Mt. Hale, 4k footer #7 2019. May 19, 2019

We saved Mt. Hale for a rainy day. (actually, we really saved Mt. Hale until Zealand Rd opened, which it did last week!)

Mt. Hale, by general opinion, seems to be very unpopular. My Dad (and many others) referred to it as "a very disappointing hike." Hence, we saved it for a crapy day, AND had zero expectation. Basically I was like "Hey Evan, Mt Field was a shit hole and you hated it, NOW we are going to go hike Hale!"

The first thing that went right: The staff at Dunkin was friendly to us. Randomly, we have concluded that how the pre-hike Dunks experience is directly relates to how our hiking experience is. (ok!)

The second thing: The weather (contrary to the forecast) was somewhere between decent, and spectacular.

The third thing: It was just a REALLY terrific hike. Go figure.

We arrived! The little lot at Hale Brook trail was almost full, but because luck was on our side, we snagged the last spot. The sun was (almost) shining, the birds were singing, it was warm (62!) and we could tell the sun wanted to break free.

And WE WERE OFF

The trail was in great shape, extremely easy to follow, and well marked. And it was warm!!!

Sun's out, guns out

There were a couple little water crossings to hippty hop over, but very low key. All of us enjoyed the stream that could be seen many times, lots of nice little falls and flumes. It was quite lovely.

At a crossing, so pretty!

We were literally .2 miles into the hike, and all of us were like "this trail is the BEST! We love it here! We need to make sure to tell NOBODY or EVERYONE will be here!" It actually is a really great trail, but stay away, haha.

Hiking puppy

There was no snow for ages. We saw a dab here and there, but we were completely through the switchbacks before we considered traction. And Evan bare booted it.

First switchback, first dab of snow

So there's a decent bit of climbing (like 1k feet in the first mile) but it's a short hike, with actual switchbacks, so it is not demanding or relentless. It's a mountain, and mountains go up. But this is not a hike that is a bitch and a half. Even in the snow (and yes, there was some snow.) but it was also warm, and it got warmer throughout our hike.

Some snow, but not a ton

And after a bit of snow, there was plenty of bare trail. It was a gift from the hiking gods after the miles of snow the previous day/week. I think mayyyybe there was one posthole made all day!

Ellie loves the bare ground

And just like that (after meeting a pretty ornery trail dog, which is rare) We made it to the summit.

And there is a huge pile of stones!

It was super nice out. Warm. We sat around for over 20 minutes and had lunch. We had the place to ourselves, and it was really pleasant.

Summit photo!! Crazy hair, don't care

On the descent, we even saw a view. See? Hale totally has views!

That is totally a view

It was a pleasant, and warm hike down. When we reached the base, it was a staggering 75 degrees, blazing sun, and just gorgeous!!

WE MADE IT! WE LOVED IT!!!

We enjoyed quite a bit of picnic table/parking lot time, soaked in the sun, made some new friends and had the obligatory post hike brew.

As always. 

Ellie also enjoyed some R&R and a snack.

So comfy.

This was a shockingly good way to wrap up binge hiking week. We did Hale just to "get it out of the way" but found it to be truly enjoyable. Definitely a solid choice for a first 4k climb, to escape the bigger crowds at the more popular mountains, or to simply enjoy a great trail.
We had a great day, and the kids were wiped out.

Exhausted!!!!

So that's it from hiking insanity week 2019. It was a GREAT time and really fun to see so many new trails!

Stats 

Total elevation: 4054 (back to squeakers!) 

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 2,303
-miles covered: 4.1 (book is 4.4)
-elapsed time: 2:54 (included 20 minute break on summit. many leisurely stops. basically a casual day enjoying nature.) (Book is 2:15, I believe. I plan to doublecheck this though, as I'm surprised it's that little time.) 

Difficulty: Easy for a 4k footer. But you still must go up, and cross several small streams. 

Views: Decent if limited 

Bugs: There were a few, mostly in the lot

Dog friendly trail? Yes, unless your dog hates streams (or other dogs. then seriously people....)

Mt. Field, 4k footer #6 of 2019. May 18, 2019.

Evan came to visit, and to join in the fun of hiking binge week.

After some pondering, we decided to head back to the snowy Crawford Notch woods to try to peak bag Field and Willey (and Avalon, a non 4k footer just for good measure.)

We knew what to expect at the start, as we had just been up Avalon a few days earlier. Of course, since it was a Saturday there were far more people and lots more cars (still, not summer level by any means.)

Typical first half mile!!

The weather was forecast to be pretty decent (it was supposed to be the better weekend day, by FAR!!) It was decent. A few peeks of sun, not too cold, but not fabulous by any stretch. We met quite a few young hikers (part of a youth group of some sort) all of whom looked chilly, and who warned us about "lots of snow." (which we knew about, because of all the hiking during the week!)

At mile 1 we saw the first signs of the monorail, and at mile 1.28 we spiked up. (and went UP!)

Just a tiny bit of snow. 

We headed left to continue towards Avalon, and headed into uncharted waters (last time, A-Z trail took us to Tom.) The trail, as it continued towards Avalon, was most certainly steep in sections! We were especially cautious as we had just donned traction and were annoyed at the prospect of removing it) While the below photo doesn't show it- there was plenty of mud/snow to step in to avoid the nasty spike/rock combination. Also, it really was steep AF for a minute or two.

Hello, incline

The non snowy section did NOT last. As we got to the Avalon Spur, there were a good number of people descending. Knowing that trying to meet them would result in some major sinking, we saved that peak for the return trip. Too much snow to deal with trying to get around people, thanks.

There was a lot of snow. Pretty unstable at times! Evan, in particular, wasn't getting along too well with the conditions. "God Forsaken Monorail" he would cry, as he tumbled into the snowy abyss up to his ears.

We had to wait for a nice stretch to get a pic!

While we would never laugh AT Evan, we laughed WITH him quite a bit. To the point that we were all crying. The snow was just NOT on his side!!

Ellie didn't mind. She weights 31 pounds though....

This was a day where the experiences definitely varied from hiker to hiker. We all agreed that it was tough going. But (because I'm small?) I mostly stayed afloat. Evan is hardly huge, but he spent a lot of time icing his legs mid hike!

You said you needed to ice your shins, EVAN

54 postholes later, we made it to the summit of Field. There is a scenic overlook, and it was alternating between being completely socked in with fog, or humans. We did manage to snag a photo for proof though.

Another 4K for Ellie

 Heading towards Willey, the sun actually came out and the day turned a bit nicer.

Maybe you can't tell- but the sun is out!

The weather became better, but the trail did NOT. The challenges stopped being fun and began to get annoying (super narrow trail with bushwacking through the pines, limited time to make to to the next peak, the continuations of unstable snow, etc.) So, we called it a day and headed back towards Crawford Notch. While it was annoying to leave Willey for another day, it was the best option.

Heading back

We did make the little trip to the top of Avalon, and what a pleasant little summit it was! It was at least 10 degrees warmer than in the woods, with great views of the notch.

Pretty at the Avalon Summit

The trip down was basically what one would expect. More postholes, wet feet, Evan swearing like a sailor, and all of us laughing hysterically. Normal!!!

Ellie was eager for the stream crossings, and proved that she has become an expert.

Smart pupkins

 While it was not a complete shit day, we were still just as happy to be done with this one.

Field, DONE

We were pretty soaked and Evan was bleeding from the knees.

GROSS FEET

We had a beer to cheer up. Talked about how we do strange things on a Saturday afternoon. Evan quit hiking, and promptly tried to talk us into a Presi or Franconia loop the next day (nope!)

Good times!

In good conditions, and with an older dog, Tom/Field/Willey can definitely be done in one fell swoop. But not for us. Not on this day!

Stats 

Total elevation: 4340 (Ellie's highest climb to date!)

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 2,819
-miles covered: 6.25
-elapsed time: 4:41 (there's no book time on this, because we were here and there and everywhere.)

Difficulty: Ohhhh this is a tough one! I would say, hard side of moderate. A couple stream crossings, a few totally legit steep sections, some rocks and mess. Nothing too technical that we could notice. Plenty of good bail out options (just go to Avalon and call it a day with a view!) Not a fabulous choice for your first hike ever. 

Views: Decent 

Bugs: Not a one, but it was brisk and windy

Dog friendly trail? Yep

Mt Moriah, 4k footer #5 of 2019, May 16th

The weather last week was really hit or miss. Our original camping plans went by the wayside, so Eric, Ellie and I kept the hiking momentum going.

Thursday, we headed to Gorham, NH to hike Mt. Moriah. At just under an hour, the was a relatively short drive. We knew that it would be the longest hike (coming in at 9 miles or so)

Moriah, upon first glance, doesn't look like it would be terribly strenuous. It comes in at 4,094 feet which might make one think that it would be short and sweet. It's good to keep in mind, that this mountain starts at a lower elevation than some, so you are climbing about 3500 feet during the hike. That's almost Mt. Madison level- and nobody thinks that is an easy mountain!

You find the trail head at the end of Bangor Road, in someone's yard. Weird.

The trail begins to the left of that large tree

We parked just down the road, under some power lines and made our way back (it just felt wrong to park at the trailhead, although a couple cars had.)

Looks like the sign had a hard winter

It was a pleasant day (sunny and upper 50's at the base!) and the trail was in terrific shape.

This was just lovely

While you certainly make some serious elevation gains in the first couple miles, the trail is generally friendly and you get some nice, pretty flat stretches.

Just before what we assume was Mt Surprise (around mile 2), there were a few very steep, but very manageable rock ledges. None of us, including the dog, had any issue (pretty fun, actually!)
Plus, a great view comes next!

A good view is a nice perk

We really had a solid 3/3.5 miles before the snow got really serious. All the ledges were free of ice, there was some mud (including a few pretty serious puddle/lakes) but nothing that would really freak a person out (unless you expected a flat, dry trail. then you would have freaked out.)

Ellie does not freak out when the monorail begins

The monorail was pretty variable, and the snowpack was still significant. It is going to be a while before conditions are looking like Spring.

This does not look like mid/lateMay!

The three of us really enjoyed the climb. The steep sections were perfectly broken up with flat stretches, which keeps things pretty fun (especially when you have a little dog. in the snow. etc.) The forest was lovely, and there was a HUGE ROCK.

I couldn't even get all of it in the photo

Nearing the Summit, we met a small pack of youth (the only people we saw all day.) They appeared to be reasonably well prepared, except for their summer foot wear. They were sliding around on the fresh snow like crazy (the mountains got several inches early week) and appeared to be struggling. Note to youth: bring traction.

Anyway. Just like that we were there!

Lotta snow

The summit is a little rock dome with incredible 360 degree views. While the high peaks had cloud hats on we got a much better view that we had originally expected, per the gloomy forecast.

After a quick snack, down we went.
We still managed fairly well on the monorail, but might have had one or two encounters with losing a leg.

Sorry Eric!

It was cool enough at the top to keep things more or less intact, but after the recent batch of warmer weather I'm not sure how stable the footing will be. But nobody can really count on good footing for a while yet, I'd say.

However, the final miles were glorious. You couldn't ask for better. we were very happy, and so was Misses Ellington.

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY

We were kind of sad to see this hike come to an end. This was a super enjoyable trail, great views, and some terrific slabs to scramble up. Not a great pick for your first big hill, but one to put on the must do list.

Happy Hiking Family!

Stats 

Total elevation: 4049 (this is a long hike for a "low" mountain.) 

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 3,455
-miles covered: 8.8 (book is 9)
-elapsed time: 5:13 (this includes all stopped time. mostly falling in the snow...) (Book: 6:00)

Difficulty: Difficult because of the length. There are some very steep climbs. BUT, nothing technical, no sketchy rock scrambling, no stream crossings, much to enjoy. Very few exposed sections- but I imagine Mt Surprise would be pretty awful and possibly difficult to navigate in poor conditions. (gotta be safe) It's not a summit that would be enjoyable in awful weather, but you are really below treeline for the vast majority of this hike

Views: Great. Plus, bonus views on Surprise

Bugs: None on trail, some in lot

Dog friendly trail? Yep

Mt Tom: 4k #4 of 2019, May 13

We planned to hike Hale on Monday, just to cross it off the list.
BUT, Zealand Rd was still closed. (with Zealand Rd closed, it is a 2.5 mile hike to the trailhead. Not a big deal if you're planning on extra mileage, as Hale is a only a 4.4 mile hike. But we didn't feel like dealing with it.)
(this is mean to say, but we were planning to do Hale just to "check it off". nobody seems to get very excited about poor old Hale.)

