Hiking in the White Mountains: Appalachian Trail

Showing posts with label Appalachian Trail. Show all posts

Hope Springs Eternal . . . Mount Lafayette & Lincoln

Date of Hike: 3/24/21

Old Bridle Path: 2.9 miles / Greenleaf Trail: 1.1 miles / Franconia Ridge Trail: 1.7 miles / Falling Waters Trail: 3.0 miles

Total Miles: 8.9 (3,900 elevation gain)

Trip Report:

- With unseasonably warm temps overtaking the White Mountains recently I got an early start on Wednesday to get in a quick hike along Franconia Ridge before work and more importantly to get off the trails before the snow softened up too much to where post holing became an issue.

- Unlike Pinkham Notch which has been absurdly busy this week, Lafayette Place was extremely quiet with only one other car in the lot at 6:30AM

- The trails below treeline still have several feet of snow but were solid enough to make for easy passage with light traction. Above treeline was a different story, 50/50 bare ground and old rotting snow drifts.

- There was a stiff breeze above 4000 feet but with temps rising to 40 degrees it made the trek across the ridge with a light hat and old ratty gloves easy and straightforward.

- Views were muted from the cloud cover high above blocking out the sun but they were still grand as they always are up here when it's in the clear. I've been lucky enough to have been up here well over fifty times and I never take the views for granted, especially this time since I have been mourning the unexpected passing of my brother recently as he lost his battle with depression. Wherever he is in the afterlife, I'm sure he is able to watch over me and see the beautiful views I take in while above treeline and hopefully that it eases his pain. I love and miss you, Joe-Ben :)

Sarge strikes a pose along Agony Ridge

Sarge heads up Greenleaf Trail with Cannon and the Kinsmans behind him

Summit of Mount Lafayette

Sniffin' and lickin' the wind!

Classic Franconia Ridge Shot

Sarge on the summit of Mount Lincoln

Mount Lafayette behind Sarge

Presidential Range off in the distance

Sarge on Little Haystack with Mount Lincoln in view

Cloudland Falls

Hope Springs Eternal . . . Hale, Zealand, Twins Loop

Date of Hike: 3/20/16

Herd Path: 1.0 miles / North Twin Trail & Herd Path: 1.0 miles / Mount Hale Trail (Fire Wardens) 2.2 miles / Lend-A-Hand Trail: 2.5 miles / Twinway: 6.0 miles / North Twin Spur: 1.2 miles / North Twin Trail: 4.2 miles / Herd Path: 1.0 miles

Total Miles: 19.0 (5,712 feet elevation gained)

Trip Report:

- The first day of spring brought on spectacular weather that was too perfect to pass up logging in a big mile day to finish off my March grid. I had two peaks left, Hale and Zealand and decided to do one of the more enjoyable loop hikes in the Whites along with South and North Twin. The route involves an abandoned trail, the Mount Hale Trail (AKA Fire Wardens Trail), however the trail is easy to follow and travels through some of the most beautiful Birch glades in the Whites. The only caveat is being able to locate the start of the old trail which lays between the first and second crossing of the north twin trail off a well beaten herd path, here's a hint...find a narrow lil' tree standing guard in the middle of the herd path and bang an immediate left up a small embankment onto an very well defined old road heading uphill in the direction you just came.

- From here the old trail ascends very gradually up to the summit passing by the aforementioned Birch glades, then a pine tree tunnel, followed by an old growth section where old man's beard is prevalent.

- From Mount Hale's summit I dropped down the well blazed Lend-A-Hand Trail for a couple of miles over the snow covered trails to the junction of the Twinway where I faced my steepest climb of the day. The initial burst on the Twinway to Zeacliff is steady and steep, which slows even the strongest hikers pace significantly. Luckily, you are rewarded for your struggles as the Zeacliff outlook has tremendous views. Once past Zeacliff the grades ease to the summit of Zealand, except for one short burst past the well placed ladder steps.

- I took a short break at the summit where I think I angered some Gray Jays as I refused to feed them, I was really hungry and didn't want to share my snacks! Two of them just went from tree branch to tree branch above my head practically begging for my food. I'd feel bad but I know they probably were going to be fed and fed well by several hikers coming through after me.

- Now I started the second part of my hike, the fun part, as it was time to hike to some big views. First up was cresting over North Guyot on the Twinway, one of my favorite stretches of trail, after spending miles and miles in the woods the trail pops out into a beautiful rock alpine meadow with sweet views of the Pemigewasset Wilderness. The views are short lived as after a few tenths of a mile I was back in the woods heading over to South Twin. I was shocked at the lack of snow through here, it was very low and the trail was easy to follow, even though it had been drifted over in most places after Saturday's foot traffic from Pemi Loopers. Usually, this section is buried in snow, blazes are sparse and awfully placed, and overall it's extremely hard to follow without a GPS devise.

- When I made it to the summit of South Twin I took my lunch break and enjoyed the phenomenal views while basking in the sun. It was oh so quiet and peaceful on the summit and it was one of those moments where I realized I'm very lucky to live in the mountains and explore them every week.

