Hiking in the White Mountains: Beaver Brook Trail

Showing posts with label Beaver Brook Trail. Show all posts

October Grid Completed : Mount Moosilauke

Date of Hike: 10/24/15

Beaver Brook Trail: 2.3 miles / Abandoned Beaver Brook Trail 1.0 miles / Beaver Brook Trail: 3.5 miles
Total Miles: 6.75 (3,200 feet elevation gained)

Trip Report:
- On Saturday I made my way over to Kinsman Notch to head up one of the more steeper and rugged trails that's not located in the Presidential Range, the Beaver Brook Trail. The first mile and a half is very steep with some slippery footing on slab that parallels the beautiful Beaver Brook Cascades. There are wooden block steps and re-bar that has been strategically placed by the DOC (Dartmouth Outing Club) to assist hikers through some of the more sketchier sections.
- Above the cascades the trail passes by the Beaver Brook lean-to and the grade eases off significantly as the remaining two miles to the summit becomes much easier on the feet.
- Around 2.3 miles the Beaver Brook Trail makes a sharp right, there's even a tiny wooden arrow sign alerting a hiker to turn right. I ignored the arrow and kept heading strait over the original, now abandoned, cut of the Beaver Brook Trail. The trail skirts above the steep slopes of Jobildunc Ravine and makes more of a direct line towards the summit. The first half of the old trail is easy to follow, initially it heads through a small tunnel like corridor followed by a short walk over a tiny alpine meadow with a unique view of Mount Moosilauke. From here the old trail heads back into the woods as it snakes through an overgrown mossy section, the moss has overtaken most of the trail but a small swath still remains making it easy to follow and hike through. Unfortunately the trail transitions from moss to a narrow overgrown trail, still I was able to follow it with ease pushing through branches and being careful not to hit my head on any bigger branches that have overtaken the trail. When I was within a few tenths of a mile from the summit there was a blowdown patch and I could not locate the old trail so I just decided to bushwhack straight up. The whack was nasty and thick but only lasted about ten minutes before I popped out above treeline just a few hundred feet north of the summit. Having done this old section of the trail before back in May of 2013 with Scott, Rachel and her dog Isis, I immediately knew where I went wrong, when I ran into the blowdown patch I should have looked below it not above it for the old path as it curves from there up to the summit. (see image below)
- Needless to say I got some strange looks from a couple of the few dozen people on the summit as I emerged from the scrub. Moosilauke is a very popular mountain and on this day it was packed with people enjoying the super huge views in all directions, views to the west over to the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks behind them were especially good on Saturday.
- After spending awhile on the summit eating and relaxing I made the descent back down over the regular hiking trails taking time to stop and snap some pictures of the cascades as I made my way back to the Jeep.
- When I grid out a peak or a month I try and incorporate something that is a little out-of-the-box for that hike to go along with a trail that I've always enjoyed, so heading up Beaver Brook Trail and mixing in the original upper section of the trail made for a nice way to close out the month of October after twenty-six years and fifteen days (Wildcat A Peak, October 9th, 1989 - Moosilauke, October 24th 2015)
- This brings my grid months total to three, August (27 years), September (24 years), October (26 years). My goal is to finish next July, I have 75 peaks to go over the next nine months so it should be nice finishing my remaining peaks while still being able to explore other places as well.

A little over two miles in I come to the little arrow alerting hikers to take a sharp right. I stay straight and head onto the old trail, first through a low but easy to hike trail corridor then out into a small alpine meadow

A very nice view of the summit from the tiny meadow

The old trail heads back into the woods through a really cool overgrown mossy section

As you can see the moss has taken over the old trail except for a small dirt path that snakes through it

The old path skirts above the steep slopes of Jubildunc Ravine and there is a nice obstructed view of Mount Blue

Old DOC blaze and the old trail starts to become narrow and overgrown

After hitting a blowdown path I bushwhacked up and popped out above treeline a few hundred feet north of the summit

Here is the route of the upper portion of the hike. Most of the yellow is the old Beaver Brook Trail. The orange is where I should have gone when I ran into the blowdown patch, instead I went straight up. The blue is the current trail.

