WeRmudfun
New member
We took the pup up Mount Isolation for her 18th 4000 Footer. The day was beautiful and clear with temps in the mid 30’s. We got to the Rocky Branch Trailhead at 7:30 and commenced the hike at 7:45 wearing Hillsounds. Like most winter trails, it looked as though someone went up it with a snowblower and made a nice path. We didn’t even make it 0.1 mile before switching over to snowshoes as the snow got very soft.
The Rocky Branch Trail doesn’t take long before it become a constant ‘UP’, nothing extreme though. After the first 2 miles or so it levels out and we were able to catch our breath. At 2.8 miles we entered the Presidential Range Dry River Wilderness and shortly after that we came to the bushwhack.
The bushwhack was easy to follow through the Birch Glades. It was a pretty area to walk through. When we came down from the height of the land the trail sort of zig zagged through the woods along the Isolation Trail. This whack did not follow the normal path, we researched and found that the creator of this one came back down early to avoid the spruce traps. It was a nice interesting trail to follow.
Once we were brought to the Isolation Trail we followed along the Rocky Branch. The runoffs draining into the Rocky Branch, which the trail crosses, are very weak and a couple crushed from the hiker use yesterday (just word to the wise if you plan to head up there). The snow bridge across the actual branch itself was still holding.
At some point we ended up on the Davis Path a lot closer to Mt Isolation then we expected. It was a much shorter, but tiresome hike to the spur path up to the summit. The spur path does have a sign at the present time, but we don’t expect it to last. The top of the spur path is a challenge. The pup had no problem getting up it, but we had to use the assistance of trees to help us get up.
Once on the summit the GPS showed that there is no mileage saved using the current bushwhack, not that it matters though. We thank all those who came before us and plot it out. The views were awesome and there wasn’t even the normal haze that we are so used to seeing. There were very few clouds and it gave Mount Washington a unique look.
All in all it was a nice day and we made book time. Funny though it took us 6 ½ hours to reach the summit, but only 3 ½ back to the trailhead. We thought for sure that we would end using headlamps.
We posted a video for anyone who might be interested in seeing the days adventure or what the trail conditions were like. just click the link...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1AmGyNEUio&list=UUvonD5mWIH03yQY3eosLwcQ
The Rocky Branch Trail doesn’t take long before it become a constant ‘UP’, nothing extreme though. After the first 2 miles or so it levels out and we were able to catch our breath. At 2.8 miles we entered the Presidential Range Dry River Wilderness and shortly after that we came to the bushwhack.
The bushwhack was easy to follow through the Birch Glades. It was a pretty area to walk through. When we came down from the height of the land the trail sort of zig zagged through the woods along the Isolation Trail. This whack did not follow the normal path, we researched and found that the creator of this one came back down early to avoid the spruce traps. It was a nice interesting trail to follow.
Once we were brought to the Isolation Trail we followed along the Rocky Branch. The runoffs draining into the Rocky Branch, which the trail crosses, are very weak and a couple crushed from the hiker use yesterday (just word to the wise if you plan to head up there). The snow bridge across the actual branch itself was still holding.
At some point we ended up on the Davis Path a lot closer to Mt Isolation then we expected. It was a much shorter, but tiresome hike to the spur path up to the summit. The spur path does have a sign at the present time, but we don’t expect it to last. The top of the spur path is a challenge. The pup had no problem getting up it, but we had to use the assistance of trees to help us get up.
Once on the summit the GPS showed that there is no mileage saved using the current bushwhack, not that it matters though. We thank all those who came before us and plot it out. The views were awesome and there wasn’t even the normal haze that we are so used to seeing. There were very few clouds and it gave Mount Washington a unique look.
All in all it was a nice day and we made book time. Funny though it took us 6 ½ hours to reach the summit, but only 3 ½ back to the trailhead. We thought for sure that we would end using headlamps.
We posted a video for anyone who might be interested in seeing the days adventure or what the trail conditions were like. just click the link...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1AmGyNEUio&list=UUvonD5mWIH03yQY3eosLwcQ
