grouseking
Well-known member
This is my favorite hike in the Whites, and since I'm moving to the DC area in less than two months (dear god), I needed to get up to Zeacliff before I left. I brought along 3 guys who have never hiked in or near the Pemi before. Boy they sure were surprised by the views. All of them proclaimed it was the best hike that had ever done, which makes me feel good. I like it when people experience, understand and appreciate the natural beauty of the White Mtns. Anyways, onto the trip report.
The day didn't start out so great. I checked the radar before I left, and there was a batch of showers and downpours headed straight for the Whites, so I knew we would all get wet. I was hoping it would clear out by the time we made it to the hut. Luck was even better than anticipated, as the rain stopped as soon as we made it to the funky bridge on the Zealand trail, and the sun immediately came out. I find that to be a rare occurrence in the Whites. The clouds usually hang tough.
Spring has definitely sprung in the white mountains, but the further into the Zealand trail we went, the smaller the leaves got. I've never hiked this section of trail in May before, and the grasses along the beaver ponds hadn't grown too tall, so there were several small views I had never seen before. At some point, I need to try the trail in winter.
Before too long, we made it to the hut. This hike was my first major white mountain hike since last October, so saying that I was a bit rusty is an understatement. After walking the nice and flat Zealand trail, I tackled the final steep push up to the hut with colors changing in my eyes, and my entire upper body started hurting. It was like a slap in the face! I was probably pushing myself too much. I'm never been that good at taking my time when trying to go up a steep climb. As usual, the views from the hut more than made up for it.
After a nice leisurely 35 min break, we tackled the final 1.3 miles to the Zeacliff outlook. At first, I was very bleary eyed, and physically drained. But as usual, I wasn't mentally tired, so that helped to keep me going. Spring is just starting to take hold above 3000 feet, as the leaves got smaller and smaller, until, just before we transitioned to all spruce and fir, there were no leaves on the birches at all. Like usual, I got a major 2nd wind when I saw the forest transitioning. I knew we were almost there. Just one more major steep section, and then the top!
This is about the 5th time I've hiked to the outlook. I'm always impressed with the views, and my hiking buddies were blown away. I don't think they talked for a few minutes. They just stared out into the Pemi in awe.
We spent a good long time hanging out up there, and then a few gray jays noticed our presence, and our food. I'm usually not a fan of feeding these things, but I wanted to show my hiking buddies what these birds do. So that made for several photo ops.
I like this one
continued in a minute
The day didn't start out so great. I checked the radar before I left, and there was a batch of showers and downpours headed straight for the Whites, so I knew we would all get wet. I was hoping it would clear out by the time we made it to the hut. Luck was even better than anticipated, as the rain stopped as soon as we made it to the funky bridge on the Zealand trail, and the sun immediately came out. I find that to be a rare occurrence in the Whites. The clouds usually hang tough.
Spring has definitely sprung in the white mountains, but the further into the Zealand trail we went, the smaller the leaves got. I've never hiked this section of trail in May before, and the grasses along the beaver ponds hadn't grown too tall, so there were several small views I had never seen before. At some point, I need to try the trail in winter.
Before too long, we made it to the hut. This hike was my first major white mountain hike since last October, so saying that I was a bit rusty is an understatement. After walking the nice and flat Zealand trail, I tackled the final steep push up to the hut with colors changing in my eyes, and my entire upper body started hurting. It was like a slap in the face! I was probably pushing myself too much. I'm never been that good at taking my time when trying to go up a steep climb. As usual, the views from the hut more than made up for it.
After a nice leisurely 35 min break, we tackled the final 1.3 miles to the Zeacliff outlook. At first, I was very bleary eyed, and physically drained. But as usual, I wasn't mentally tired, so that helped to keep me going. Spring is just starting to take hold above 3000 feet, as the leaves got smaller and smaller, until, just before we transitioned to all spruce and fir, there were no leaves on the birches at all. Like usual, I got a major 2nd wind when I saw the forest transitioning. I knew we were almost there. Just one more major steep section, and then the top!
This is about the 5th time I've hiked to the outlook. I'm always impressed with the views, and my hiking buddies were blown away. I don't think they talked for a few minutes. They just stared out into the Pemi in awe.
We spent a good long time hanging out up there, and then a few gray jays noticed our presence, and our food. I'm usually not a fan of feeding these things, but I wanted to show my hiking buddies what these birds do. So that made for several photo ops.
I like this one
continued in a minute
Last edited:
