sapblatt
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I was embarking on a long weekend of hiking on Friday, but due to circumstances at home I had to get a much later than usual start for me. I arrived at the campground at 11:30 AM in Crawford Notch and quickly set up camp thinking that there was a good chance of thunderstorms and I would be happier when I returned if I had it set up already.
Anyways…I finally made tracks for Jefferson at about noon and was on the trail at 12:45 PM for Starr King and Waumbek. I usually hit the trail around 6 AM, and I am much more of a morning person so I was interested to see how this would go. The day was quite warm, approaching 85 degrees and the bugs were quite thick. Interestingly, they do not seem to bite much, at least if you keep moving! This hike would be my first sol hike in awhile; since hooking up with VFTT I have made a lot of hiking friends and have not soloed as much, which makes everyone back home very happy!
This hike, along with Hale and Tecumseh get a lot of tough press for being a short, unchallenging and viewless. These attitudes are not incorrect, but I feel that they miss the boat about the beauty of hiking the Starr King Trail. This trail winds up 2.6 miles to Starr King and another mile to Waumbek with little if any steep grades or difficult sections. The woods ar beautiful and they are teeming with small wildlife (observed chipmunks, red squirrels and toads) and signs of large wildlife (moose and bear.) The moose scat was apparently from a young moose and was located between the two peaks.
The views are pretty nonexistent except for a little on the summit of Starr King. What you can see is a nice angle towards Jefferson and the Castellated Ridge, and some nice views of the Israel River Valley.
This hike was a trendsetter for my entire weekend of hiking at or faster than book time. I am not usually that fast but I managed this hike in 3:50 with a particularly fast descent in about 65 minutes. Somehow I did pretty quick hikes on Isolation and Hale as well. I guess the less steep, the faster I go! With these three down I only have 11 remaining for my 48…and the next lists…
Isolation and Hale are covered by Artex's excellent thread and pictures...Trip Report
Anyways…I finally made tracks for Jefferson at about noon and was on the trail at 12:45 PM for Starr King and Waumbek. I usually hit the trail around 6 AM, and I am much more of a morning person so I was interested to see how this would go. The day was quite warm, approaching 85 degrees and the bugs were quite thick. Interestingly, they do not seem to bite much, at least if you keep moving! This hike would be my first sol hike in awhile; since hooking up with VFTT I have made a lot of hiking friends and have not soloed as much, which makes everyone back home very happy!
This hike, along with Hale and Tecumseh get a lot of tough press for being a short, unchallenging and viewless. These attitudes are not incorrect, but I feel that they miss the boat about the beauty of hiking the Starr King Trail. This trail winds up 2.6 miles to Starr King and another mile to Waumbek with little if any steep grades or difficult sections. The woods ar beautiful and they are teeming with small wildlife (observed chipmunks, red squirrels and toads) and signs of large wildlife (moose and bear.) The moose scat was apparently from a young moose and was located between the two peaks.
The views are pretty nonexistent except for a little on the summit of Starr King. What you can see is a nice angle towards Jefferson and the Castellated Ridge, and some nice views of the Israel River Valley.
This hike was a trendsetter for my entire weekend of hiking at or faster than book time. I am not usually that fast but I managed this hike in 3:50 with a particularly fast descent in about 65 minutes. Somehow I did pretty quick hikes on Isolation and Hale as well. I guess the less steep, the faster I go! With these three down I only have 11 remaining for my 48…and the next lists…
Isolation and Hale are covered by Artex's excellent thread and pictures...Trip Report
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