The AT across Moose and Holts Ledge, 23 Nov. 2013

[Cumulus]

On Saturday Whichway and I accompanied Amicus as he redlined a section of the AT in central New Hampshire. The highlights of the trip were South Moose Mtn, Moose Mtn. Shelter, North Moose Mtn., Holts Ledge, and Trapper John Shelter. The forecast had been for temperatures slightly above freezing with high winds. The temperature forecast was about right, but there was very little wind, so it was not as cold as we were expecting. There were a few icy patches on the north slopes, but nothing we couldn't simply step around, so even though we all brought traction we never used it. There were a few snow flurries but nothing more until right before the end.

I had been on South Moose before, and along the AT a bit north of there, but besides that I was redlining myself. We started where the AT crosses Three Mile Road, hiked up South Moose, visited Moose Shelter, hiked up North Moose, passed a pond, hiked up Holts Ledge, where we had lunch, visited Trapper John Shelter, and hiked to where the AT crosses Lyme-Dorchester Road the second time.

The highlights were seeing a bear on North Moose and the views from the ledges on Holts Ledge.

We first became aware of the bear when he suddenly started running away from us. He was fast, much too fast for me to have any hope of taking a picture. That was the first time I've seen a bear while hiking, although I've seen bears while camping before.

The views from several lookouts on Holts Ledge were very nice. Amicus and Whichway were identifying peaks around there I haven't climbed. I've actually done very little hiking in New Hampshire south of Moosilauke.

During the last mile or so of the hike it started snowing heavily. That was very pretty while we were on the trail, but unfortunately made the drive back to the main roads from the trailhead tricky. We made it OK, though.

Thanks to Amicus and Whichway for inviting me along on this nice day in the woods.

Here are the pictures.

--

Cumulus

NE111: 115/115 (67/67, 46/46, 2/2); Cat35: 23/39; WNH4K: 29/48; NEFF: 34/50
LT NB 2009

"I don't much care where [I get to] --" said Alice, "-- so long as I get somewhere," ...
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
- Lewis Carroll

 

[David Metsky]

The airplane part on the shelter porch is probably from the Northeast Airlines flight 946 which crashed on the summit of South Moose in 1968. The rescue and recovery operation is responsible for the clearings on still on top although they appear to be growing in quite a bit since the last time I was there.

Trapper John Shelter was named after the famous DOC alum Trapper John McIntyre of M*A*S*H fame.

Nice trip report, lots of good memories up there.

 

[Jason Berard]

The view area on South Moose was cleared this summer, but the rest of it has really grown in a lot in the last 10 years!

 

[Amicus]

The view area on South Moose was cleared this summer, but the rest of it has really grown in a lot in the last 10 years!

We could see that the cutting was fresh, and it pleasantly surprised me since the non-current Ed. of the AMC Guide I had consulted described the Moose So. summit as "wooded." Here is the view east to Cardigan:

As Cumulus notes, the excellent conditions, until the end, made the entire hike very enjoyable, not to mention the company. Holts Ledge is spectacular, as in this view to the south, from Sunapee (L) to Croydon (R):

The heavy snow we ended in made my drive south hairy for an hour, and a pickup skidded into a ditch in front of me as I approached 89. Around New London, the snow tapered. My thanks to Whichway and Cumulus for accommodating me on short notice. Some other photos are here.