Patience is rewarded on Big Slide and the Brothers

Leaf peeping season is underway and I returned to an old favorite on Thursday, Big Slide via the Brothers. On a view for effort scale this hike is near the top with its views of the Great Range across John's Brook valley. You get a nice view early in the hike (after about a half hour of steep hiking). I started out early hoping to have the sun behind me to enhance the views but when I popped out on the ledges of First Brother. I was treated to cloud cover at about 4000 foot that obscured the summits across the valley. Such was the case after ascending the very steep shutes near the summit. I missed a trail sign at one point and put on a less than elegant rock climbing display for a couple of hikers behind me (Sorry, about that!). We chatted at the summit with less than stellar views due to the clouds which were gradually burning off. They left me to wait out the clouds which eventually lifted to show the masterpiece across the valley. I returned over the Brothers and was treated to similar great sights from their ledges. Fall colors are popping so it is time to get out there and enjoy while they last.

More photos here.

Marcy, Marcy, Marcy

Yesterday was a perfect fall day for a hike and I had a free parking pass for the Adirondack LOJ so I took advantage to hike Mt Marcy for the 3rd time. It started out cool but was plenty warm with clear blue skies by the time I got to the summit. This is not a hard hike but it is long and the trail is fairly rough footing. I stopped for the requisite camera break at Indian Falls which is itself a valid destination. No more views other than creative shots of Big Slide (which is a hobby of mine). Once above tree line there are views in all directions (which makes sense as it is the tallest peak in New York state. Thanks to the weather I was able to stay for an hour chatting to the locals and taking photos. The slog back to the LOJ was just that. As oer usual the stretch between Marcy Dam and the LOJ parking was again longer in the afternoon than the morning. Not sure how they do that??

More photos.

Sage advice from a man from Bethlehem

On the advice of an experienced local hiker that I met on the Garfield hike, I hiked up the Jewell trail to the ridge north of Mt Washington. I was asking about other trails like the Ammonoosuc Ravine and Valley Way and he suggested the Jewell trail to Mt Clay. It is the shortest elevation gain to Mt Washington and it lifts you on a nicely graded trail which is never steep. I only hiked as far as the ridge and Mt Clay. The last third of the hike is above tree line and there are plenty of views to the west of the southern presidentials as well as the Cog Railway and Lakes of the Clouds hut. As you make your way over the top of the ridge the Great Gulf wilderness comes into view along with Mts Jefferson, Adams and Madison. It is about an hour to Mt Washington if you so choose but I found a nice spot out of the wind looking at the Northern presidents. After about an hour I headed back the way I came with a big smile!

So, to summarize, it is a great idea to follow the advice of a guy from Bethlehem!

More pics

Middle and South Carter

Sunday was supposed to be questionable weather so I decided to hike two of the New Hampshire 4000 footers that I had not already "bagged", Middle and South Carter. This hike is mostly in the forest except for a couple of open spots on the ridge so weather is less of an issue and it would be warmer and out of the wind in the woods. I parked at the 19 Mile Brook lot and headed north along route 16 to take the Camp Dodge shortcut which brings you to the north branch of the Imp trail. From the Imp trail it was North Carter to the ridge and then the Carter Moriah trail across the two summits. I was lucky to encounter 4 grouse just after joining the Carter Moriah trail in a tree. Along the ridge there is a great view from Mt Lethe across the Mt Washington valley at the norther Presidentials. Otherwise though the entire trail is in the trees. I enjoyed the hike as there was lots of interest in the woods but it was long and after 3 days of hiking my feet were really feeling when I got back to the car. There were 38 and 39 of the 4000 footers. The rest will have to wait until next year.

