Mt. Chocorua and Middle Sister.

[sierra]

Took my usual route up Champney Falls trail, hit the summit than looped over Middle Sister and jumped on the MS cut-off to get back on the CFT. Stick season is upon us and it felt fantastic. Fast conditions, no snow, no ice and cool temps for my dog who cruised along at a nice pace. Gusty winds up high, I brought a girlfriend along and she got picked up a bit by a 45 mph gust halfway up the cone. She's pretty light and it just pushed her around, she immediately decided that that was it, it was a no go to summit. She is actually a pretty good hiker, she's almost done the 67, but she admits to being a "fair weather" hiker. I had promised her it was going to be a nice day the night before, I might have left out the wind speeds potential. I on the other hand am not a fair-weather hiker and it was a perfect day for me, not to mention the summit was 10 minutes away and I needed it for my 4th round. I told her that I couldn't leave her and that if she stayed with me, I could guarantee she would live. She reluctantly agreed and off we went to the summit. She touched the summit block and decided standing on it was completely unnecessary. Me and my dog climbed up enjoyed the breeze, took some photos and enjoyed unlimited visibility. WE all then tramped off to Middle Sister and had lunch. Beautiful day on this famous mountain.

 

[Grey J]

I did that exact route a few years ago and loved Chocorua. Now that's a summit that really feels like a summit. The view of the ridge leading up to the rocky summit from the col separating it from The Sisters is a magnificent shot (which I can't locate at present). We were not hiking the 52 WAV at the time but were still happy we made the side trip to Middle Sister to check out the ruins.

 

[DayTrip]

I did that exact route a few years ago and loved Chocorua. Now that's a summit that really feels like a summit. The view of the ridge leading up to the rocky summit from the col separating it from The Sisters is a magnificent shot (which I can't locate at present). We were not hiking the 52 WAV at the time but were still happy we made the side trip to Middle Sister to check out the ruins.

Calling JustJoe. Calling JustJoe. Come In. Over.

I'm sure JustJoe has 100 photos of the exact scene you describe but this was the best I could do. Having always seen it from the road I was surprised at how narrow it was. Was like a shark fin versus the pyramid shape it appears to be from the valleys. Very cool summit....

 

[sierra]

Calling JustJoe. Calling JustJoe. Come In. Over.

I'm sure JustJoe has 100 photos of the exact scene you describe but this was the best I could do. Having always seen it from the road I was surprised at how narrow it was. Was like a shark fin versus the pyramid shape it appears to be from the valleys. Very cool summit....
View attachment 7889

 

[Grey J]

Calling JustJoe. Calling JustJoe. Come In. Over.

I'm sure JustJoe has 100 photos of the exact scene you describe but this was the best I could do. Having always seen it from the road I was surprised at how narrow it was. Was like a shark fin versus the pyramid shape it appears to be from the valleys. Very cool summit....
View attachment 7889

That's the one. You nailed it so Joe can relax. I love that view and think it's one of the finest views of an approach to a summit that you will see anywhere. And yes, it's a totally different perspective from what you see from the valleys on either side, which are pretty good views in their own right. (the one from the south was used on the NH quarter, I think) Thanks for bailing me out with the actual photo.

 

[hikeritz]

Chocorua was my first NH peak, climbed 40 years ago with a friend following an all-night Twilight Zone marathon on TV ("What do we do now?" "Let's go hiking in NH!"). No idea where we were going, but we wound up at the White Mt. welcome center in Lincoln and picked up a map, showing Chororua at the other end of the map, with trails! We intended to take the Champney Falls trail but wound up on Bolles. We were sleep deprived and probably a bit stoned! Rather than turning back, we decided to bushwhack across to CFT and somehow actually made it. Summited Chocorua, then headed down the Piper trail. About halfway along the ridge, before Piper makes a sharp turn east and heads down, we jumped off the trail and went down into the drainage that leads down to Camp Penacook. Found a place to camp and crashed at last. Oh, to be young and stupid again!

 

[NH2112]

I did Middle Sister alone almost 7 years ago to the date (Nov 4 2017), we went up Piper Trail though. A week or 2 earlier there’d been some kind of strong storm (hurricane remnants? We’d climbed Eastman during it in ridiculous rain) and Piper had a few blowdowns that required taking your pack off, crawling under, and dragging your pack behind you. The tower remnants were a great place to get out of the wind and get the stove going for a hot meal.

A week later I hiked up Chocorua (via Piper/Weetamoo/Hammond/Liberty) in the dark to spend a night in Jim Liberty Cabin, that’s still probably my favorite hike ever on my favorite route. The hike down the next morning was under an almost perfect bluebird sky, the last pic is from that one.