buckyball1
New member
two very different hikes......
Another 2AM start-highlights of the drive included hearing the most annoying "public service jingle" in the world, "1-877 Kars 4 Kids" on the NY sports radio station i use to help stay awake--always played between 3 and 4 AM; just awful---- then having a huge moth land on my arm that given the dark and my early morning stupor felt like a vampire bat....anyway, west on Rt 95 and Rt 2, north on Rt 26 at Newry to Grafton Notch State Park just past Screw Auger Falls to
Sunday River Whitecap-3335'-The mountain is on the fairly recently completed western part of the Grafton Notch Loop Trail-i'm thinking the top is 6-7 miles one way from the western terminus on Rt 26 (over Bald Mt). I really didn't want that long slog if there was a shorter route -- looked as if there might be old logging roads/trail part way up to Whitecap from near Screw Auger Falls. DR (late of VFTT) and jt (bigmoose) helped me a lot with some great beta from their hike a year ago and confirmed ascent from near Screw Auger was feasible, actually pretty nice--huge thanks to them.
I turned in a dirt road just north of Screw Auger and found the gate open allowing me to drive in over a mile before parking (yeah). I had planned possible routes based on topos, sat pics and from DR/jt comments, but there were numerous possible start points up overgrown log roads. I heard there was a trail headed to Miles Notch (between Slide Mt and Whitecap Mt), but didn't see it leading from the dirt road. I picked a "likely" old log road and headed "up", overgrown and filled with briers, -- eventually intersected the old trail which was actually very well graded and easy to hike on. The "trail" was pretty heavily flagged here and there and i know all the flagging had been removed...must be a perennial and grew back this Spring
.
I followed the "trail" about 1/2 way to the height at which i'd intersect the new GNLoop and as the old trail swung right toward Miles Notch, i headed "left" into the woods which i'd been told were fairly open. It was easy going for Maine, made super time just heading "up" and soon crossed the new trail-just in time as the woods suddenly became more evergreens and some blowdown hell appeared.The GNLoop is a very nice piece of work; provides ability to gain elevation as quickly as you are able. Really glad for open woods on 'whack and good trail as i ascended about 1900' here. Once you break tree line (a good way from the summit), the trail is open and provides superb views.
This was the best/most fun hike i've had in a long time. The mountain rewarded good route choices. My "list" has peaks which can be a drag and you need to reach pretty far to say something nice about them (see Duck or Hedgehog recently). I hit the summit of Whitecap at 6:44- lots of 360 wide open rock (forgot how much i miss my fav type hikes-big, open rock up high). Stunning views in all directions- Puzzle, Long, Baldpates, Old Speck (the cliffs glowed in the early sun) , the Mahoosics--and the Pressies in the distance. Footing good enough to "fly" on both trail and "in woods" on way down.
This was a very satisfying hike and i'd recommend Whitecap from this direction if you are comfortable with a bit of off trail and route finding. (there is NO bad stuff, but that's all relative i guess)...then back onto Rt 26, thru Upton, ME into NH and to Rt 16 in Erol--always like Umbagog Lake area. I turned north on Rt 16 and drove just past Sturdevant Pond to find Sturdevant Pond Rd (actually signed "Middle Dam Rd"). This area has smaller mountains, many of them little more than lumpy hills and is lorded over by the neat Aziscohos Mt (a double top-climb both) to the north. my quarry...
Johnson-2260'--The drive in was about 6 miles and rougher than i expected-no huge obstacles, but many large rocks that had surfaced and a lot of medium deep ruts, slowish going much of the way..and clearly little traffic as there was a big evergreen across the road about 5 miles in-probably there at least 2 weeks. After never having this problem, this is the 3rd large, chainsaw level tree blocking my path in the last 3 weeks or so.(zip zip-gone).
I wonder how old the sat pics i view are? People tell me 3 years?, but the amount of growth on old log roads and clearcut fields near Johnson seems much more than that-the area looked little like it did in the pics. The bright sun of earlier morning had turned to almost leaden skies; parked and decided to just "go at" the peak-not very high or too far and past logging activity everywhere (no sign of any recent cutting). The ascent of Johnson turned out to be what i call a southern VT 'whack-no problems-easy going. Only the swarms of blackflies (absent on Whitecap) spoiled a perfect little jaunt. The top was obvious, semi-open and pretty much no views. On the descent, i was a bit tired (i'd really scorched the Whitecap hike) and more than a bit full of myself-paid no attention, got myself way off line and made for an interesting walk for a bit-back on line pretty easily.
