Mount Moosilauke: Rainy Day Moose

Date of Hike: 8/9/13

Asquam Ridge: 3.9 miles  /  Beaver Brook: 1.9 miles  / Gorge Brook: 3.7 miles
Total Miles: 9.5, (2,600 feet elevation gain)

Trip Report
- Quick rainy day hike up the Moose! There were no views to be had but still it was a pretty cool feeling to be above treeline and have the mountain all to myself as I summited the round open summit. The winds were whipping pretty good on the summit, as is the norm for Moose, luckily it was just spitting rain out so it wasn't too bad. I found a spot out of the wind so we hunkered down, had a bite to eat, and relaxed until it got too chilly and I headed down the Gorge Brook Trail.
- The hike down went quickly as rain poured down upon me.  I'm not a huge fan of being soaking wet but the warm temps and quiet trails it was quite peaceful. :) 

 Baker River

 Flooded Beaver Brook Trail

A Meetup on the Moose: Mount Moosilauke

Date of Hike: 6/9/13

Asquam-Ridge Trail: 3.9 miles  /  Beaver Brook Trail:  1.9 miles  /  Moosilauke Carriage Road: 2.1 miles  /  Snapper Trail: 1.1 miles  /  Gorge Brook Trail: 0.6 miles
Total Miles: 9.6 miles (2,600 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- There was a meetup group hiking on Sunday and I decided at the last minute to tag along with Scott, Rachel, and her dog Isis to enjoy a hike on one of the most popular mountains in the White's, Mount Moosilauke.
- Scott and Rachel started out at 8 a.m. up the Asquam Ridge Trail.  I decided to sleep in and leave RI at 5:30 a.m. and meet up with them on the trail.
- The Asquam-Ridge Trail has gentle grades and never gets steep.  The first few tenths on a mile have been relocated due to Hurricane Irene.  I was surprised how eroded the lower half of the trail was, lots of rocks and roots but after the Al Merrill Loop junction the footing becomes excellent and you travel through a nice hardwood and pine forest.
- Soon after banging a left on the Beaver Brook Trail I caught up to Scott, Rachel, and Isis.  Isis, is a Shiba Inu. 
- After a few minutes of hiking Scott took us off trail onto the abandoned section of the Beaver Brook Trail.  The first section on the abandoned trail was wide open but very slick and wet.  The weather forecast which called for sun was way off and everything was still soaked.
- The abandoned Beaver Brook trail travels through a very pretty moss filled trail corridor before it starts to head up toward the summit.  The second half of the abandoned sections is very narrow and scratchy.  There was one point where we go turned around but we were able to relocate the old trail and continued on our way up until out of nowhere we popped up just below the summit rocks soaked to the bone!
-  It was a pretty cool way to hike to the summit and I look forward to doing it again on a sunny and dry day to enjoy the views down into Jobildunc Ravine.
- It was pretty windy and cold at the summit.   I froze my hands up pretty good during the bushwhack and I was soaked so I changed into some dry layers, put on gloves, and shivered my way back to being warm. 
- Most of the meetup group was at the summit, Mike Sherman was in charge making sure everyone reached the summit from all the different trails before we all parted ways.  It was nice to see a lot of different hikers come from all directions up to the summit.  Unfortunately, the weather didn't break until much later so there were no views to be had. 
- We stayed up on the summit for about 45 minutes before we headed down Carriage Road, the Snapper, and Gorge Brook.  It was a very easy hike out and the sun was shining on the way down.
- Mount Moosilauke is a great mountain with lots of trails varying in all difficulties.  Today's hike was over some of the easiest trails up to a 4,000 footer I have ever been on, incredibly gradual and easy (minus the bushwhack of course).  My favorite trail is still the Beaver Brook Trail because of the steepness of the first two miles, it's relentless but beautiful as you ascend up the Beaver Brook Cascades.
- It was a fun hike up Mount Moosilauke and was great to hike with Scott again, meet Rachel and Isis who is a ball of energy who bagged her eighth 4,000 footer at just ten months old.

 Ravine Lodge Road Trailhead

 Trail info sign

 Asquam-Ridge Trailhead

 Asquam-Ridge Trail

 Baker River Footbridge

 Mossy brook beside the trail

 Muddy mess on the Asquam-Ridge Trail

 DOC Camping and Fire sign

 Upper section of the Asquam-Ridge Trail

 Asquam Ridge Trail

 Asquam-Ridge / Beaver Brook Trail Junction

 Isis!

 Beaver Brook Trail

 Start of the abandoned section of the Beaver Brook Trail

 Old Beaver Brook Trail

 Old Beaver Brook Trail

 Hiking through an Alpine Bog

 Mossy brook part of the old trail

 Beautiful moss filled trail

 Enchanted mossy brook along the abandoned Beaver Brook Trail

 'Trail' gets very narrow

Isis leading the way!

 Rachel and Isis

 Approaching the summit

 Mount Moosilauke Summit

 Summit area

 Dick Sanders Memorial

 Summit Survey Marker

 View from the summit

 A.T. South Bound

 Moosilauke Carriage Road

Dogs on Moosilauke!

