My first summer hike up Mt. Washington

On September 22, 2018October 1, 2018 By careofmonIn HikingLeave a comment

Mid July we found a great little Sunday for my husband, a couple friends and I to hike the big rockpile. We leave our dog Mizpah home for the northern Presidentials. The rocks can be very tough on their pads and joints. I have hiked Mt. Washington in late March before, which was still very wintery. I had never hiked it in the summer. There are quite a few routes up and down it; people hike it, ski it, drive up it, take ATVs up it (on special days), bike it, take the cog railway, and run it! The weather on Mt. Washington can be some of the worst weather on the planet, and I believe the number of deaths up there is hovering around 150 since 1849. Many deaths have been from hypothermia, and then there are accidents, and of course things like heart attacks. My husband accuses me of putting Washington on a pedestal, but man, it really is something. He is the tallest peak east of the Mississippi River at 6,288 feet (EDIT- this is incorrect and apparently just something I say haha, tallest peak east of the Mississippi is actually Mount Mitchell at 6684 ft in NC).

One of the trains down at the station. The trailhead for Ammo is up and to the right and the trailhead for Jewell is to the left!

The tracks! Near the tracks the whole length of the mountain there are chunks of black coal from the train #leavenotrace ?

We took the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail up, and the Jewell Trail down. Those trails are on the cog railway station side of the mountain. Someday I really want to do the Tuckerman Ravine Trail which is the most popular trail and is on the Pinkham Notch side. There are a few features over there I want to see like the Harvard cabin and the Lunch Rocks. My husband convinced me that a beautiful summer Sunday was not the day to do the most popular trail there 🙂

Views from a summit are beautiful but I think sights like this are pretty amazing too

Lakes in the Clouds Hut…..literally in a cloud on this day!

Another misty lake view, visibility was low!

The Tip Top House, built as a hotel in 1853 is the oldest structure on Mt. Washington, and might be the oldest mountain top holstery in the world! The last time I was up on top of Mt. Washington in March of 2015, the Tip Top House had snow up the to the top of the windows, you could only see the roof!!

MWOBS- The Observatory! I would love to stay the night sometime or be a volunteer at the observatory when I retire or something.

I did have to wait in a short line behind both hikers and people that drove or took the train up. I guess its just part of Mt. Washington’s deal in the summer.

Walking down the Jewell Trail- the sun came out!

Great Gulf- formed by a glacier! The lake down there is Spaulding Lake

Mt. Washington is more than just a part of the White Mountain National Forest, its a New Hampshire State Park. In the summer months, summit visitors can check out the Tip Top House which is sorta staged like the hotel it once was, enjoy the amazing views, hit up a gift shop, check out weather exhibits, and get a slice of pizza at the little food court. It was bizarre to say the least. Also, the cell service is amazing up there; I passed no less than 4 hikers on their phones on the Jewell Trail coming down : | It is what it is, Mt. Washington is special and so we all must share it. My memories of being up there in a winter wonderland with maybe 3 other people the last time I was there are now even more precious. It was definitely a long day; cool, raw, and misty to start, and then sun beating on us above treeline coming down. Thats how it is with Washington though, you obsess over the forecast in the days leading up to your hike, but truly you have no idea.

It wasn’t Mt. Washington until the late 1700s. Before then it was known by its Native American name, Agiocochook, which means “Home of the Great Spirit”. This mountain definitely lives up to that name.

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Hike up Mt. Hale’s Firewarden Trail

On March 28, 2017March 28, 2017 By careofmonIn HikingLeave a comment

Mt. Hale during the summer can be accessed by a trail head off Zealand Road for the Hale Brook Trail. It makes for a quick hike up 2.3 miles, down 2.3 miles. I did it in June a couple years ago and its steep, but fast. In the winter, Zealand Road is closed to traffic and becomes a snowmobile super highway! Another route becomes popular in the winter, an unofficial unmarked trail off the North Twin Trail. In the winter, there is an area to park at the end of Little River Road in Bethelehem and you take a herd path for a mile to the North Twin Trail for about a mile before you come to “the mightiest tree in the middle of the trail”. Its actually a small tree but the trail is so nice and tracked out right now, we didn’t have to search for it. Someone did knife a blaze into the little tree which is nooooo good, but in any case, it was easy to find.

