10 Miles. Pine Bend Brook trail to the summit
Scaur Ridge down the slide and back to the car
Saturday was a tall order, late start to a long dayhike about 11am, two friends and I started in off the Kanc near the trail sign (just park on the road). Great to be back out with some squad regulars, our hiking crew grows a little every year. We certainly earned this 4k, as a mixup with the guide (my error) had us descending the slide instead of ascending it, not something I intend to repeat.
Great day for hiking. No bugs, cold breeze in Lincoln didn't follow us up the Kanc, the forest provided enough shelter and we were shedding layers in no time. Uneventful first 3 miles on the Pine Bend Brook Trail, 5 or 6 water crossings were easy rock hops, maybe two blowdowns but nothing inconvenient.
Passed the junction with Scaur ridge (which we should have taken to climb up the slide) we were able to see Mt Washington thru the trees, still covered in snow. Alot of snow still on the trail! Rain in Manchester obviously equates to snow in the mountains, the last of winter's magic covered everything in a veil of white powder, snow still hanging on wherever shade could afford it.
Once we made it to the summit we realized our error. As a group we decided that views are more important then lives (dumb), so we decided to descend a different route, putting us at the top of the infamous North Slide.
Scariest hiking I've ever attempted. Scariest anything I've ever attempted.
Beaver Brook on Moosilauke might be steeper, but at least that had ladder rungs drilled into the rock. I was either sprawled on my stomach clinging to unofficial handholds/shrubs, or I was sliding on my now ruined pants using my boots for traction. Having not ascended the slide we had no idea where/how to traverse the beast, did the best we could hugging the sides. Found we had better traction when moving sideways, ended up crisscrossing our way down when the mountain would let us. Thankfully the north side of the mountain gets direct sunlight, melting most (not all) of the ice off the rocks, leaving mostly dry gravel.
Alot of natural gravel in the Sandwich range. Chocorua, Passaconaway, and now North Tripyramid I've noticed big deposits of small pebbles coming off the mountain sides. Natural erosion isn't all that exciting I know, but I've found each mountain has its own unique blend of minerals within the gravel (they're different colors depending on the mountain). Something to look for on future away missions.
Once we had finally conquered the slide we found ourselves at the edge of the Waterville Valley trail network with four miles left back to the car. It was 6pm. I hadn't eaten anything since that beer at the top of the slide (regrets), and it was showing. Betty had returned, but once I got some food in me I was ready to get going again. Good thing too, as we had alot of ground to cover and not alot of sunlight.
Made it back to the Kanc, beaten, hurting, in the dark, about 9pm. And my left knee looks like a softball melted in the microwave. Can't wait to do it again.
Scaur Ridge down the slide and back to the car
Great day for hiking. No bugs, cold breeze in Lincoln didn't follow us up the Kanc, the forest provided enough shelter and we were shedding layers in no time. Uneventful first 3 miles on the Pine Bend Brook Trail, 5 or 6 water crossings were easy rock hops, maybe two blowdowns but nothing inconvenient.
Passed the junction with Scaur ridge (which we should have taken to climb up the slide) we were able to see Mt Washington thru the trees, still covered in snow. Alot of snow still on the trail! Rain in Manchester obviously equates to snow in the mountains, the last of winter's magic covered everything in a veil of white powder, snow still hanging on wherever shade could afford it.
Once we made it to the summit we realized our error. As a group we decided that views are more important then lives (dumb), so we decided to descend a different route, putting us at the top of the infamous North Slide.
Scariest hiking I've ever attempted. Scariest anything I've ever attempted.
Beaver Brook on Moosilauke might be steeper, but at least that had ladder rungs drilled into the rock. I was either sprawled on my stomach clinging to unofficial handholds/shrubs, or I was sliding on my now ruined pants using my boots for traction. Having not ascended the slide we had no idea where/how to traverse the beast, did the best we could hugging the sides. Found we had better traction when moving sideways, ended up crisscrossing our way down when the mountain would let us. Thankfully the north side of the mountain gets direct sunlight, melting most (not all) of the ice off the rocks, leaving mostly dry gravel.
Alot of natural gravel in the Sandwich range. Chocorua, Passaconaway, and now North Tripyramid I've noticed big deposits of small pebbles coming off the mountain sides. Natural erosion isn't all that exciting I know, but I've found each mountain has its own unique blend of minerals within the gravel (they're different colors depending on the mountain). Something to look for on future away missions.
Once we had finally conquered the slide we found ourselves at the edge of the Waterville Valley trail network with four miles left back to the car. It was 6pm. I hadn't eaten anything since that beer at the top of the slide (regrets), and it was showing. Betty had returned, but once I got some food in me I was ready to get going again. Good thing too, as we had alot of ground to cover and not alot of sunlight.
Made it back to the Kanc, beaten, hurting, in the dark, about 9pm. And my left knee looks like a softball melted in the microwave. Can't wait to do it again.
