Mt. Pierce (4,310 ft) 7-16-22

Distance: 8.54 mi.
Elevation: 2,421 ft (overall) 2,628 ft (total)
Time: (With an 8 yr old setting the pace) 0:31 (Gibbs Falls) 3:16 (Mizpah Hut) 4:17 (Summit) 6:12 (Gibbs Falls) 7:11 (Total)
Trails: Crawford Connector, Crawford Path, Mizpah Cutoff, Webster Cliff Trail, Crawford Path, Crawford Connector

My oldest daughter wanted to get in at least one 4000 footer hike this summer before school starts back up again, so we decided to hit Mt. Pierce for that hike. It is just her 2nd 4K and she is still only 8, so I wanted something that wouldn't be too much for her. And given the good weather forecast, the views from Mt. Pierce wouldn't dissapoint either. This hike also had the added benefit of being to go past the Mizpah Hut as well. Last year when we hiked Webster and Jackson we didn't have time to get to the hut as well before it got too dark for the hike back down.

On the way up the Crawford Path we stopped at Gibbs Falls so my daughter could check them out now in case she was too tired on the way back down. We met a nice pair of hikers there that my daughter conned into, I mean convinced, to hike with us for a while. My daughter enjoyed having someone new to talk to for a while. Eventually though we let them get on their way because they didn't need to take as many breaks. We ended up running into them again at the hut which made my daughter very happy.

Gibbs Falls on the way up

Coming up the Crawford Path

Continuing further up, we took a nice break at the junction with the Mizpah Cutoff. After a nice rest and snack, we went right and headed for the hut. Liliana was very excited to see it in person and get to go inside and check it out. She was impressed with how big it was and many people could sleep there. As I knew she would, she now really wants to spend the night at one of the huts. We spent probably 45 minutes at the hut checking it out, checking out the tent site, and eating some fresh muffins.

Mizpah Hut

After leaving the hut the trail gets steep in a few places. There is a ladder and some boards to level out some slanted sections of trail, but also a few short steep and sometimes rocky sections. My daughter had fun scrambling up these and even wanted to pose for some pictures while doing so. After the climbs though, the trail gets pretty gentle and you start to get some views ahead and behind you.

Climbing a ladder

A small view before the summit

At the summit we took enough of a break to grab some pictures and so my daughter could check it out. But soon after that we headed a few hundred feet further down the trail to where the real views are as the trees open right up. We spent a bunch of time here resting, having something to eat, relaxing, and just taking in the views.

Liliana and Miles at the summit

View from Mt. Pierce

View up to Monroe and Washington

View to the west

For the hike back down we followed the Crawford Path most of the way. Stopping at Gibbs Falls so we could get a closer look and get right next to the falls. Then we took the Crawford Connector back to the parking lot where we promptly took off our hiking boots and put on some dry clothes before drinking some nice ice water I had stashed in the truck. All in all the hike went very well and my daughter did even better than on her last 4K. I think she is ready for another good hike and we will have to start planning that soon.

Coming back down

Back to Gibbs Falls again

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go to my gallery on SmugMug

East Pond Area Redlining 5-30-22

Distance: 12.8 mi.
Elevation: 1,289 ft. (Overall) 2,889 ft. (Total)
Time: 1:05 (Little East Pond) 1:50 (East Pond) 2:51 (Height of Land) 3:24 (Kanc) 5:08 (HOL) 5:27 (East Pond) 5:56 (Total)
Trails: East Pond Trail, Little East Pond Trail, East Pond Loop, East Pond Trail

It has been months since I have been out hiking, so I was overdue to get out into the woods. With good weather for Memorial Day weekend I knew many other people would be out as well. So I decided to focus on some redlining instead of trying to bad any peaks. I have wanted to do a loop of the trails around East Pond for a while, so I figured this was the time.

I parked on the Tripoli Road side of the trails, mainly because it is a shorter drive from my house. When I got to the parking lot I was happy with my decision since there weren't any other vehicles there. I started up the trail and did the loop out to Little East Pond first. From what I have seen of other peoples trip reports this was the less attractive of the two ponds so I wanted to start there.

