From Subpar to Super Views

Date of Hikes: 9/24/11 & 9/25/11

Pemi East Side Trail & Lincoln Woods Trails: 6.0 miles
Hancock Notch/Cedar Brook/Hancock Loop Trails: 8.0 miles (2,000 elevation gain)
Click here for Trail Descriptions

Trip Report:
- Saturday's weather forecast was kind of crummy so I decided to check out the Pemi East Side Trail to see what Storm Irene did to it. It was heavily eroded and had some wash outs including one section where a huge water flow pipe washed away (click link below to see picture).
- When I reached the Wilderness boundary I went down to the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River and decided to cross the river. I took off my boots and waded across where there was one ten foot spot where I was up to my waist but the current was slow so I just had to make sure I had good footing.
- I headed back to the car and then went to the hairpin turn on the Kanc to meet up with Alton and her friend Mike for a late afternoon hike in over the Hancock's.
- We got on the trail at 4:45pm, Alton and Mike had just biked the Kanc East to West then back, so they were exhausted! To make things worse the weather was still sub-par for views and with all the recent rain we had to stick to the trails and bypass the Arrow Slide.
- We made it close to the summit of North Hancock and decided to turn back which was fine with me.
- The Cedar Brook Trail is eroded from Storm Irene and sand has been deposited in heavy amounts in other spots from the brook breaking its banks, pretty wild stuff.
- Once back at the car I headed to the Woodstock Inn Brewery for dinner and a drink before heading to Haystack Road where I crashed in my tent for a good nights sleep before Sunday's hike in the Presidential Range.

- Click Here for Pictures

-Sunday-

Trail	Miles	.	.	.	.	.	.
Jewell	3.7	Gulfside	0.9	Sphinx	2.2	Gulfside	0.1
Mount Clay Loop	1.2	Gulfside	1.1	Crawford Path	1.5	Camel Trail	1.4
Mount Monroe Loop	0.6	Ammonoosuc Ravine	3.1	.	.	.	.
Total Miles	15.8	.	.	.	.	.	.
Elevation Gain	6,550	.	.	.	.-	.-	.-

Trip Report:
- Sunday's weather broke just right as the fog and clouds cleared off the higher elevations by 8am and I was rewarded with great early morning views on the Jewell Trail.
- The Jewell Trail is a very easy trail in good weather and has excellent views into Burt's Ravine across to the Cog Tracks.  As soon as I broke above treeline the Cog Train was slowly moving up the tracks to the Halfway House before crawling up and over Jacob's Ladder.  I followed it and took several picture as I hiked up to the Gulfside Trail.
- Once on the Gulfside Trail I headed north and dropped down to the Sphinx Col.  It was mid morning by the time I reached the Sphinx Trail and with unseasonably warm temps I wished I had brought my sunscreen as I knew I would get some sun burn later as I headed up to Mount Washington.
- I headed down the Sphinx Trail to see how far up the landslide from Irene damaged the trail.  To my surprise it had been cleared out by the Forest Service Trail Crew.  There was about 200 feet of the trail where they removed some pretty nasty blowdowns, it was and incredible job done and the trail underneath held up pretty well and is still easy to follow.
- When I reached the bottom of the Sphinx Trail I turned around and hiked back up and did some minor clipping back of the trail where it needed to be brushed back above the landslide until the broken ledge with the running water just below treeline.
- Back on the Gulfside Trail I quickly turned onto the Mount Clay Loop Trail over Clay and then up to Mount Washington where I refilled my water and headed down to Lakes of the clouds drafting and older guy who turned off onto the Tuckerman Crossover Trail.
- Right before the hut I turned onto the Camel Trail to try and locate an old emergency shelter that used to be at the height of Land on the Camel Trail where the original Crawford Path ran across. As I reached a flat grassy section I noticed off to my right a rock about twenty feet off trail with two iron rods sticking out of it, I walked over and sure enough it was the location of the old shelter, I looked around in the general vacinity of the rods and found lots of old rusted nails and some old shell casings for a gun, pretty wild stuff!
- I then hiked the rest of the Camel Trail to Davis Path and ran back into the older guy who earlier had turned off on Tuckerman Crossover, we chatted for a few minutes about how great the weather and this section of trail are before heading our separate ways.
- At the Davis Path Trail junction I turned back around and hiked the Camel Trail back to Lakes of the Clouds.
- On the way back as I neared the site of the old shelter I noticed a depression in the grass running towards the rock and remembered the original Crawford Path ran through here, I then looked to the north and noticed the depression heading past the Camel Trail so I followed it for a few hundred feet, it's barely noticeable but if you look pay attention you can keep following it.  I'll head back here again to see how much of it I can follow in the future.
- Once back at the hut I headed over to the summit of Mount Monroe and took a nice long break to eat a late lunch before heading down the Ammoosuc Ravine Trail where I turned on my radio just in time to hear the Pats lose, son-of-a....
- It was one of the best days in the White Mountains I've had this year, the weather was perfect and the views were awesome!

