Thursday, May 31, 2018

Sugarloaf - Willsboro (5-16-2018)




Aches are to be expected after a big hike. I had a few of them in the days following my adventure at Mount Moosilauke.

I figured the best way to work through them was some more hiking. After scouring my maps, I figured a short 2 mile evening hike at Sugarloaf Mountain in Willsboro might do the trick.

'Loaf is a privately owned mountain within the vicinity of Poke-O-Moonshine & Rattlesnake.



It's trail is well marked. If you go there, please stick to it & obey the rules!

Sugarloaf follows an old jeep path. Near the start of the trail, I crossed a brook and the remains of a very old car.



About a half mile in, the ascent began... And, my post-Moosilauke legs absolutely hated me!

The views from the trail are mostly tree'd in. But, I could make out certain landmarks (ie: Long Pond & Rattlesnake) through the leaves without a problem.



I was wondering if this would be a viewless Summit. I was pleased to find out that Sugarloaf had a lovely view from the East to the South and West!

Beautiful hazy view towards Giant!


This is a quick hike that's close to home which will definitely be something that I will go to for a quick "hiking fix" in the future!

I loved this! Sugarloaf's shadow cast over a house on a smaller mountain.


And you know what? I woke up the next morning and my Moosilauke aches were all gone!

Sugarloaf (Center) from the Route 22 side of Long Pond.

Moosilauke (5-13-2018)






I've been reading way too many Appalachian Trail books lately! Not that it's a bad thing. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and Where's the Next Shelter by Gary Sizer really capture my imagination and are two personal favorites.

A big hike outside of the Adirondacks had been something I wanted to do for a little while now... Just to get a different view of things. Kailee would be spending Mother's Day at her Mom's house. So, I began brainstorming for an "epic" adventure. 

Thanks in large part to Sizer's detailed account... It took me about three minutes to settle on Moosilauke (4802'), the 10th highest peak in New Hampshire. It was one of those back of the brain "some day" hikes that quickly moved to the front of the brain.

Upon making this well thought out three minute decision, I was determined on one thing: Hike the stretch of Appalachian Trail out & back to the Gentle Giant's Summit. Immediately, I began putting the plan in motion and spent the next five days preparing for the trip. I obtained maps, some extra gear & researching Moosilauke.

After work on Saturday, I ran home & threw my backpacks in the car and hit the road to New Hampshire at 10PM. It was a three hour drive down winding roads in pure darkness. I made a quick rest stop at a pulloff and the stars put on a brilliant show.


The first white AT Blaze that I spotted in the pitch dark.

I arrived at North-South Road in Warren, NH at 1AM. After parking the car I grabbed my bag with my camping gear (which is more suited for music festivals than adventures such as this), strapped on my headlamp and walked 2/10th of mile into the ominous woods to the Jeffers Brook Shelter. No one else was there. Rather than set up my tent in the dark, I opted to sleep in the shelter.




I set up my cot & sleeping bag and made a small fire in the fire ring to scare off any potential bears... They say there's more of them than people in this area!


My home for the night.

I awoke at 8AM on Sunday morning to birdsong. My surroundings were no longer ominous. Rather, I was encompassed by beautiful woods and a charming stream illuminated by a bright bluebird sky.  I used the privy and carried my camping gear back to the car and exchanged it for my hiking pack and set off for the Glencliff Trailhead.





Not even close... Just a small view of the massif.

From this vantage point I could only see the Southwestern part of Moosilauke. The Summit was hidden from my view.

After signing in at the trail register, I started my hike in earnest. I passed a meadow (which I learned is where many AT hikers camp) and began my ascent.





At 8/10th's of a mile in, exhaustion kicked in. It had warmed up considerably since I awoke and I was dressed for the Summit - as opposed to the start. I sat down changed out of my pants into shorts and pulled off my arm sleeves. I drank water and had an internal conversation.

"You've made it this far in pretty good time. But, if you keep up this pace, you'll collapse before getting to the top," I thought.






After this little break, I slowed my pace and took shorter steps. I also broke the hike down into sections by using waypoints that I had previously plugged into my GPS. This change in approach was great. I felt much better and made decent progress. 

