Wildcat A (4422 ft) and Wildcat D (4062 ft) - September 18, 2010

Weather:  A great sunny late summer day. 

Trails:  Wildcat Trail and 19 Mile Brook Trail.  Rather than an out and back, we did a car spot at 19 Mile Brook Trail and started on the Wildcat Trail.  8.5 Miles, 3150 feet of elevation gain.

Trail Conditions:  Heading up the west side there are many spots involving scrambling including one or two chimney type areas. 

View: Good east side view of the Presidential Mountain Range.

Group:  Mike, Brian, and Anai

This trip report is being written almost two months after the actual trip.  Hiking and blogging took a backseat to other pursuits over the past couple months.  This post may not be as in-depth as past posts however I do remember the trip pretty well and of course there are the photos.

We began the trip with a car spot, deciding we would rather hike out on the 19 Mile Brook Trail that do an out and back.  My jeep was left at the 19 MBT and Brian drove the Subi back to the Glen Ellis Falls parking area after a short stop at the AMC’s Joe Dodge Lodge. 

Upon our arrival at the parking area we got busy making friends with the local forest ranger.  This forest ranger would have given Yogi a run for his money.  A tourist type car had stopped in the middle of the road at the park-n-pay billboard leading to the parking area.  They looked confused at how to negotiate the parking fee and the ranger was giving them some tips.  Brian, having his WMNF parking pass didn’t need to stop at the park-n-pay so we proceeded around the car.  He crossed the double yellow line to do so, sparking the Ire of the hairy chinned ranger.  She demanded that Brian stop and proceeded to lecture him on crossing double lines.  Not wanting to make matters worse, I decided not to ask how long we should have waited behind the parked car that was blocking the road when there was no traffic coming the other way.  This ranger had that personality you often meet out in the woods.  The type of people who think they know a bit more than everyone else and are quick to try and teach you something.  I am an AMC member and recommend membership to people making use of the trails, but you find that same attitude among a lot of their volunteers and employees.  They display varying degrees of self-righteousness.  This ranger was nearly maxed out.  We were all a little put off by her overly-authoritarian way and unpleasant demeanor, but I think we all felt better when we realized she had been relegated to parking ticket duty.  I mean, to spend years going to forestry school or environmental science school and land a job with the U.S. Forest Service only to hand out parking tickets?  Which one of the USFS bosses did she piss off?  Or maybe the bears out in the forest complained that she was such a DB (this is a family blog) so the Forest Service figured why not give her a job where being a DB is expected.  Anyhoo, I couldn’t help myself but to snap a couple photos of her writing parking tickets just to commemorate the start of our last hike for the summer of 2010.  So here she is, forever memorialized on the information super trail (or at least until the cease and desist order is served) as the angry hairy chinned forest service parking ticket lady.

Identity obscured under the advice of counsel for nh4k48.

From the parking area there is a tunnel under Route 16.  After the tunnel you quickly come to the only significant water crossing on this hike. 

Trailhead with the tunnel under 16 to the left.

Anai making her way over our only significant crossing.  Route 16 in the background.

The Wildcat trail starts its ascent pretty quickly and you gain a good amount of elevation in a short time.  Soon you have great views of the Presidential Mountain Range.  The clouds were on and off on this day but I was able to get a few good shots.

The trail has some significantly steep areas where sure-footedness is a must.  This includes a few ledges with sharp drop-offs, chimneys, and other areas requiring a bit of scrambling.  Personally, I love these types of climbs.  The west face of the Wildcats involved the most scrambling I’ve done in the Whites so far.

Brian comes up the chimney

Some steps carved in the rock.

Brian takes a rest while Anai continues to scramble up the ledge.

Traversing the Wildcats can be a little confusing.  The trail is well marked and easy to follow, but it is tough to find when you have hit a summit.  We didn’t find that any of the summits were clearly marked and there are actually 4 Wildcat summits, A thru D that we were hitting in reverse order, and two of which count as 4000 footers.  It gets confusing in that, you are never quite sure if you have hit a summit until you realize you have been descending for a while.

We passed the Wildcat ski-lift and hit what we believed to be the peak of Wildcat D.  Here there is an observation platform and this is where we stopped for lunch.  It has an excellent view out over the Presidentials. 

A run down summit house with the ski lift in the background.

New Hampshire's Highest.

