BIGEarl
Well-known member
May 28, 2011: Waumbek & Hale
Trails: Waumbek = Starr King Trail, Hale = Hale Brook Trail
Summits: Waumbek, Hale
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
When heading to the Whites for a day of hiking, I try to make sure the planned hike time exceeds drive time. Individually, Waumbek and Hale are a couple relatively short hikes that don’t meet this criteria but combined they make for a nice day of hiking. Our plan was to hike Waumbek in the morning and then visit Hale on our way south. The forecast for the day wasn’t very good with a chance of thunder storms during a period in the morning and afternoon. We decided an early start might help avoid the bad weather in the forecast for late afternoon.
Waumbek:
We reached the trailhead lot and got started a little later than originally planned. There was one other person that set off ahead of us and another couple a short distance behind us. We had warm temperature, high humidity, and lots of black flies. Sue loaded up with insect repellent before starting out but I decided to take a wait and see approach. I was hoping a little elevation might get us away from these pests.
We’re still hiking in mud season. There are many sections of the Starr King Trail that have running water and/or mud pits to get past. Fortunately, all seem to have enough exposed rocks or other solid places to help. Some of the areas of mud are really slippery – watch your step. With the warm temperature and high humidity our warm-up was a quick one and we were dripping perspiration before reaching the old well foundation. Starr King Trail through the hardwoods is generally a constant climb. We found a comfortable pace and worked our way to the start of the conifers. Many of the usual spring flowers are past their peak but there were still plenty of trilliums along the way.
Once we entered the conifers it seemed like the temperature dropped several degrees and a nice breeze picked up. We enjoyed a very comfortable hike for the remainder of the way to Starr King. We never were able to get above the black flies until a short distance below the summit of Starr King but as long as we kept moving they weren’t too bad. At the summit of Starr King we paused for a couple quick pictures and were soon on our way to Waumbek.
The trail from Starr King to Waumbek is an easy one mile stretch generally dry and clear. There are two blowdowns to get past; climb over the first and step around the second. The couple that set off a short time after us had passed us on the early climb and we met them on their exit walk mid-way between the summits. Soon, we reached Waumbek, got a few summit pictures, made our u-turn, and headed back out the way we hiked in.
The crowd started to grow and we were soon meeting a steady stream of hikers on their climb. The first were at the site of the old fireplace on Starr King and after that we were meeting additional groups all of the way back to the trailhead. I was starting to wonder where everybody had parked their vehicles and if we might be blocked in. At the trailhead we found the lot completely full and the roadway leading to it was lined on both sides with vehicles. The truck is large but with care I was able to get it out of the parking spot and pointed toward the exit without causing damage in the process.
The black flies were still very active and it didn’t take long for us to leave. The run to the second trailhead for the day was also our lunch break. The drive between hikes was long enough for things to stiffen up and I was not looking forward to a second warm-up.
Hale:
Generally on schedule, we pulled into the trailhead lot for Hale Brook Trail on Zealand Road. There are two places that are flagged on the road in need of repair after the winter closure but they’re both easy to drive around. Overall, the road is in generally good shape. The trailhead lot was roughly half full when we arrived.
The biting insect population was active and very soon word spread about the fresh meat that arrived to the trailhead. Without wasting any time, or blood, we grabbed our things and started hiking. Just like on Waumbek, as long as we kept moving the insects were a non-issue.
Hale Brook Trail is clear from end-to-end. The only large blowdown is above the switchbacks and high enough to easily walk underneath. There’s plenty of water and mud along the way to the summit. The real messy mud pits were below the lower crossing. Above the upper crossing, in the switchbacks, there were sections of mud and running water but they were easy to get past.
A short distance from the trailhead lot the trail starts to climb and generally doesn’t let up all of the way to the summit clearing. We worked through a second warm-up for the day and were soon dripping perspiration, again. Summer really moved in fast, and brought plenty of humidity along with it. Fortunately, gain a thousand feet in elevation and things get more comfortable. Our late start had us climbing to the summit while everybody else was on their exit run. We met quite a few others returning from the summit.
As we made our way through the birch glade Sue found a snake relaxing in the sun on some warm rocks. This one was larger than the one we found a couple weeks back on Moosilauke. I estimate the length of this one to be over three feet. He moved off the warm rocks and then stopped to pose for a few pictures. We didn’t want to bother him and soon continued our climb.
After the upper crossing the climb gets a little easier. The trail heads into the conifers and the five switchbacks make the upper half of the hike a pleasant walk to the summit. One by one we made the turn between switchbacks and soon found ourselves on the final, long, sweeping approach to the summit clearing. As we entered the clearing the last remaining couple of hikers were leaving. Even from the top of the summit cairn there were no views. We got the usual summit pictures, enjoyed some summit cookies that Sue had brought, and soon started back down.
The exit hike was completely as expected. We cleared the switchbacks, upper and mid crossing, and soon were making our way through the lower mud pits on our way to the trailhead lot and the black flies waiting there. As it was with Waumbek, no time was lost in leaving. We quickly tossed our things in the back and took off.
We made a quick stop at the Highland Center to change into dry things and we hit the highway south. Overall we had a good day with a Double Hit & Run. Mud season is still here and the biting insects are a test but all of it is still better than sitting on the couch.
