of the trail and the overall lower amount of snow, we allowed for plenty of time.
We made it through the lower hardwoods and were starting into the upper-elevation conifers when a solo hiker and his canine friend came up. They were behind us for a while but eventually passed. We would see them a while later after their decision to call it a day after having trouble following the trail. That was an unfortunate call since they were relatively close to the junction with Carriage Road mid-way through the steep climb. A short distance later, a solo skier and his canine friend came up and passed us as well. Soon we also met them again having turned around at the treeline due to poor visibility.
The two of us kept at it with an alternating foot placement working to leave a good track. We were both on MSRs, I had my extension tails on. Neither of us had any traction problems on the climb; the MSRs did the job. Once we got into the steep section I also raised my heel lifts for a little additional assist. We reached the place where the trail leveled off, passed the end of the South Peak spur and met Carriage Road. We could see there had been some ski traffic on Carriage Road. There was no way to know how much traffic but we had a very nice trail to enjoy to the treeline.
At Carriage Road junction the wind had increased and the temperature seemed to have dropped. We pulled out additional layers, head gear, etc. Ready for the test waiting for us above the treeline we headed to the summit.
By the time we reached the treeline a thick cloud layer was dropping fast. Visibility was way down. We left the scrub and worked our way along the trail to the summit. Visibility was very poor but we could usually see at least one cairn ahead. These navigation aids did their job. We had no trouble at all in finding the summit. Soon we were at the summit sign post and digging out the cameras for a couple pictures.
As we were going through the usual summit picture-taking formalities the wind suddenly and significantly increased. It didn’t take long for either of us to decide it was time to leave. All it took was a mutual glance at each other and I think we both knew what the other was thinking. We both turned and started for the exit.
The exit hike went quickly back to the treeline. Soon we were in the shelter of the short trees along Carriage Road and then back on Glencliff Trail. As we descended we also dropped out of the wind. On our way to the trailhead we met a group of four ascending, leapfrogged a pair descending (they also were unable to summit), and Sue found a large snowman hanging on the side of the trail. After leaving the snowman, the rain started to fall. It was nothing significant at first but by the time we were packed and ready to leave the trailhead the rain was increasing and getting into the truck was our main objective.
Soon we were on the highway south. Good day.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