From here we continued to hop over Wildcat C and B, neither of which count as 4000 footers.  I’m not sure we ever really knew when we were actually at the top of one.  At some point we came upon some folks who were doing an out and back.  They seemed completely wiped out and the women in the group complained loudly of wet trails on the east side.  We did find these areas that were wet descents for us and did involve a little slipping but nothing too crazy or anything to get upset about.

We finally arrived at the peak of Wildcat.  The summit is treed in for the most part but there is an observation area pointed east which looks out over the Carter Notch Hut far below.  We had gotten a late start that morning after a long ride up Pinkham Notch, plus the car drop and the stop at the AMC center.  By the time we got to the summit of Wildcat, the mountain was casting a long shadow out over the hut below.  We knew we would have to hustle off the mountain and out the trail if we wanted to avoid digging out the headlamps.

From the Summit of Wildcat, Carter Notch Hut in the shadow below.

On Wildcat with Carter Dome in the background

The descent off of Wildcat, headed down to the 19 Mile Brook Trail is sharp and fast.  We lost elevation very quickly.  At some point along the way I slipped and fell onto my pole, giving it a slight bow.  I later found a tree and bent it mostly back into shape.  We eventually found the junction with the 19 Mile Brook Trail.  If it had been any earlier in the day we may have considered a quick trip to check out the hut but we were in a hurry. 

19 Mile Brook Trail starts off with a gradual descent for the first mile so but the flattens out and can be quickly traversed.  It was about 3.5 miles from the trail junction to the trailhead and this distance was covered fairly quickly. 

Night was falling as we arrived at the 19 MBT trailhead

After exiting the trail and picking up Brian’s subi we decided to check out Margaritas down near the intersection of 302 and 16.  It was actually excellent Mexican food and I recommend it to anyone up that way… unless I’m there as well.  I don’t like crowds when I’m hungry.

Cannon Mountain (4100 ft) - August 8, 2010

Weather:  Partly cloudy.  Threatening clouds appeared in the afternoon but never produced rain.  Low humidity.

Trail:  Way up: Lonesome Lake Trail to Kinsman Ridge Trail.  Way Down:  Hi Cannon Trail back to Lonesome Lake Trail.  5.9 miles.  Trail is more challenging than the numbers suggest. 

Trail Conditions:  The conditions were good overall.  Kinsman Ridge section was especially steep with some scrambling.

View:  360-degree panoramic view of the White Mountains from the observation deck – partially obstructed by the hoards of tourists that arrive by tram which can limit your enjoyment.  Kinsmans and Franconia Ridge are especially visible from Cannon.

Group:  Mike, Brian and Anai

The numbers for this hike, 5.9 miles and 2350 feet of elevation, do not do it justice.  I’ve been on hikes that were considerably longer and with a lot more elevation that felt much less challenging than Cannon.  But there are definitely some fun sections too that involve a little scrambling. 

The Trailhead near the Lafayette Campground

We ended up taking the long way around on the way up.  We intended to hit the Joe Dodge Cut-off from Lonesome Lake but somehow missing it (despite the fact that I got a photo of the sign) and ended up taking the Lonesome Lake Trail and Kinsman Ridge Trail.  We don’t know what the Joe Dodge Cut-off was like since we missed it both up and down, but the sections we took had some interesting and fun sections to them that involved some scrambling and a ladder climb. 

The elusive Dodge Cut-Off

The hike into Lonesome Lake has a very moderate pitch on a well maintained trail.  This was Anai’s first hike in over a month.  She had been resting after suffering from some tendonitis in her knee.  She took it slow for this section and Brian stuck with her.  I trudged ahead and waiting for them at the lake.  Anai got her legs back along with some confidence and we all hiked together from this lake on. 

The Lonesome Lake Trail continues up from the lake and meets up with the Kinsman Ridge Trail.  Portions of this trail are particularly steep but can be fun since they involve a decent amount of scrambling over boulders and ledge. 

Boulder Hopping

Kinsman Ridge then meets up with the Hi Cannon Trail which is has a fairly easy approach to the summit and overlook to Franconia Ridge. 

Franconia Ridge from near the Cannon summit

The summit of Cannon is more easily attained via the tram that services the ski area in the summer.  I didn’t even know the tram ran in the summer until we reached the observation deck and were surrounded by people who reached the summit via the tram.  There were some who were breathing heavy and sweating profusely from the short hike from the tram house to the observation deck. 