Little River is beautiful right now, looks more like a series of small alpine pools with the rest covered in snow

Turning left at the tree takes you up the old Mt. Hale Trail, aka the Firewarden’s Trail. It is more gradual than the trail on the other side of the mountain, but takes longer at 4.7 miles. There are some switchbacks on the trail through these beautiful birch glades. I got a good picture of Mizpah in the glades. A group of backcountry skiers were on the trail too to ski through the glades which looked a bit scary, but fun. There was probably 4-6″ of new snow on the trails, so we used snowshoes the whole time to preserve and maintain the tracks.

I call this, ‘Mizpah in the Birch Glades’

There was a nice view area on the trail but no views with the cloud cover. The summit of Mt. Hale is wide and flat without views. There is a very large stone cairn that was barely showing above the snow, and of course the remnants of the fire tower were buried too. The fire tower on Mt. Hale was built in 1929 and removed in 1972. To see pics, head here. I wish I could have seen the tower when it was in use because the little cab on the top is unique.

Old Man’s Beard on the trees right before the summit!

No views on the summit, but the snow covered evergreens are so pretty

And of course, hanging with the pups on the summit is a huge plus. This cairn is usually so tall! SO much of it is under the snow.

The fire warden’s trail is used in the summer because even though its a longer trail, it is more gradual. Its not as easy to follow though I am assuming in the summer when there aren’t snowshoe tracks. In the summer you can park right at the North Twin Trail head too so you can cut off that one mile herd path. It was a really nice day, over freezing and no wind, so I was nice and warm. I wish there were views, but there is always next time. Mizpah was great, got to hang with a golden retriever up on the summit. I hadn’t hiked since my birthday, so I definitely felt out of shape, but it was such a nice gradual hike, I lived through it haha.

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Birthday Hike up Mt. Cabot

On January 23, 2017January 23, 2017 By careofmonIn Hiking2 Comments

As part of our MLK weekend away in Jackson NH, we hiked up Mt Cabot on my birthday! Mt. Cabot is the 4000 footer that is farthest north, so having the opportunity to start the drive a couple hours closer was a huge reason to do that one. The hike itself is a gradual easier hike; the hardest thing about hiking Cabot is getting there.

We wore snowshoes for the entire hike, all 9 miles of it. The trail was so nice and tracked out, it would have been a shame to ruin it with post holes. The trail begins at the trout hatchery in Berlin on York Pond Road, which was nicely maintained for this time of year. You start out on the York Pond Trail, and then turn onto the Bunnell Notch Trail, and then finally the Kilkenny Ridge Trail to the summit. In the interest of time, we did an in and out hike, you can do a loop from the summit down over the bulge and horn from the Kilkenny Ridge Trail to the Unknown Pond Trail, but its a longer hike.

Some features as you get up near the summit include an outlook with a beautiful view, a cabin, a false summit where a fire tower used to be, and then finally the wooded summit which is past a Mt. Cabot sign which again looks like the summit. The fire warden cabin is available for public use. It’s free, first come first serve, and it sleeps 8. There used to be a wood stove in it that has been removed, and there is a picnic table inside. They keep a drum outside that collects rainwater in the summer. It’s a very primitive cabin that I believe is still maintained by the Jefferson boy scouts. Not a bad place to have a snack away from the wind, but I would only stay in there overnight if it was an emergency! The first firetower was built up there in 1911, it was rebuilt in 1924, and then taken down in 1965. It was a cold hike, the wind chill was down between -9 and -18. The sun was out though, and I had my warmest gear, so we made a great day out of it. On the way up to Jackson we actually stopped at IME in North Conway and I purchased some Black Diamond mercury mitts for myself and honestly, it made my hike so much more pleasant. They were $109.95 and worth every cent.

