After 8 days of rain, waking up to a starkly clear blue sky with not a single cloud anywhere in sight was a blessing. Of course, the weather in Massachusetts doesn't have to be the same as the weather in the White Mountains, and as Bunchberry drove us northward, as the sun rose over the horizon, we discovered that our hike of Mt. Waumbek was still going to be a wet one.
The sky turned from blue to light grey as we passed Concord. We stopped briefly in Lincoln and it was a misty, dark grey. Up in Jefferson, where we parked for the Starr King Trail, it was raining, the wind whipping through the tops of the trees. We of course decided to hike anyway.
Waumbek, and the intermediate summit of Starr King, is a trip generally considered the epitome of the rainy day hike. There are no water crossings and no exposed areas. Only a few spots exist in the col where weather can get in, evidenced by the numerous blowdowns in the area. I was surprised to see only two other cars there; we would see these two people on the trail, and no others.
[size=+2]W[/size]e started up at 10:15. The Starr King Trail is never difficult - it always has a very moderate grade and good footing. There was plenty of runoff coming down the trail, but the waterbars were doing a fine job of diverting the flow. Careful footing easily kept our feet dry. Once we passed the spring (at the sign), there was much less water in the trail as we continued up through open woods full of ... wait, where's the color? All along the trail were the red stems off the trees, but no leaves. Huh!
After a while the trail jogs to the left and traverses the side of the ridge. This was the windward side, and since my cheap rain shell had so easily soaked through (I'll be replacing it) the cold started to get to me. Various layer changes were in order, but it would still be a long while before I really felt warm again.
As we crested Starr King, we were exposed to the weather, so we spent no time in the clearing of the former cabin but instead dove right down into the col to get away from the wind and rain. This is a great stretch of trail through woods coated with hanging Old Man's Beard. I'd seen it in full green glory in the spring, and now in the wet of autumn, and both are equally beautiful.
While winding across the col we became very aware of the wind, and of the numerous blowdowns. This was not a place to stop, and my discomfort was confirmed when with a load crack a huge widowmaker came tumbling down around thirty feet from us.
[size=+2]A[/size]nd then we were on the summit of Waumbek, celebrating Bunchberry's 25th 4000-footer. We had come 3.6 miles and ascended 2500 feet in just two hours and fifteen minutes. We stayed only long enough for pictures, since the small summit clearing was getting just enough windblown rain to be uncomfortable. At that point we knew we needed a rest and to eat, so we made our way back down into the col to a point on the trail on the leeward side of the ridge, a point not full of puddles, and stopped for lunch and a special surprise that I'd brought: a thermos of hot cocoa.
I think at this point we put on every layer of clothing we had with us. It's amazing how quickly the wet will suck the warmth out of you. Equally remarkable, though, is how eating will also kick the body's thermostat and heat you right back up. I would not be cold again on the hike after having had lunch, even after shedding many of my layers back off on the descent.
We were back at the car just before three o'clock, less than five hours to climb a 4000-footer, and while somewhat cold and wet, still a wicked fun hike.
So ... what to do now, so early in the day? The answer was simple: sightseeing! With the amount of rain that had fallen in the previous week, rivers and cascades were roaring, so into Crawford Notch we went. I had visited Ripley Falls before, and had a feeling this hundred-foot-high waterfall would be an impressive sight.
[size=+2]A[/size]fter parking at the Ethan Pond trailhead, we cruised up the easy .6 miles to the Falls, where we were not disappointed. Whitewater thundered down the rock expanse, producing an impressive amount of wind and spray where it struck bottom. We found a relatively dry boulder to stand on and did so for several minutes, in utter awe at the power in front of us. Halfway up, an unseen ledge kicked out chaotic explosions of water. Bunchberry tried to follow a splash, a moment of water, all the way down the Falls, while in my mind I was putting together a new piano composition.
While standing there, I took this 20 second, 15MB .avi movie (be nice to my web server, please). Remember when you watch it that you're looking at something a little over a hundred feet high. Then I decided it was time for a photograph with some perspective, and I went to climb out on a rock in front of the falls. Not a dangerous location, mind you, but a wet one. A very wet one. In mere seconds I was more thoroughly soaked than I had been during the entire Waumbek hike. However, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face at what an incredible feeling it had been.
And that was it. As we retreated down the trail, I noticed that the ground was covered with a beautiful pattern of brightly-colored leaves. Were these perhaps all the leaves from Waumbek, stolen and dropped here? This question would have to wait for another day, because we were back at the car in no time, changed into dry clothes, and drove back to Massachusetts. Who would have thought a cold, rainy day could have been so much fun!
The complete photo album from this hike is available here.
The sky turned from blue to light grey as we passed Concord. We stopped briefly in Lincoln and it was a misty, dark grey. Up in Jefferson, where we parked for the Starr King Trail, it was raining, the wind whipping through the tops of the trees. We of course decided to hike anyway.
Waumbek, and the intermediate summit of Starr King, is a trip generally considered the epitome of the rainy day hike. There are no water crossings and no exposed areas. Only a few spots exist in the col where weather can get in, evidenced by the numerous blowdowns in the area. I was surprised to see only two other cars there; we would see these two people on the trail, and no others.
After a while the trail jogs to the left and traverses the side of the ridge. This was the windward side, and since my cheap rain shell had so easily soaked through (I'll be replacing it) the cold started to get to me. Various layer changes were in order, but it would still be a long while before I really felt warm again.
As we crested Starr King, we were exposed to the weather, so we spent no time in the clearing of the former cabin but instead dove right down into the col to get away from the wind and rain. This is a great stretch of trail through woods coated with hanging Old Man's Beard. I'd seen it in full green glory in the spring, and now in the wet of autumn, and both are equally beautiful.
While winding across the col we became very aware of the wind, and of the numerous blowdowns. This was not a place to stop, and my discomfort was confirmed when with a load crack a huge widowmaker came tumbling down around thirty feet from us.
I think at this point we put on every layer of clothing we had with us. It's amazing how quickly the wet will suck the warmth out of you. Equally remarkable, though, is how eating will also kick the body's thermostat and heat you right back up. I would not be cold again on the hike after having had lunch, even after shedding many of my layers back off on the descent.
We were back at the car just before three o'clock, less than five hours to climb a 4000-footer, and while somewhat cold and wet, still a wicked fun hike.
So ... what to do now, so early in the day? The answer was simple: sightseeing! With the amount of rain that had fallen in the previous week, rivers and cascades were roaring, so into Crawford Notch we went. I had visited Ripley Falls before, and had a feeling this hundred-foot-high waterfall would be an impressive sight.
While standing there, I took this 20 second, 15MB .avi movie (be nice to my web server, please). Remember when you watch it that you're looking at something a little over a hundred feet high. Then I decided it was time for a photograph with some perspective, and I went to climb out on a rock in front of the falls. Not a dangerous location, mind you, but a wet one. A very wet one. In mere seconds I was more thoroughly soaked than I had been during the entire Waumbek hike. However, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face at what an incredible feeling it had been.
And that was it. As we retreated down the trail, I noticed that the ground was covered with a beautiful pattern of brightly-colored leaves. Were these perhaps all the leaves from Waumbek, stolen and dropped here? This question would have to wait for another day, because we were back at the car in no time, changed into dry clothes, and drove back to Massachusetts. Who would have thought a cold, rainy day could have been so much fun!
The complete photo album from this hike is available here.
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