Hiking in the White Mountains: Starr King Trail

Showing posts with label Starr King Trail. Show all posts

A Snowy Slice of Heaven . . . Mount Waumbek

Date of Hike: 12/30/17

Road Walk & Starr King Trail: 7.5 miles (2,878 feet elevation gained) Garmin Forerunner 920XT

Trip Report:
- An arctic blast of weather has held steady in the White Mountains over the past week, with no real end in sight. Temperatures have been hovering around zero, and other than a short reprieve this upcoming Wednesday and Thursday, single digits will be the norm for the foreseeable future. With weather like this, staying below treeline and continuously moving makes for the most comfortable hiking.
- On Saturday morning I headed to Jefferson to hike Mount Waumbek. In the winter the summer lot is not plowed so parking is right off Route 2 across the street, ample parking and only adds five minutes to both ends of the hike. When I arrived it was -1 degrees out, but there was not a hint of wind and within minutes I was comfortably warm, and within a mile I took my puffy jacket off and was hiking in a base layer long sleeve with my thick long sleeve over it, staying warm for the whole hike to the summit.
- The Starr King Trail has easy grades up to Starr King and over to Waumbek, traveling through a hardwood forest for the first mile and a half before transitioning into soft woods for the remainder of the hike past both summits. With the cold temps and the good amount of snow up high, the trail wandered through a snow blanketed pines, making for a beautiful hike in the woods.
- Along the ascent I passed five hikers, three wearing snowshoes and two wearing light traction, I myself wore light traction, the trail was packed solid so it was even bare-bootable.
- When I reached Mount Waumbek's summit I changed layers and made my way over to the outlook just past the high point. This outlook has a great view of the Presidential Range, so I took a few pics with my apple phone and then used Whitney's camera to get a few zoom-in photos, one of Adams and Madison and one of Jefferson and Washington.
- The descent went quickly, I saw the five hikers who I passed earlier between Waumbek and Starr King, and then saw five other hikers just before entering the hardwood section again. As I made my way past the summer trailhead, which isn't plowed, I saw a truck and car parked at the entrance to the lot, which is frowned upon and might not actually be allowed, hopefully neither car was towed!
- When I got back to my car at 11:45AM the temperature was a balmy 1 degree, but I layered up perfectly so I was nice and toasty, and very happy to get in a morning hike through a winter wonderland. :)

Old stone foundation of a springhouse from yesteryear

Hiking up to Starr King

Old fireplace from a torn down shelter at Starr Kin's summit

View over to the Presidential Range from Starr King

Hiking along the ridge between Starr King and Waumbek

Winter wonderland!

Mount Waumbek outlook

Zoom-in of Presidential Range

Zoom-in of King Ravine, Durand Ridge, with Mount Madison, JQ Adams, and Mount Adams rising high above

Zoom in of Mount Jefferson, Clay, and Washington

U.F.O. !!

Hiking back over to Waumbek

Beautiful snow filled scenery today on Starr King Trail

Starr King Trail winter lot, plenty of room and an easy five minute walk to the summer trailhead

Where is Everybody??? Mount Waumbek

Date of Hike: 3/14/15

Route 2 / Starr King Trail: 7.8 miles (2,970 feet elevation gained)

Trip Report:
- On Saturday I decided to get up early and do a quick hike of Mount Waumbek before the crummy weather came through. I was first on the trail and only saw one other hiker and his dog about a half mile before finishing the hike. Mount Waumbek is a peaceful hike through the woods with panorama views of the Presidential Range from Mount Starr King and an outlook just past the summit of Waumbek.
- This is one of the easiest 4,000 footers to hike in the winter because it has easy to moderate grades the whole way and is sheltered from the wind. The trailhead is not plowed in the winter, parking can be found off Route 2 almost across the street from Starr King Road in a small lot labeled trail parking.