The Glencliff trail is very attractive. Much of the mountain is owned by Dartmouth College. The numerous trails are maintained by the school's Outing Club, lending to it's nickname: Dartmouth's Mountain.


Yeah... I drank that water!


I passed a number of runoff streams and shimmering pools. At one of the small pools, I tried out my new Sawyer water filter... Nothing better than drinking from the source!

It was so cool to pass the white AT blazes on the trees and rocks.

"Yes! This is where some of my favorite authors stood and stepped!"

Around 3700', I encountered ice. Out came the microspikes. I had no issues proceeding forward.







The ice and snow continued up to the point where the AT/Glencliff trail merges with the old Carriage Road. I continued towards the Summit. The trees grew shorter and shorter.

I was able to get my first real views over them to the Southeast of  New Hampshire and views of Vermont from the Southwest to the Northwest.



The goal.

It was neat seeing Vermont's Mount Mansfield & Camels Hump flip flopped at a different angle than I'm accustomed to viewing them from New York's North Country.

Around this point, Moosilauke's Summit came into view. It looked much further away than it actually was... Only a half mile.
As the tree line came to an end, so did the snow and ice.

From here on out, it was only alpine vegetation, rock & massive cairns leading the way.





Upon reaching the Summit sign, the Presidential Range immediately jumped into sight. My jaw hit the ground.



YES!



Driving down winding roads in the pitch dark. Sleeping in a shelter. Waking up and walking into the woods. Unable to see the summit-goal for the day. Not being afforded any sort of clean views outward from the trail until late in the hike... 



After all of that... I was rewarded with a brilliant blue panorama of the White Mountains.



The White Mountains!

I spun around a few times and enjoyed a completely unobstructed 360° view!


The  Presidential Range isis mind-blowing!


There were a lot of people hanging around the Summit. I
hunkered down in a vacant "wind shelter" made out of rocks and enjoyed a quick lunch before walking around for a little bit.

From my spot on the rock couch, I texted my Mom a picture holding a "Happy Mother's Day" sign.






I saw a guy with a big pack heading out and asked him "How far are you going?"

"Not far," he replied, "This is just a day hike to practice for a traverse of the Canadian Rockies!"

After he departed, I had the Summit to myself... For about two minutes.

Another hiker approached and we had a nice conversation. He was doing a practice run for the Pemi-Loop, which he pointed out to me. That's a mega hike!

"I'm glad that I did this," he said, "I had too much stuff in my pack and my water bladder burst two times on the way up! Now I know what to do!"

We chatted a while and I told him "I think I need to make a visit to the White's more often."





I spent well over 90 minutes at the Summit before heading out.

On my way back, I tagged South Peak (a smaller peak on the massif) for good measure. It gave me a wonderful view of what I had accomplished for the day.


South Peak.


The descent back to the trailhead was nice and sweet. I had hoped for an "epic" adventure... And, I totally got one!

One doesn't have to walk from Georgia to Maine to enjoy the Appalachian Trail.

The trail is there for everyone! Day hikers, section hikers and thru-hikers alike! Get out and enjoy it!



Differences that I noticed between trails in the Adirondacks & the AT/Glencliff Trail on Moosilauke:

-I spotted no erratics (common everywhere in the ADK) on Moosilauke.

-I could tell that the rocks on Moosilauke were pushed upwards from continental collision and eroded away rather than glacial deposits uplifted by a hotspot in the Adirondacks.

-Granite! This type of rock is common in the North Country... But, not as common -or shiny- as the ones that I saw at Moosilauke.










Friday, May 11, 2018

Scarface 5-6-2017



"It's always a good day when you get to hike a Saranac Lake Sixer," I said to Kailee before she went to bed on the eve of our hike of Scarface.


Scarface Mountain has one of my favorite trails and I was glad that we would be joined by Mike & Matt (two of my hometown friends) for the adventure.

We all met up at the trailhead around 10AM shook hands & I introduced them to Kailee.

Everyone was working on their Saranac Lake 6er list except for me. It was kinda fun explaining what to expect on the trail.


Blowdown Throwdown!