- From South Twin I made quick work over to North Twin and its outlook to check out the great view of more than half the 'horseshoe' that makes up the Pemi Loop (Flume through Galehead). After taking a bunch of pictures I decided it was time to push myself physically and see if I could trail run the final five miles back to the Jeep in under an hour. I caught a break with the trail being a super packed highway almost all the way down to the water crossing, which was a little sketchy but I made it across with a few leaps of faith, knowing that if I fell in I wouldn't be sucked down the river and just would have a chilly remaining twenty-five minute run to the trailhead. The run out went very well and it took me fifty-two minutes to complete, this meant I was able to catch Whitney at home before she headed off to work. A perfect start to Spring!

When Haystack Road is closed there are a few spots to park at the end of Little River Road, do not block the private drive, do not wear spikes over the bridge, and please be very respectful to local land owners that let us easily access the mountains. The herd path to the North Twin trailhead starts immediately after the bridge on the left

The herd path and the first mile of the North Twin Trail are over the old Little River Railroad grade.

Between water crossings #1 and #2 there is a herd path bypass, off this bypass is the start of the abandoned Fire Wardens Trail. Right after the little tree the trail makes a u-turn up a small embankment

Birch Glades

The old trail is still really well defined

The trail up to the summit of Mount Hale

Heading to Zealand Mountain along the Lend-A-Hand and Twinway

Carrigain Notch off in the distance from Zeacliff outlook

Whitewall Mountain

Carrigain Notch (top). Norcross Pond is the tiny little white patch in the middle of the bottom picture

Mount Hale as seen from the Twinway

Cresting over Northeast Guyot

The Slides of the Twinway, hiking in the woods, and looking back to Guyot from just below South Twin

Looking back to Guyot

Hale (top), Zealand (bottom)

Presidential Range and a zoom-in of Mount Jefferson and Adams

Looking towards North Twin

Presidential Range

Zoom-in of Mount Washington

Pemi Wilderness (Flume, Liberty, Lincoln, Lafayette, Garfield, Galehead)

Galehead and the hut

Mount Zealand and South Twin

Mount Hale with the Presidential Range rising high above in the background

Heading down the North Twin Trail and crossing the Little River

Back along the lower section of the North Twin Trail and the herd path from the North Twin trailhead and the end of Little River Road

Old Stone fireplace and shelter, filled with some junk

The bridge over the Little River and the Little River

Signs spotted along the way

Route for the day (click here for details)

Elevation profile for the hike

Northeast 111 Finish . . . Saddleback and The Horn

Date of Hike: 8/31/15

Saddleback Ski Trails: 1.7 miles / Appalachian Trail: 3.4 miles / Saddleback Ski Trails: 1.7 miles
Total Miles: 6.8 miles (3,232 feet elevation gained)

Trip Report:
- In October of 2011 I finished the Adirondack 46er list. At that time I had only a handful of hikes left to complete the Northeast 111 list, which is actually 115 mountains when Galehead, Bondcliff, Spaulding, and Redington were added to it awhile ago.
- On Monday, Whitney and I headed to Saddleback Ski Area for a quick hike up the ski trails to the summit of Saddleback Mountain then north over to The Horn. The weather forecast which called for abundant sunshine was completely wrong as everything above 3,800 feet was blanketed in thick clouds.
- The hike up the the ski trails (Grey Ghost, Tri-Color) was different than most as there was a cleared out narrow dirt path that snaked up the slopes, so it felt more like a hiking trail than a grassy filled ski slope. I'm actually a big fan of hiking and running ski trails as there are great open views from the slopes and usually the grade is steep so the hike up to the summit is shorter mileage wise while packing quite a punch to your calve muscles.
- As we gained elevation the wind ramped up to around 30 mph and we headed into the clouds as we hooked onto the Appalachian Trail completely exposed to the wind. We didn't stay long at Saddleback's summit because of the wind and no views, which was a let down because there are great views when there are no clouds.
- When I asked Whitney her advice on which Mountain to finish on she suggested The Horn because she compared the hike between Saddleback and The Horn to the hike between Bond and Bondcliff. She was spot on, and as luck would have it the clouds miraculously lifted off shortly after we began our descent from Saddleback. It was a great ridge walk to finish up the 111 list, and I was pretty thrilled that I ended up getting views after everything was socked in.
- I stood on top of The Horn on August 31st, twenty-seven years to the day that I stood on Mount Washington, my first 4,000 foot peak (1988 when I was nine years old), funny how things work out like that!
- Looking back it was a fun journey completing the list. The most vivid memories that will always stay with me is the first time I popped out above treeline below Bondcliff, hiking along the Knife Edge when I was a kid on what I consider the 'Cathedral' of the northeast, Mount Katahdin, and last bu not least the dramatic views from the Adirondacks, whose 46 high peaks I climbed in 2011.
- I've been really lucky to be able to experience these mountain ranges in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine over the past few decades. Not many people get to experience it the way I have, I'm very thankful and fortunate to have been able to. :)