BIGEarl
Well-known member
September 16, 2012: Peak Above the Nubble
Trails: Herd Paths and Bushwhack
Summits: Peak Above the Nubble
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
This hike was one of those “start early – finish early” adventures. It’s a short hike but it’s also Sunday. Sue has an early wake-up on Monday so we went earlier than necessary to allow us to get home early and avoid added pressure on Monday morning. On our way north we made one of our usual stops at the Hooksett Rest Area (aka Northbound liquor store). On our way inside we stopped to enjoy watching a fly-by of the International Space Station; always fun to see it go past.
After spending some quality time with recent hike reports (including some very nice detailed reports from Bob&Geri, Paradox, and Papa Bear), and USGS topographic maps we had a plan. Our approach would be the most common approach from the blocked logging road on Haystack Road. We parked in a way to use as little space as we could in case others came to hike the area, calibrated the altimeter, grabbed our things, and set off.
There’s a very well-defined herd path right from the three boulders blocking the somewhat overgrown logging road. Following the route was indeed a no-brainer. Soon, we were passing the sand hill that is noted in Bob&Geri’s report, we went to the right and started to climb gradually. From this point on the plan was a little different from our actual. Some of the reference material we used was several years old and a lot of growth can happen in this amount of time. I believe at least one of the sections of the route was obscured by new growth.
Eventually we worked our way to the southeast corner of the now overgrown clear-cut area I believe is referenced in the reports. Much of the growth is ~ten feet tall and it’s pretty dense. We skirted across the south side of this clear-cut eventually landing in a drainage with lots of rocks. We assumed this was the drainage referenced in some of the reports and started straight up the slope.
In very little time we were working our way up a steep climb, we were also enjoying fairly open woods. Since up was the right direction, we continued to climb. We managed to gain a fair amount of elevation in the relatively open conditions and worked our way to the bottom of the ledges that are discussed in many reports. Reaching this obstacle indicated to me we were heading in the right direction (the altimeter and compass agreed). Getting past the ledges was interesting in a couple places. We drifted left and right on our way up. Before long we were above the ledges and on our way to a false summit.
The herd path we followed away from the ledges generally led us to the open viewpoint from which the actual summit can be seen. We made a quick stop for a couple pictures and continued on the herd path to our objective. After leaving the viewpoint we needed to work our way through a small blow-down patch and then enjoyed generally clear sailing to the actual summit. The herd path led us through the summit blow-downs and straight to the canister.
We removed the contents and enjoyed the high-point of the day (at least for me). Inside was a tribute to Ray Loring placed there by his friend (and I’m very happy to say my friend) Marty Emmick. First, thank you Marty. What a wonderful thing to do. I’m sure Ray counted you as one of his best friends. Second, if anybody is interested in the details – it’s in the canister.
We moved onto the register. There we found the names of a couple friends as the most recent visitors; Tom and Laurie Rankin (9/9/2012). It is nice to get our names in the book right behind yours. I hope your hike went as well as ours.
After the summit formalities were finished, we wandered to an open ledge a short distance southeast from the summit to enjoy terrific views to N. Twin, Hale, Willey Range, and The Presidentials. It was sunny, warm, and out of the wind; a perfect place for a treat. Sue brought some chocolate-peanut butter squares to enjoy. Soon, the treats were gone and Sue said “If you’re ready, I’m ready”. It was time to leave.
For our exit hike we generally reversed the route we followed on our ascent. A couple places on the ledges required a different approach; ascending and descending can be very different. We managed to climb back down without any problems. Soon we were descending the open wooded area leading to the herd path on the old logging road, and onto the three boulders and the truck.
Early afternoon and we’re done; not bad. We quickly packed, Sue grabbed a couple cold drinks from the cooler, and we were on our way south.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Herd Paths and Bushwhack
Summits: Peak Above the Nubble
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
This hike was one of those “start early – finish early” adventures. It’s a short hike but it’s also Sunday. Sue has an early wake-up on Monday so we went earlier than necessary to allow us to get home early and avoid added pressure on Monday morning. On our way north we made one of our usual stops at the Hooksett Rest Area (aka Northbound liquor store). On our way inside we stopped to enjoy watching a fly-by of the International Space Station; always fun to see it go past.
After spending some quality time with recent hike reports (including some very nice detailed reports from Bob&Geri, Paradox, and Papa Bear), and USGS topographic maps we had a plan. Our approach would be the most common approach from the blocked logging road on Haystack Road. We parked in a way to use as little space as we could in case others came to hike the area, calibrated the altimeter, grabbed our things, and set off.
There’s a very well-defined herd path right from the three boulders blocking the somewhat overgrown logging road. Following the route was indeed a no-brainer. Soon, we were passing the sand hill that is noted in Bob&Geri’s report, we went to the right and started to climb gradually. From this point on the plan was a little different from our actual. Some of the reference material we used was several years old and a lot of growth can happen in this amount of time. I believe at least one of the sections of the route was obscured by new growth.
Eventually we worked our way to the southeast corner of the now overgrown clear-cut area I believe is referenced in the reports. Much of the growth is ~ten feet tall and it’s pretty dense. We skirted across the south side of this clear-cut eventually landing in a drainage with lots of rocks. We assumed this was the drainage referenced in some of the reports and started straight up the slope.
In very little time we were working our way up a steep climb, we were also enjoying fairly open woods. Since up was the right direction, we continued to climb. We managed to gain a fair amount of elevation in the relatively open conditions and worked our way to the bottom of the ledges that are discussed in many reports. Reaching this obstacle indicated to me we were heading in the right direction (the altimeter and compass agreed). Getting past the ledges was interesting in a couple places. We drifted left and right on our way up. Before long we were above the ledges and on our way to a false summit.
The herd path we followed away from the ledges generally led us to the open viewpoint from which the actual summit can be seen. We made a quick stop for a couple pictures and continued on the herd path to our objective. After leaving the viewpoint we needed to work our way through a small blow-down patch and then enjoyed generally clear sailing to the actual summit. The herd path led us through the summit blow-downs and straight to the canister.
We removed the contents and enjoyed the high-point of the day (at least for me). Inside was a tribute to Ray Loring placed there by his friend (and I’m very happy to say my friend) Marty Emmick. First, thank you Marty. What a wonderful thing to do. I’m sure Ray counted you as one of his best friends. Second, if anybody is interested in the details – it’s in the canister.
We moved onto the register. There we found the names of a couple friends as the most recent visitors; Tom and Laurie Rankin (9/9/2012). It is nice to get our names in the book right behind yours. I hope your hike went as well as ours.
After the summit formalities were finished, we wandered to an open ledge a short distance southeast from the summit to enjoy terrific views to N. Twin, Hale, Willey Range, and The Presidentials. It was sunny, warm, and out of the wind; a perfect place for a treat. Sue brought some chocolate-peanut butter squares to enjoy. Soon, the treats were gone and Sue said “If you’re ready, I’m ready”. It was time to leave.
For our exit hike we generally reversed the route we followed on our ascent. A couple places on the ledges required a different approach; ascending and descending can be very different. We managed to climb back down without any problems. Soon we were descending the open wooded area leading to the herd path on the old logging road, and onto the three boulders and the truck.
Early afternoon and we’re done; not bad. We quickly packed, Sue grabbed a couple cold drinks from the cooler, and we were on our way south.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
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