One thing I expected to run into this time at Scarface was blowdown. The North Country had a major wind storm on Friday which left a wave of havoc. I was correct on my assumption. A number of times we we climbing over, under and around newly knocked over trees. It was a Blowdown Throwdown!  Fortunately, this wasn't too much of a problem for our crew.

Aside from the recent blowdown, Scarface has a very pretty trail with a 2 mile base walk before beginning the ascent. Mike and Matt hike at a slower speed than I do. So, it was a pleasant change sticking to their pace

Near the end of our base walk, Kailee spotted a garter snake!

SNAKE!
I had warned everyone that Scarface has a viewless Summit and that there was only one ledge on the trail with an obscured view. It didn't matter. They were all there for List Work.

At one point during our trek, Mike said "I can see why you speak so highly of this trail. It has enough things to keep it interesting as you move along like the the bench, the bridge, a river, and nice runoff. Nice stuff to look at."





However, since there wasn't any leaves on the trees we were afforded decent peeps through the trees of ponds and McKenzie Mountain whenever we turned around.

After climbing a decent stretch, we came across a herd path and decided to check it out.

Kailee led the way and we stumbled upon a ledge with a spectacular, unobstructed 180° view!

View of Ampersand from the Unobstructed Ledge.


This thing was way better than the viewpoint on the trail! We took pictures and enjoyed gazing at the Seward range. In hindsight, I wish I marked a waypoint for it on my GPS. Ah well...

It was a short climb from the herd path to the trail's ledge. When we got there, Matt ditched his pack and set up a folding chair that he was carrying in it.  The rest of us opted to keep our backpacks on for our push to the Summit.


View from the ledge on the Trail.


We encountered trail ice during this final stretch but microspikes weren't necessary (However, Mike and I chose to wear them while descending this section).

After a short time, we arrived at the Summit. There's only a little white marker that lets you know that you've arrived.

There's also a tree stump that everyone kicks when they arrive at the Summit... A hiker tradition so to speak. I told everyone "Kick that stump!" And, we all had a laugh.


Matt, Kailee, Myself & Mike celebrating at the Summit.

Kailee celebrated by doing some weird handstand thing with the Summit marker tree.





Matt departed for the ledge and his gear a few minutes before the rest of us. When we finally got back down to the ledge I thought it was pretty funny to see him sitting in his chair like he owned the place. Everyone had lunch on the ledge and took a few final pictures before we began out descent in earnest.


Having fun at the Trail Ledge!


As we walked, we discussed different trails that we've hiked and Kailee and Matt joked about mountain farts!

Eventually we were back at our cars. Kailee checked off her third Saranac Lake 6er, Mike got his first, and Matt also tagged his third. A successful and fun day for everyone!




Three Down!





Saturday, May 5, 2018

Poke-O-Moonshine 5-1-2018




Kailee asked after school if we could go for a hike. I said "sure," and we went down the road to Poke-O-Moonshine. 

Since I've written about Poke-O on three separate occasions, I also forgot to stick a memory card in the camera. So, I'm going to be brief with this entry.

Spring was in full force on the mountain. The trail varied from being a creek & a waterfall.



I opted for us to bushwhack a little on our way up. It ended up being really fun and we saw a bunch of new things. Namely: a "tunnel-cave" that was about 25' long and tall enough for both of us to walk through!



Tunnel!






Esther 4-22-2018

Hanging at the Summit of Marble Mountain.


Hiking Giant in late August of last year,  Kailee met a bunch of kids on the trail that told her they were working on becoming 46ers. I can confirm that they all listed the same four mountains to their credit (Cascade, Porter, Big Slide & Giant).

Kailee proudly replied that "This (Giant) is my first one."

Kails checked off  Porter & Cascade soon enough.

Around this time, PBS ran a big ad campaign for the 46ers Film... Kailee decided, quite quickly, that she too wanted to be a 46er.

My job is to get her on a good start.


Kailee leading the charge!
The top thing on her list for 8 months has been Whiteface & Esther... There's a CASTLE on Whiteface & she wants to go inside.

It's possibly the most popular Mountain in NY & we've seen it from almost every summit & angle that we've come across.

