[Andrew]

Mount Moosilauke
4,802 feet

[Stickball13]

Gorge Brook Trail

Book time to summit: 3:05
Elevation gain: 2450
Length of trip: 7.4 miles

Getting to the trailhead was a beautiful drive through mountain roads of route 112 and 118 west from Lincoln into Woodstock NH. About five miles on route 118 there was a right turn. This is Moosilauke Ravine Lodge Road. The trailhead is located on this dirt road about two miles off the main mountain road. There was a log house that is used as a lodge at the trailhead.

Through my research of Mount Moosilauke trails I found this trail description to be the easiest, the exception being that the last ½ mile to the summit being very exposed to bad weather. Starting from the hikers parking lot the trail was pretty easy with a slight incline following the Gorge Brook. This was a very nice little river with many small water falls. It was loud in many areas with the fast running water. When crossing over the brook at the third bridge you move away from the brook and start a steady incline. At this point there is a memorial plaque for the Ross McKenney Forest. This trail now follows an old logging road.

As we approached the rocky summit there were fine views of the valley below as well as the surrounding mountains. The summit had remnants of an old stone foundation. These stone walls were once the base for a cottage that was once there.

Very nice hike, well worth it.

[Andrew]

I have hiked this mountain three times, and it's clearly my favorite single peak hike. It's not too taxing or demanding and offers some great panoramic views from both summits. Very, very good day.

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[Andrew]

Heading up to "the moose" this sunday!

[Soulfrk]

Andrew, on Jun 13 2008, 08:38 AM, said:

Heading up to "the moose" this sunday!

which route?

[Andrew]

oh, I reckon up the George Brook up, down the Carriage Road/Snapper...

[sdways01]

Mt. Moosilauke

Glencliff Trail --> Carriage Road --> Summit --> Back

Distance: 7.232 mi.
Elevation Gain: 3263 ft.
Time: 3:30 (ascent)
4:15 (total)

The trail starts off very gentle following the edge of a couple fields before going into the woods for good. It isn't overly steep but steadily gains elevation. There are few rocks during this section of trail making pretty easy and a good warm up for the rest of the hike.


Early section of trail

All along trail there are plenty of trees that have broken off or fallen. Some have been there for many years and some have fallen recently. You will also find there are many brooks that are next to, crossing, or running down the trail. But even with this, it isn't overly muddy.


Fallen tree

After hiking for quite a while (2 miles?), you will come to the steepest section of the hike. But even this isn't that bad. There are no large rocks to climb up or over.


Steeper section of trail

Since it was a cold and windy day with some morning clouds, I started to see ice forming on the trees around 4,000 ft.


Some ice on the needles

Once you reach the junction with the Carriage Road Trail, it becomes quite easy walking. You are on the ridge between the summit and the south peak, so there is no steep sections or hard parts. This was where I started seeing many more trees with ice forming on them.


Carriage Road trail

The walk along the ridge was quite easy and made for a short trip to the summit.


Summit in some clouds

I never really did get much of a view to the North. The clouds were in and out (mostly in), making views limited. I could mostly see to the South and sometimes the East and West. Normally I would have waited a while for some better photos, but it was a little chilly and VERY windy. It was even hard to stand still at times while taking photos.


Summit

I decided it would be best to start heading back down the mountain and get to where the trees could provide me some shield from the wind.


Heading back down the trail


The Eastern side of the mountain

While hiking back on the ridge, I was able to look back and have a beautiful view of the summit I had just left. It made quite the seen with the blue sky above and the ice on the trees and rocks. This was probably the best part of the hike and I was now headed back down with a big smile on my face.


View back to the summit

All in all this was a great hike and not as hard as I was expecting with the elevation of the summit. Even with the high winds on the summit I still had a great time and enjoyed myself a lot. It was great to see everything there and even better having it to myself as I never saw a single person.


Close up of summit sign


Rime ice forming on the rocks


Ice forming on a cairn near the summit

To view the rest of the pictures from the hike, just click here.

[Ben Smith]

That rime ice is really pretty. It must have been super fun on the summit.

[sdways01]

Ben Smith, on 19 Nov 2009 - 06:20 PM, said:

That rime ice is really pretty. It must have been super fun on the summit.

I'm not sure about super fun on the summit, but it sure was super windy. The MWO higher elevations forecast was calling for 55-75 mph winds. I don't have anything to measures that with, but I am sure it got in that range as it was hard to walk into the wind and even hard to stand on the summit.

In all reality, it was a fun hike and a great experience on the summit.

[dudley]

It's possible to estimate wind speed by using the Beaufort Scale
Of course you'll either need to carry the chart or memorize it and when the wind is high enough to care about , it's going to blow away any paperwork you pull out.

http://www.unc.edu/~...s/beaufort.html