Little East Pond Trail

The trail is pretty easy going up to the junction. The start of the Little East Pond Trail is pretty flat with one small brook crossing. Eventually it gains some elevation, but is never steep. Just before the pond the trail starts to follow the brook that is the exit of the pond. Just after this the trail appears to level out and on your left is the short path over to the pond. I'm not sure what I was expecting of this pond, but I ended up feeling a bit disappointed with it. It's still a cool place, but I guess it being so shallow and brown appearing on the bottom took away from it some. Still worth the hike though I feel.

Little East Pond

After leaving the pond I almost stepped on a toad in the trail and finally came across some of the flowers in bloom. The trail is relatively flat after leaving the pond with some small ups and downs. It pretty much stays on a sidehill slope and has a bit more of an undeveloped feel with the thicker sections of trees providing more shade and dead branches on the ground.

Almost stepped on this little guy

Painted Trillium

The Little East Pond Trail comes out right at the path leading over to East Pond. I quickly checked it out, but planned to spend more time there on the way back down. The trail follows near the shore of the pond for a while and gives you some good views of how beautiful the water is. After a little bit though, the trail finally has some climbing as you need to work your way up to the height of land. Right at the high point of the trail is a cool little spot with lots of small green plants (ferns and stuff) and today there was also a woodpecker adding to the forest sound track.

Lots of green at the height of land

Knowing I needed to come back up to the height of land I set a bit of a faster pace heading down to the Kanc. This was a bit harder to do though because the trail is certainly rougher on this side with more rocks and roots to navigate through. There was also some mud, but nothing bad and no real water crossings until Pine Brook about a half mile before the Kanc. The guide book says this crossing can be tricky in high waters, but today it wasn't too bad. It did still require picking a good spot to keep my feet dry though.

Crossing of Pine Brook near the Kanc

From the brook crossing to the Kanc and back is pretty close to being flat so I quickly hiked to the parking lot at the end of the trail, took a short 2 minute break, then hiked back to the river crossing. It was more enjoyable to take a break here than on the side of a busy road. I filtered some cold water (my plan all along) and got ready for the steady climb back up to the height of land.

Lady Slippers getting ready to bloom

The hike back up to the height of land was a bit tiring (aren't all hikes after a big descent), but it went quicker than I expected. The trail didn't seem quite as rough going up as it did going down. Once back to the height of land I changed into a dry shirt and socks now that all the hard work was done. The woodpecker was still making noise here which was a plesant surprise.

Coming back up to the height of land

The hike from here to East Pond was pretty quick and seeing the pond through the trees again was nice. Once to the path over to the shore I headed over and set my pack down for a nice long break. The pond is beautiful and has such clear water with a great teal tint to it. You could see all sorts of features under the water you wouldn't normally expect to. It would be awesome to bring a swim tube up here on a sunny day and just float around I think. It was also cool to see all of the little fish near the pond's outlet. Lots of little fish that were maybe an inch and a half long.

East Pond

Lots of little fish near the outlet of East Pond

The water at East Pond is very clear and beautiful

With no summit today, Miles poses at the pond

Eventually I had to leave the pond and finish the hike back to my truck. I still had a mile of trail to hit for my redlining if nothing else. Below the pond I ran into my first other hikers of the day. One pair presumably headed up to East Pond. For a great day on a holiday weekend, I will take it running into only 2 others all day long. Once back to the truck it was 8.3 miles of new trails completed for the day and a very enjoyable and needed hike through the woods.

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Old Speck Mtn (4,170 ft) 2-11-19

Distance: 7.13 mi.
Elevation: 2,773 ft (overall) 3,502 ft (total)
Time: 2:40 (Summit) 4:36 (Total)
Trails: Old Speck Trail

With a weekend in northern NH and Mondays off from work right now, it seemed like a great time to bag a winter peak. The closest 4K peak to where I was staying was Old Speck Mountain, so I decided to bring my gear with me and hike up. The last forecast I saw before heading up north was for temps on the summit around 0, but not a lot of wind and only some clouds. That turned out to be partly correct in the end.

I got to the trail head around 9am and found it plowed well, but narrower than in summer. Still room for a number of cars, but not as many as normal. There were also a couple other vehicles with hikers, but they all hiked across the street as I didn't see anyone else after leaving the parking lot. So after picking out my gear and putting it all together I headed up the trail.

The trail was smooth and hard at the start which also made it easy to follow. I started off with my microspikes and ended up leaving them on until I got back to my truck. After a short flat section, the trail starts the steady climb to the summit. The lower section includes one well frozen over brook crossing followed by a series of switchbacks before leaving the lower hardwoods near the upper junction of the Eyebrow Trail.

The only real water crossing, frozen over

Around this same part of the trail you will also come past your first view point with has a nice view down through Grafton Notch. You can also see up towards the summit as well. After this the trail stayed mostly in the spruce which was a bit thicker, but had some more open sections of forest. These open sections could be tricky to navigate after a fresh snow as I didn't notice lots of blazes and they are also getting closer to knee and hip level instead of head height. During the summer there are also some nice sections of exposed ledge that they trail follows through here. I love sections like that, but today the rocks was deeply covered in snow. There still were some views from these sections of trail though.

From the first view point

A brief open section of trail

As the trail got closer to the summit, it also got a bit rougher and was no longer the smooth trench in the snow. The trail at times turned into some spots of less consolidated snowshoe prints/holes. It also appeared to deviate from the summer route as there was at least one feature I remember from the summer that the trail didn't go by today. At a couple points the tracks in the snow would split as previous hikers appeared unsure about the trail. The tracks either stopped quickly, or shortly met back up with the main path. In all instances today, the path to the left was the correct one to follow.

Those blazes are getting a bit low

Where the AT turns off and the trail continues to the summit it was easy to follow through the trees. The snow wasn't deep enough that branches were in your face and this section doesn't gain much elevation so it was pretty easy going. There was only one fallen tree that was easy to walk right around. Once at the summit I added on my outer layer now that I wasn't hiking. I then headed up the tower with my camera and weather meter. At the top I first checked out the 360 degrees views, then checked the wind speeds and temperature. While I knew it was supposed to be cold today, I was surprised when my weather meter claimed it was -17 degrees. I checked the other temperature reading and saw the same thing, guess it was right. No wonder I didn't stop as much to take pictures, I needed to stay warm. The wind was also blowing pretty well which made it feel like a balmy -34 degrees. My coldest summit yet, beating Mt. Hale 7 years ago which was -13.

I stayed up on the tower as long as I could taking pictures and enjoying the views, but dang it was cold and I eventually needed to head back down the tower so I at least had the trees to block the wind. So after a bit longer at the summit, I grabbed my gear and headed back down. I could feel my feet getting a bit cold and thought it best to get moving and warm them back up. Had I known it was going to be this cold, I would have had on a different pair of socks.

The tower at the summit

View northeast over the notch

Looking southwest over the Mahoosuc Notch

Summit view to the southeast

Gray Jay waiting for a snack

The hike back down went smoothly. I knew which tracks to follow and knew that the trail would be in good shape. I moved quick enough to stay warm and only stopped a few more times for pictures or to adjust my gear. The hardest part of the trail today was one ice flow over some exposed rock which had a nice path around it just into the trees. In what seemed like little time, I was back to the parking lot and my truck. I took off my spikes and got my gear ready to go into the truck. Normally I would change some of my layers into dry clothing, but today I wanted to just get in the truck and run the heater. I'd change into another set of clothes later after I was warm.

The trickiest part of the trail today

All in all the hike went very well today with making good time and having great views. It was a bit colder and windier than expected, but I had limited access to forecasts leading up to the hike, which is why I brought lots of options to put into my pack. It was nice to get back to this peak and also check off another 4K in the winter.

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go to my gallery on SmugMug

Mt. Monroe (5,372 ft) 12-13-18

Distance: 6.94 mi.
Elevation: 2,860 ft (overall) 3,051 ft (total)
Time: 3:08 (Hut) 3:30 (Monroe) 3:44 (Hut) 5:42 (Total)
Trails: Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, Monroe Loop

With some time off and the forecast of a bluebird day, I decided it was a good day to try and get in a pre-winter hike of Mt. Monroe. Given the forecast, I wanted something above treeline. I also have not hike the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail before, so I could do some redlining. Adding in the already winter like conditions, and I could check out the hut with with a wall of snow already up against the doors.

