Hiking in the White Mountains: Engine Hill Bushwhack

Showing posts with label Engine Hill Bushwhack. Show all posts

Dood-o-lation . . . Mount Isolation

Date if Hike: 2/7/21

Rocky Branch Trail: 2.7 miles / Engine Hill Bushwhack: 1.2 miles / Isolation East: 1.4 miles / Davis Path: 1.8 miles / Isolation East: 1.4 miles / Engine Hill Bushwhack: 1.2 miles / Rocky Branch Trail: 2.7 miles

Total Miles: 12.4 miles / 3,514' elevation gained

Trip Report:

- After Saturday's Sargeless hike of the Carter's with Todd where my winter goal of avoiding breaking trail had been foiled, Sarge and I headed to the other side of the notch for a morning hike to Isolation over superb broken out trails.

- We arrived to an almost empty lot, with one of the cars there belonging to Todd. Sarge must have recognized his scent because he was going way out in front of me and looked like a dog possessed, that or he was picking up the scent of a moose, anyway I huffed and puffed after him and was relieved when we finally caught up to Todd soon after the Wilderness Boundary around two miles in.

- From here we followed the tracks of a lone barebooter of the day through the Birch glades, which is the bushwhack portion and the highlight of the hike. The whack had been well traveled, it did miss two glades the normal route passes through and dropped down to the trail a little early but I could care less as it was broken out and made for easy snowshoeing.

- Once back on the trails we made quick time to the summit catching up with the barebooter we had been following, he was up there feeding three very hungry Gray Jays as we tagged the summit and took a few pics.

- We had good views up there as all the higher summits were below the cloud deck. A small snowstorm was coming through in the morning we beat it by a few hours so we never saw a flake during our whole hike and compared to Saturday's outing this was a breeze of a hike. It's also a breeze compared to non snow conditions as Davis Path and Isolation East have plenty of mud, rotted bog bridges, and erosion.

- We made quick time down the mountain making it to the Jeep and getting home by noon. I told Sarge he could stay up past his bedtime to watch the Super Bowl so he took a nap while I had lunch. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday :)

Heading into the Birch glades

Todd and Sarge lead the way through the Engine Hill Bushwhack

Mount Isolation summit

Clouds overtaking the sun as a small snow storm slowly makes its way over the mountains

Monroe, Washington, and Boott Spur behind Sarge

The one water crossing we had was solidly bridged

Sarge charging through the glades

Frosty face, the usual!

Super Bowl Sarge!

A Spring Like Winter Hike to Mount Isolation

Date of Hike: 1/21/17

Rocky Branch Trail: 3.0 miles / Engine Hill Bushwhack: 1.1 miles / Isolation Trail East: 1.3 miles / Davis Path: 1.6 miles / Isolation Trail East 1.3 miles / Engine Hill Bushwhack: 1.1 miles / Rocky Branch Trail: 3.3 miles
Total Miles 12.2 (3,500 feet elevation gained) Garmin Forerunner 920XT

Trip Report:
- Every winter I try and hike Mount Isolation because the standard winter route passes through the beautiful Birch glades along the Engine Hill bushwhack. Usually the high snow levels makes the rest of the hike more attractive too, turning the ho-hum/drab trail corridors of the Rocky Branch, Iso East, and Davis Path sections into a winter wonderland. However, with the recent warm up and rain, the trails looked more like early April than mid-winter. Unfortunately conditions for the foreseeable future look to remain the same, as where getting another round of light snow - sleet - rain below 5,000 feet. Even with the not ideal conditions it was still a lovely Sunday morning to head to my 2016 Grid finishing peak.
- Leaving the Rocky Branch trailhead off NH16, the route heads uphill at a steady rate for the first two miles before leveling off for a bit before gradually climbing uphill again to the height of land where the Engine Hill Bushwhack begins. Depending on how it is broken out the whack heads through a couple of different clusters of glades before angling down to the Isolation Trail East.
- At this point the trail parallels Rocky Branch Brook and crosses it three times, however the first two crossings were bypassed and the last was easily hopped across about thirty feet upstream from the regular point of crossing.
- From there trail meanders towards a primitive campsite where another short detour is taken a tenth of a mile to where it pops out on the Davis Path. Once on the Davis Path, it's an easy hike of less than a mile to the short spur path that steeply climbs up to the bare summit.
- Views from the exposed top are usually grand, but on Sunday there were low clouds and high winds, so I stayed for only a few minutes before retreating back down into the woods, changing into dry layers, and trail running back to the trailhead before making the quick drive home for lunch with Sarge. :)

Near the beginning of the Engine Hill bushwhack

Entering the Birch glades

The high winds made for unique line patterns on top of the snow

Hard to see in the photo on the left, but from this opening in the glades Stairs Mountain can be seen

Mount Isolation summit

Summit marker

Wildcat and Carter Range off in the distance

Sorry for the fuzzy photo. Top is looking towards the Doubltops (I think), Kearsarge North, and Cranmore (you can just make out the ski slopes of Cranmore to the extreme right), bottom is the Baldface Range way off in the distance

Lunch time play time with Sarge!

