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Mt. Hale
1-15-12

Zealand Rd --> Hale Brook Trail

Distance: 4.4 mi. (mountain hiking) 5.5 mi. (Road hiking) 9.9 mi. (total)
Elevation Gain: 2,266 ft.
Time: 3:53 (Mt. Hale) 6:54 (total)


The trail starts off, as road. I left the winter trailhead at 7:30am where it was a balmy -9 degrees. I walked the snowmobile trail to Zealand Road and then headed up that. I put on my snowshoes at the start even though I didn't really need to. But, I wanted to use my new snowshoes so this seemed like a good time to get used to them. The road was well packed out from snowshoes, skis, and a couple snowmobiles that went past the signs saying they shouldn't be on this section. The road is an easy walk and was a good way to get warmed up before the hike.


Zealand Road

When I got to the summer trailhead there was a pair of women skiing that had almost caught up to me. The quote of the day came from them as they stopped at the trailhead to hike as well. "Everyone is a little frosty today." I had already started icing up some from my breath hitting my jacket, and they were too. The trail was well packed out by snowshoes and was pretty easy going to start. It isn't too steep to start and gets you going up at a good pace. Through here, the women and I leap frogged each other a couple times until they finally stayed ahead of me. There are a couple small views through the leafless trees and one decent opening over an old logging cut just to the side of the trail.


Early part of Hale Brook trail

Soon you come to the crossing of Hale Brook in what is a very nice looking little spot. I imagine it is a great sight with fresh snow clinging to the trees. The trail continues up steadily from here for a while.


Hale Brook crossing

Soon I came to a nice section of trail where you go along a semi-steep sidehill along a narrow path. With the snow, there isn't much side room to step before you will slide some. This was a nice part of the trail though and fun. Shortly after this you come to a series of switchbacks that make the steep hillside a pretty easy climb. The turns were a bit steep in a couple places, but the new snowshoes worked great for traction (much better than my old non hiking snowshoes).


Sidehill

After the switchbacks, you are fully in the conifers. These were clad with snow making a few branches to duck under. But they made things much nicer to look at as well. From here it is a little further of still not overly trail to the summit opening. When I finally got to the opening I quickly went to the side that looked like it would have the least wind exposure. While there was only a slight breeze, it still felt plenty cold. According to my weather meter here, it was down to -13 degrees. There were a few more clouds than I expected today, so there wasn't really any views other than the summit and the blue sky above. The clouds seemed to be hung up in all the mountains.


Nearing the summit


Open summit

On the summit in the cold, I learned that even with my lightweight gloves I normally wear winter hiking under my snowmobiling gloves, my hands can still get cold. If I could have fit my third pair of gloves between the two, I would have. This probably wasn't helped by needing to take them off at least one hand a few times to change the batteries in the camera and gps. They were draining quick in the cold and both have small pieces to move to open the compartments. I waited around for a while hoping to get some view, but finally after almost 30 minutes, I decided it was time to get moving again and warm back up. I am glad I had extra dry upper layers that I already changed into or I would have been colder.


Back to the trail

The hike down was pretty easy and went fairly quick. I had hoped to have time to do a loop down past Zealand Falls, but decided at the summit I wouldn't have time without finishing at least part of the road by headlamp. Back down to the road, there were a few groups of skiers and hikers coming in and out.


Heading down

All things considered, it was a good hike. It wasn't quite as clear as I had hoped and it was plenty cold, but it was still a good experience. I have never hiked in these temps before and it let me see just how much harder it can be to breath when it's that cold out.


Zealand River


For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Mt. Waumbek
12-24-11

Starr King Trail

Distance: 6.7 mi.
Elevation Gain: 2,392 ft. (overall) 2,726 ft. (total)
Time: 2:11 (Mt. Starr King) 3:10 (Mt. Waumbek) 5:30 (total)


The trail starts off nice and gentle up an old logging road from a small parking lot. While the lot isn't plowed, the snow wasn't deep yet and I was able to drive my truck right up in. Shortly after starting out, you leave the logging road you are on for a quick bit through the woods just to come out on another logging road. You stay on this road for quite a ways. Shortly you will go past the old springhouse foundation on your right next to the trail. Continuing up, the trail stays pretty gentle and mostly smooth. There are some rocks in the trail and today you could tell there was ice under the snow. It seems like this trail would be wet in the spring.