Mount Moosilauke is a bald summit offering 360 degree views. It is one of the more windier summits but on Saturday the wind was very tame

Looking to the southwest

South peak of Mount Moosilauke in view

Looking north

Beaver Brook cascades

Nice little cascades flowing over a few different steps

Heading past the cascades and through the remaining foliage

Along the Appalachian Trail with Whitney and Kenny

Date of Hikes: 8/17 & 8/18

Mount Cube Trail: 7.4 miles / Road Walk & Town Line Trail 1.5 / Wachipauka Trail: 4.6 miles / Road Walk & Town Line Trail 1.5
Total Miles: 15.0 (3,350 feet elevation gained)

Glencliff Trail: 3.0 miles / Moosilauke Carriage Road: 0.8 miles / Beaver Brook Trail: 3.8 miles
Total Miles: 7.6 (3,575 feet elevation gained)

Trip Report:
- On Wednesday, March 26th, my friend Whitney started a 2,180 mile journey from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. Over the past four months I have followed her and her boyfriend Kenny as they hiked through Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and currently her home state of New Hampshire.
- Fortunately, on this weekend as she approached the heart of the White Mountains I was able to join along for a couple of miles with her on trail.
- Friday morning my friend Matt and I met up at the Glencliff parking lot and headed to the Mount Cube Trail to hopefully run into them on our hike up to Mount Cube in the morning. Followed by trying to run into them again later in the afternoon to hike with them to the Jefferson Brook Shelter, where they would be spending the night.
- We ran into Whitney (trail name Tip-Toe) and Kenny (trail name Kenny, yup it's his name!) about a mile or so below the summit of Mount Cube. It was a great little reunion on the trail. Neither of us have seen Whitney since the winter and she looked in incredible shape and you could just tell instantly she was having the adventure of a life time! We chatted for about a half hour and gave them some trail magic before heading up to Mount Cube and enjoying the views from both summits before descending back down to Route 25A
- From here we drove back to Glencliff and hiked the Town Line and Wachipauka Trail to the Webster Slide Trail junction where we surprised them again. We took a break here and ate cookies and chocolate covered pretzels. Another thru-hiker, Sprout, from Virginia, came through and stopped to enjoy some cookies and pretzels, too. I gave Sprout a few of my granola bars before Matt, Kenny, Whintey, and myself hiked to the Jefferson Brook Shelter.
- The Shelter is located off a dirt road just a few tenths of a mile from High Street in Glencliff. It's a nice area and there are plenty of spots to pitch a tent and there is a privy and a very good water source close by. Matt handed the rest of his cookies out to other thru-hikers before we took off to the Common Man for dinner and a drink. Operation 'Tip-Toe' as coined by Matt, was a success!
- The next morning I was meeting Denise, Tim, and his dog Gryffin at the Beaver Brook Trailhead at 7am so I drove over to Kinsman Notch and crashed in the back of the Jeep.
- In the morning we spotted a car at the Beaver Brook Trailhead, left some trail magic, and headed over to Glencliff to hike up and over Moosilauke with Kenny and Whitney.
- The thru-hikers have been hiking for 1,800 miles once they start up Moosilauke, and it's their first introduction to the ruggedness and the wind of the White Mountains. The 'Moose' is one of the most popular hikes in the Whites, it's open summit provides beautiful views in all directions. Unfortunately , on this day it was in the clouds with rain showers on and off and everything was soaked and slippery.
- Whitney and Kenny, both carrying 33-37 pounds on there back hammered it up the mountain, it was very impressive to watch. Whitney, has always been a strong hiker and now she's added speed to the strength, awesome stuff!
- When we gained the ridge we took a break before throwing on the rain wind-breakers for the final push to the summit. Luckily the wind wasn't too strong and the temps were in the 50's but we were a little chilled so we didn't stay long on the summit before heading down the notoriously steep and now wet Beaver Brook Trail. We took our time descending making sure not to slip, fall, and get injured as we made our way past the cascades and eventually out to the trailhead in Kinsman Notch.
- We were all soaked from the wet conditions but it was warmer at the trailhead so it was a pleasant end to the hike. Gryffin the Golden Retriever is just like Teddy (my dad's Golden back in the day). He wants to run up ahead and run back down, and has a non-ending supply of energy. He is lean for a Golden and is already a great hiking dog having completed 17 of the 48 - 4,000 footers of New Hampshire.
- After the hike we went into Lincoln to the Black Mountain Burger for a lunch. Whitney and Kenny were taking a zero day on Monday to resupply and relax with Denise before a big mile hike on Monday.
- It was a great two days to spend hiking again with my trail buddy. Next weekend I will miss out on them through the Presidential Range as I'll be in the Adirondacks but I hopefully will catch them in Maine as I hike Maine's 4,000 footers and I'll definitely be there for their finish no matter if it's sunny, rainy, snowy, windy or all of the above...it's going to be Epic!