Heading up the Starr King Trail

Views from Starr King Summit

The Presidential Range

Hiking between Starr King and Mount Waumbek

The view-less Mount Waumbek summit

The outlook just past the summit

Presidential Range

Northern Presidential Range

Brenton Woods ski area in view

Heading back down the Starr King Trail

Old shed and the frozen drinking water pond

Starr King Road and where I parked on Route 2. There also is a winter trail lot for hikers and snow mobiles directly across the road from Starr King Road. I parked a few hundred feet down the road in the small lot next to the gas station

Route for the day, click here for details

New Years on Waumbek

Date of Hike: 1/1/15

Starr King Trail: 6.9 miles (2,740 feet elevation gained) Garmin GPS 910XT

Trip Report:
- Whitney was working the afternoon shift before our trip up to Stratton, Maine. I decided to get in a quick morning hike up one of the easier winter 4K's, Mount Waumbek.
- Since there hasn't been a snowfall in a few weeks the summer trailhead is accessible with some care and a high clarence vehicle, lots of ice and ruts. I was surprised to find the lot full at 9:30 a.m. and the amount of hikers heading up Starr King and Waumbek. I counted just under twenty hikers and four dogs along the way enjoying the cold but nice day.
- The Starr King Trail has easy to moderate grades the whole way. The first mile of the trail was a mix of bare ground, packed snow, and ice. My microspikes are severely worn down making the front points less than ideal when trying to bite into the icy sections.
- The rest of the trail was in great shape buried beneath solid snow and the conditions made it built for speed! The highlight of the hike is the summit area of Starr King, there is an old stone fireplace and a decent view to the east. From Starr King the trail dips through an old pine forest before easily making it's way to the wooded summit of Mount Waumbek. If you head a few hundred feet past the summit there is an excellent outlook well worth checking out.
- I decided to run back down the mountain passing or running into everyone else who was hiking in the morning. I always stopped when I saw people coming up to let them pass and exchange pleasantries on what was a fine New Years day.
- I made it back to the car in just under two hours after I had started. I went and checked out the little pond with the drinking water and then carefully made my way in the Jeep down the icy road avoiding sliding around on the icy and rutted road and playing bumper cars with the small sedans that lined the road!
- Not a bad way to start off 2015!

Starr King Trailhead and the lower end of the Starr King Trail

Old well system and an icy section of the trail

Heading up to Starr King's summit and checking out the views

On the way to Mount Waumbek's summit

Mount Waumbek summit area

More sights along the trail

End of the trail and the public drinking supply

Route for the day, click here for details

'Girls Hike Out': Mount Waumbek

Date of Hike: 11/11/13

Starr King Trail: 7.2 miles (2,650 feet elevation gained)

Trip Report:
- Whitney, Denise, and Samantha let me tag along for their hike of Mount Waumbek. I was excited because I had not been to Mount Waumbek since August of last year. We all met at the Starr King Trailhead, it was a very chilly start at 9 a.m. but we all warmed up quickly as we hiked up the frozen and lightly dusted snow laden Starr King Trail.
- The Starr King Trail has gradual grades and decent footing all the way to Starr King's summit and then over to Waumbek. As we made our way to the summit of Starr King the snow depth increased, never more than a few inches and I was able to make it by with my trail runners.
- As winter weather settles over the mountains it's important to pack the necessary gear for those 'just in case' moments. Even on a small hike it's important to be prepared for the worst. Of course, this means heavier packs! Samantha made a comment which I say in my head every year around this time as the pack gets heavier "Time to get in winter hiking shape!" So true!
- As we reached Starr King we were greeted with incredible views...of the inside of a cloud! Unfortunately we out hiked the clearing weather, however, the pine trees were all blasted with snow and frozen making for a winter wonderland feel.
- We hiked at a good clip down into the col of Starr King and Waumbek and made it to the summit in no time. Along the way we passed a guy and his dog, it was the first dog I ever saw on the trail that was skittish around me, how weird!
- We had lunch and enjoyed Whitney's delicious Butterscotch-Heath Bar Brownies on Mount Waumbek. It was also Samantha's 44th peak, only four more to go, congrats Sam!
- The hike out was a breeze, we saw a couple other hikers along the way, Waumbek is a popular little mountain and unlike other viewless mountains it has some character!
- Back at the trailhead we all got into warm and dry clothes before heading our separate ways. Of course as soon as we headed south and east on our drives the views opened up and the Presidential Range was in full view from Route 2 in Jefferson. Nice way to end a fun morning in the White Mountains!