Following an old logging road

After a while, the trail leaves the logging road turning 90 degrees to the right. This is hard to miss as the logging road gets grown in with small trees. You head this direction mostly before turning back left some and heading up the mountain some more. It still isn't steep, but the trail does get a few more larger rocks in it. It was still icy under the snow here too and after two slips, I decided it was time for the microspikes.


Over some rocks

Soon, the trail will come to the edge of the hardwoods and go into the softwoods for the rest of it's length. Turning into the softwoods, the trail now follows along the side of the ridge instead of the top of it. It gets a little more rocky in here, and has a couple moderately steep sections. There isn't much looking out from the trees, but in places you can catch small peeks out through the trees towards Franconia Range. Coming up through the softwoods is interesting as it feels almost like you are in a tunnel. A little after halfway through the softwoods, you pass a spring on your left right next to the trail.


Up through the tunnel of trees

You can start to tell the trees are getting a little bit shorter just before the summit of Mt. Starr King. The trail slowly turns around to the right just before the trees open up above you at the summit. There is a rock here you can stand on to get a decent view. Just past this is the remains of an old shelter, but the trees are tall enough there isn't much of a view here.


Shelter remains

As I was having a terrible time regulating my body temperature today. I didn't want to stay here too long in my sweaty clothes. I wanted to get to Mt. Waumbek where I would change into my dry layers there and take a break. The trail heads back into the trees the next to the old fireplace and heads gently down into the saddle. Soon I came to a fresh set of moose tracks in the trail where it turned off to my right. With a fresh coating of snow last night, I knew they were from this morning. They were pretty big and I stopped to take a couple pictures of them. Once I started out, there were more tracks in another 20 feet. At first I thought it was a second moose, but it was headed the wrong way. The moose had done a u-turn just into the trees. Now heading away from me, the moose was taking longer strides and I decided that he had probably heard me and turned around.


Fresh tracks

I followed his tracks in the trail all the way to Mt. Waumbek summit. Heading towards me, the moose had been back and forth in and out of the trail looking for food on each side. Heading away from me, he never left the trail. I now had my camera out hoping I would see him ahead of me. Even if not following a moose, the trail through here is nice and gentle and a great walk. The time through here passes quickly and you have some limited views through the trees. Through here it was also interesting to see where the moose went in and out of. I was certainly surprised at one spot that it came out back onto the trail. There didn't look like enough room through the branches for a 100lb deer, nevermind an 800lb moose.


Following tracks up the trail

Having read about a viewpoint just past the summit of Mt. Waumbek, I contintued down the trail a couple hundred feet more. There is a great viewpoint just over a blowdown area that looks out to the Presidential Range. Oddly enough, this was where the moose finally left the trail and headed down the mountain. I put on some dry layers here and had a bite to eat. After enjoying the view for a while, I knew I needed to head back in order to be home in time for a party tonight. I headed back down the trail, stopping at Mt. Starr King for some views now that I was dry. Then I continued on back to the truck.


View from Waumbek

When I started the hike today it was 7 degrees. On the summit it had warmed up to 8.5 degrees. Back to the truck it was up to 16 degrees. There was no wind to worry about today as it was only a gentle breeze at best. I was surprised though that this was my second hike this week and on both of them I hadn't seen any other hikers. It was great to be hiking today with some winter conditions finally and a great blue sky. On the way home, I stopped briefly on 115A at a large field to get a couple pictures of the mountains.


Mt. Starr King view


View on the ride home

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Mt. Hancock & Mt. Hancock, South Peak
12-19-11

Hancock Notch Trail -> Cedar Brook Trail -> Hancock Loop Trail

Distance: 9.2 mi.
Elevation Gain: 2,284 ft. (overall) 2,555 ft. (total)
Time: 3:24 (North Hancock) 4:38 (South Hancock) 6:53 (total)


The Trail starts out straight, smooth, and gentle. It has very few turns and is a great warm up for the hike ahead. There is one early small brook crossing that is pretty easy. Today there was some ice on the logs at the start, so I just had to be careful there. After a while of easy hiking, the trail comes right up next tot eh river. You can stand on the edge of the high bank and look up an down. Now there are trees down across the river in both directions and even with a thin layer of snow, you can make out damage from Irene. The trail goes on for a little more before coming to a few quick and simple brook crossings before the start of the Cedar Brook Trail. Each of these crossings were pretty easy with rocks to step across right near the trail.


