Mt. Waumbek (4,006 ft) 11-2-14

Distance: 7.2 mi.
Elevation: 2,466 ft. (overall) 3,173 ft. (total)
Time: 1:57 (Mt. Starr King), 2:27 (Mt. Waumbek) 4:24 (Total)
Trails: Starr King Trail

For the 55th peak this year is Mt. Waumbek in Jefferson, NH. With it's two limited view points along the hike, it's a good hike for a day that was predicted to be overcast and a bit cloudy. This was my first hike of this fall/winter season to have snow on the ground, although there wasn't much of it.

When I got to the trail head, I was the only vehicle there. Maybe I would luck out and have the mountain to myself today. Once I got my gear ready, I headed out. The trail goes into the woods briefly before coming back out onto an old road. It follows the old road up a gentle grade with good footing. Early along the trail you pass on old spring house. The stone wall is all that remains along with some of the old pipes down in the bottom. The actual spring is just behind it.

Spring house

The trail continues up the old road gradually getting narrower and wetter. Things were a bit frozen today though, so mud wasn't an issue. Eventually the trail goes to your right off of the old road. It works into the trees a bit before heading back uphill. Footing is still good, but it does get just a bit steeper. The wet ground and cold temperature did make for a couple patches of ice. In this section is where the snow was starting to cover the ground more evenly.

Snow on the ground

The trail on this route comes to a very well defined transition from open hardwoods to the spruce softwoods. It's like you all of a sudden hit a wall of more dense trees. It's one of the features I enjoy about this hike. As you continue to climb through the softwoods, the trail gets a bit more difficult with exposed roots and rocks, but it still isn't bad. After climbing for a while, you will pass a spring that is just to the left of the trail with a small sign. After this, it gets a bit steeper before coming up to the summit of Mt. Starr King. The summit is actually in the trees next to the trail, but just past it is an opening where a cabin once stood, and the chimney still remains. There is also a limited view from here towards the Presidential Range.

Opening at the old cabin site

Limited view

The trail leaves the opening next to the chimney going downhill gradually. The hike along the ridge to Mt. Waumbek is a nice section of woods with no difficult terrain. It's a quick and enjoyable hike to the summit. The actual summit of Mt. Waumbek is in the trees and has a very small opening. There is a sign with info about the trail, and a cairn made of small rocks. But if you go just a bit past it, you will come to a small opening on the right side of the trail that has nice views to the east and south. While I was here, the clouds covered the Presidential Range, but it was still interesting as they were just above me and I was almost even with them.

Along the ridge

View from just past the summit

As I hiked back to Mt. Starr King, the clouds got a little lower and eventually I was in them. This meant there was no view when I got back to the old cabin site. I took a quick picture to show this, and headed back down the trail. The hike back down went smoothly and eventually I ran into one other hiker. She got a late start and wasn't expecting to make it all the way to Mt. Waumbek before her turn around time. Back down below the snowline, I also met a man that was deer hunting the area. Don't forget something red or hunter orange on your pack this time of year.

BAck on Mt. Starr King, the view is now clouded over

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Mt. Waumbek (4,006 ft) 8-23-12

Distance: 6.59 mi.
Elevation: 2,428 ft (overall) 2,756 ft (total)
Time: 5:28
Trails: Starr King Trail

For the first peak on my second round the 48, I choose to hike Mt. Waumbek with my wife. We were headed up north for the weekend anyways, so it seemed like a good idea to take one more day off and hike this mountain on the way up. I choose Mt. Waumbek since it isn't that far out of the way for our planned route and because it would be an easier peak for my wife's first 4K.

The hike went well with no real difficulties. The trail is never very steep or difficult. It was however quite humid today and this made the hike a bit slower and made us sweat more. It also caused the views to bit more hazy than the last time I was here.

All in all it was a good hike. With the hazy views it was a good day to notice some of the smaller things on the trail, as you can see in some of the photos I took. Hopefully it was fun enough that my wife is willing to follow me up more 4Ks after this.