Had to take a pic of this fat little gray jay that followed us from the cabin to the summit!

Mt. Cabot was my 14th winter peak, and it really is one of my favorite mountains. It was a great way to spend my birthday. On the way back to the Eagle Mountain House we grabbed sandwiches at my favorite deli, J-Town. Then that night we did dinner at The Red Fox and drinks at Wildcat Tavern. All my favorites 🙂

Other posts from our MLK weekend trip up to Jackson:

Winter Weekend at The Eagle Mountain House, Jackson NH

Mountain Town Charm- Jackson, NH

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Black Friday Mt. Tecumseh Hike

On December 4, 2016February 26, 2017 By careofmonIn Hiking1 Comment

A tradition that my husband and I started a couple years back was going hiking on Black Friday after Thanksgiving instead of going shopping. Last year REI even did a campaign for heading outdoors on Black Friday called #optoutside. They gave all of their employees a paid day off and the stores closed to all them to go out and enjoy nature with families and friends instead of in crazy lines at stores.

Sadly this year Jon had to work, but Mizpah and I hit the trails and did a little girls hike. This was my third time doing Mt. Tecumseh. It is a great 4000 footer because its so short, just took me three hours. We had to be back in the afternoon to go out with Jon’s family that night so I had to pick a quick mountain!

Usually the views from Mt. Tecumseh are lovely. Here are the views from an outlook over one of the Waterville Valley Ski trails and a view from the summit. These pics are from September 2015.

View from outlook on Mt. Tecumseh trail, not sure which trail this is at Waterville Valley?

View from the summit. The summit for this one is small, just a cairn up there and some views!

The weather on Friday was drastically different. Driving up, it was rainy and sleety, and just past exit 19 on 93 there was snow on the ground and trees. The hike was literally in a foggy cloud the whole way. It wasn’t raining or snowing but my jacket and pack were soaked just because the air was soggy and wet. The snow on the trails was beautiful. It was definitely fresh because literally only one person had been on the trails that morning on the snow. There were no views, it’s just white. Honestly it was almost a little disorienting.

No views at the outlook on the ski trail, huge difference huh?

I wore my waterproof Marmot pants which are dead now….I put another hole in them slipping down a snow covered rock. My Marmot shell jacket is still awesomely waterproof and my pack held up with the moisture. Mizpah had her Ruffwear jacket on too which was good and kept her dry and warm!

Its a winter wonderland in the White Mountains!

One of the best hiking dogs you will ever meet ❤

Noone would say the conditions were optimal, but it was still a nice hike. I bare-booted the whole way up, and then threw my microspikes on for the trek down so I could go a little faster. The only thing I purchased during the holiday sales was actually a pair of Tory Burch boots. They were on sale from almost $500 to $208! I have been needing a new pair of black boots and I think these will fit the bill nicely 🙂 I know I am a little late, but I do hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family! Anyone snag anything good during the sales??

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October Hike up Galehead Mtn

On October 9, 2016October 9, 2016 By careofmonIn HikingLeave a comment

Last Sunday, despite some cloudy conditions, we hiked up Galehead Mountain in the White Mountains. This is a mountain that I have already done in July last year, but my sister and a friend needed it for their 48. Our friend brought his dog, Marshall, and this was his first hike! Its a great hike- nothing too technical, just 6 hours. There is a hut on the way to the summit with some views, the Galehead Hut, and the summit itself is in the trees. The Galehead Hut is a nice one because its just one building- so the lodge, bunks, and bathrooms are all together. Some of the huts are multiple buildings so you have to find the one with the bathrooms in it.

The trail we took in an out was called the Gale River Trail and then Garfield Ridge Trail to the hut, and finally the Frost Trail to the summit. All together round trip the distance is about 10 miles.

p1040219 — Mountain hat from Harding Lane here 🙂

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p1040232 — Leaving the hut to head up the Frost Trail to the summit

p1040228 — Four people, two dogs at the summit cairn- 16 legs in all 🙂

Sisters ❤ LLBean packs can be found here and here.