More pics

I love Garfield

I had been to Garfield twice before so I know it has a wonderful view. Both past visits were on the evil trek from Galehead hut to Greenleaf hut (or vice versa). This evil trek has all sorts of ups and downs and is quite the beast of a hike. Well it turns out there is an old fire wardens trail (Gsrfield Trail) that makes getting to Garfield a piece of cake! A local explained to me that any trail used by fire wardens is usually much easier with switchbacks and a generally easily graded path which may be longers but a lot less stenuous. I can attest that I did not have to stop often to ahem ahem, "take photos"!! The last 200 feet is on the Garfield Ridge trail so of course it was ledgy and steep. The nice open summit has the Pemi Wilderness from Galehead and the Twins to Franconia ridge. On the way back to my car I stopped a couple of times to talk to hikers. Bill from Cleveland had plenty of political opinions. Back at the parking lot I was speaking to a local (from Bethlehem) for a while and he suggested a hike that I did later on this trip. This would be a great winter hike except for the additional mileage because the loop road to the parking area is closed in the winter.

More pics

Zeacliff

On my 2nd vacation trip to New Hampshire I started with an easy hike to a nice viewpoint, Zeacliff. It starts with a flat 3 mile hike to Zealand Falls hut. From there it is a mile or so and a thousand feet up to Zeacliff which features views from Mt Washington to Carrigain and the Hancocks. Zeacliff is not the biggest ledge so when I arrived to the sound of lots of voices I was not impressed but it turned out to be a middle/high school class from the Boston area getting a geology lesson. I was able to move around getting various photos and all the while was learning about cirques, tarns, u and v shaped valley, spurs etc and can now point them out from Zeacliff. I left before the rush to beat the crowd back to the hut where I enjoyed a cup of tea while taking in the fine view from the front porch. Best geology class ever!

More pics

Jackson, much better the second time

Many years ago, Mark, Much and I did a hut to hut hike from Pinkham Notch to Franconia Notch. On our 3rd day we opted to hike over Jackson instead of taking the easier Crawford Path from Mizpah hut to Crawford Notch. We wanted to cross as many 4000 footers as possible of our list. It rained all day and the detour really slowed us down and Mark almost broke his arm after losing his footing on a big rock slab.

Well it turns out we missed quite the view. I hiked up the same Webster Cliff trail. It is rocky and steep with some scrambles at the top. All the effort is worth it as it has a nice open summit with a great view of Pierce, Eisenhower, Munroe and Mt Washington. I had a chat with some thru hikers who stopped here for breakfast. Great senses of humor and awesome beards! I headed over to the hut after a long stay and found tons of mushrooms along the trail. A coffee and lunch stop at Mizpah hut and then I took the much easier Crawford Path back to my car. Along the way I was passed like I was standing still by the hut croo carrying out 50-60 lbs of hut garbage to the trailhead.

More pics

North Twin

Thankfully, I chatted with someone on the Carrigain hike who told me there is a herd path that bypasses the two first water crossings of Twin Brook on the North Twin trail. The brook is pretty wide with enough flow to make crossings difficult. The third crossing has a hand rail in the form of a tree that conveniently spans the brook (pic above). Once across the brook it is straight up to the ridge with no let up. Before the summit there is a viewpoint to the northeast. It was a hazy day but this looks like a great spot. Ten minutes ahead is the summit with a short path to a great view to the southwest. This view ranges from Galehead hut to Franconia ridge. On a clearer day this would be spectacular. It would be worth the effort to hike up in the winter. Having twice hiked from Galehead to Greenleaf I can say that this trek is much nicer to look at from above than to slog along.

More pics

Carrigain

My vacation got off to a great start with a hike up Mt Carrigain. Thankfully, the approach road (Sawyer River) had been rebuilt after the Irene damage. This hike has been described as Adirondack-like as it is entirely in the forest (except for a section of Signal ridge) and the mountain itself is somewhat remote. Just 5 miles and 3200 feet of elevation gain up a steady slope of rocky trail. The tower on the summit gets you above the trees for a 360 view. It was fairly hazy and the other mountains are off in the distance but I was not complaining about the view!

More pics