Jason Berard
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After seeing a post by Doug Paul in a thread about different routes to Isolation where he recommended the Camel Tr, and realizing my buddy Greg needed to do Monroe and Washington as well as Isolation, I figured if we used DP's route suggestion, we could get all three, and make the route a little more interesting by heading down to Dry River and out to Crawford Notch(plus that's where our car drop had to be for various reasons).
We made a reservation at LOCH(last two spots), and anxoiusly scanned the weather reports for the two weeks leading up to last friday. Things looked good so we headed up early friday morning to meet my Dad in Crawford Notch, so he could drive us to the Ammo trailhead. Just before the Highland Ctr, we saw a honkin' big bull moose alongside the road. Every time I see a moose, I am struck by just how big they really are. I couldn't take a picture, as my camera was in the back of the car, in my pack.
When we got in my Dad's car and headed up the Mt. Clinton Rd to the trailhead, we saw another bull moose that looked just as big, and in hindsight, I'm wondering if they were the same animal. The two spots were probably about 200 yards apart as the crow flies. We got to the trailhead at 8am , thanked my dad, and were off. He had mentioned there was a thundershower headed our way, so we wanted to cover a much ground as we could before it hit. The Ammonusuc River was full with all the rain from the previous two days, and the falls were spectacular. Along the lower section we saw some White Orchids, which was confirmed with the naturalist at the hut later on. About halfway up we met a group of people that were celebrating a 60th birthday, and we serenaded her with "Happy Birthday". The dark clouds that had been following us blew over and for the rest of the day, we had good views, with some intermittent high clouds, but with no rain til long after we were in the hut for the night.
Near the top we began to see more Mountain Avens, which I had seen for the first time in Eagle Pass on the Greenleaf Tr.a month earlier. We got to LOCH, got our room assignment, dropped most of our stuff, and headed for the summit of Washington. I haven't been up the in 15 years, and Greg had only been up there on The Cog, so it was pretty cool to have such good weather. There was very little wind, and the temps were in the high 40's.We took the Crawford Path up and were at the top in not time it seemed. The Tip Top house was open, so we went in. That place is pretty cool! We visited the summit, and then went in for lunch. After about 20 minutes, we were off down the Crawford Path again, past LOCH to the summit of Monroe. We had incredible VFTT in all directions. We could see at least as far as Camel's Hump, which we could make out in the last row of mountains visible to the west. I'm guessing that's about 75 miles away as the crow flies. After spending some time soaking in the views, we went down to the hut to clean up and get ready for dinner. This was my first stay in a full service hut, and, I know its not for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. The croo was friendly, knowledgeable, and entertaining to boot. We head a good dinner while it rained outside, and then just hung out waiting for bed time. Around 9:30 quiet time started, and the snoring began. I don't know what it is, but I think there is a considerably higher percentage of snorers among the hiking community. I just put in my earplugs and drifted off to lala land.
In the morning we found the hut had been raided by another croo, and all the signs had been removed from the ceiling I have since heard this is a proud tradition of the hut croos. After breakfast( cream of wheat, pancakes,and bacon), we packed up and headed out the Camel Tr towards the Davis Path. This trail goes through some very cool little places, and in one sheltered rocky area we found some Lapland Rosebay in bloom. I want to thank Doug Paul again for this suggestion, as it was one of the highlights of the trip. At the junction with the Davis Path, we got some good views of Lion's Head and Nelson Crag to the northeast, and Boott Spur to the south. From this angle you could really see how Lion's Head got its name. On we went, and met a group with a Corgi who had come up through the Dry River drainage, and said the Isolation Tr west was "wet", but that the water crossing was a simple rock hop. We realized at this point that if we wanted to get to the car at a reasonable hour, we would have to boogie, so off we went, and made good time down to the summit of Isolation and back to the Isolation Tr (west)jct, only stopping to watch a spruce grouse and her chick in the trail. The summit of Isolation did not dissapoint, as the views excellent in all directions. We ate lunch a little ways down the trail, and then were off, again trying to make good time. I don't know if any else has been on the Isolation trail west , but it was definitely different. The footpath is quite narrow, and you have to push through the brush on both sides of the trail. There are no blazes,nor did I see any evidence of them being removed.It was also quite wet, and had some extremely rough places that crossed some small slides along the river near the bottom of the trail. With all that said, there was recent evidence of some serious work to clear numerous blowdowns along the entire length of the trail. I think this trail was a good example of a "wilderness" trail. At the time Greg was not impressed, but I enjoyed it. With a few days rest, he has changed his mind somewhat, but I wouldn't say he "enjoyed" it. We crossed the Dry River, and headed up our final "up" for the day. By now, my butt was draggin', but we plodded along and finally made it to Mizpah Hut. We took a break here and had some lemonade and a snickers, and chatted with the volunteer for a while. We left the hut at 4pm, and headed down the Mizpah cut-off. After the junction with the Crawford Path, we met a couple guys who were finishing a Presi Traverse. They were whipped, but so were we, so we headed down the trail together for the rest of the way. At the bottom, we got in our car and headed towards Fabyan's, which was mobbed, so we just headed for Littleton, and had a burger and a beer at the 99, and headed back to the Upper Valley.