 Baker River Footbridge

 Moosilauke Ravine Lodge

View from the Lodge

Mount Moosilauke

Date of Hike: 11/29/09

Gorge Brook Trail: 3.7 miles
Glencliff Trail: .9 miles
Moosilauke Carriage Trail: 1.2 miles
Snapper Trail: 1.1.miles
Gorge Brook trail: .6 miles
Total Miles: 7.5 (elevation gain 2,600)

Trip Report:
- Left RI at 5am, trailhead at 8am, on trail at 8:30am, finished at 12:15pm
- Weather was great below 4,000 feet, no wind and great visibility.  Once above treeline it was a different world, fifty feet visibility, wind gusts up to 40 MPH, blowing surface snow, and thigh deep snow drifts in spots
- My camelbak leaked all over my backpack on the ride up, somehow I didn't close it properly and lost half my water soaking the back of my backpack.  To not soak myself and freeze to death I had to wear my winter rain/wind pullover, which worked...to well, I began to heat up and sweat so I couldn't stop that much or I'd run the chance of getting chilled, So I went up and down the mountain quickly considering the conditions during the morning
- Gorge Brook trail had been tracked out the day before by one brave soul so I was able to place my boots in everyone of their steps until above treeline.  This saved me about an hour of hiking and having to break trail!
- I ran into people doing the loop in the opposite way on my way down so the trail past Glencliff Trail (AT) was broken out very nicely
- Summit sign had frozen packed snow hanging three feet sideways off of it (see pic below), I tried to break it off but I could only get within a half foot of packed snow and the rest wouldn't budge
- Dartmouth Outing Club does a great job maintaining the trails and all the signs, however the road wasn't plowed to get to the trailhead which if you didn't have four wheel drive would be dicey
- Should have started hiking later in the day, the summit cleared off around 1pm, I would have been in clear skies with light wind above treeline with some great views all around

Footbridge crossing the Gorge Brook

Gorge Brook Trail

Approaching treeline

Mount Moosilauke Summit

Views from Moosilauke Carriage Road

Snapper Trail

Mount Moosilauke (4,802 feet)

Hiking along the Moosilauke Carriage Road towards the South Summit

Mount Moosilauke is the western most 4,000 foot mountain in New Hampshire.  It summit is above treeline and has excellent views in every direction, in bad weather caution should be used above treeline on the summit mass.  Mount Moosilauke's Trails are all kept in excellent shape by the Dartmouth Outing Club.  There are foundation remnants of an old stone hotel that used to sit atop the summit until it burned down in 1942.

Trails I've Hiked

Beaver Brook Trail: 3.8 miles, elevation gain of 3,100 feet. The steepest and most fun approach to the summit of Mount Moosilauke off of Route 112 across from the southern terminus of the Kinsman Ridge Trail. The trail has moderate to steep grades with rough footing and some of the steeper rock pitches has re-bar to help you along the way. The trail passes by Beaver Brook Cascades and the Beaver Brook Shelter via a short side path. The last part of the trail is above treeline and exposed to the weather.

Gorge Brook Trail: 3.7 miles, elevation gain of 2,450 feet. The Gorge Brook trail starts at the end of Ravine Lodge Road and climbs with easy to moderate grades with good footing all the way to the summit of Mount Moosilauke. It follows close by the Gorge Brook for awhile and higher up has some good outlooks along the trail.

Glencliff Trail (A.T.) / Moosilauke Carriage Road (A.T.): 3.9 miles, elevation gain of 3,300 feet. The Glencliff Trail has easy to moderate grades with good footing and is in the woods until reaching the Moosilauke Carriage Road just below the south summit of Moosilauke.  From here the Moosilauke Carriage Road ascends to the main summit in 0.9 miles over easy grades with rocky footing. The trail is in the scrub and then above treeline with great views but extremely exposed to winds especially out of the west.

Asquam-Ridge Trail: 3.9 miles, elevation gain of 1,750 feet, to summit via Beaver brook Trail 5.8 miles, elevation gain of 2,600 feet.  The Asquam-Ridge Trail has easy to moderate grades the whole way.  The start of the trail has been relocated since Hurricane Irene, it now starts at the end of Ravine Lodge Road at the turnaround.  The lower section of the trail is eroded with rocks, roots, and mud but once past the Ace Merrill Loop junction the footing becomes much better as you ascend through pine and hardwoods.  The trail never gets steep and is an easy climb to the Beaver Brook Trail.

Trip Reports:

February 19th, 2016: Up and Down Glencliif Trail and Moosilauke Carriage Road

October 24th, 2015: Up and down Beaver Brook Trail (with bushwhack of upper abandoned section)

September 3rd, 2015: Up and down Moosilauke Carriage Road (RUN NH48)

July 13th, 2015: Up Moosilauke Carriage Road, down Benton Trail, up Tunnel Brook Road, across Tunnel Brook Trail

March 13th, 2015: Up and down Glencliff Trail and Moosilauke Carriage Road

August 18th, 2014: Up Glencliff Trail and Moosilauke Carriage Road, down Beaver brook Trail

April 21st, 2014: Up and Down Beaver Brook Trail

January 25th, 2014: Up and Down Beaver Brook Trail

December 3rd, 2013: Up and down Glencliff Trail & Moosilauke Carriage Road

August 9th, 2013: Up Asquam-Ridge Trail, Beaver Brook Trail, down Gorge Brook Trail

June 9th, 2013: Up Asquam-Ridge Trail, Beaver Brook Trail, Bushwhack, down Moosilauke Carriage Road, Snapper Trail, Gorge Brook Trail

August 2nd, 2012: Up and Down Beaver Brook Trail

May 26th, 2012: Up and Down Beaver Brook Trail

January 3rd, 2011: Up and down Glencliff Trail and Moosilauke Carriage Road

November 29th, 2009: Up Gorge Brooke Trail, across Glencliff Trail, down Moosilauke Carriage Road and Snapper Trail

August 12th, 2007: Up and Down Beaver brook Trail

December 9th, 2006: Up and Down Beaver Brook Trail (aborted)