Until Cannon all of the mountains we have climbed have had between zero and ten other hikers at the summit.  Cannon, by contrast, was a legitimate tourist attraction, the Wally World of the White Mountains, creating what Brian termed “The Griswald Effect”.  Don’t hike it expecting peace, tranquility, and great views.  You get only one out of three.  It is the only summit I have been to where you can buy refreshments (with a credit card) and use flush toilets.  So we were surrounded by Griswalds:  crying babies, mouthy teenagers, and other tourist types who looked at us funny, appearing to doubt that anyone would chose to actually hike up the mountain when there was a perfectly good tram to take up.  After taking in the views from the observation deck and buying a chocolate chip cookie in the tram house (hey, it was there so why not) I quickly led us a distance away from Wally World to a place along the trail where we could eat lunch in peace, partly chased away by an incessantly crying toddler.

 Griswalds Enjoy Lunch at the Tram House

We took the Hi-Cannon Trail back to the Lonesome Lake Trail.  It involved some downward scrambling, a decent down a ladder, and some cliffs with views of Lonesome Lake. 

Lonesome Lake from the Hi-Cannon Trail.  The Lonesome Lake Hut is also visible.

The hike up had some good parts but the tourist trap feeling at the top made this one of my least favorite hikes.  

Owl's Head (4025 ft) - July 3, 2010

Weather: Warm, sunny and clear.

Trail: Liberty Woods Trail, Franconia Brook Trail, Liberty Brook Trail.

Trail Conditions: First eight miles in conditions are good. Two stream crossings require getting your feet wet. The slide trail is challenging.

Views: No view from the summit. Continuing a few hundred feet down Franconia Ridge Trail from where you are supposed to turn onto Liberty Brook Trail you get a view of South Twin and Bond ridges. From the Owl’s Head slide trail you have views of Franconia Ridge including Mt. Flume, Mt. Liberty, Mt Lincoln and Mt. Lafayette.

Group: Mike, Brian and Anai

Slog. This is the most appropriate word I have heard used to describing this 18 mile hike. It is also exactly how you feel during several portions including much of the slide trail and the last 3 miles of this hike that just doesn’t seem to end. I guess I had my hopes up that a 9-mile trek deep into one of the most remote areas of New Hampshire would be a little more interesting but it didn’t turn out that way.

The hike starts at the Lincoln Woods Visitors Center and Ranger Station 5 miles up Rt 112 from Lincoln. Cross the footbridge, bear right and then walk… and keep walking. The Lincoln Woods Trail is on an old RR bed which makes it about as straight and level as a trail can be. This goes on for over 3 miles. It is the closest thing to walking on a treadmill that I have found while hiking in the whites. Not so bad on the way in when you have a chance to walk effortlessly and chat up people you meet who are also covering this mandatory ground, like John from Toronto who was headed for the Bonds. But on the way out you just want it to be over and the three miles never seems to end. It took us just under an hour to cover this distance on the way in, about 50 minutes on the way out. You cross another footbridge that brings you to the junction of the Franconia Brook Trail off to the left. This trail is also along an old RR bed in many sections but it is a bit more overgrown and deteriorated than the Lincoln Woods Trail RR bed. When we set out on this hike one of the things that interested me the most is that we would be headed deep into the Pemigewasset Wilderness, a very remote place. But it is tough to feel like you are in the “wilderness” when you are walking a RR bed. By the time we reached the Owl’s Head Slide we were 8 miles from the nearest roadway but it just didn’t feel that way.

There is a slight detour around a Beaver Pond toward the last section of the Franconia Brook Trail. Just after the detour we picked up the Liberty Brook Trail on the left, but before we did we walked up the Franconia Brook Trail about 200 feet to see another pond with views of part of Bondcliff reflected in its pool.

The Liberty Brook Trail was a bit more “wilderness” like. This trail follows the Liberty Brook in the valley formed by Franconia Ridge to the west and Owl’s Head to the east. There are four brook crossings on this trail. The first two require getting your feet wet. We all made a shoe change at the first crossing into some aqua socks or similar (Anai had Keen water sandals). We left them on to traverse the 0.2 miles to the next crossing, then changed back into boots. The cold water felt great on the feet.