Calm Before The Storm . . . Isolation

Date of Hike: 12/11/16

Rocky Branch Trail: 2.9 miles / Engine Hill Bushwhack: 1.6 miles / Isolation Trail: 1.3 miles / Davis Path: 1.6 miles / Isolation Trail: 1.3 miles / Engine Hill Bushwhack: 1.4 miles / Rocky Branch Trail: 2.9 miles
Total Miles: 13.1 (3,500 feet elevation gained) Garmin Forerunner 910XT

Trip Report:
- December is already off to a much better start hiking wise than just a year ago, and with a storm on the way over Sunday night through Monday afternoon conditions will be outstanding for snowshoe hiking throughout the 4,000 footers of the White Mountains. Basically, come Tuesday morning it'll be time for some tough/fun trail breaking, something that was sorely missed last winter.
- Before the storm came in I drove through Pinkham Notch to get a morning hike into the Engine Hill Birch glades. My original plan was to just roam around and explore the glades and turn around, but when I reached the split for the glade whack there was a nice track already laid out so I decided to follow that for awhile.
- Last April I ventured through the glades doing a little exploring and was hoping to go a little higher this time to see if there were more glades. Luckily enough, the tracks I was following went higher than my April route and before long I ran into a nice group of six who were leading the way. After talking to them for a moment the group continued on and I cut through the woods but unfortunately there were no extra glades to be found. When I reached a drainage I descended to a glade I was familiar with and angled my way down to the Isolation Trail. The whack portion of the hike had the best snow conditions of the day and made for a nice snowshoe hike.
- Once back on the trail it is a pretty easy two-and-a-halfish miles to the summit. The trail never gets steep so it's not too much of a grind. However, there still was not enough snow to submerge all parts of the trail and I was punching through some frozen mud and water spots before and after the last water crossing of the Rocky Branch, my trail running snowshoes took a beating until getting above 3,500 feet.
- The last mile is along the Davis Path and there was plenty of snow up there and I was able to get back into a nice grove all the way to the summit where I had some decent views, albeit Washington was socked in. I could definitely tell a storm was slowly making its way over the mountains so after taking a few pictures I scooted my way back down Davis Path and Isolation Trail. I ran into the group again just past the primitive tentsite a few tenths of a mile below Davis Path and briefly chatted with Steve 'Spot' and John "C', nice to see you and your group out there.
- When I jumped on the Engine Hill Bushwhack I veered off my previous tracks at the drainage and stayed on a more familiar line for a couple tenths of a mile with the intention of dropping to a lower glade following it until intersecting the previous track about a quarter mile from the Rocky Branch Trail. However, I misfired and angled just a bit higher and missed the start of those glades (see image below to see what I was aiming for). Once I knew I missed my entry point I angled back uphill and hooked onto the groups tracks a half mile from the Rocky Branch Trail.
- From here I motored back to the trail and descended to the Rocky Branch parking lot making it out around 1:45PM and home by 2PM.
- Now bring on the snow :)

After a steady two mile climb the Rocky Branch Trail pops out along the shoulder of a hill. From here the trail has gentle rolling grades for the next mile to the Engine Hill Bushwhack split

Heading through the whack portion of the hike. After tomorrow's storm the remaining underbrush will be completely buried making this spot even more beautiful

Along the way I went for a little side trip to a glade just out of view and then dropped back down to the groups tracks

Making my way through the glades

Heading up the Isolation Trail (East)

Always love this little spot, it's right before the primitive tentsite, the pine is always blasted with windswept snow

Rolling along the Davis Path

This spot always gets drifted in, luckily it's very short!

Making my way to the summit

Mount Isolation's summit

What a view! Pano of Eisenhower through Bootty Spur

Heading back down the Davis Path

One last little up on the Davis Path before dropping back down Isolation Trail

Unbroken glades. It's a lot of fun to wander through here :)

Making some tracks!

On the way out I spot this unique tree which I had never noticed before.

Bushwhack part of the hike. Top blue route is the hike in, the lower blue route is the hike out, and the yellow is the glades I wanted to hit but I didn't veer to the right when I was supposed to so I just angled my way back to the original route.

Now it's time for some fun! The yellow route is from April, on the way out I stayed to the trail, notice how out of the way it goes...all the way off screen! The purple route is a route Whitney and I followed in 2015, not one of my favorites, went low too fast and missed some kick ass glades. The White and Red are two of my more favorite lines and both hit some nice glades. Blue route was from today, notice it went higher, just where I wanted to go but no extra glades up there.