Its always fun to hike with a group because the constant conversation makes the hike fly by. After we hiked we hit up Truant’s Tavern in Woodstock NH for some dinner. It was a cool & damp day, so having some chili really warmed me up. The trail was actually dry despite the conditions and the crossings were very manageable. The dogs were great, it was fun to see Mizpah hike with another pup.

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Mt. Isolation Hike

On September 26, 2016September 26, 2016 By careofmonIn Hiking2 Comments

This past weekend we finally got some fall weather! My husband, Jon, and I celebrated the fantastic weather by heading up north to hike Mt. Isolation. This particular peak is just over 4000 feet at 4003 feet and is technically in the Presidential Range. I never considered it a part of the Presidential Range because it isn’t named after a president, but it is. Its also in the Dry River Wilderness, which means a couple things- any existing structures will be removed when maintenance is needed and not replaced, no bridges, some planks that are logs not lumber, signs aren’t painted, and not many blazes between signs. There was a shelter built on the trail that has been removed. There are some primitive camp sites up there though. Most people are not huge fans of the hike because it is very long, the river crossings can be treacherous, and the trail is usually muddy and gross. Right now, New Hampshire is in a drought though! So I guess the only good thing that can come from the drought is the pleasant trail I got to hike on?

We took the Rocky Branch Trail to the Isolation Trail to Davis Path up to the summit. That made a 14.5 mi, 9 hour trip. There is a shorter route in both time and mileage but it is harder up and down the Glen Boulder Trail. You gain elevation, lose it, and then gain it again. The crossings over the Rocky Branch were beautiful. Some foliage is starting to turn, mostly the leaves are green and yellow, very few red leaves.

Rocky Branch. These crossings can be tough in the spring and winter depending on the amount of precip the mountains get!

My pack and fleece are both from LLBean!

The peak just to the left of center is Mt. Monroe. That ravine you can see there is Oak’s Gulf. Mt. Washington is hidden in the cloud in the right center.

Our boots are La Sportiva Pamirs. These are the boots I would grab if I had to take one pair of shoes for a zombie apocalypse.

In this pic you can kinda tell how windy it was, it was crazy up there.

Mizpah stayed home for this hike because it was just soo long. Now I only have 4 peaks left to have hiked all 48 4000 footers in NH. I need to do the three Bonds and Owls Head. We want to do both of those hikes as overnights, so I probably won’t finish until next summer. It was cold up there, and the winds were gusting up to ~50 mph. The views were so worth is though. I was just a little bummed that Mt. Washington was in a cloud. From Mt. Isolation you can take trails over to Mt. Washington, Mt. Monroe, and to the Mizpah Spring Hut just below Mt. Pierce. I am looking forward to more fall hiking, bring on the leaf peepers!

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Carter Dome hike to finish the Carter’s!

On August 25, 2016August 25, 2016 By careofmonIn HikingLeave a comment

A while back we hiked Middle & South Carter in the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire but couldn’t do Carter Dome because my pup hurt her little paw pads. This past weekend we took a break from house stuff to finish the Carters. I now only have five mountains left to finish the 48 4000 footers in the Whites!! Woo! I have to hike the Bonds which is 3 peaks, Isolation, and Owls Head to finish up.

The main building at the Carter Notch Hut

Carter Pond…check out that cloud creeping up

Looking down into the notch at the Carter Notch Hut. Those rocks down there look small, but they are the size of buildings!

Looking out into the Wild River Wilderness from a view before the summit

We went up 19 Mile Brook Trail to the Carter-Moriah Trail which has some steep parts to the summit. The Carter Notch Hut is off the Carter-Moriah Trail. This particular hut has different buildings for the bathroom, bunks, and dining area whereas a hut like the Mizpah Spring Hut has everything in just one building. The summit has the remnants of a tower which is cool even though it doesn’t have great views. We were in a cloud the day I hiked though so there were no views no matter what.