Eight miles in and we were at the base of the slide trail, marked by a cairn, that would take us 1800 feet to the summit over just 1 mile. After eating a quick lunch we set out over the toughest section of these 18 miles. The slide trail is not fun. Brian referred to it as soul sucking. The trial, I mean trail, winds up a very steep section of loose rock. The rocks can easily be kicked loose by climbers higher up. The slide eventually gives way to an equally steep path, but not before playing some tricks on you. At one point, about halfway up the slide, you come to a place where the slide trail (if you can call it a trail) appears to diverge in two directions. I took the right; Brian and Anai took the left. The right side entered some trees and brush and got narrower and narrower to what is described as a herd path. It was very tight and impossible to traverse without coming out with some scrapes, although the scrawny twenty-something that that I let go by me was having an easier time with it. At times it appeared the path was coming to a dead end but eventually I would find where it continued. Brian and Anai described the left side as a tortuous slog up fist sized rock that easily gave way underfoot, all while being exposed to the grueling sun. I was able to move quicker with somewhat better footing and shade. When we met back up again Brian insisted we take my path on the way out.

The only redeeming factor of the slide trail is the view. From the trail you can see the summits of Flume, Liberty, Lafayette, and Lincoln. They were very impressive.

The slide with loose rock underneath eventually improves but the slope remained very steep with wet soil underfoot. When the top comes, it comes fairly quickly. By the time you start to

notice that the pitch is relenting you come to the top and a small clearing with room for a few people to rest. This is not the summit (new or old). From here we turned to the left and followed a narrow path a few hundred yards to the (old) summit marked by a small verticalsign nailed to a tree. Evidently a few years back some do-goodercouldn’t leave well enough alone and made the determination that there was a slightly higher spot a few hundred yards to the north. The AMC’s 4000 footer club still recognizes the old summit but us being the type of people who want to be true to the task, we continued on to the north in search of the “new” summit. The path is narrow but passable. I have seen some message boards state that you can easily lose the trail but I didn’t find that to be the case. The new summit is marked by cairn with a gnarly root coming out of its base.

After having another bite to eat we set out for the descent of the slide path. This might actually be less fun than the climb up. I fell three times on the loose wet soil on the same path that I had taken up when we split on the ascent, causing my frustration level to get the highest its been so far on the trail. I just wanted to be off that slide. I got easier on the exposed slide where it was dry and I was able to get better footing despite the fact that you would often slide with the rocks. Reaching the bottom, I had never been happier to be off a section of trail and have it behind me.

The brook crossings felt even better on the way out, although I nearly snapped my ankle on the last one. While in the water my foot slipped down between two rocks and my other leg came down on top of it. I was able to wrangle myself loose after dropping my poles.

The last three miles consists of extremely straight flat RR bed that goes on and on and on. It is not physically challenging. It is just a very boring walk after already traversing 15 miles that day. There was a constant sense of Déjà vu as we could see same scenery in front of us for a few hundred yards that remained constant no matter how fast we walked or tried to put distance behind us. It gives the feeling that while you might be walking you’re just not getting anywhere. The long flat walk at the beginning of our Zealand hike from Zealand Rd is much more interesting and scenic.

Making a departure from the usual post hike meal plan, we tied on the feedbag at the Woodstock Inn for a Prime Rib dinner. It had to be done.

I’ve heard that a large portion of those seeking the 48 peaks leave Owl’s Head for last due to the distance, the uninviting slide trail and the lack of a view. Seems anti-climatic to me. I have not yet figured out which one I will save until last but I hope to make it a pleasurable hike with a satisfying view. I am glad to have Owl’s Head in the bag.

Zealand Mountain (4260 ft)

Weather: Warm but otherwise fantastic.

Trail: Zealand Trail & Twinway Trail (AT). 11.4 miles roundtrip. We left the parking area at 10:30 and were back to the parking lot by 7:00pm. We spent about a half hour at the Zeacliffs, two 15 minute stops at the Zealand Hut, and a 20 minute stop for lunch and sock change.

Trail Conditions: Fairly good throughout.

View: No view from the summit. From Zeacliffs you get a fantastic view of the Pemi Wilderness. Zealand is on the north end of the Pemi Wilderness and you get a great southeast facing view. Mt. Washington, the Willey Range, and Carrigain stand out. See movie below.

