White Mountains weekend

Saturday morning I headed up 93 to the White Mountains. The White Mountain trails are not known for switchbacks, so I ‘profened up the knees considerably in preparation. On the trail by 10:40, it took me two hours exactly to get to the 4,802 ft. summit of Mt. Moosilauke, the most westerly of the over-4,000 feet peaks, not bad for 4.2 miles with 3300 feet of elevation gain.

I took the Glencliff Trail/Carriage Road route (the AT) to the treeless summit. (The route offers a nice mile across the top above timberline).

It was partly sunny but with pretty long views over to Mt. Lafayette and Mt. Washington in the distance to the northeast, Vermont to the west. After lunch and some pictures in the cold wind, I headed down the Benton Trail, 4 miles to the Tunnel Brook Rd. trailhead. A mile up the road from that I caught the Tunnel Brook Trail, 6 miles or so (plus another .3 miles on the road at the other end) back to my car. This was sweet 14-mile loop. The last leg rolled gently up and down — perfect to stretch out the quads and hamstrings after the steep ascent and descent. This goregous little trail had no one on it, and few footprints even. It follows streams and beaver ponds. I saw several garter snakes, a large tree frog, a rabbit, and the same white-throated sparrow that I had heard near the summit (doesn’t he know about climatic zones?). Oven-birds in the deep woods, especially late in the afternoon. Signs of moose and beaver, but none in the flesh.
Back in the car, I cut across the North-South Rd. to the Wildowood Forest Service campground off NH 112, where, on a Saturday at 5:00 p.m. in mid-summer, there were still a few spots left, but not for long. It’s a nice little campground, although a little noisy this weekend. Logging trucks cruise NH 112 just a few hundred yards away, the campground “hosts'” car alarm went off a few times around 10:00. The campground has one isolated spot that would be a good grab next time. I had dinner and a few beers at the Truant Tavern in North Woodstock, then read in the hammock until sleep and too many moths flying at the headlamp drove me into the tent. The chilly night was a nice respite from Boston’s recent swelter. The next morning I saw a fox and weasel on the road.
Moosilauke was a warmup for Sunday, when I charged up the Airline Trail to the Mt. Adams summit (5799′) over in the Presidentials. Four miles, 4400 feet gain: rated at four hours, I made it in three flat, on the summit by 11:40 after a departure of 8:35. LOTS of company on these trails, of course! (A nice couple from the area I ran into just below the summit recommended the Bondcliff trail in the Pemigawasset Wilderness. Said it gets you up above timberline for a good long time. Next New Hampshire trip, maybe, whenever that will be….Another couple, these with a smallish, very enthusiastic puppy, said it was their fourteenth 4,000 footer since April, together with the dog!) Hardly a cloud in the sky, just like my last Presidentials hike, Mt. Jefferson/Great Gulf Wilderness with Leda back in 1998. Stupendously long views all around, and a great view up over Jefferson to Washington.
As I headed off the south side of the boulder pile at the summit, I dropped down on (almost literally) a group of ten people on a south-facing ledge, eyes closed, hands raised, softly chanting a mantra of some kind while a leader with a slight, possibly fake British accent of some flavor went on about God the Creator and salvation and some other vaguely Christian stuff. Charismatic Catholics? Unitarians on drugs? Don’t know, but I’m almost positive I heard him say “blessed are the cheesemakers.” Some other guy was non-chalantly eating his lunch just off to the side, and we shared a bemused look as I clambered past them. Possibly the strangest sight I’ve experienced in the mountains. I dropped down and across to little Star Lake, and then over to the AMC Madison hut just below the pass to fill the water bottle and watch the hippie girls make soup for a few minutes (ah, college…). Then a quick scramble up Mt. Madison (5366′) for my third 4,000 footer in two days. Down the Watson Path, which was most unpleasant. Very steep, even down into timber, and poorly maintained. It did give me a quick look at Duck Falls — not worth it! Then to Valley Way, which was lovely, curving a little down through sunny, south-facing broadleaf forest, and over to the Brookbank Trail (it’s an L.A. cloverleaf of FS/AMC/RMC trails on this side!) to pass several really nice waterfalls. Took a splashbath and soaked the feet in the stream in the sun of the powerline cut, and then to the car. ‘Bout ten miles or so, the whole loop, back by 4:20. My thighs were jelly by the end.
Steak and roasted vegies on the grill, followed by a brief walk in the darkening woods around the lake down the road to look for moose. I didn’t find any, but I did have a nice crepuscular chat with a guy revisiting some spots from his 1978 AT hike. He started in Georgia in mid-March, took two separate weeks off for family things, and finished by July 14 or so. Pretty good pace!
I hit the sack early and slept in an hour past (and apparently through) the 6:00 alarm. Before returning to Cambridge, I headed north to check out the intriguing Connecticut Lakes my eyes have always been drawn to on the map, way up at the northern tip of New Hampshire. It was a rainy morning, and the misty mountains gradually gave way to rolling, thick north woods. The lakes look nice, and there are beautiful mountains to the east. Decent state park camping at Lake Francis (some walk-in sites that look nice) and lots of cabins for rent in the area. Colerook, right on the Connecticut River and a couple of miles south of the Vermont/Canada triple border, is the nearest real town. As I sat in my car in the rain looking out over Second Connecticut Lake at a deserted boat launch, by myself and five miles from the Canadian border, I was amazed that some anti-terrorist or anti-drug squad didn’t come crashing down through the trees to see what I was up to. Maybe they did check me out with binoculars :-). I also had a look at the Balsams Wilderness ski resort on the way back: beautiful hotel, no sign of the apparently amazing nordic area (95 km of trails). The alpine slopes look a little tame (but it IS cheap!). Back along the Androscogin River. Nice state park camping right along the river’s edge, and I’m sure there are great canoe trips that head out of there into Maine. Made the perennial mistake of North Conway, but the Kangamagus Highway was beautiful, especially now that the sun was out full.
Drive times straight to Second Connecticut Lake from Boston would be 4 hours, 3:15 from Manchester, a little less from either to the Balsams.
(Some pictures to follow…)