Matt, hiking along the A.T. up to Mount Cube

View to the north east down to Upper Baker Pond and to Mount Moosilauke

Wachipauka Pond

Hiking along the A.T. between Mount Cube and Mount Moosilauke

On the Town Line Trail to the Jefferson Brook Shelter

Gryffin entertains the thru-hikers in the morning

A short road walk then hiking up the Glencliff Trail

Gryffin heads up the Moose!

Whitney and Kenny, the summit sign, and a summit shot with Denise!

Typical day on the Moose!

Navigating the Beaver Brook Trail

Beaver Brook Falls / Cascades

Great picture!

The last re-bar section, Gryffin ran down this!

Gryffin!

Route on Saturday, click here for details

Miracle on the Moose . . . NO WIND: Mount Moosilauke

Beaver Brook Trail / bushwhack: 7.6 miles (3,300 feet elevation gained)

Trip Report:
- A few days ago Matt sent a group message asking a few fellow hikers if we were interested in meeting up for a hike. When I found out that he, Patrick, Theresa, and Denise were hiking my favorite trail up Mount Moosilauke, the Beaver Brook Trail, I jumped at the opportunity for an early spring hike up the first 4,000 footer in New Hampshire that the Appalachian Trail crosses over.
- The Beaver Brook Trail, for me, is the most exciting and difficult way up to Mount Moosilauke. The trail is very steep from the get go and doesn't let up until about a mile and a half in. The footing is rough and rugged, similar to the terrain found in the Presidential Range. Luckily for us there was still plenty of snow burying all the rocks, and even better was the snow pack was solid enough that we left the snowshoes in the car and just wore microspikes and hill sounds!
- Today's hike was a much needed change from the sub-par weather conditions I had during my three previous hikes up Moosilauke. Last May, Rachel, Scott, Isis and I bushwhacked the old Beaver Brook Trail to the summit through thick clouds and drenched overhanging trees. In early December, Whitney and I almost got blown off the summit by the ferocious west winds via the Glencliff Trail and Carriage Road. then, a few months later in late January, Alton, Kara, Sasha, Cole Fancy Pants Panda Bear and I hiked in frigid temps up the Beaver Brook Trail into high winds and low visibility! Today was a different story, it was warm with tremendous views, for the first time since October I didn't have to wear a hat or gloves or winter boots!
- Once above the steeps we stopped for a break at the lean-to. It's a very popular place to stay with it being right off the Appalachian Trail and there is a great view across to the Franconia Ridge.
- Once past the lean-to the trail eases up a lot as it heads just below the summit of Mount Blue and then up to the summit of Mount Moosilauke.
- We made it to the summit around noon and were in complete shock as the orange summit sign was gone. None of us knew if it was being replaced by the Dartmouth Outing Club or if it was stolen by a hiker.
- We took a nice long break on the summit, the wind was light and variable, it was a little cool so we all put on a layer to stay warm until we were back below the trees on our descent. While at the summit two other hikers came up, one up the Gorge Brook Trail and another from the Beaver Brook Trail.
- The descent down was a lot of fun, along the way we made a pit stop up to Mount Blue, I had never been and didn't know how to get there. Matt had his GPS trek of it in case we needed it but we were able to find the summit with no issues and more importantly we didn't post-hole too badly. Mount blue's summit has a jar with some candy bars and a note pad in it. It was pretty cool to bushwhack to the summit. I had never been up it so it was a mini adventure, next time I hike the Moose I'll head to Mount Jim, another sub summit off the Asquam Ridge Trail!
- After Mount Blue we headed back down the steep section, Matt lead the way through most of it kicking in some steps when needed. The re-bar section was a little tricky to navigate on the way out but we all made it safe and sound and then cruised to the trailhead making it back to the car around 3ish.
- It was a great day hiking, I finally got views from Moosilauke for the first time in two years and it was nice of Matt to invite me along. After the hike I went into Lincoln to get a jump on some work that came in before heading south and catching sunset in Windham (southern NH) before finally making it back to RI around 10 p.m.