Indian Pipe found along the trail

Chimney on Mt. Starr King

Trail leading over to Mt. Waumbek

View from Waumbek

Melissa's First 4,000 footer

Coming back down the mountain

Remains of the old spring house

For pictures of the entire hike, click HERE

Mt. Waumbek (4,006 ft) 12-24-11

Distance: 6.7 mi.
Elevation: 2,392 ft. (overall) 2,726 ft. (total)
Time: 2:11 (Mt. Starr King) 3:10 (Mt. Waumbek) 5:30 (total)
Trails: Starr King Trail

The trail starts off nice and gentle up an old logging road from a small parking lot. While the lot isn't plowed, the snow wasn't deep yet and I was able to drive my truck right up in. Shortly after starting out, you leave the logging road you are on for a quick bit through the woods just to come out on another logging road. You stay on this road for quite a ways. Shortly you will go past the old spring house foundation on your right next to the trail. Continuing up, the trail stays pretty gentle and mostly smooth. There are some rocks in the trail and today you could tell there was ice under the snow. It seems like this trail would be wet in the spring.

Following an old logging road

After a while, the trail leaves the logging road turning 90 degrees to the right. This is hard to miss as the logging road gets grown in with small trees. You head this direction mostly before turning back left some and heading up the mountain some more. It still isn't steep, but the trail does get a few more larger rocks in it. It was still icy under the snow here too and after two slips, I decided it was time for the microspikes.

Over some rocks

Soon, the trail will come to the edge of the hardwoods and go into the softwoods for the rest of it's length. Turning into the softwoods, the trail now follows along the side of the ridge instead of the top of it. It gets a little more rocky in here, and has a couple moderately steep sections. There isn't much looking out from the trees, but in places you can catch small peeks out through the trees towards Franconia Range. Coming up through the softwoods is interesting as it feels almost like you are in a tunnel. A little after halfway through the softwoods, you pass a spring on your left right next to the trail.

Up through the tunnel of trees

You can start to tell the trees are getting a little bit shorter just before the summit of Mt. Starr King. The trail slowly turns around to the right just before the trees open up above you at the summit. There is a rock here you can stand on to get a decent view. Just past this is the remains of an old shelter, but the trees are tall enough there isn't much of a view here.

Shelter remains

As I was having a terrible time regulating my body temperature today. I didn't want to stay here too long in my sweaty clothes. I wanted to get to Mt. Waumbek where I would change into my dry layers there and take a break. The trail heads back into the trees the next to the old fireplace and heads gently down into the saddle. Soon I came to a fresh set of moose tracks in the trail where it turned off to my right. With a fresh coating of snow last night, I knew they were from this morning. They were pretty big and I stopped to take a couple pictures of them. Once I started out, there were more tracks in another 20 feet. At first I thought it was a second moose, but it was headed the wrong way. The moose had done a u-turn just into the trees. Now heading away from me, the moose was taking longer strides and I decided that he had probably heard me and turned around.

Fresh tracks

I followed his tracks in the trail all the way to Mt. Waumbek summit. Heading towards me, the moose had been back and forth in and out of the trail looking for food on each side. Heading away from me, he never left the trail. I now had my camera out hoping I would see him ahead of me. Even if not following a moose, the trail through here is nice and gentle and a great walk. The time through here passes quickly and you have some limited views through the trees. Through here it was also interesting to see where the moose went in and out of. I was certainly surprised at one spot that it came out back onto the trail. There didn't look like enough room through the branches for a 100lb deer, never mind an 800lb moose.

Following tracks up the trail

Having read about a viewpoint just past the summit of Mt. Waumbek, I continued down the trail a couple hundred feet more. There is a great viewpoint just over a blow down area that looks out to the Presidential Range. Oddly enough, this was where the moose finally left the trail and headed down the mountain. I put on some dry layers here and had a bite to eat. After enjoying the view for a while, I knew I needed to head back in order to be home in time for a party tonight. I headed back down the trail, stopping at Mt. Starr King for some views now that I was dry. Then I continued on back to the truck.

View from Waumbek

When I started the hike today it was 7 degrees. On the summit it had warmed up to 8.5 degrees. Back to the truck it was up to 16 degrees. There was no wind to worry about today as it was only a gentle breeze at best. I was surprised though that this was my second hike this week and on both of them I hadn't seen any other hikers. It was great to be hiking today with some winter conditions finally and a great blue sky. On the way home, I stopped briefly on 115A at a large field to get a couple pictures of the mountains.

Mt. Starr King view

View on the ride home

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE