OwlsHead Haloween Overnight

15 Miles from Lincoln Woods trailhead
Franconia Falls bushwhack

A hallowed mountain lay in the path of six adventurers this past weekend. The peak known as Owls Head loomed heavy on a quest long and ardous, little rewards for a viewless peak in snowy weather.
But we found some rewards just the same.

Flat walking on the old railroad bed, another visit to Franconia Falls, bushwhack along the river, a snow covered rock slide and a winter wonderland summit! costumed monsters! -this hike had it all.

Glad I finally hiked this mountain as this is my third time camping at the base near the stream. I felt like I was cheating a little by not approaching from 13 Falls, perhaps I will travel that route again in another story...

 

Presidential Traverse

 

Crawford Depot to Appalachia
Approx 26 miles over 3 days

Mt Jackson 4052'
Mt Pierce 4312'
Mt Eisenhower 4760'
Mt Monroe 5372'
Mt Washington 6288'
Mt Jefferson 5716'
Mt Adams 5799'
Mt Madison 5366'

We camped (legal) off the Mt Eisenhower trail and stayed a night at the Perch ($10)
Just my twin brother Michael and I, crew needed to be small if we were to stay the course and finish.

The clear pinnacle of my hiking career, I will likely cherish these memories in the years to come. The majestic wilderness above treeline has smitten me with her charms, and although I wont be hiking anything soon I know I will return.

I ever do this crazy bullshit again I'm hiking them North to South and getting the big boys out of the way on the first damn day. I won't spend alot of time eating hotdogs and looking at girls on Mt Washington. I won't wear the 40lb Vietnam rook and hopefully the top of my left boot wont come apart descending Madison.

I will hike them during the week, as we enjoyed an unprecedented level of privacy after the dayhikers went home on Monday. I will bring handwarmers for my sleeping bag (clutch). I will also take Thursday off from work, and find a motel with a jacuzzi up there dont drive right home. Savor it.

Some of the photos are not my own, my phone dided overnight and Mike had shut his off until needed. Worked out perfect this way one of us had a camera going the entire 3 days.

Wildcats Overnight

Maybe 8.5 miles Overnight
Wildcat Ridge Trail & Nineteen Mile brook

These posts keep getting later and later after the hikes. I do a majority of the writing when its fresh in my mind but often dont have time to clean them up and add photos. Young Lily takes up a huge chunk of my life and hiking gets pushed a little.

Glen Ellis Falls was our first and best mistake for this last adventure weekend (Sept 28/29).
From the trailhead you pass through a hobbit tunnel under the road, and on the right-hand side the beautiful stonework path seemingly continues on down the stairs to the falls. If you dont notice the tiny sign beyond this intersection you end up about 100 ft below the trailhead at a granidose waterfall you never even planned on.

This little nature walk would be great if the first part of the Wildcat ridge trail wasn't such a grueling climb after the watercrossing. We could always see the car even though we kept going higher and higher, steeper sections made me glad I hadn't brought a puppy or any rookie hikers.

Once we started gaining distance from the road we started losing a little elevation. Then gaining it back. Up. Down. Up. Down. Then the trail finally levels out and you can hear.....machinery? Crowds of people met us at the ski-tram on Wildcat D, grammy in sandals chatting us up at the picnic tables. Awesome.

Back on the trail and more rugged up/down BS. We reached a cliff near the summit of Wildcat Mtn proper, only to be awestruck by the view of the hut and sweet boulder field. Realizing Carter Notch would kill our chances of getting to our original carspot in Gorham, we found stealthy spots and ended up hiking out 19 mile brook the following morning.

The AMC Shuttle ($10) took us along to the next trailhead at the Joe Dodge Lodge, so to get back to our cars we hiked a small section of the AT near Lost Pond. Coolest little hike, I'll remember this path for a quick snowshoe when winter comes.

Off on a legit quest across the Presidentials this week, stay tuned

Tom & Field Dayhike

Mt Tom 4052' and Mt Field 4327' with Avalon 3442'

A few weeks ago I went on an Adventure. Or that was the plan anways...

Opening weekend for football so it better be, or so I thought as I stretched out in front of Crawford Depot Sunday morning. Misty rain and good friends met that challenge soon enough, after a quick tour of the Highland Center we headed up the trail towards Tom.

Forecast was saying rain in the morning with a clear afternoon, so considering the loop we decided Tom was 1st up on the list. Great trail conditions up to the spur, things got worse as the day went on but I remember good footing to start at least. The few outlooks on Tom were just grey walls of cloud. Summit area is probably great when its warm, winds blasted us right back down and on our way again. Winter is coming...

No Grey Jays this time. Too much wind maybe, kind of nipping at us all morning. Closer to the Field summit it was really moving, had a few of us humans hiding just like the birds I suspect. A view into the greywall on what I think is a northern outlook and then back on the trail, most of us glad to get moving so we could regain our warmth. New underarmor hoody passed the "Field test".

Avalon was amazing. The wind never quit but it finally started unlocking some of that damn cloud cover, the cliffs were poking out at first then great views once we turned that corner and conquered them. Pierce/Jackson ( I think) crept out from the clouds but the rest of the Presi's wouldn't show themselves, misty mountains were a welcome sight as these were are only real views all day.

Good times, looking north to Baxter State park in a few weeks, action packed month coming up stay tuned

 

Mt Jefferson 5716'

Mt Jefferson 5716 - Parked on Jefferson Notch rd
7.3 miles Caps Ridge; The Link: and The Castle Trail

President Jefferson would have been proud of his mountain, standing with Adams as almost Washington's entourage, like they'd have his back in a fight. Six of us brought the fight to Jefferson this past Saturday, and a fight we found.

The normal route up Caps ridge looked entirely too pedestrian for a full day, so when we walked .9 up the easy grades on that trail we took a left onto The Link. Although the Link is below treeline, the trail shrinks down to a herdpath and gets extremley technical in places. Not alot of elevation, but the trail sits on steep overhangs with small footspaces for a good mile, not forgiving and no place for heavy packs. After some steep elevation and a few real upper body moves we met up with the Castle trail, starting what would be a 5 mile stretch in the alpine zone.

The Castle trail is amazing. My photos do not do it justice, I rank this with Franconia Ridge for views and effort. The Northern slopes of both Jefferson & Lafayette are indeed similar, its just that Jefferson's N slope keeps going on & on! Complete boulder field instead of a trail at one point, had a few of us saying "choose your own adventure".

And an adventure it was, views that close (!) to Washington made everything worth the effort. Best weather you could ever hope for in the Presidentials, 50 degree temps and a warm breeze at the summit, didnt take the hoody or jacket out of the pack all day.
Amazing day and ready for another soon!

Pemi Quest 2013

N Twin 4761'; S Twin 4902'; W Bond 4540' Zealand Mtn 4260'
Parked cars on Haystack rd and Zealand rd - Slept near Mt Guyot 4500'ish

8 adventurers journeyed the deep wilderness this past weekend in search of meteor showers and high mountains, we found clear views of both. Perseid meteors and cliffs? Ok. Twist my arm.

Water crossings on the N Twin trail were perilous. The guide advises a bushwack on the East side of the Little River, allowing hikers to skip a few of the major crossings. We got lucky on the last crossing as two logs allowed us to walk across, almost fell to my doom! I bet this area could get serious when the water is higher, remember to avoid this trailhead in the future just too crazy.

N Twin herself was quite a cool little peak, doesn't let the southern mountain take all the vistas. Washington looked stunning on a clear day (finally) and you can a great look of Galehead Hut and the rest of the Pemi from a seperate outlook on the western side.

Repeated S Twin. I will come back here again and again and again. If I could live on this peak somehow in my hammock and sell water....

My previous time on the Twinway I was headed in the opposite direction and very fatigued from a journey originating on the Wilderness trail and Lincoln Woods. Rightfully this time I was smelling the roses, got to appreciate the alpine gardens up there and take my time doing it too.

West Bond is amazing and frustrating to say !Right off the trail! from the Guyot Campsite junction. Skipping it last year seems foolish now that I've been back, not that I'm complaining. Bondcliff looks great with a little sunset, and I know it won't be my last from this remote wonderland. People live there entire lives in New Hampshire and they'll never see this place or even know it exists!

Zealand Mountain has no views, just a pile of rocks and a cute sign. I would not recommend hiking in from the hut, that looked like hell on my descent, compared to an easy jaunt up from the twinway on a western approach...The hut was serving potato dill soup ($2) which was ok but the oatmeal cookies sucked. I told her they were great but I'm full of shit sometimes.

The falls and the easy hike out is really just a skip down memory lane at this point. I wont gush on and on about the Zealand rd area (because its my Rivendell), just know that our journey ended there and it was an epic journey at that.

30 Mountains! Full speed ahead next few weeks! I am healthy and leaves are starting to change!



 

 

Mt Cannon 4100'

 

 

6.1 miles total loop from Lafayette Place
Hi Cannon Trl & Lonesome Lake on the way down

A bar and restaurant at the summit? The Mountains called and eight adventurers heard & answered this past Sunday. Great weather and awesome trail conditions made for an easy day, spent some time at the Hut also.

Hi Cannon was the not easy part. 3 miles straight up but the views were worth it, several outlooks on the way before the summit proper. Ladders and again excellent train maintenance help an otherwise grueling switchback rollercoaster up the Eastern side of Cannon.

Full on Amusement park summit extravaganza. Summer time means the Tram was full  and I was chatting with a pair of grandparents at the summit. I had two beers (ON DRAFT!) and a sandwich, great grub considering the altitude.

Descending the mountain I wasn't even looking at signs. I've been to Lonesome Lake 4 times now, I think I've had better weather with each trip back. The Hut was just as I had left it last, enjoyed some tomato soup ($2) and some free pancakes from that morning, excellent cooking on both the crew was vigilant getting supper ready as we departed.

Great day and good to see so many adventurers on this quest. All the mountains need bars...