Gentle climbing trail


One of a few quick crossings

Just after one of these crossings there was a pile of feathers where it appears a small gray bird met it's demise in the trail. At the start of the Cedar Brook Trail, the trail heads uphill a little more, but is still pretty easy. Before long on this trail you start coming to multiple brook crossings as well. The first two crossings that the guide book mention, seem to have a side path that avoids them. Not sure if this is new or just a winter thing. There was brush to discourage you from using them. This isn't all bad since they are very close and the ice on the river didn't look all the best for crossing at these. There are still plenty of crossings though in this section. Again, these were pretty easy. Being a bigger hiker and seeing open water on the brooks, I made sure to cross where I knew ice was thicker or there were rocks under it to help support it/me.


Cedar Brook Trail brook crossing

When in the woods between the crossings, the trail was starting to have what would be some wet sections that are now iced over puddles or ice flows. Luckily for me I always where waterproof hiking boots, since I had my foot go through the ice in one place and a few inches into the water before I could stop it. Most of the ice in these sections could be pretty easily avoided by walking next to it while still staying on trail.


Some ice now showing up in the trail

At the last water crossing before the Hancock Loop Trail is where I finally put on my microspikes. The ice didn't look completely safe and the only safe way quickly noticeable was the downed tree partly out of the ice that was also covered in ice. I didn't want to slip off of that and into any water. After the start of the loop trail is the last crossing. For this one I went about 30 feet up stream (as others had too) to cross at a narrower section with more rocks. The ice at the trail didn't look all that good and poking it with my pole showed the top inch or so was more like slush than ice.

On the Hancock Loop Trail, the grade gets a little steeper and rockier, but still not bad. There is still plenty of sections of trail with a good layer of ice now too. You pass by the river on your left one more time before coming to the split in the trail. Now you can climb 1,028 ft in 0.7 miles on the left or 927 ft in 0.5 miles on the right. I had planned on hiking North Hancock first and stuck with this. The trail dips down into a gully briefly before heading up steeply.


River next to the trail


Fork in the trail

The trail aims mostly straight up the mountain and doesn't give you much of a break. It goes over various terrain including built stone steps as you get nearer to the top. This would be the only section of trail today where I saw blue sky above me. It gave me the hope that the sky would clear a little before I got to the summit, but it never did. After a while of steady climbing, the trail turns left some and levels out a bit more. Soon you are at the summit on North Hancock. I went to the left to the outlook. I didn't have my weather meter I ordered as I hoped I would, so I can't be sure how windy it was here. But it was windy enough for me to get out my goggles and face mask. I also almost got knocked over by a couple of the gusts.


Stone steps


Summit viewpoint

After only about 15 minutes and a few pictures, I grabbed my stuff and headed back into the trees. The trail between the summits was nice and easy with no real steep sections. It seemed like it would be a great section for a strole in the summer and was one of the nicest parts of trail today. It doesn't seem like it takes that much time to go the almost mile and a half over to South Hancock through here. Just before reaching South Hancock, there is a bit of a viewpoint to the West that allows a limited view towards Franconia Notch, but a good view back to North Hancock.


Heading to South Hancock.


North Hancock

Soon you are at the summit of South Hancock and can take the short trail down to the outlook here. I grabbed something eat here on the less windy side of the mountain. I watched as the sun tried to come out to the East, but never really did. After a little while here, I decided I should head out as I still had quite a walk back to the truck. I headed down South Hancock and was happy I choose not to come up this way. Going down, it seemed this trail would have been harder to come up with more big rocks to get up over and more ice on those rocks as well. As it was, it was still a little slow going down so I could be safe.


South Hancock outlook


Heading down South Hancock

It didn't take long and I was back to the fork in the loop trail. I stopped here again briefly before heading out with a gentle walk from here on out. The walk back to the truck went well and passed pretty quick. In the end it was a good hike even though it was cloudy and windy. The wind felt to be about 20mph pretty consistently on the summits and was certainly gusting higher. The thermometer in the truck said 14 when I started out and 30 when I got back. On the summits I would guess it was in the low 20s. I was surprised today by a couple of things though. First, for only the second time hiking in the whites I didn't see a single person all day. Second, for how hard the hike seemed like it would be from the guide book and trip reports, I didn't think it was all that bad. It has a good length to it, but in the end I wasn't all that tired.


Iced up brook on the trail


For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

RichNH, on 26 Dec 2011 - 06:23 PM, said:

I hadn't thought at the time about being viewed on a widescreen monitor. I will try to figure something out. Now that winter is here I want to put up a winter hiking tips section too. Just been too busy to get to it.

Mt. Wildcat D Peak & Mt. Wildcat
11-19-11

Wildcat Ridge Trail

Distance: 7.2 mi.
Elevation Gain: 2,463 ft. (overall) 2,943 ft. (total)
Time: 2:48 (Wildcat D) 4:03 (Wildcat A) 7:35 (total)


The Trail starts out by crossing the Ellis River. Today it was pretty easy to step from rock to rock without getting wet or worrying about slipping. You then go intot he trees and quickly come tot he Lost Pond Trail on your left. Continue straight and almost immediately you come to the steep uphill. There are quite a few large rocks making up the trail, but they aren't all that hard to get up and in many places have been moved like steps for you. But it does just keep going up and up and very steeply.It doesn't take long though and you come to your first view across the valley.


Skirting around an open rock face

Here you skirt around the open rock and then head right back uphill again over a little pit of a tricky spot (moreso on the way down). There was a coating of snow all the way up the mountain today. This made it a little slower going up these steep sections as it was hard to tell how slick the rock would be under the snow. A couple times I did find a bit of ice.


The steep rocky trail

The trail stays steep for quite some time on the way up. Occasionaly it comes out onto open rock faces that give nice views across the valley, but could be tricky with any more snow. After quite a while of steep trail, you finally get a bit of a break when the trail levels out some and goes past a small open spot on the trail with a limited view up the ridge. From here the trail goes up, down, up, down, up, etc. There are many brief downhill sections before more steep uphills. You start to wonder if you will ever get to E peak. Each time you think you might be to it, there is another.


View across the valley from the trail


Open ledge on the trail

Finally the trails levels out for a distance and you make it to E peak. Just a short easy walk after this and you get to the top of the ski trails just before D peak.


D Peak in sight

The trail goes behind the old building and then up a short steep climb to the observation deck on the summit. The view of the presidentials from the deck are great. You also can just see Wildcat and the Carters above the trees tot he Northeast. This gives you a bit of an idea how far you have left and what the contour is.


View from the observation deck


Carters and Wildcat A

From here the trail goes down somewhat steeply over what was only slightly slick conditions. Once you get down into the saddle, there are plenty of sections with well built foot bridges along the trail. I think but maybe one of these foot bridges were very solid and very strongly built. A lot of work was put in and it was done well. After a bit of an easy section, you start going back up towards C Peak. This section is scattered with short steep sections mixed between the gentle sections of trail. Over C and B Peaks there isn't much to let you know if you are at the peaks. Just your own judgement if you are at a high spot. The last climb up to A peak is a nice gentle one and suddenly there is a short path to your right that leads you to the view point across Carter Notch.


There are many well built foot bridges


Short steep spot


Carter Notch

I wish I had more time to site here and enjoy the view. But all I had time for was a bite to eat and some pictures. I had gotten a later start than I planned in the morning and didn't really want to go down the steep sections of trail in the dark, even with my headlamp. I headed back over the same route I came up without taking much for breaks or pictures. I did make sure to stop back at D Peak for one more view and to put some gatorade from a bottle into my bladder in the my pack. Coming down the steep sections wasn't too bad, but I certainly had to take my time. Down low on the mountain, most of the snow had melted, but there were still patches. Some of those smooth steep rocks that were a bit tricky on the way up were even trickier on the way down. I just took my time on these while still keeping an eye on how much light I had left. I made good time and got back to my truck at quarter till dark. I could see without my headlamp, but I would have needed it in probably about another 5-10 minutes.

All in all the hike was great. The weather cleared nicely and the wind wasn't too bad. The guide book is right in that you shouldn't under estimate this trail from looking at the map. I also remember seeing somewhere that they don't recommend this trail in the winter without crampons. I can see that this may be the case once things get a bit more snow or ice. There was just enough bare rock that I could get up with bare boots, but much more and I certainly would have had on my microspikes (as the one other couple I saw all day did).


View out through the trees coming down C Peak


Heading down the steep rocky stairs as the sun goes down


For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE