Pages

About Me

My photo
Bethlehem, New Hampshire, United States
E-mail contact: randonneur8@yahoo.com | Facebook: facebook.com/1HappyHikerNH

Text Above Search Box

SEARCH MY BLOG USING TEXT BOX SEEN BELOW:

27 June 2011

Nothing Fancy - Just a Simple Out and Back Hike to Mt Carrigain

There have been countless trip reports of hikes to Mt. Carrigain via the Signal Ridge Trail.  I'm hesitant to add yet one more report, but here I go doing it anyway!  Since there has been so much written and so many photos posted to various forums and websites, I'll try to keep my narrative brief, and present just a few selected photos.

So, I'll begin by saying that I've recently been hiking to some of my favorite 4K peaks, especially those that I've not visited for a few years.  I'm certain that I'll soon grow tired of these trips down the memory lane and will turn my attention to new explorations.  Regardless, this past Monday (27-Jun) I hiked to Mt. Carrigain.  It was nothing fancy.   The 10 mile round trip trek was done by using the Signal Ridge Trail for both the outbound and the return.

Many readers are familiar with the excellent book written by Steve Smith and Mike Dickerman which is entitled "The 4000-Footers of the White Mountains:  A Guide and History".  Perhaps  the attraction that I and others have for Mt. Carrigain is best summarized by a statement made in that book which reads as follows:
"Few peaks in the White Mountains can match the grandeur, spectacle and beauty of this towering mass, which for more than a century has been revered by climbers.  Viewed from any angle, it is a dominant and easily identified landmark."

I like the mild-mannered way in which the Signal Ridge Trail leads you to the top of Mt. Carrigain.  It's never overly steep, which  I suppose isn't too surprising since most of the route uses old roadbeds that once provided access to the fire warden's cabin just below the summit of the mountain.  This cabin was connected to the outside world via a telephone line strung on poles leading from the base of the mountain.   I'm embarrassed to say that on this and other treks along this trail, I've failed to take notice of the few remaining telephone poles.  I'm told these poles resemble that shown in the photo below.
Besides having a fondness for the trail itself, I also like the picturesque scenes alongside the trail, such as: the cascades along Whiteface Brook at the lower end of the trail; and, the section of trail that passes through an area of tall white birch trees; and also the beaver pond that's located shortly after the Carrigain Notch Trail splits off.

Shown below is a photo collage of the sights mentioned in the paragraph above.
At the beginning of this Blog report, I mentioned that Mt. Carrigain is one of my favorite 4K peaks in the Whites.  Quite honestly, to be more precise, it is Signal Ridge that is the major attraction for me.  In my opinion, it's a worthy destination of its own.  Shown below is the view from Signal Ridge that I most admire.  It's such a unique vista with the massive humps of Vose Spur on the left and the colorful cliffs of Mt. Lowell on your right, and then the Presidential Range stretching out on the horizon.
Of course, once you're on Signal Ridge, then it would seem ridiculous not to spend the extra 15 minutes or so to trek on up to the summit of Mt. Carrigain and climb the tower.
I must say that the biting insects were out in force at the tower location.  In the next photo, the little black dots are actual squadrons of these pests flying in formation as they make ready for their attack!
Although many of the views from the tower are much the same as from Signal Ridge, there are an abundance of additional views from this lofty location.  It's tough to choose favorites among so many outstanding views.  Besides the northeast view toward the Presidential Range, I guess my personal runner-ups would be the vista looking toward the Osceolas, and the view looking back at Signal Ridge.  Both of these views are shown in the next two photos.

If you want to try capturing something a bit unique, then you can get silly (as I did) by taking some snapshots that include part of the tower structure itself.
Okay, with having presented the rather bizarre photos above, perhaps it's time to end this report!

To sum it up, when I looked at my hiking log, it was hard to believe that it had been 6 years since I last hiked to Mt. Carrigain.   Even though my visits to this mountain have been infrequent, it is definitely one of my favorite 4K peaks.   
As the old expression goes, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

///////////////////////////////////////////


ADDENDUM:  It's almost as pleasurable to look at Mt. Carrigain (and the Carrigain Notch) as it is to hike to its summit.  Shown below is perhaps my favorite view of Mt. Carrigain (and its notch).  The photo was taken from Whitewall Mountain.  
   

21 June 2011

A Loop around King Ravine, Plus a Side-Trip to Mt Adams

What delightful weather it was on 21-June!  Mostly sunny skies, low humidity, and the air temperature and wind were both moderate!  To make the most of these terrific conditions, I wanted to do a trek that would take me above tree-line, and would incorporate a trail that I'd never hiked.