Heading back to Grafton Notch, I zinged by my approach road to "Red Ridge Mt" and wished i'd left the possibility of doing Red Ridge and a proposed route with my wife (always do as otherwise only my bones would be found-maybe). I'd have been pretty tired, but consequently left a "straggler" for another day
17 left of ME200P (or 202)
jim
Another 2AM start-highlights of the drive included hearing the most annoying "public service jingle" in the world, "1-877 Kars 4 Kids" on the NY sports radio station i use to help stay awake--always played between 3 and 4 AM; just awful---- then having a huge moth land on my arm that given the dark and my early morning stupor felt like a vampire bat....anyway, west on Rt 95 and Rt 2, north on Rt 26 at Newry to Grafton Notch State Park just past Screw Auger Falls to
Sunday River Whitecap-3335'-The mountain is on the fairly recently completed western part of the Grafton Notch Loop Trail-i'm thinking the top is 6-7 miles one way from the western terminus on Rt 26 (over Bald Mt). I really didn't want that long slog if there was a shorter route -- looked as if there might be old logging roads/trail part way up to Whitecap from near Screw Auger Falls. DR (late of VFTT) and jt (bigmoose) helped me a lot with some great beta from their hike a year ago and confirmed ascent from near Screw Auger was feasible, actually pretty nice--huge thanks to them.
I turned in a dirt road just north of Screw Auger and found the gate open allowing me to drive in over a mile before parking (yeah). I had planned possible routes based on topos, sat pics and from DR/jt comments, but there were numerous possible start points up overgrown log roads. I heard there was a trail headed to Miles Notch (between Slide Mt and Whitecap Mt), but didn't see it leading from the dirt road. I picked a "likely" old log road and headed "up", overgrown and filled with briers, -- eventually intersected the old trail which was actually very well graded and easy to hike on. The "trail" was pretty heavily flagged here and there and i know all the flagging had been removed...must be a perennial and grew back this Spring
.I followed the "trail" about 1/2 way to the height at which i'd intersect the new GNLoop and as the old trail swung right toward Miles Notch, i headed "left" into the woods which i'd been told were fairly open. It was easy going for Maine, made super time just heading "up" and soon crossed the new trail-just in time as the woods suddenly became more evergreens and some blowdown hell appeared.The GNLoop is a very nice piece of work; provides ability to gain elevation as quickly as you are able. Really glad for open woods on 'whack and good trail as i ascended about 1900' here. Once you break tree line (a good way from the summit), the trail is open and provides superb views.
This was the best/most fun hike i've had in a long time. The mountain rewarded good route choices. My "list" has peaks which can be a drag and you need to reach pretty far to say something nice about them (see Duck or Hedgehog recently
). I hit the summit of Whitecap at 6:44- lots of 360 wide open rock (forgot how much i miss my fav type hikes-big, open rock up high). Stunning views in all directions- Puzzle, Long, Baldpates, Old Speck (the cliffs glowed in the early sun) , the Mahoosics--and the Pressies in the distance. Footing good enough to "fly" on both trail and "in woods" on way down.This was a very satisfying hike and i'd recommend Whitecap from this direction if you are comfortable with a bit of off trail and route finding. (there is NO bad stuff, but that's all relative i guess)...then back onto Rt 26, thru Upton, ME into NH and to Rt 16 in Erol--always like Umbagog Lake area. I turned north on Rt 16 and drove just past Sturdevant Pond to find Sturdevant Pond Rd (actually signed "Middle Dam Rd"). This area has smaller mountains, many of them little more than lumpy hills and is lorded over by the neat Aziscohos Mt (a double top-climb both) to the north. my quarry...
Johnson-2260'--The drive in was about 6 miles and rougher than i expected-no huge obstacles, but many large rocks that had surfaced and a lot of medium deep ruts, slowish going much of the way..and clearly little traffic as there was a big evergreen across the road about 5 miles in-probably there at least 2 weeks. After never having this problem, this is the 3rd large, chainsaw level tree blocking my path in the last 3 weeks or so.(zip zip-gone).
I wonder how old the sat pics i view are? People tell me 3 years?, but the amount of growth on old log roads and clearcut fields near Johnson seems much more than that-the area looked little like it did in the pics. The bright sun of earlier morning had turned to almost leaden skies; parked and decided to just "go at" the peak-not very high or too far and past logging activity everywhere (no sign of any recent cutting). The ascent of Johnson turned out to be what i call a southern VT 'whack-no problems-easy going. Only the swarms of blackflies (absent on Whitecap) spoiled a perfect little jaunt. The top was obvious, semi-open and pretty much no views. On the descent, i was a bit tired (i'd really scorched the Whitecap hike
) and more than a bit full of myself-paid no attention, got myself way off line and made for an interesting walk for a bit-back on line pretty easily.Heading back to Grafton Notch, I zinged by my approach road to "Red Ridge Mt" and wished i'd left the possibility of doing Red Ridge and a proposed route with my wife (always do as otherwise only my bones would be found-maybe). I'd have been pretty tired, but consequently left a "straggler" for another day
17 left of ME200P (or 202)
jim
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