The Mean Mile up Marble.
I decided that it could be fun to climb to Marble Mountain -a minor summit on the Whiteface massif- and hike a little more of the trail upwards towards the 'Face to scout things out for a potential climb later this year.

We parked the car at the Scientific Atmospheric Research Center and strapped on our gear under beautiful blue skies.

There was no register. Just a bench with a little sign that indicated "Trail." The trail leads you around to the back of the Research Center to the base of the mountain. There's a snowmobile trail or two that runs through this area but it's easy to spot the hiking trail to Marble. It's the one that goes straight up.

An old Ski Patrol supply shelter on Marble.
The path up Marble follows an old ski resort tow-rope route & it has an unforgiving incline. The main highlights of this stretch of trail was passing an old Ski Patrol supply shelter and getting a few views through the leafless trees when we turned around.

That being said, Marble's lookout near it's Summit was the perfect place for lunch.

A view from Marble.
After lunch, we headed up the trail towards Lookout Mountain to check things out. It didn't take very long for things to ease up... A welcomed relief!

Lookout Mountain is a 4000' peak that lacks the prominence required to be considered a true peak. Because of this, it is not regarded as one of New York's High Peaks.  Like Marble, Lookout is just a small bump on the massif.

I took a short video.



"We're heading up Lookout Mountain now. We're gonna see how far we go. We're not on a big, big summit day. We're just checking out the trails a little. Then we'll turn around."

I underestimated things.

"Hey, we're now higher than I was on Ampersand," I said after checking the GPS.

"Woah," Kailee replied.

A little further more, I checked the GPS.

"We're now higher than we were on Noonmark," I declared.

"Woah. Really?" Kails replied.

We were nearing the top of Lookout when we met a Quebecouis woman who was on her descent. She was shocked to see a girl of Kailee's age at such a location.

We simply expressed to her that Kailee is Seven & "She likes to climb the big ones."

Which drew a moment of awe from the woman.

Our pace & the pure luck of perfect "late Winter" of conditions allowed us to get to the Lookout trail-split for Esther.



"We're not too far from Esther," I said,  "I think we can grab it!"

"I don't know... You said that we could go back at any time..." Kailee replied.

"I think we have the Sunlight and it might be easier to go over there now... Rather than in the Summertime," I stated, "We won't have to deal with mud or bugs. If it starts to look too hard or the Sun starts setting too quickly. Then, we'll turn around!"

"OK!" Kailee enthusiastically replied.

Herd Path!
The walk to Esther's Summit ended up being a breeze. Just follow the footsteps in the snow.
At a few points, I lifted Kailee up to expand her view of Whiteface.

Whiteface

"This is awesome!" she shouted looking at her favorite unclimbed peak.

A number of hikers passed us on their way down.

Our excitement grew as we neared the Summit of Esther. The fact that we were on an "Unmarked, un-maintained trail" with amazing views of the 'Face added to Kailee's emotions.

I let her lead to Esther's Summit.

"Good job!" yelled Kailee.

"Good job Kailee!" I replied.


"Fourth Forter-Sixer!" Kailee shouted as she made a four signal with her hand.

"This is her fourth 46-er!" I exclaimed.


It was amazing. We slapped a high five at 4240' above sea-level and explored Esther's Summit.

I've read that Esther isn't known for it's views. I'm no giant. I'm 6' and standing on 2-3' of snow looking over the stunted pines offered me a fine view of the Green Mountains, Lake Champlain and the Great Range.

Who says Esther doesn't have a view!?!

After some water and exploration, we began our hike out.

One of the humorous moments during our descent was on Lookout when I realized that one of the tiny peaks a few miles away from us was our friend Clark!

It was quicker & easier to descend Marble Mountain. But, yet again, it was the most wearing part of the hike.



We were back at the car 90 minutes after leaving the Summit with plenty sunlight to spare. We slapped another high five and quickly changed out of our boots and socks.

We hadn't planned on hiking that far or high. The exhilaration upon summiting Esther followed both of us in the ensuing days... I'm still feeling the reverberations from it.

"Wow, I can't believe we did that!"