This was a great hike, and the weather was incredible. Greg now has one NH48 peak left (Adams), and I have two (Cabot and Adams). I am planning on doing Cabot as part of a Kilkenny Ridge Traverse( will also get 4 NEHH ), and then we will finish on Adams with the FOT48 crew. I'm looking forward to finishing my NH48 during such a meaningful event.
view slideshow here
We made a reservation at LOCH(last two spots), and anxoiusly scanned the weather reports for the two weeks leading up to last friday. Things looked good so we headed up early friday morning to meet my Dad in Crawford Notch, so he could drive us to the Ammo trailhead. Just before the Highland Ctr, we saw a honkin' big bull moose alongside the road. Every time I see a moose, I am struck by just how big they really are. I couldn't take a picture, as my camera was in the back of the car, in my pack.
When we got in my Dad's car and headed up the Mt. Clinton Rd to the trailhead, we saw another bull moose that looked just as big, and in hindsight, I'm wondering if they were the same animal. The two spots were probably about 200 yards apart as the crow flies. We got to the trailhead at 8am , thanked my dad, and were off. He had mentioned there was a thundershower headed our way, so we wanted to cover a much ground as we could before it hit. The Ammonusuc River was full with all the rain from the previous two days, and the falls were spectacular. Along the lower section we saw some White Orchids, which was confirmed with the naturalist at the hut later on. About halfway up we met a group of people that were celebrating a 60th birthday, and we serenaded her with "Happy Birthday". The dark clouds that had been following us blew over and for the rest of the day, we had good views, with some intermittent high clouds, but with no rain til long after we were in the hut for the night.Near the top we began to see more Mountain Avens, which I had seen for the first time in Eagle Pass on the Greenleaf Tr.a month earlier. We got to LOCH, got our room assignment, dropped most of our stuff, and headed for the summit of Washington. I haven't been up the in 15 years, and Greg had only been up there on The Cog, so it was pretty cool to have such good weather. There was very little wind, and the temps were in the high 40's.We took the Crawford Path up and were at the top in not time it seemed. The Tip Top house was open, so we went in. That place is pretty cool! We visited the summit, and then went in for lunch. After about 20 minutes, we were off down the Crawford Path again, past LOCH to the summit of Monroe. We had incredible VFTT in all directions. We could see at least as far as Camel's Hump, which we could make out in the last row of mountains visible to the west. I'm guessing that's about 75 miles away as the crow flies. After spending some time soaking in the views, we went down to the hut to clean up and get ready for dinner. This was my first stay in a full service hut, and, I know its not for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. The croo was friendly, knowledgeable, and entertaining to boot. We head a good dinner while it rained outside, and then just hung out waiting for bed time. Around 9:30 quiet time started, and the snoring began.
I don't know what it is, but I think there is a considerably higher percentage of snorers among the hiking community. I just put in my earplugs and drifted off to lala land.In the morning we found the hut had been raided by another croo, and all the signs had been removed from the ceiling
I have since heard this is a proud tradition of the hut croos. After breakfast( cream of wheat, pancakes,and bacon), we packed up and headed out the Camel Tr towards the Davis Path. This trail goes through some very cool little places, and in one sheltered rocky area we found some Lapland Rosebay in bloom. I want to thank Doug Paul again for this suggestion, as it was one of the highlights of the trip. At the junction with the Davis Path, we got some good views of Lion's Head and Nelson Crag to the northeast, and Boott Spur to the south. From this angle you could really see how Lion's Head got its name. On we went, and met a group with a Corgi who had come up through the Dry River drainage, and said the Isolation Tr west was "wet", but that the water crossing was a simple rock hop. We realized at this point that if we wanted to get to the car at a reasonable hour, we would have to boogie, so off we went, and made good time down to the summit of Isolation and back to the Isolation Tr (west)jct, only stopping to watch a spruce grouse and her chick in the trail. The summit of Isolation did not dissapoint, as the views excellent in all directions. We ate lunch a little ways down the trail, and then were off, again trying to make good time. I don't know if any else has been on the Isolation trail west , but it was definitely different. The footpath is quite narrow, and you have to push through the brush on both sides of the trail. There are no blazes,nor did I see any evidence of them being removed.It was also quite wet, and had some extremely rough places that crossed some small slides along the river near the bottom of the trail. With all that said, there was recent evidence of some serious work to clear numerous blowdowns along the entire length of the trail. I think this trail was a good example of a "wilderness" trail. At the time Greg was not impressed, but I enjoyed it. With a few days rest, he has changed his mind somewhat, but I wouldn't say he "enjoyed" it. We crossed the Dry River, and headed up our final "up" for the day. By now, my butt was draggin', but we plodded along and finally made it to Mizpah Hut. We took a break here and had some lemonade and a snickers, and chatted with the volunteer for a while. We left the hut at 4pm, and headed down the Mizpah cut-off. After the junction with the Crawford Path, we met a couple guys who were finishing a Presi Traverse. They were whipped, but so were we, so we headed down the trail together for the rest of the way. At the bottom, we got in our car and headed towards Fabyan's, which was mobbed, so we just headed for Littleton, and had a burger and a beer at the 99, and headed back to the Upper Valley. This was a great hike, and the weather was incredible. Greg now has one NH48 peak left (Adams), and I have two (Cabot and Adams). I am planning on doing Cabot as part of a Kilkenny Ridge Traverse( will also get 4 NEHH
), and then we will finish on Adams with the FOT48 crew. I'm looking forward to finishing my NH48 during such a meaningful event.view slideshow here