Map of a route (Jan. 2016) to show perspective on the trail and whack parts

Sun Filled Saturday & Sunday . . . Mount Carrigain and Isolation

Date of Hikes: 4/9/15 & 4/10/15

Sawyer River Road: 2.0 miles / Signal Ridge Trail: 10.1 miles / Sawyer River Road: 2.0 miles
Total Miles: 14.1 miles (4,476 feet elevation gained)

Rocky Branch Trail: 2.9 miles / Engine Hill Bushwhack: 1.3 miles / Isolation Trail: 1.3 miles / Davis Path: 1.7 miles / Isolation Trail: 2.6 miles / Rocky Branch Trail: 3.7 miles
Total Miles: 13.5 miles (3,703 feet elevation gained)

Trip Report:
- Saturday, Whitney and I headed below the foot of Crawford Notch to the end of Sawyer River Road to hike Mount Carrigain. The forecast was for abundant sunshine, light winds, and temperatures in the mid to high twenties above 4,000 feet.
- Sawyer River Road is still closed so we had to road walk two miles to the Signal Ridge Trailhead. It's one of the better road walks as you get to pass by the old town of Livermore and the remaining foundations and old railroad parts from the early to mid twentieth century.
- Once we hooked onto the Signal Ridge Trail we made the gradual climb towards Carrigain Notch for two miles before splitting left at the fork where the old trail use to go. Not being a fan of the new reroute just a little further up trail we stayed on the original cut of the path and made the high but slow current river crossing stepping on submerged rocks with our waterproof trail runners. Soon after hooking back onto the trail proper we stumbled upon an old camp of some sorts that must have been a storage location for the fire warden, or, maybe an old railroad camp. We found some old wire, cans, buckets, shovel, sole of a shoe, and a stove door.
- After checking out the old relics we made our way to the steep part of the trail where it quickly became ice and snow covered, we both put on our microspikes for better traction. Unlike our hike below Sandwich Dome earlier this week we were able to easily, for the most part, make our way up to Signal Ridge where we were greeted with great views.
- Along the ridge we finally ran into a few other hikers with a dog happily making their way down the mountain as we made the final half mile ascent to the summit tower.
- The tower on top of Mount Carrigain has phenomenal views and we could see almost all of the 4,000 footers. The Presidential Range was in the clouds but everything else was free and clear.
- On the way out I tested my crampons with my trail runners while Whitney stayed in her microspikes. The Crampons felt ok on the trail runners but I wouldn't want to wear them for an extended period of time. The good news is, where Whitney had to hug trees on the descent in her microspikes I was able to walk right down for the most part in my crampons.
- Below Signal Ridge we started to come across a few other hikers, a couple who recognized Whitney, one of which owns the Notch Hostel in North Woodstock, (click here for more information). The three girls were hiking with a really friendly Golden Lab who was having a blast!
- After making it through the icy and snowy section on our way down we enjoyed a nice hike out over the lower section of the Signal Ridge Trail, even taking the old trail back out at the very end which drops you out on the road before the bridge. The road walk out was really relaxing as we looked around and spotted old stuff from the railroad and town of Livermore.
- Once back at the car we grabbed some yummy food at the Red Parka before heading back up through the notch.

- On Sunday I woke up early and headed to the Rocky Branch trailhead for a quick hike to Mount Isolation. I was expecting to see quite a few hikers out and about but only saw two the whole day. The trail was mostly snow and ice free for the first two miles before it started becoming filled with ice and snow. After three miles, I decided to wander through the Birch glades of Engine Hill, it was the first time I bushwhacked through here when there was basically no snow. I was able to roam around most of the glades before dropping down and coming out on the Isolation Trail where I have in the past. It's definitely a better hike in the dead of winter as the glades are kind of muddy and wet, luckily everything was mostly frozen underneath so I stayed dry. I would really like to walk through here during peak foliage, it must be quite the site.
- Once back on a trail I made my way up to the Davis Path and over to Mount Isolation. It was windy on the summit so I didn't stick around for long but the views were bluebird and spectacular.
- For the hike out I stayed on the Isolation Trail to the Rocky Branch Trail. I had actually never been on the lower end of the Isolation Trail so it was fun to hike it. I enjoyed the water crossing which was a tricky rock hop and I could see some damage from Tropical Storm Irene. When I reached the junction with the Rocky Branch Trail I headed a few hundred feet down trail to check out the site of the old Rocky Branch Shelter #2. All that remains is a charred rectangle of whatever it is they burned down, hundreds of nails, and some junk. Kind of strange, the powers that be tell us about removing man made structures to protect the environment, but then they leave a pile of junk behind, hope they remove it all ASAP because it's an eyesore. Anyway, I'm bummed I never made it back here to see the old shelter before it was taken down.
- After checking out the old site of the shelter I went back up trail, dropped down the river bank and made my last water crossing of the day. The Rocky Branch Trail up to the height of land is a very gradual ascent, the trail is a mixed bag of good footing and roots and half frozen mud pits this time of year. There are some nice open pine woods to the south before making it to the split for the Engine Hill bushwhack, but other than that it's not too exciting.
- Once reaching the height of land I went into cruise control back down to NH 16 finishing around 1:30PM and ending a really great two days of hiking!