Group: Mike, Brian and Anai

I group this hike in three sections: The Country Stroll, The Relentless Ascent and, The Search for the Summit. The first

2.5 miles of this hike (The Country Stroll), from the parking lot at the end of Zealand Rd to the Zealand Hut, meanders through forest and wetlands on a fairly level, or gradually ascending, grade. Here I saw some of the largest paper birch trees I have ever seen. According to Smith and Dickerman it follows an old logging railroad for large portions of this section. In “The 4000 Footers of the White Mountains” they describe this as the “beaver-haunted Zealand Valley” and we did see many signs of beavers including gnawed trees and dams. It was perfect country for a moose encounter. We kept our eyes peeled but did not see one. The trail then passes Zealand falls and begins a steep grade for a relatively short distance which ends at the Zealand Hut.

At the Zealand Hut we had an encounter with Bruce, an AMC volunteer. I am not sure what prompted it but Bruce volunteered his opinion that someone should put a bullet in the head of every legislator down in Concord. I checked for the weapons stash while Brian distracted Bruce with some questions about the trail ahead. Being satisfied that Bruce was more talk than action, and having had our fill of the homemade AMC baked goodies, we were off.

The second section of this hike (The Relentless Ascent) is from Zealand Hut to the Zeacliffs. It begins innocently enough, passing the pump station and crossing Whitewall Brook. We would stop here at the brook on our return, tempted to take our boots off and soak our feet but settling for a quick wash of the face. The trail then begins a steady and persistent climb of about 1800 feet in short order. As the ascent finally does relent you find yourself at a short spur that takes you to the Zeacliffs. Here there are truly excellent views. It was a tough place to leave. It was a bit easier to leave on the return trip as the AMC Leadership School had taken up all the best seats and were milling about looking at their compasses and comparing bearings. Brian and I agreed that if they had just been scouts they would already know most of that stuff.

The third section (The Search for the Summit) is essentially a ridge walk with a few interesting diversions. The first is what I call the fake out summit. After climbing a steep area that includes a ladder you come to a rocky ledge. Looking around you can’t really see any higher ground. It is easy to think that you have reached the summit. In reality the summit is another 30 minutes away. On the way from the “fake out summit” to the real summit you cross through an area of trail that is frequented by grouse. I had not read Smith and Dickerman’s description of this section prior to hiking it so I was surprised to see one right on the trail who did not seemed at all intimidated by or impressed with my presence. I snapped a few photos of him and carried on.

The summit is on a short 0.1 spur off the Twinway to the right. Basically you come to a hole in the woods with a pile of rocks. Congrats – you reached the summit of Zealand. Get out your list, check that one off and keep moving cause there’s nothing to see here.

We hiked about half the distance back to the Zeacliffs before stopping to eat and change socks. From that point on we were mostly business, with a short stop again at Zeacliffs with the AMC Leadership School, and another quick stop at the Zealand Hut to check in on Bruce. As we descended from the hut we again passed the Zealand Falls area where another trail comes in from the right. Here we met a young woman carrying some climbing gear in her pack. Brian asked her if she had been climbing and she said that she her climbing partner (who was not with her at the time) had just finished climbing a section of Whitewall Mountain that had not been climbed since the 1930’s and that they had renamed it. She then told us that her climbing partner was taking too long and she set out on a brisk run ahead of us. Brian and I wondered aloud how she could know that nobody else had been there in 80 years. She seemed fairly certain and proud of herself so we didn’t bring it up when we saw her again at the parking lot where she looked a bit nervous about her climbing partner not showing up after we did. She ran back into the woods as we were getting ready to take off. We wondered if there ever was a climbing partner, or if there was, what had she done with him...

On our way out of the WMNF area we stopped at the general store just south of the intersection of routes 3 & 302. It seemed like the kind of spot to find some beek jerky and we were right. After that it was off to the Mad River Tavern. I stuck with the chili and salad this time but Brian and Anai twisted my arm to get some ice cream afterwards. The decision was made to leave the top down on the Jeep for a nice starlit night ride back home down 93.

Mt. Jackson (4052 ft) & Mt. Webster (3910 ft) – June 13, 2006

Weather: The day started out very cloudy below the notches and stayed that way, but above the notches an overcast morning gave way to sun by mid afternoon. Some ominous clouds over Mt. Washington when we hit the Jackson summit never produced rain for us. Sun was shining bright by the time we reached Webster and stayed with us down the mountain.

Trail: Webster Jackson Trail, Webster Cliff Trail. Well maintained and marked trails. Toward the top there is a bit of a hand and foot scramble but nothing too difficult. Scramble on ledges the rest of the way. Descending Jackson on the Webster Cliff Trail (AT) there are some downward scrambles.

View: Great views of Presidentials, Crawford Notch, Mt. Washington Hotel.

Group: Mike, Brian and Anai

We were a bit worried that this might make two rainy hikes in a row. As we set out from the Concord area it was overcast and the forecast predicted it would stay that way with a chance of a thunderstorm. After Waumbek I went out and bought a pack cover. Luckily I wouldn’t need it this day.

Brian had picked me up again from the Exit 17 park & ride. We transferred my gear from my car to his and we were off, again stopping at Price Chopper in Lincoln for my lunch. We swung into the AMC Highlands Center just to check it out. It seems like a great facility. There is a store there where you can pick up any last minute forgotten items or AMC logo gear. On this trip there would be some forgotten items. When I transferred my gear to Brian’s car, the boots somehow got forgotten. When I realized this at trailside I had a few minutes of agonizing at the thought of doing the trail in my New Balance 966 trail walking shoes. I love these shoes and this is my second pair, but I have always used them on flatter surfaces such as the ones I find near home in Bear Brook State Park or the scout camps. Not wanting to scrap the day I decided to make due. Brian forgot his synthetic blend t-shirt. I let him borrow the extra one I carry since it seemed we would stay dry this day. This made us look like we were a hiking team with our matching navy UA shirts and our Gregory packs which have the same color pattern despite being different models (Brian has the z35).

The Jackson Webster Trail has two branches. From Rt. 302 just south of the AMC Highlands Center the trail heads east and then turns south after about .2 miles. After another mile you come to the Silver Cascade and at this point the trail branches to the left (east) to Mt. Jackson and right continue south to Mt. Webster. We decided to bag the 4000 footer first and see what the weather was like before heading for Webster. Up to the Silver Cascade the steepness of the trail varies with some rambling semi-flat sections and some rather steep sections including some rock stairs at points. The cascade is a good place for a photo op and a quick snack.

The last half mile of Jackson becomes progressively steeper until you reach a point where hands are needed to scale some rock faces. This was more fun than it is challenging. Beyond

that it is a quick walk over some rock face to the summit. When we reached the summit there were some slightly worrisome clouds headed towards us over the Presidentials but they never amounted to anything. We took plenty of time at the summit eating lunch and taking in the views. You have views in all directions from Jackson but most notable are the views of the Presidentials, and the valley that includes Bretton Woods and the Mt. Washington Hotel.

From there we took the Webster Cliff Trail southwest toward Mt. Webster. Coming off Jackson this involves several sections of downwards scramble, again more fun than challenging. This is a beautiful trail, blazed in white as part of the AT. When we reached Webster the sun was shining. Webster has some great views down on Crawford Notch, the trestles RR bridge, Mt Willey and Mt. Field to the East. Web has a rock slide on its west face that you stand directly over at the summit. Great photo op location if you don’t mind heights.

After Web we came down on the south branch of the Webster Jackson Trail. You cross the

cascade again, only in a prettier spot with a waterfall – great photo op location.

The rest of the hike down was uneventful. Brian says this will be his among his recommendations for troops looking for 5+ mile hike suggestions. I agree this one has a lot to offer. The climb is interesting and the forest you walk through is beautiful. The views are excellent on both Jackson and Webster.

Leaving Crawford Notch the sun was shining brightly. As we hit Franconia we could see clouds looming over Cannon. Evidently the clouds never left Southern NH all day. It was a long ride to the Mad River Tavern this time. I went with the bourbon steak tips this time. They were good but I could have used more steak tips and less cauliflower and fries.

Gear Notes

On Saturday I went to REI in Reading MA and bought some trekking poles and a pack cover. I have no experience to report yet on the REI pack cover.

LEKI Trekking Poles: I have nothing to compare them to since Jackson was the first time I used poles. The poles I purchased (At REI in Reading, MA) have clamps on the pole extensions, what they call the speed lock system, rather than a twisting lock mechanism which was on certain Leki poles and all the REI poles. I had a tough time getting the twisting lock mechanism to work in the store so I wanted ones that clamped. I opted not to get antishock due to cost. I went with the cork covered grips for better wicking. In all, if you have any knee issues and have never tried poles I highly recommend them. I am looking forward to my next hike with Leki’s.

NB 966: How about my very well-broken-in New Balance 966 trail walking shoes (see blog masthead)? Despite my agonizing at the trailhead about forgetting my boots, the NB 966's ended up being almost perfect for this hike. A little more ankle support would have been nice in the last half mile or so but otherwise I had no regrets about forgetting my boots back in the Jeep. The NB 966's do have a decent tread and held up well on the trails of Jackson & Webster with no major loss of traction.