The hike I finally decided to do was a 9.3 mile loop that goes around the tops of the walls surrounding the King Ravine, plus this trek also incorporated a trip to the summit of Mt. Adams.  And, I was able to include a trail in this loop that was new to me, i.e. the Spur Trail.  This trail ascends the west wall of King Ravine.  It leads from the Randolph Path (just above the junction with the King Ravine Trail) to Lowe's Path (just below Thunderstorm Junction).

Shown below is a GoogleEarth image of King Ravine with my route highlighted in yellow. The trails involved in my loop were: The Link; Amphibrach; Randolph Path; Spur Trail; Lowe's Path; Gulfside Trail; Air Line Trail.
As mentioned above, the Spur Trail was one that I had never hiked.  It was awesome!  The footing was good, and it was no steeper to climb than other trails leading up to the Presidential Range.  There were a number of interesting things to see along the way.  On the lower portion of the trail, a short spur path leads you to Chandler Fall where the Spur Brook runs down a huge slab of rock.  This cascade would probably be much more impressive at times of high water, but it was still a scenic spot even with a reduced flow of flow.
Chandler Fall
About a third of the way up the trail is a spot called Lower Crag.  Here I got my first peek into the massive King Ravine.  From this point forward, there are other views into the ravine.  Two of the more notable viewpoints are Upper Crag (location of RMC's Crag Camp), and then further up the trail is the Knight's Castle outlook.

Shown below are snapshots taken at Lower Crag, Upper Crag, and Knight's Castle.
Lower Crag
Upper Crag
Knight's Castle
Mentioned earlier was Randolph Mountain Club's (RMC) hut named Crag Camp.  Since this was my first time on the Spur Trail, it was obviously my first time to visit this structure.  It is impressive!  Shown below is a shot of the exterior and interior of this attractive mountain hut.
Crag Camp
The upper third of the Spur Trail is above tree line.  Besides the beauty of the surrounding alpine vistas, the trail itself is quite scenic (photo below).
The next snapshot was taken from the Spur Trail shortly before it ends at Thunderstorm Junction.  Mt Adams is seen on the horizon at the top right-side of the photo.  Although this mountain looks very imposing from most other perspectives, it certainly is less intimidating from this vantage point!
From the top of Mt Adams are magnificent 360 degree views.  Rather than present photo after photo of these views, I'll be a bit selfish and just show two of my personal favorites!  The first one is the view toward Mt Washington, and the second view is Mt Madison, the next door neighbor of Mt. Adams.
Mt Washington (and Auto Road on left)

Mt Madison (and tiny Star Lake at base of the mountain)
Shown below is yet another photo of Mt. Madison.  It was taken near the junction of the Gulfside Trail and Air Line Trail.  Of course, the building seen nestled at the bottom of the mountain is AMC's newly refurbished Madison Spring Hut.
The next photo was also taken from the Gulfside Trail.  It is looking northward over the lip of the ravine.  On the left side is the ridge that I climbed earlier in the day using the Spur Trail.  And on the right is Durand Ridge which was used for my descent via the Air Line Trail.  (Just as a side note, if you click on the photo below to make it larger, you can just barely see the Crag Camp resting atop the ridge on the left.  It's a tiny white dot about halfway up the ridgeline.)
Many wildflowers were seen while hiking my route.  The photo below provides a sample of many of these colorful beauties.
And so, to sum it up, all days spent hiking the mountains are good, but some are better than others.  This particular hike will be added to the "better" column in my book!

18 June 2011

Tunnel Brook Trail; Cliffs of Clough; Exploring an Unnamed Cascade

Almost exactly one year ago I did a hike along a portion of the Tunnel Brook Trail. And, as part of this hike, I incorporated a short bushwhack to the cliffy rock slabs on the eastern side of Mt. Clough. My Trip Report for this hike was posted on the public Forum named "Views from the Top", more simply known as VFTT.  Please click HERE if you'd like to take a look at that report. 

This past Saturday (18-June), my friend Marty and I did a hike similar to the one described above.  The major difference is that our plan was to include a visit to Mud Pond (located near the southern end of the Tunnel Brook Trail), whereas my hike last year did not include Mud Pond.
The Tunnel Brook Trail runs through the deep valley between Mt. Moosilauke and Mt. Clough.  And speaking of Mt. Clough, I was surprised when I first learned that the pronunciation of this mountain rhymes with words like "rough" or "enough".  Also, it was surprising to read in Steve Smith's book (Ponds & Lakes of the White Mountains) that up until the 1920s there was an automobile route through this notch which served to connect the Benton/Easton area with the Glencliff/Warren area.  Considering all the ponds and bogs that are now present here, you'd expect that the road was closed due to flooding from beaver activity. But apparently, landslides were the reason that this roadway was closed and never reopened.

If you've ever hiked the Tunnel Brook Trail and/or looked at a trail map, then you know that your trek takes you along the shoreline of a long chain of beaver ponds in this valley.  If you were to follow the trail all the way to its southern end, you'd find yourself at close proximity to the trailhead for the Glencliff Trail which leads to Mt. Moosilauke.  Many folks do a loop hike over Mt. Moosilauke using the Tunnel Brook Trail, Glencliff Trail and Benton Trail.
On this particular day, our goal wasn't to do a loop hike.  Instead, our only intentions were to begin at the trailhead on Tunnel Brook Road and hike the trail to the south end of Mud Pond.  Our plan was to return via the same route, and during our return we would do a short bushwhack up to what I call the "Cliffs of Clough".

I was happy that our trek included Mud Pond.  As seen in the photo below, there is a very attractive vista looking northward from the south end of this pond.
And apparently, the frogs are happy with the view and enjoy living here.  There is an abundance of these handsome green guys who refer to this pond as home!
In addition to Mud Pond, there are other very attractive views from the shoreline of other beaver ponds along this trail.  An example of one such view is shown in the photo below which features Moosilauke's South Peak and Slide Brook Ravine as seen looking across one of the unnamed beaver ponds.
A mentioned earlier, our trek also included a short bushwhack up to the lower portion of the "Cliffs of Clough".  This rocky area above the pond can clearly be seen in the snapshot below.
I'm still amazed at how easy it is to get up onto this cliffy/ledgy area.  Within 15 minutes from leaving the Tunnel Brook Trail, you can be far enough up to get views such as shown in the next few photos.

There is a bird's-eye view of many of the ponds in the Tunnel Brook area (see photo below).
Also, as you look northward up the Tunnel Brook valley, off in the distance you can see peaks in the Pilot Range.
Growing in the cracks of the rocks are various types of common wildflowers and sedges.  I found the Cotton Sedge (shown below) to be particularly fascinating.
Our trek to the "Cliffs of Clough" concluded our hike.  As Marty and I were returning to the trailhead, we were discussing whether to go on another short hike since we still had a few hours left before we needed to return home.  Along the trail, we met Mike and Evelyn who live in nearby Benton, NH.  I'd met Mike once before, but didn't recognize him, but he remembered me.   Anyway, Mike solved our hiking dilemma by suggesting a hike to an unnamed cascade located about a half mile off the end of a gated Forest Service fire road.  Since we'd be driving right by this road on our way home, we decided to embark on this adventure!

We found the cascade without difficulty.  It was about a 2 hour round-trip hike.  As we discovered once we go there, it's not merely a single cascade, but rather a chain of cascades.  Shown below are a couple of photos taken at various points along this chain.
It was an odd feeling not knowing exactly where we were hiking to.  Once we arrived at the cascades, I pulled out my GPS and got a rough idea of our location.  I took a waypoint for downloading at home onto a topo map, and it was interesting to see that these cascades are only about a half mile west of Route 112.  They are located on an unnamed brook that is sort of at the mouth of a small ravine located north of the Stark Falls Brook drainage.

The cascades were very nice, but we paid a price for having this fun adventure.  On both the outbound and inbound leg of our trip, we had experiences that were comical in retrospect.  On the way to the cascades, we were followed and harassed for about a 100 yards by a very angry and aggressive grouse who was charging, squawking, and flapping at us throughout this encounter.  Then, on our return trip, we got caught in torrential hailstorm and were pelted with marble size pellets of ice!  I had a small umbrella in my pack which I brought out for the two of us to huddle under.  This provided some protection, but any body part outside the "umbrella of safety" was subjected to the sting of the icy pellets.
I didn't get a photo of the attack by the irate grouse.  But, I did take a snapshot of the hailstones!

To sum it up, our day of hiking ended up being a far greater adventure than Marty and I had ever thought it would be when we left home to do a mild-mannered trek along the Tunnel Brook Trail.   However, we know from our previous hikes that we frequently improvise upon our original plan as we go along.  In so doing, we sort of expect the unexpected.  And so, in many respects, the final outcome for this day of hiking wasn't overly surprising, given our history!

15 June 2011

North Twin Trail and Fire Warden Trail: A Little Bit of This and That

As previously mentioned on this Blog, circumstances are such that on Wednesdays I have only a few hours available for hiking.  If I opt to do a short hike, it's usually unworthy of a Blog report.  The trek I did this past Wednesday (15-June) met my unoffical criteria of being "blog-worthy"!

To maximize my available time on Wednesdays, I try to choose a trailhead close to my home in Bethlehem.  On this particular day, the North Twin trailhead on Haystack Road was chosen as my launch point.  My primary objective for this short hike was to reach a little ledge located less than 0.2 mile off the abandoned Mt. Hale Fire Warden Trail, and as a secondary goal, I wanted to try out an EMS sport pack to determine if it met my needs. 

As I hiked up the North Twin Trail, I decided to head off-trail a few hundred feet to the east bank of the Little River.  Although the name of this river incorporates the word "little", it has some really big boulders along one segment.  This was the first time I've ever investigated them close-up.  So, shown below is a photo of what I saw.  What can I say, other than "really big boulders"!
After my short foray down to the river bank, I returned to the trail and soon arrived at the point where the trail crosses the river for the first time.  Since I was headed up the bootleg trail to access the Fire Warden Trail, I had no need to cross the river.  However, as seen below, the water level was very low and crossing would have been no problem.
Although I'm only aware of one spot, there might be other locations along the banks of the Little River where railroad track is visible.  I presume this track is a remnant of the logging railroad that existed between 1893 and 1900.  It ran southward along the Little River for about 6.5 miles.  Shown below is the only piece of track that I've ever come across.
At about this same time last year, I bushwhacked the entire length of the Little River Valley.  During this trek, I occasionally came across what might have been segments of the corridor for the old logging railroad.  Or, another possibility is that these corridors were part of the Little River hiking trail that once existed in this valley.  Shown below is a snapshot of one of the overgrown corridors that I encountered during my hike last year.
If you want to read more about my June 2010 bushwhack up the Little River Valley, then please click HERE.   

Okay, let's return to the hike that I did in June 2011.  I've hiked the abandoned Fire Warden Trail on several occasions and so locating its "trailhead" was no problem.  This trail is appealing to me at any time of year, but it's especially attractive at this time of year when it becomes just a narrow ribbon that winds through the ferns glades (photo below).
At the end of the first long switchback, I left the trail for the short bushwhack (less than 0.2 mile) to a little ledge that I've visited several times since being recommended to me by Steve Smith several years ago.  And actually, it was the view from this ledge that played a major role in inspiring me to do the Little River Valley bushwack that I mentioned above.

The off-trail journey to the ledge is almost a destination unto itself.  The route goes through a magnificent glade of birch and fern (photo below).
Within about 15 minutes from the time I left the Fire Warden Trail, I arrived at the tiny little ledge (photo below).
The next photo provides a little better view from the ledge itself.  Zealand Mountain is on the left of the photo, a portion of Mt. Guyot is in the center at the end of the valley, and although the Twins would be to the right, they are not visible in this particular snapshot.
As part of this hike, I evaluated a daypack which Jim Darroch at EMS provided to me at no cost for an impartial review.  This model is called the Creek Freak.  The snapshot shown below is one that I took of this daypack when I stopped for a break along the Little River.
My overall impression of this daypack is positive.  I'll admit that it was not one that I probably would have picked off the shelf on my own.  Most likely, I would've felt that the size was too small for the type of hiking that I normally do.   However, I was pleasantly surprised when loading the pack for my hike.  I had ample room to include everything I normally take on a hike during the warm-weather months.  

The pack has 3 main compartments.  The outermost is a zippered mesh slot which I found useful for stashing an extra item of clothing for layering/de-layering.  The middle compartment is roomy and has several pockets to separate and organize your smaller gear.  The inner most compartment is the largest of the three.  It includes a padded slot which can be used to tote a small laptop computer.  So, I'm thinking that this pack might also be useful in non-hiking situations, such as a personal carry-on bag when traveling by air.

Not everything was positive about this daypack.  I prefer using water bottles versus a hydration reservoir.  Although this pack has a side pocket that accommodates a water bottle, it's nearly impossible to access the bottle without stopping and removing the pack.  So, I needed to rig up a separate bottle holder which I attached to one of the side compression straps.  Also, as is true with most any pack, I also needed to devise a way to attach my GPS to a shoulder strap.

The top photo below shows the two minor modifications that I made in order to customize the pack to suit my personal needs.  The bottom photo attempts to illustrate the roominess of this pack.

To sum it up, if I hike on a Wednesday, it's usually only for a few hours.  And generally, my trek is of little interest to anyone.  However, I thought perhaps this particular Wednesday's hike might contain some elements which could be of potential interest to others.   And ergo, a report was written and now this hike enters into the realm of the blogosphere!