So, down the road we went to Mt Tom. Not sure if anyone is excited about Tom, either..?

There was plenty of parking at Crawford Depot (like, one other car in the lot.) Monday Mid day May hiking is clearly the way to go. I'm still having flashbacks of the cars lining 302 in the summer.... Anyway, not on this day (it was also legit 1:30 on the afternoon, we are the weird afternoon hikers.)

Cross over the train tracks, and Avalon trail is right in front of you. Excellent conditions to begin
with.

Love the beech leafy woods

The dry trail did not last too long. First snow seen just before the half mile mark!

Hello, snow

And on this day, the snow was unrelenting. The on/off conditions of Waumbek were not to be found here- the snow was thick, deep, messy, and everywhere! (not at mile 0.5, but shortly thereafter!)

We busted out traction before mile one- hoping it would not be needed. But it was!

Monorail Monorail

We had several (4, I believe) stream crossings to contend with, all of which were doable.

Ellie used the fallen trees too!

After just over a mile, we took the A-Z trail to continue towards Mt. Tom. This trail had some steep sections, some very unstable monorail, and endless postholes (which we added to on the decent.)

Signs above snow is always a good sign. 

While the A-Z trail certainly is not treacherous by any stretch, it does have a few moderate sections and one short, steep section.

One of the moderate sections (on the way down) steeper than it looks

After a mile on A-Z we took the Mt. Tom spur- which was in good shape. Firm snow, pretty scenery, and some exposed rock (there is one little stretch of extremely hikable rock- not technical)

This short stretch was really enjoyable despite the dropping temps and increasing winds. I always like to see what winter does to the higher peaks- nothing good!!

A couple tough winters in the Whites

We happened across a brief no-snow stretch of trail, which the dog appreciated.

Brave hiker

A few stairs took us up the final stretch. Who knows how many stairs are buried under the snow! Maybe the whole trail is one big staircase!? (someone will have to get back to me on this.)

Hurry up Mah

And before we knew it? Another no fanfare summit!

No fanfare. Cairn buried. 

A few steps farther and we managed a view- the trees have grown too tall for much of anything.

Eric and Ellie, me on a tree to get this!

And then, down we went.
And it was a MESS!!!!!

Posthole much??

No real surprises for spring hiking but good lord, we could not stop sinking. (and the monorail is just too damn skinny/sketchy for snowshoes, so I can't think that would have been the solution!) We sank, and collapsed the snow, and fell off it, and it generally was a giant hysterical mess. We got soaked. But it was 46 degrees so we did not freeze to death (and we still had fun- it was not a bad hike! Just a shit mess.) I sunk to my hips with NO feet touching the ground below me, more times that I care to admit. And I am not a large woman....

Ellie got sick of watching me hoist myself out of the snow

Anyway. Eventually we made it back to some normal conditions, no worse for the adventure. Sopping wet feet but generally intact!
It was a good hike with some snow related challenges. We definitely laughed a lot! This one might not be for the perfect hike for beginners in winter conditions, but it would be a good choice for later in the season after you get your feet wet. So to speak.

Our feet were very wet.

Ellie had no problem staying awake for the finishers photo on this particular day, and she enjoyed a post hike bully stick (in the car, 46 degrees is too cold for our princess!) But she certainly fell asleep shortly after we been the drive home.

NOT TIRED AT ALL MOMMMMMM

Stats 

Total elevation: 4051 (getting slightly out of the 4000 barely single digits. but just slightly!) 

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 2,442
-miles covered: 5.4 (book is 5.8)
-elapsed time: 3:25 (this includes all stopped time. mostly falling in the snow...) (Book: 4:00)

Difficulty: Just on the moderate side of Moderate. Some incline to cope with, several non offensive river crossings, a tiny bit of trail that requires attention to the blazes (easy in winter- but heads up in summer to the final river crossing area.) Still all below treeline, generally forgiving trail, I expect this would be a busy trail in the summer months (zero hikers encountered today.)

Views: Limited, but ok-ish just past the low fanfare summit

Bugs: None

Dog friendly trail? Unless your dog won't cross streams.