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 Outlook at the Hancock Notch Trailhead

 The Cog, Lakes of the Clouds Hut, and Mount Monroe

 Mount Eisenhower in a wave of clouds

 Brook crossing on the Sphinx Trail

 The Great Gulf Wilderness

 Cog and Mount Jefferson

 Lakes of the Clouds and Mount Monroe

 Lakes of the Clouds Hut

Site of an early twentieth century emegency shelter

In and Above the Great Gulf Wilderness

Great Gulf Trail:  4.5 miles
Six Husbands Trail: 2.3 miles
Mount Jefferson Loop / Gulfside Trail: 3.1 miles
Osgood / Great Gulf Trail: 5.6 miles
Total Miles: 15.5 (5,500 elevation gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

 Trip Report:
- Day two of Diaz hiking with me in the White Mountains called for even better weather so it was off to the Great Gulf Wilderness to one of the wildest and steepest trails around, the Six Husbands Trail.
- To get to the Six Husbands Trail one has to hike 4.5 miles deep into the Great Gulf which gets wilder and more remote once passing the Bluff tentsite.  There were not many people on the trails in here, we only saw five other hikers in the morning, three heading up the Great Gulf trail all the way to Mount Washington's summit and two others on the Six Husbands Trail.
- The Six Husbands Trail was was in great shape with no blowdowns and they also added a new ladder right after the short scramble under the overhanging rock.  The section right before, during, and after the ladders is one of the best sections of hiking in the Whites, it's steep, rough, a little dicey, and very exciting.
- Once passed this section you head into the Alpine Zone and have incredible views into the Great Gulf, Jefferson Ravine, and across to the Wildcat-Carter-Moriah Range.
- The final push up to the summit into the wind drained the energy out of Diaz but he rebounded after we took a long half hour break at the summit and chatted it up with a guy who just completed his 36th - 4,000 foot summit.
- After lunch we quickly dropped down to Edmands Col, made great time over to Thunderstorm Junction, and enjoyed the stroll along the sidewalk section of the Gulfside Trail before the last short steep descent to Madison Springs Hut enjoying the perfect weather.
- At the hut we took a quick break and decided instead of heading down the Madison Gulf Trail to spend more time above treeline and head over the summit of Mount Madison and take the Osgood Trail back down to the Great Gulf Trail.
- The hike up to the summit went without a hitch and the hike down the Osgood Ridge was excellent with crystal clear 360 degree views.
- Once below treeline the hike become a mini-slog but we still made good time and made it back to camp Dodge just in time for the BBQ!
- It was an awesome two days in the White Mountains and Diaz had alot of fun and has now hiked all of the official 5,000 foot summits int he White Mountains! Can't wait to next year!

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 Ladder Steps on the Six Husbands Trail

 Scrambling up the Six Husbands Trail

 Hiking above treeline

 Mount Washington

 Thunderstorm Junction

Hiking down to Madison Springs Hut

Another Classic Franconia Ridge Loop

Falling Waters Trail: 3.4 miles
Franconia Ridge Trail: 1.7 miles
Greenleaf Trail: 3.4 miles
Pemi Bike Bath: 2.0 miles
Total Miles: 10.5 (3,900 elevation gain)
Click here for trail descriptions

Trip Report:
- My friend from my days at the "College of the Quinnipiac University" Tom Diaz came up for his second annual two day hiking trip in the White Mountains.
- With great weather forecast for the weekend it was the perfect opportunity to do one of the best hikes in the White Mountains, the classic Franconia Ridge Traverse!
- We got on the trail early to beat the crowds and had a fun hike up the always fun Falling Waters Trail with a pit stop along the way to check out Shining Rock.
- Once breaking above treeline we were greeted with some pretty gusty winds that were a blast to hike in and knocked us off balance on top of Lincoln for a few seconds.
- As we approached the summit of Mount Lafayette a pretty cool undercast came rushing in making for some pretty killer views.
- On the summit of Lafayette we got out of the wind and took a nice long break to have had lunch while a group of teenages above us set up a tarp, played some music, had an inflatable pool float, and some had pajamas on. Don't know what they were up to but they were having a fun time!
- The hike down to Greenleaf Hut went pretty fast and as we descended towards the undercast it passed through and everything was clear below us again, perfect timing!
- At the hut we decided to continue along the Greenleaf Trail instead of Old Bridle Path. Greenleaf Trail is lightly used compared to Old Bridle Path so it's a quieter hike but other than a small section that passes under Eagle Cliff there are no views.
- With about a half mile to go on the Greenleaf Trail we left the trail and dropped down to the bike path to cut off about a mile worth of hiking and then enjoyed the nice smooth walk back to the car along the Pemi Bike/Walking Trail.

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 Stairs Falls

 Diaz holding onto his hat in the high wind

 Classic Franconia Ridge shot!

Mount Lafayette Summit

Water World

Date of Hike: 9/2/11 & 9/3/11

Lunch

Lincoln Woods Trail: 5.8 miles

Dinner

Falling Waters Trail: 3.2 miles

Franconia Ridge: 1.7 miles

Greenleaf Trail / Old Bridle Path: 4.0 miles

Breakfast

Great Gulf / Sphinx Trail: 11.7 miles

Trip Report:

Lunch

- After two weeks off to heal it was time to head back up north to go hiking.  Originally I was going to head up to the Adirondacks to finish off the Forty-Six High Peaks but Hurricane Irene came through and all trails to six of the eight remaining peaks I have left are closed so I headed up to the White Mountains instead.