10 June 2011

A Beginning and Ending on Mt. Washington

Although my friend Marty and I both feel a slight twinge of guilt when we do this, once every so often we will treat ourselves by driving to the top of Mt. Washington and launching a hike from the top.  I suppose you could think of it as a top-down approach, rather than the more traditional bottom-up method.  Our qualms about using the Auto Road are somewhat mitigated by reminding ourselves that over our individual hiking careers, we have used the traditional manner for hiking to all the NH 4K peaks (including Mt. Washington), and have hiked to countless other mountains over the years. 

And so, this past Friday (10-June) Marty and I did what could be coined as a modified loop hike which began and ended at the Mt. Washington summit.  Shown below is a map of our 5-mile route.
As we ascended the Auto Road, we started to wonder if the overcast would eventually clear, as it was predicted to do.  The following two photos show the overcast.  One of these snapshots includes Marty capturing the scene with his camera.
Once we arrived at the summit, we headed over to the summit building to use the facilities before embarking on our modified loop hike.  The scene at the top was the usual touristy-conglomerate of cog railroad passengers, etc.
It was a delight to leave the summit and enter into the more serene world below Washington's summit.  As we descended, the overcast waxed and waned over the ridges and ravines.  On the approach to Tuckerman Ravine, we could see a huge cloud bank rapidly approaching the headwall from the west.  It was almost like watching an avalanche happen!  Within a second or two after snapping the photo below, Tuckerman Ravine was completely engulfed!
Speaking of Tuckerman Ravine, the Tuckerman Ravine Trail was closed on the day we were there because of icy conditions on the upper portions of the trail corridor.
By the time we arrived at the junction of the Alpine Garden Trail and the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, the fog bank had cleared from the ravine.   We stopped to snap several photos, and as seen in the snapshot below, there was still some lingering snow.   Several hikers reported seeing some die-hard backcountry skiers making some runs earlier in the day.
As we climbed upward to meet up with the Lawn Cutoff Trail, there was a huge snow field just a few feet off the side of the trail.  The photo below shows a portion of the snow field in the foreground with Tuckerman Ravine in the distance.
Before continuing any further, I want to interject that we saw some marvelous displays of wildflowers throughout the course of our trek.  The photo below shows an attractive collage of wildflowers, lichens, mosses, sedges which was artfully created by Mother Nature.
Although not nearly as creative as Mother Nature's composition, shown below is a collage of my photos of some of the wildflowers we saw during the course of our hike.  Of the ones that I remember, we saw: Alpine Bluet, Alpine Azalea, Bog Laurel, Bunchberry, Diapensia, Labrador Tea, Mountain Aven.   
When Marty and I do our occasional adventure from the top of Mt. Washington, we try to incorporate at least one trail that one or the other of us has never hiked.  For this particular trek, the Camel Trail was a new experience for both of us.  I'm uncertain it this is technically correct, but I think the Camel Trail would run along the far southern end of the area known as Bigelow Lawn.  Regardless, the next photo shows a scene that includes a very "lawn-like" area in the foreground with the Montalban Ridge/Oakes Gulf stretching out beyond.
As we continued westward along the Camel Trail, the shapely image of Mt. Monroe was ever-present.   The lighting was never quite right to get a super nice photo.  We must have each snapped a dozen or more photos as the lighting on the mountain faded in and out.  Below is the best snapshot I managed to get.
Besides Mt. Monroe, the Camel Trail also provided some different perspectives on Mt. Washington.  Shown below is one view of Mt. Washington from the Camel Trail.
When we arrived at the junction of the Camel Trail and Crawford Path, we got the classic view of Mt. Monroe as viewed over the Lakes of the Clouds.
Next on our itinerary was to climb to the top of Mt. Monroe.  Although we've both visited this mountaintop on many occasions, it's never boring to experience the vistas from here time after time.   Each person has their favorite views from any given spot.  One of my favorite views from Mt. Monroe is looking down at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut nestled among the high peaks of the Presidential Range.
Speaking of the Hut, the winds were quite mild-mannered on the day of our trek, but breezy enough for some folks at the Hut to enjoy flying a kite.  At the top center of the photo below, you can sort of see the kite .
The final leg of our journey was the climb back to the top of Mt. Washington via the Crawford Path.   The photo below shows the view of our destination as seen over Lakes of the Clouds.

To sum it up, we spent an awesome day above tree line as we leisurely trekked along various hiking trails on the south side of the Mt. Washington summit.  It will be awhile before we treat ourselves again to the use of the Auto Road to launch a hiking adventure.  However, we already have some preliminary plans for doing a modified loop off the north side of Mt. Washington the next time around.