Mount Hale November 24th

[ImYourHuckleberry]

Hiked Mount Hale with a friend via N. Twin Trail and the Fire Wardens Trail on Sunday. The road was still open and there were several cars around when we parked. I think there were some hunters out and about as well as trucks were parked on the side of the road here and there on 3 and on Haystack Road.

There was a tiny bit of snow down low, and then perhaps 6" to 8" by the time we reached the summit. Never needed snowshoes or any traction either up or down. We were in and out in just over 3 hours. We saw about 6-8 other people headed up Wardens when we were on our way down.

It looked like Gale River Loop road was still open as well, at least on the one side where you can see the gate from route 3.

 

[Rhody Seth]

I enjoyed my hike up the Fire Wardens trail a few years ago. Definitely prefer it over the standard route up Hale.

 

[maineguy]

Mt Hale is a great little peak, but it's views have really degraded over the decades. I first climbed it in 67 or 68, can't remember, but the view was pretty spectacular. We did a day round trip from the Ethan Pond shelter. The firetower was still partially standing but it was not climbable. Too bad they didn't build a viewing platform there similar to what now exists on Carrigain. Of course, the same goes for Osceola.

 

[ImYourHuckleberry]

Mt Hale is a great little peak, but it's views have really degraded over the decades. I first climbed it in 67 or 68, can't remember, but the view was pretty spectacular. We did a day round trip from the Ethan Pond shelter. The firetower was still partially standing but it was not climbable. Too bad they didn't build a viewing platform there similar to what now exists on Carrigain. Of course, the same goes for Osceola.

Yes, there is really no view at all any more. I only first did this one a couple of years ago, so I never got to see the view you speak of. (I attempted it in the winter from Zealand Hut probably about 35 years ago, but if my memory is true, I turned back because I was out-of-shape.)

 

[maineguy]

This is what the view looked like in the mid to late 60s. It is a poor image, but the best I was able to do when copying a 57 year old slide.