Knowing that parking at the cog would cost more, I started the day at the USFS parking lot instead. I was redlining today, so saving $5 and getting to hike the whole trail was the better deal. Even though it was supposed to be warm up high, to start the day it was below 0 at the trail head. Inversion had kept the summit of Mt. Washington warmer than the valley the last couple of days, so it was already 10-15 degrees above up high. I started up the trail with my snowshoes on my pack as well as my spikes. The trail was a bit too narrow and bumpy for snowshoes to be good yet. Spikes could have helped, but weren't really needed.

Crossing Franklin Brook

Before too long and without any difficult sections, I was soon at the junction next to the Ammonoosuc River. From here, spikes would have been helpful, but I still held off on using them. I wasn't in too much of a rush and paying attention to where I put my feet meant I could get by without them. It was nice hiking near the river, and I am sure the trail being so close to it is even better in the summer. There were a few nice views from along this section that provided some good looks up into the ravine as well.

A side hill section of trail along the river

Looking up through the ravine

Once to the Gem Pool, I took my first long break of the day. I could tell just from looking that now the trail was going to get steep. After some time resting and having a snack, I put on my snowshoes. The traction was going to be helpful, but I also wanted the televators to help my legs on the climb. I love having heal lifts on snowshoes and how much better it makes a steep climb. The climb up the Gem Pool was certainly steep, but by keeping a steady pace I wasn't doing too bad. For how little hiking I had done leading up to the end of the year, my legs weren't feeling too bad.

Gem Pool

Higher up in elevation at the cascades, it was interesting seeing how much water was still flowing at such a high elevation. With temps so cold lately and how high up you are, you wouldn't initially think that much water would still be flowing. Above the cascade the trail started to get some drifting of snow in it and the current route deviated from the real trail to take a bit easier and less obstructed route. I didn't see where it actually went back into the trees, but did see where it came out. In the end the trail also came up from the wrong side of the hut as well.

Going up steeply

The cascades

Getting closer to treeline, the trail continued to follow the drainage above the cascades before eventually going to the left more and following a route through the trees that provided fewer obstacles. There was some drifting through here that slowed me down a bit in the steeper sections. Being a Thursday, there hadn't been much recent traffic. Soon the hut started coming into sight and the drifting went away. It was replaced by a very firm layer of snow. I kept on my snowshoes, but spikes would have been fine after the hut.

The Lakes of the Clouds Hut and Mt. Washington

Snow sculpted sign

From the hut you could tell that all the other hikers have been making a straight line approach to the summit. With the snow being so hard, you could go pretty much anywhere lately. With smooth conditions, it didn't take long to get up to the summit. Once I got to the summit, I spent nearly 45 minutes just enjoying the views and taking pictures. It was in the high 20s and the wind was only blowing at about 5mph, a great day to be above treeline.

A straight path up Mt. Monroe

Mt. Washington from the summit

View to the west

View to the south

View to the north

Fun with my crystal ball

More fun with the crystal ball

In the back of my head I was hoping to climb Mt. Washington today as well. But while on the summit I decided against it. I got a later start than I wanted to and took a bit more time getting up to the hut than planned. If I tried for Mt. Washington, I wouldn't be back down until after dark, and I didn't really feel like doing that today. So I decided to take my time and just enjoy the hike a bit more. So I hiked back down to the hut and took some more pictures before going back down into the trees. The decent went smoothly and I kept my snowshoes until until the Gem Pool again. After that I sent back to bare booting it until back at the truck. On the way out I decided to hike the trail out the Cog Railway base station, and then walk the road back to the parking lot. This was I could reline that section of trail as well.

A little bit of snow blocking the doors

Snow encased trees on the way down

In the end the hike went well and the weather was great. It couldn't have gotten much better today. And on a humorous note, I happened to see online that someone I went to grade school with happened to be hiking Mt. Isolation today. After a joking comment made on a photo showing Mt. Monroe where I said I could see myself, it just so happened that the person they were hiking with produced a photo of the summit of Mt. Monroe while I was standing at the top. They were playing with their zoom lens while I happened to be standing at the top. You can't make out much for details, but I can tell that it is the appropriate clothing for what I was wearing and didn't match the only other hiker I saw near the summit.

Me on the summit of Mt. Monroe as seen from Mt. Isolation

For all the pictures from the hike, just go to my Mt. Monroe gallery on SmugMug

Google Earth representation of the hike