- I got up to New Hampshire early in the morning on Friday to beat the holiday weekend traffic and I spent the morning working.  On my lunch break I headed over to Lincoln Woods to check out some of the damage along everyone's favorite trail, the Lincoln Woods Trail!

- There were some washouts along the trails, some major erosion creating steep cliffs dropping off into the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River, but overall the section up until the wilderness boundary is still the same as it ever was....kind of boring!

- After my lunch break it was back to work until 5pm where I headed to Franconia Notch to catch sunset on the Franconia Ridge.

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 Erosion from high water flow during the storm

Trail washout

Washout near a foot bridge on the Lincoln Woods Trail

Dinner

- The start of the trail up until the Old Bridle Path / Falling Waters Trail split is heavily eroded (couple of feet deep trench), the footing is awful with loose rocks and tree roots exposed from the Walker Brook jumping its banks during the storm.

- The weather was perfect while hiking up the Falling Waters Trail, and the mist drifting from Stairs Falls, Swiftwater Falls, and Cloudland Falls felt very refreshing while working up a sweat ascending.

- Along the way I came across about a dozen hikers all descending back to Lafayette Place.  A few were concerned that I was hiking to late but I assured them I had meant to get a late start.

- I was thrilled about catching a great sunset on the Franconia Ridge and I could not wait to get above treeline on Little Haystack to look out at the big views with Franconia Notch on one side and the Pemigewasset Wilderness on the other.

- Unfortunately as soon as I reached Little Haystack clouds came out of nowhere and would ruin the sunset.  The weather forecast called for clear skies through the early evening, well not on the ridge, I was socked in!  I waited for a few minutes hoping for a quick clearing of the skies but started to get chilled so I booked it over to Lafayette in thirty minutes.

- There wasn't anyone on the ridge, but there were a group of three guys huddled up out of the wind where the old foundation ison Mount Lafayette.  I chatted it up with them for a few minutes, they where doing Semi-Pemi-Loop over three days and taking a break to warm up and refuel before heading along the ridge to spend the night at Liberty Spring Campsite.

- I quickly hiked down the Greenleaf Trail towards the hut hoping to descend below the clouds to catch some sunset but I was in the clouds the whole way.  It was a bummer but the good news is my ACL/MCL and ankle issues from the past two hikes were holding up great!

- At the hut I went inside to refill my water before stepping back outside where I had my dinner while sitting on the steps before heading back to the car.  One guy thought I was Coo-Coo Bananas for hiking at night, I thought he was going to call me an idiot!

- The rest of the way back to the car went fast, I wanted to test out my knee and ankle so I jogged down most of the way, everything felt fine.

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Waterfall along the Falling Waters Trail

Clouds coming up from Franconia Notch on Little Haystack

Hiking along the Franconia Ridge

Breakfast

- On Saturday I woke up to thunderstorms and heavy rain, I had wanted to hike up the Jewell Trail and over the the Sphinx Trail to do trail work but I ended up heading over to the Great Gulf Trailhead and waiting for the rain to pass and then I started the long 5.6 mile hike into the Great Gulf Wilderness to the Sphinx Trail.

- The Great Gulf Trail is boring until one reaches the "Bluff" 2.5 miles in.  Over the next three miles the trail becomes more and more secluded as it travels closely by the West Branch, passes by the site where the Great Gulf Shelters used to be, and then past beautiful cascades as the trail become rougher.  the trails was pretty water-logged in spots but the brook crossings where still pretty easy.

- I finally reached the Sphinx trail and immediately rain into small blowdowns which where easy to clear.  I also trimmed back branches that where hanging in the trail.  The trail had seen lots of water from the Hurricane Irene but the going was fine, nothing major as I crossed the brook once, and then twice.  I kept clearing the minor blowdowns and trimming back branches as I approached the third crossing of the brook where the cascades would start to begin. 

- At this point I looked up and saw ahead of me there was a wall of downed trees blocking access to the crossing, it looked bad, then as i got closer it got really bad.  When I was finally able to look over the wall of downed trees I could see the brook was now clogged with uprooted trees, rock, and gravel.  The steep bank above the brook a few hundred feet up had given out causing a small landslide and whiping out the trail. 

- I bushwhacked into the destruction, took a couple of pictures and got the hell out of there because I didn't feel safe.  I couldn't find where the trail went, but it's definitely destroyed for at least a few hundred feet and maybe more.  If it hadn't rained in the morning I would have taken more of a risk to see more of the damage but I played it safe and turned around and started to hike out.

- I ran into a bunch of people backpacking and hiking on the way out, I let them know what I ran into, however no one was heading to the Sphinx...it's such a lightly traveled trail, which under normal circumstance is to bad because it's a spectacular trail.

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View up to The Presidential Range from the West Branch

Hiking along The Great Gulf Trail

Cascade along the Great Gulf Trail