Thanks Sue – we had a good day in the mountains.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Waumbek = Starr King Trail, Hale = Hale Brook Trail
Summits: Waumbek, Hale
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
When heading to the Whites for a day of hiking, I try to make sure the planned hike time exceeds drive time. Individually, Waumbek and Hale are a couple relatively short hikes that don’t meet this criteria but combined they make for a nice day of hiking. Our plan was to hike Waumbek in the morning and then visit Hale on our way south. The forecast for the day wasn’t very good with a chance of thunder storms during a period in the morning and afternoon. We decided an early start might help avoid the bad weather in the forecast for late afternoon.
Waumbek:
We reached the trailhead lot and got started a little later than originally planned. There was one other person that set off ahead of us and another couple a short distance behind us. We had warm temperature, high humidity, and lots of black flies. Sue loaded up with insect repellent before starting out but I decided to take a wait and see approach. I was hoping a little elevation might get us away from these pests.
We’re still hiking in mud season. There are many sections of the Starr King Trail that have running water and/or mud pits to get past. Fortunately, all seem to have enough exposed rocks or other solid places to help. Some of the areas of mud are really slippery – watch your step. With the warm temperature and high humidity our warm-up was a quick one and we were dripping perspiration before reaching the old well foundation. Starr King Trail through the hardwoods is generally a constant climb. We found a comfortable pace and worked our way to the start of the conifers. Many of the usual spring flowers are past their peak but there were still plenty of trilliums along the way.
Once we entered the conifers it seemed like the temperature dropped several degrees and a nice breeze picked up. We enjoyed a very comfortable hike for the remainder of the way to Starr King. We never were able to get above the black flies until a short distance below the summit of Starr King but as long as we kept moving they weren’t too bad. At the summit of Starr King we paused for a couple quick pictures and were soon on our way to Waumbek.
The trail from Starr King to Waumbek is an easy one mile stretch generally dry and clear. There are two blowdowns to get past; climb over the first and step around the second. The couple that set off a short time after us had passed us on the early climb and we met them on their exit walk mid-way between the summits. Soon, we reached Waumbek, got a few summit pictures, made our u-turn, and headed back out the way we hiked in.
The crowd started to grow and we were soon meeting a steady stream of hikers on their climb. The first were at the site of the old fireplace on Starr King and after that we were meeting additional groups all of the way back to the trailhead. I was starting to wonder where everybody had parked their vehicles and if we might be blocked in. At the trailhead we found the lot completely full and the roadway leading to it was lined on both sides with vehicles. The truck is large but with care I was able to get it out of the parking spot and pointed toward the exit without causing damage in the process.
The black flies were still very active and it didn’t take long for us to leave. The run to the second trailhead for the day was also our lunch break. The drive between hikes was long enough for things to stiffen up and I was not looking forward to a second warm-up.
Hale:
Generally on schedule, we pulled into the trailhead lot for Hale Brook Trail on Zealand Road. There are two places that are flagged on the road in need of repair after the winter closure but they’re both easy to drive around. Overall, the road is in generally good shape. The trailhead lot was roughly half full when we arrived.
The biting insect population was active and very soon word spread about the fresh meat that arrived to the trailhead. Without wasting any time, or blood, we grabbed our things and started hiking. Just like on Waumbek, as long as we kept moving the insects were a non-issue.
Hale Brook Trail is clear from end-to-end. The only large blowdown is above the switchbacks and high enough to easily walk underneath. There’s plenty of water and mud along the way to the summit. The real messy mud pits were below the lower crossing. Above the upper crossing, in the switchbacks, there were sections of mud and running water but they were easy to get past.
A short distance from the trailhead lot the trail starts to climb and generally doesn’t let up all of the way to the summit clearing. We worked through a second warm-up for the day and were soon dripping perspiration, again. Summer really moved in fast, and brought plenty of humidity along with it. Fortunately, gain a thousand feet in elevation and things get more comfortable. Our late start had us climbing to the summit while everybody else was on their exit run. We met quite a few others returning from the summit.
As we made our way through the birch glade Sue found a snake relaxing in the sun on some warm rocks. This one was larger than the one we found a couple weeks back on Moosilauke. I estimate the length of this one to be over three feet. He moved off the warm rocks and then stopped to pose for a few pictures. We didn’t want to bother him and soon continued our climb.
After the upper crossing the climb gets a little easier. The trail heads into the conifers and the five switchbacks make the upper half of the hike a pleasant walk to the summit. One by one we made the turn between switchbacks and soon found ourselves on the final, long, sweeping approach to the summit clearing. As we entered the clearing the last remaining couple of hikers were leaving. Even from the top of the summit cairn there were no views. We got the usual summit pictures, enjoyed some summit cookies that Sue had brought, and soon started back down.
The exit hike was completely as expected. We cleared the switchbacks, upper and mid crossing, and soon were making our way through the lower mud pits on our way to the trailhead lot and the black flies waiting there. As it was with Waumbek, no time was lost in leaving. We quickly tossed our things in the back and took off.
We made a quick stop at the Highland Center to change into dry things and we hit the highway south. Overall we had a good day with a Double Hit & Run. Mud season is still here and the biting insects are a test but all of it is still better than sitting on the couch.
Thanks Sue – we had a good day in the mountains.
Pictures will follow.
