poison ivy
Well-known member
Two friends and I headed up Moosilauke on Saturday as a combination AT & 4K hike. We ended up with only half of our original group of six for this day hike… three bailed because of the weather forecast… but I’m sure Calley and Kevin will agree with me… the others missed a fantastic day. The hike up Moosilauke, ranks as my favorite White Mountain hike so far… beating out Jefferson which had previously held that spot.
We ended up getting the car spots done kind of late and didn’t end up on the trail until 11 a.m. We headed up the Town Line Trail, immediately crossing Oliverian Brook, which was a simple rock hop despite its billing as a dangerous ford. Although Kevin nearly took a swim when he dropped the apple he was in the midst of eating. He managed to catch it in his hands and then fell backwards, landing in a “crab walk” position without getting too wet. We cruised through the first two miles through beautiful fields of wildflowers. Though we could see the base of the mountain before us, the rain clouds were still swirling around the top.
The AT then follows the Glencliff trail, which doesn’t start out so bad… or at least it didn’t seem so. It may have been our discussions that distracted me from the difficulty though-- it was an amazing range of topics from politics and religion to medieval music and the Smurfs. However, the trail has a 3,700-foot ascent. The final mile up the Glencliff trail was unrelentingly steep and my calves were absolutely burning. I was thrilled to get to the junction with the Carriage Road for some easy ridge walking.
We were very lucky because the sun finally popped out of the clouds just as we got onto the ridge. During the last mile to the summit of Moosilauke, 4,802 feet, we could see the clouds racing over the summit. But by the time we got there, the skies had puffy clouds and we were treated to a phenomenal view. I had a mountain-identifying epiphany once Calley asked where Liberty was… I was finally actually able to get my bearings. We lounged on the summit for about 45 minutes in a spot sheltered from the wind but with the benefit of the sun. We even saw three snowshoe hares race through the nearby scrub.
The wind started picking up so we headed down, briefly following the Benton Trail until the AT turns off, following the Beaver Brook Trail down to Kinsman Notch -- a 2,900 foot descent. I have to say that the cascades that line Beaver Brook trail are gorgeous. That said, who the heck walked up there and thought “hey, that the pile of slippery, mossy rocks would make a great trail if we just drilled a whole bunch of triangular wooden steps onto them?” I cannot imagine being a SOBO AT hiker and having to climb up that way. I would have chuck my pack into the river and decided to forgo the thru-hike if I had to head up that way.
Okay, so you’re probably getting that the descent was kind of scary… over the wooden steps, hanging onto steel rungs. We all were moving very slow down the trail as a result, me even more so after I had a fairly painful fall. I was on the side of the trail and my feet slipped out from under me… a big slip… I think I was horizontal in the air before I crashed down on my right elbow and knees. Calley heard me fall (but didn’t see it) and yelled up asking whether I was ok. I just laughed and yelled “Medic!” I was a little scratched up but nothing was broken so it could have been a lot worse. Especially since we actually made it down all those crazy steps before the rain started at 7 p.m.-- we only had a quick 15 minutes shower as we finished up and made it to the car.
On the way back to Calley’s car, we saw a moose in the road -- the second one that both Kevin & I have seen. As the rain cleared up, we also were treated to a couple of rainbows as well. All in all, a fantastic hike and my 23rd four-thousand-footer in New Hampshire. (Both Calley & Kevin had already hiked this one before.)
Pictures are
here
-- Ivy
We ended up getting the car spots done kind of late and didn’t end up on the trail until 11 a.m. We headed up the Town Line Trail, immediately crossing Oliverian Brook, which was a simple rock hop despite its billing as a dangerous ford. Although Kevin nearly took a swim when he dropped the apple he was in the midst of eating. He managed to catch it in his hands and then fell backwards, landing in a “crab walk” position without getting too wet. We cruised through the first two miles through beautiful fields of wildflowers. Though we could see the base of the mountain before us, the rain clouds were still swirling around the top.
The AT then follows the Glencliff trail, which doesn’t start out so bad… or at least it didn’t seem so. It may have been our discussions that distracted me from the difficulty though-- it was an amazing range of topics from politics and religion to medieval music and the Smurfs. However, the trail has a 3,700-foot ascent. The final mile up the Glencliff trail was unrelentingly steep and my calves were absolutely burning. I was thrilled to get to the junction with the Carriage Road for some easy ridge walking.
We were very lucky because the sun finally popped out of the clouds just as we got onto the ridge. During the last mile to the summit of Moosilauke, 4,802 feet, we could see the clouds racing over the summit. But by the time we got there, the skies had puffy clouds and we were treated to a phenomenal view. I had a mountain-identifying epiphany once Calley asked where Liberty was… I was finally actually able to get my bearings. We lounged on the summit for about 45 minutes in a spot sheltered from the wind but with the benefit of the sun. We even saw three snowshoe hares race through the nearby scrub.
The wind started picking up so we headed down, briefly following the Benton Trail until the AT turns off, following the Beaver Brook Trail down to Kinsman Notch -- a 2,900 foot descent. I have to say that the cascades that line Beaver Brook trail are gorgeous. That said, who the heck walked up there and thought “hey, that the pile of slippery, mossy rocks would make a great trail if we just drilled a whole bunch of triangular wooden steps onto them?” I cannot imagine being a SOBO AT hiker and having to climb up that way. I would have chuck my pack into the river and decided to forgo the thru-hike if I had to head up that way.
Okay, so you’re probably getting that the descent was kind of scary… over the wooden steps, hanging onto steel rungs. We all were moving very slow down the trail as a result, me even more so after I had a fairly painful fall. I was on the side of the trail and my feet slipped out from under me… a big slip… I think I was horizontal in the air before I crashed down on my right elbow and knees. Calley heard me fall (but didn’t see it) and yelled up asking whether I was ok. I just laughed and yelled “Medic!” I was a little scratched up but nothing was broken so it could have been a lot worse. Especially since we actually made it down all those crazy steps before the rain started at 7 p.m.-- we only had a quick 15 minutes shower as we finished up and made it to the car.
On the way back to Calley’s car, we saw a moose in the road -- the second one that both Kevin & I have seen. As the rain cleared up, we also were treated to a couple of rainbows as well. All in all, a fantastic hike and my 23rd four-thousand-footer in New Hampshire. (Both Calley & Kevin had already hiked this one before.)
Pictures are
here
-- Ivy