We thought this was a geocache in the rocks of this cairn near the summit, but the note inside was actually a very sweet memorial tribute 🙂

My trusty La Sportiva Pamirs….these are my zombie apocalypse footwear….yes we have discussed what footwear we would grab for a zombie apocalypse.

Mizpah investigating one of the old anchors for the tower that is no longer up there

We took the Carter Dome Trail back down to the 19 Mile Brook Trail which is a little longer, but not as steep. I would MUCH rather go up something steep and come down something more gradual for my knees’s sake. It’s better for Mizpah’s joints too!!

Yep, we handfeed Mizpah her food out on the trail. She never eats breakfast before we leave for a hike, so anytime we take a break, we offer her food to keep up her energy!

Love the scenery on the 19 Mile Brook Trail!

It was a really great hike to do after taking a little time off. We even ran into one of my favorite instagrammers out on the trail- @munjoyboy. He was coming down Carter-Moriah as we were heading up. He has AMAZING photos of many of my favorite places.

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Southernmost Presidentials Hike

On July 12, 2016July 12, 2016 By careofmonIn Hiking2 Comments

Last week, I got to do a midweek hike with my sister who is just starting out doing the 4,000 footers in NH. We did Mt. Jackson and Mt. Pierce, which are the most southern 4,000 footers in the Presidential Range. This was actually my third time hiking these two, but first time in the summer!

We took the Webster-Jackson Trail from Rt. 302 to Mt. Jackson, and then the Webster Cliff Trail over to Mt. Pierce, and finally the Crawford Path back down to Rt. 302. It was my first 4000 footer hike without my husband, and so I felt a little pressure to make sure we were on the correct trails, going the right way and so on. Mt. Webster is up there too, named after Daniel Webster, but it’s not a 4000 footer so we had to make sure we avoided that trail.

Mt. Jackson is actually not named after Andrew Jackson, our 7th president. It is named after Charles Jackson who was a physician and the state’s geologist! On the way to Mt. Pierce, named for Franklin Pierce, is the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) run Mizpah Spring Hut. It was a really nice one. It made me miss my pup, Mizpah, but her paw pads were still healing.

View down from Mt. Jackson. You can just barely see the Mt. Washington Hotel down there! Just to the right of center with that red roof!

The rest of the Presidentials from Jackson, you can see Washington perfectly high up on the right!

Mizpah Spring Hut, just below the summit of Mt. Pierce

The Mizpah bell in the hut, reminded me of my pup!

Matching Merrell boots up on top of Mt. Pierce! Mine on the left are just really old haha. Mt. Pierce was originally named Mt. Clinton after DeWitt Clinton, a governor of NH.

Just starting out on the Crawford Path, beautiful views of the Presis

Someone on the trail got really excited about my mountain hat, said he was friends with one of the Harding Lane guys! We probably could have had a nice convo if I wasn’t so awkward and unable to speak more than “hi, how are you, have a nice hike” haha

The Crawford family….you really can’t discuss the history of the White Mountains without talking about a few families, and the Crawford’s are definitely one. Abel and Ethan were father and son. They cleared a path up from Rt 302 to Mt. Pierce (Clinton then) over to Mt. Washington and guided hikers up. Abel at 75 years old in 1840 ascended this trail to Mt. Washington on horseback!! The path is just over 8 miles and goes over Mt. Eisenhower, Mt. Monroe, past the Lake in the Clouds, and ends up at Mt. Washington’s summit.

It was a really hot day which meant drinking lots of water. Having the hut was nice to fill up and not have to worry about running out of water. When we finished our hike, we headed to the Woodstock Inn Station & Brewery for a beer and some food. So delicious. I got the chicken salad melt which is an open faced sandwich on their spent grain bread, and my sister got a bison bacon bbq burger. We both got their summer beer which is deliciously light and refreshing. It was just a great day with my sister, so thankful to be able to hike with her!

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Zealand Mountain Hike June 30th

On July 6, 2016July 5, 2016 By careofmonIn HikingLeave a comment

We stayed at the Mt. Washington Hotel last week for a few days, and of course had to do a hike while we were there. The trailhead for Zealand is just 15 or so minutes from the Mt. Washington Hotel. Its a longer hike distance wise, but only took us 6:30 to do! The Zealand Falls Hut is on the way, and past it you can see the falls. The falls are beautiful. Zeacliff has beautiful views on the way to Zealand. Zealand’s summit doesn’t have views, it is tree covered.

Beautiful scenery on the mostly flat first few miles

Looking out over Carrigain and the Hancocks from Zeacliff. I did this same hike in November 2014 and this was all covered in snow!!

One of the last little lady slippers of the season all by itself out on the trail

Interestingly, the Zealand Recreation Area you see off of 302 before the trailhead which is up the road a bit is where a small town used to be. Zealand was a town set up by J.E. Henry from Lincoln that had a boarding house, school, and a dozen homes. John Henry was into logging, and once they clearcut the entire wilderness in that area, they picked up and headed back to Lincoln leaving behind the town. The buildings all burned down between 1886 and the turn of the century, and the town faded into the past. There were many abandoned and now almost forgotten ‘company towns’ built for the logging industry in New Hampshire. Anyway, it was really cool leaving this hike and instead of just driving by the Mt. Washington Hotel, turning down the drive to our room!

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Middle & South Carter Hike

On June 27, 2016June 27, 2016 By careofmonIn Hiking1 Comment

I am two peaks closer to finishing the New Hampshire 48 4000 footers! The original plan was to do Middle & South Carter and then Carter Dome but we had to turn back after South Carter. Descending from South Carter to the Zeta Pass before you head up the dome, we noticed Mizpah trying to lay down every time we stopped which is really weird for her, and then she actually limped holding up her left hind paw. We took a look at her paw and sure enough, she had a rip in her paw pad. We decided to head back, which did mean 4 miles of hiking down still. My little baby made it down ok, she sort of limped if there were rocks but walked ok on the nice packed dirt. Today she is doing better, she is tired but she did make it down the stairs ok and is eating/drinking.

The two peaks we did don’t have views! I did take some pictures of the beautiful northern Presidentials from an outlook on a little summit before Middle Carter. I guess the really nice views are on Mt. Hight which is not technically a 4000 footer in between South Carter and Carter Dome. I have to go back up to do the dome so I will get to snag those views then!

This is the view of Lake Winnipesaukee from Mt. Major on Saturday!! We did the little Mt. Major with Jon’s parents on Saturday, it was such a beautiful day. Mt. Major was packed!

Sunday was the ATV ride up the Mt. Washington auto road!! They shut down the auto road and only allow four wheelers up. The line of trucks and trailers was miles long in the morning.

Above is a picture of Camp Dodge, where AMC volunteers and employees can stay in the summer. We parked at the 19 Mile Brook Trailhead because thats where we were going to end, and walked up the road a bit to Camp Dodge and got on the Imp Trail towards Middle Carter there. It was cool to see Camp Dodge!

View of Mt. Washington, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Madison from an outlook by Middle Carter

Really nice new bridge on 19 Mile Brook Trail.

We have some more hikes planned in the next couple months, so hopefully I will finish the 4000 footers this summer! Mizpah’s paw will heal, she just needs time. Its just so hard to watch my super athletic girl struggle and limp around. Friday was my last day of work until August 22 🙂 Let the summer adventures begin!!

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New England Classic Beauty

Tag: hikenh

My first summer hike up Mt. Washington

Hike up Mt. Hale’s Firewarden Trail

Birthday Hike up Mt. Cabot

Black Friday Mt. Tecumseh Hike

October Hike up Galehead Mtn

Mt. Isolation Hike

Carter Dome hike to finish the Carter’s!

Southernmost Presidentials Hike

Zealand Mountain Hike June 30th

Middle & South Carter Hike

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