Mount Waumbek (4006 feet) via Mount Starr King (3898 feet) - June 6, 2010

Weather: Rain, steady at times
Trail: Starr King Trail to Starr King Mountain (1:50), cross ridge to Waumbek (35 min). 7.2 miles roundtrip. Hit trail at noon. Back to car by 5:15.
Trail Conditions: Wet rocks, roots, and some mud. There were some blowdowns on the ridge between the two summits but they had been trimmed up a bit to allow them to be negotiated easier. Otherwise, this is a very well maintained RMC trail.
View: None. This mountain is treed-in at the top with no exposure. The weather prevented us from seeing the available views from Starr King.
Group: Mike, Brian and Anai

We made a few stops in Lincoln on the way up, picked up our WMNF parking passes for the year at the Visitors Center, then stopped into the Mountain Wanderer Book and Map Store to meet Steve Smith and pick up his book “The 4000 Footers in the White Mountains”. Steve was very kind to sign my new copy and also signed Brian’s well used copy. I thought about purchasing it earlier in the spring but figured I’d wait and buy it from the source on the way up. Then we were off to Price Chopper because I left my lunch in the fridge at home. Luckily that was the only thing I forgot, aside from sunglasses which I would not need this day.

We knew when we headed out that it would be a rainy day. We considered a few factors and decided to make the trip anyway. First, the summit is treed-in, providing protection if we got caught in a storm and also preventing us from seeing any views even on a sunny day and second, the trail was not technical in any way and we had enough gear to keep us “mostly dry”.

The trail is easy to find. Starr King Road is just off of the state highway and well marked. It dead-ends at the trailhead. It is a small parking lot, but on this day there were only two other cars there.

We started out in a light rain. About a half mile in we decided we were sweating so much in our raingear that we would shed it and allow ourselves to get wet on the way up, knowing we had dry clothes to change into at the top for the descent. The trip up was fairly uneventful. Within a few minutes we met the occupants of the only other two cars at the trailhead and from that moment on we had Starr King and Waumbek to ourselves this day. Starr King is a very steady climb. When we got to the top of Starr King we quickly started to cool off, being wet and no longer producing heat from climbing. So we took a few quick pictures at the fireplace and moved on to Mt. Waumbek. The col was uneventful other than a few blowdowns. Between the treed in summit and the foul weather there wasn’t much to see on Waumbek. As soon as we stopped moving we got pretty cold so it was out of the wet clothes and into some dry ones. Luckily it was not raining while we were at the summit so we could comfortably get into some dry clothes. We all wore raingear for the hike back out – and good thing we did because we hit another steady rain on the descent from Starr King. The wet rocks, roots, and mud made for less than ideal conditions on the way down but we made it back safely.

Brian and Anai shared with me their post hike tradition of eating at the Mad River Tavern off exit 28 in Campton, NH. Great stop for hungry hikers on the way home. I recommend the chili and Thai salmon.

We look like drowned rats in what few photos I took of this wet hike.

Gear Notes

This was my first hike with my new Gregory z30 day pack. It fits great and no sore shoulders afterwards. It performed as expected. Pretty comfortable. Perhaps a more detailed gear review of the z30 in the future.

With the wet trail on the way down, and my knees feeling a little more than my age, some poles would have been nice. Something I will consider for the future.

A pack cover is a necessity if hiking in rain. I didn’t have one. Brian and Anai did – they learned that lesson after doing the Presidential Traverse. I consider myself lucky that I learned my lesson easier than they did.

I also do not own gaiters and have wanted them for a while. They would have helped keep the rain from getting my socks wet.

I had a blister on my right big toe start to develop in the last mile or so of the descent. At that point, being close to finished and it raining pretty hard, I decided to keep going rather than digging out the athletic tape or moleskin. The right sock was the one that got wet in my pack for lack of a pack cover. I’ve been considering new boots because I think my feet move too much in the ones I have and I wear heavy socks to compensate. I got the green superfeet at EMS hoping it would take up some room but I didn’t notice much of a difference. I had no problems on the way up, just some issues on that last mile. I think the combination of the wet sock and some movement of the foot inside the boot caused the blister.

At Brian’s suggestion I picked up some Under Armor heatgear compression boxers. Great product. Never leave for the mountains without them!