Ed'n Lauky
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With a delegation of Swiss Rotarians coming into the area next week I was asked to scout out a trail that would be interesting but would not involve much snow, as they would not be coming with any winter equipment. Immediately Mt. Chocorua came to mind. So Saturday morning Duffy and I set out to check out the Liberty trail.
What a day it turned out to be. The trail is more or less clear of snow all the way to the top. There are a couple of patches of snow just below the cabin, but they didn’t amount to much. There were numerous places on the way up to the cabin that were wet. In fact in some places you seemed to be walking up the middle of the stream. The water wasn’t deep though and it didn’t present much of a difficulty.
Above the Cabin the trail was clear of snow and also thankfully the ledges were relatively dry. It was a gorgeous day. The views Saturday were awesome, spectacular, whatever word you pick it won’t be adequate. There was very little wind at the top and it was a temptation to just sit there on the rocks and soak up the sun. As always, on a day like that, the top was full of hikers.
I talked with a number of folks who had come up the Champney Falls trail. They were all complaining about the snow on the upper end of the trail below the tree line. The southwest trails definitely have the advantage at this time of year.
On the way down I decided to try out the Brook trail. Why I did it I don’t know except that it just wouldn’t be a hike if I didn’t do something stupid.
The open ledges on the Brook trail below the Liberty trail were covered with running water and were very slick. Some of the wet portions I did by going down backwards. Some I did in an only slightly controlled butt slide. As the ledges narrowed I was able to grab trees and roots and whatever stuck out. I can testify that this definitely is not the trail of choice in a rain storm. Duffy on the other hand negotiated the ledges without the slightest problem. When it comes down to it there is nothing like four paw drive with built in crampons.
On what turned out to be the last real difficult portion I grabbed a tree and started down. My feet suddenly flew straight out. The tree bent over double, stripped me of my hat and sweat band and deposited me on my butt on the muddy ground below the ledge. I checked myself over—still in one piece. I picked up my sweat band and hat put them on and headed on down. A few minutes later I realized I was no longer wearing my glasses.
There was only one place the glasses could be so I headed back up the trail. When I reached the spot where I had fallen I looked all over but couldn’t find them anywhere. Then I looked up. There, about seven feet up in a tree were my glasses perched on a limb. Luck was still with me I guess.
Right after that I met a group of about twenty middle school kids heading up. Thay had intended to go up the Liberty trail but had gotten on the Brook trail by accident. I sure hope they made it. I shared some beta with their leader as they continued on up.
The rest of the trip out was without difficulty and quite pretty actually as you crossed numerous streams and walked through woods that apparently had not been logged in a long time as the trees were quite large.
If the weather holds up, a week from Friday I’ll be heading back up the Liberty trail with the group from Switzerland. It should make for a really international day.
Here's a link to the pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/Boondeck/MtChocoura
What a day it turned out to be. The trail is more or less clear of snow all the way to the top. There are a couple of patches of snow just below the cabin, but they didn’t amount to much. There were numerous places on the way up to the cabin that were wet. In fact in some places you seemed to be walking up the middle of the stream. The water wasn’t deep though and it didn’t present much of a difficulty.
Above the Cabin the trail was clear of snow and also thankfully the ledges were relatively dry. It was a gorgeous day. The views Saturday were awesome, spectacular, whatever word you pick it won’t be adequate. There was very little wind at the top and it was a temptation to just sit there on the rocks and soak up the sun. As always, on a day like that, the top was full of hikers.
I talked with a number of folks who had come up the Champney Falls trail. They were all complaining about the snow on the upper end of the trail below the tree line. The southwest trails definitely have the advantage at this time of year.
On the way down I decided to try out the Brook trail. Why I did it I don’t know except that it just wouldn’t be a hike if I didn’t do something stupid.
The open ledges on the Brook trail below the Liberty trail were covered with running water and were very slick. Some of the wet portions I did by going down backwards. Some I did in an only slightly controlled butt slide. As the ledges narrowed I was able to grab trees and roots and whatever stuck out. I can testify that this definitely is not the trail of choice in a rain storm. Duffy on the other hand negotiated the ledges without the slightest problem. When it comes down to it there is nothing like four paw drive with built in crampons.
On what turned out to be the last real difficult portion I grabbed a tree and started down. My feet suddenly flew straight out. The tree bent over double, stripped me of my hat and sweat band and deposited me on my butt on the muddy ground below the ledge. I checked myself over—still in one piece. I picked up my sweat band and hat put them on and headed on down. A few minutes later I realized I was no longer wearing my glasses.
There was only one place the glasses could be so I headed back up the trail. When I reached the spot where I had fallen I looked all over but couldn’t find them anywhere. Then I looked up. There, about seven feet up in a tree were my glasses perched on a limb. Luck was still with me I guess.
Right after that I met a group of about twenty middle school kids heading up. Thay had intended to go up the Liberty trail but had gotten on the Brook trail by accident. I sure hope they made it. I shared some beta with their leader as they continued on up.
The rest of the trip out was without difficulty and quite pretty actually as you crossed numerous streams and walked through woods that apparently had not been logged in a long time as the trees were quite large.
If the weather holds up, a week from Friday I’ll be heading back up the Liberty trail with the group from Switzerland. It should make for a really international day.
Here's a link to the pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/Boondeck/MtChocoura
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