"Pierceing" Blue Skies on Pierce 9/11

[grouseking]

My friend Brian and I had no idea where to hike....I bounced ideas off him and he was cool with all of them...like Moosilauke, Percy Peaks, Moriah, Hale, Adams, Chocoura, Mt Shaw, Morgan and Percivals....quite an array of different peaks. Then Saturday morning my friend Lynn called me and asked if I wanted to hike Pierce. Well, that made the decision easy! I had already hiked it twice before, but not on a clear day. Plus Brian brought his new golden retriever puppy along for the hike.

Look at that face.

As you may guess, we were the most popular people on the trail this day!

We had a late start unfortunately, so we ended up missing the Flags on the 48 flag. Too bad really...I was hoping to get a few good pics of it. But no matter, it wasn't going to ruin our day. Off we went up the Crawford Path, on such a gorgeous day..sunshine blue skies light winds, and perfect temperatures. Even the view from the trailhead was worth the trip up to the Whites.

And those blue skies

Gibbs Falls

Now, getting towards treeline. The view of the Presidentials is just awe inspiring from here.

Cloud Streets

one of the clearest shots down to the hotel i have ever been able to get

By the time we got above treeline, the poor pup was tuckered out.

Doggie and master

just before the actual summit, you get one of those 100 mile views

cont in a min

 

[grouseking]

part 2

Now at the top, time for Hunter to sleep some more.

Hiker heading to the top

views...oh what views

Good friends enjoying a great hike

now heading towards the hut, different views, equally as spectacular.

this is prob my fav view out of all, cause we are looking towards Carrigain

looking over towards the Davis Path...this pic kind of reminds me of what Shenendoah Natl Park looks like, with the long ridge and lower peaks beyond

then we went down to Mizpah Hut, where the dog took another 40 min or so nap...good place to do so. After this we decided to head on down to the trailhead, but took a slight detour up to Crawford Cliff near the bottom. The detour proved to be much steeper than we imagined, in fact it was the steepest part of the entire hike!! Still, the view was great, despite the sun being in perhaps the worst possible spot.

The delirious look on Hunter's face means its time to head down.

Hope you enjoyed the report and pics.
http://grouseking.smugmug.com/New-Hampshire/2010/9-11-10-Mt-Pierce/13735802_UtfEg#1004461150_CgPaK

 

[1HappyHiker]

Phil, you picked a beautiful day for a hike and were rewarded with excellent views which you did a great job of capturing in your photos.
And besides the mountain vistas, you did a great job of getting some terrific photos of the puppy that accompanied you on the hike. Your snapshot below is a perfect portrayal of the adjective of "dog-tired"!

By the time we got above treeline, the poor pup was tuckered out.

 

[NeoAkela]

Beautiful photos! Looks like the puppy had a good time, too! What a day for a hike above treeline!

 

[grouseking]

Phil, you picked a beautiful day for a hike and were rewarded with excellent views which you did a great job of capturing in your photos.
And besides the mountain vistas, you did a great job of getting some terrific photos of the puppy that accompanied you on the hike. Your snapshot below is a perfect portrayal of the adjective of "dog-tired"!

Thanks John, as usual, It was amazing. The past two times I was up there, were completely different...blizzard once, and a thick bucket of haze the other time. So I was thinking...how great could the views actually be? Well...wow...amazing. Next time I want a clear winter day with new fresh rime or snow.

I kind of felt bad for the puppy because he was dog tired, and I'm pretty sure most spend the entire day sleeping anyways. He was a great sport about it, and definitely enjoyed his trek with us, but it looked like he had narcolepsy with all the sleeping he was doing. See?

Beautiful photos! Looks like the puppy had a good time, too! What a day for a hike above treeline!

Like I said above, he def had a great time, and I know that before too long he'll be bounding the whole way up, looking around , and waiting for us. I even saw him checking out the views, which is good!
grouseking

 

[The Unstrung Harp]

Love the pics. Dude, seriously, that pup is insanely cute. I am sure he will fondly remember his first big climb for the rest of his doggy life.

 

[hikes-with-him]

Oh MY GAWD!! How adorable!!!

Pierce is a really nice summit...and a great hike!!

I have heard that you should wait a year before starting a pup on hiking...guess not? Or is it breed dependent?

 

[PETCH]

Beautiful pics, and cute puppy!

Petch

 

[Jimmy Legs and Little D]

Phil,
You couldn't have asked for a better day. Gorgeous photos and the puppy photos; simply adorable. As babies do, puppies need plenty of rest too. How old is Hunter?

Donna

 

[grouseking]

Love the pics. Dude, seriously, that pup is insanely cute. I am sure he will fondly remember his first big climb for the rest of his doggy life.

It is the cutest dog I've seen, seriously. Everything he did was cute...walking, whimpering, snoring, everything.

Oh MY GAWD!! How adorable!!!

Pierce is a really nice summit...and a great hike!!

I have heard that you should wait a year before starting a pup on hiking...guess not? Or is it breed dependent?

Yeah I heard that somewhere...it isnt my dog, but my hiking buddy couldn't leave him alone for the entire day, so he decided to bring him along. You could see the utter exhaustion along the way, but he did such a great job! He was even dragging his owner along at some points, esp going down hill.

Beautiful pics, and cute puppy!

Petch

Thanks Petch!

Phil,
You couldn't have asked for a better day. Gorgeous photos and the puppy photos; simply adorable. As babies do, puppies need plenty of rest too. How old is Hunter?

Donna

Hunter is 8 weeks. He got plenty of sleep on the way up to the trailhead, throughout the actual trip, and especially on the way home. I did feel kind of bad cause he must have been dying, but he took it like a champ. Poor guy.

 

[Zimmer]

I have heard that you should wait a year before starting a pup on hiking...guess not? Or is it breed dependent?

I recall reading this here a few years back, so when we had a new pup, then five months old, a few years ago and I had him at the vet (in the Whites), I told the vet that we were going to wait until the following summer to take him hiking. The vet looked at me with confusion and asked me why. I told him that I thought I had heard that younger pups weren't supposed to hike -- maybe because of hips, though I couldn't recall exactly -- and he said he'd never heard that before and told me by all means to take him with me.

 

[TMax]

Hiker heading to the top

Jerry Garcia lives!
(nice pics and report)