Killington Peak (4,235 ft) 11-15-14

Distance: 8.14 mi.
Elevation: 2,393 ft. (overall) 2,691 ft. (total)
Time: 3:00 (Summit) 4:57 (Total)
Trails: Bucklin Trail, Long Trail, Killington Spur

For peak #57 within a year, it was time to head back to Vermont to hike Killington Peak. My plan was to climb the Bucklin Trail from the western side of the mountain. I got to the trail head early in the morning and was the first car in the parking lot. After gearing up, I headed out the trail which starts off quite wide and nearly flat. A good way to get warmed up on a cool morning. There is a nice bridge a short distance up the trail for the first crossing of Brewers Brook. After this, the trail stays on an old woods road before going uphill on the left for a while to avoid some washed out banks of the brook. Things stay easy while you eventually work back down to the woods road and then do the second crossing of the brook on another nice bridge.

Following an old woods road

After this, the trail stays gentle and on old woods roads. There are a few wet spots along the trail with some very small brooks that you can mostly just step over. Getting further up into the valley, the trail eventually turns off to the right and leaves the woods road at a hump of dirt to help indicate the turn. From here, the climb is pretty steady all the way up to the Long Trail. To start, you work along a side hill while climbing. Eventually the trail levels out some before turning to the right and going mostly straight up to the ridge. Even going straight to the ridge, the trail doesn't get too steep and keeps good footing. Being the first person up the trail this morning after some fresh snow, I was able to see all the fresh animal tracks. This included some from a small rodent the wandered through the snow making a maze of paths along the trail.

Climbing up towards the Long Trail

Once up to the Long Trail, it's a relatively short and easy hike to Cooper Lodge. There was some ice along the route, but it was easy to go over. I checked out Cooper Lodge while there. It has a few bunks and a table inside of it. Windows along the front are open, but not much snow had blown in yet.

Cooper Lodge

The Killington Spur to the summit is just past the lodge and goes to the left from the trail. The spur gets steep pretty quickly and is easily the rockiest part of this hike. The rocks all provided good footing and it wasn't that hard to climb up. This is probably helped by how short it is. The hardest part today was the last push as I came out of the trees. There was more snow that had accumulated here, which made finding your footing more important.

Killington Spur

The summit has a small open area on some exposed rocks. Just beyond that is also some radio towers and small buildings. I went towards these and found a place out of the wind that allowed me to get dry layers on. Around the towers is a small open area which provides nice views to the east that are blocked by the trees on the actual summit. On the summit you get nice views in almost all directions. It was a bit windy today, but with good gear it was still quite nice. The wind was averaging 11 mph and gusting to 17 mph. This made the 11 degree summit temperature actually feel like -4 degrees. I was surprised at how many people were using the ski area today as trails had just opened and not all of them were in use yet. But I guess the skiers were just anxious to start off another season.

Summit View of Mendon Peak

Summit View of Pico Peak

Summit View to the east

One of the towers at the summit

I hiked down the same route that I came up. Just after leaving the summit I saw my first hiker of the day. I will admit, it's always nice having the summit to yourself. As I continued down, I ran into more hikers. Probably around 15-20 for the day total. One group also had a few dogs that were quite friendly. The hike down and back to the car went quick and easy. Once back down onto the old woods roads I took off my microspikes as the footing wasn't slippery any more. I was back to the car and changed early enough that I could take a longer drive home using a more scenic route also with a stop in Rutland.

Brewers Brook crossing

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Mt. Carrigain (4,700 ft) 11-8-14

Distance: 10.5 mi.
Elevation: 3,392 ft. (overall) 3,572 ft. (total)
Time: 4:04 (Summit) 6:36 (Total)
Trails: Signal Ridge Trail

With WMNF roads expected to start closing for winter soon, I made sure to hike Mt. Carrigain while Sawyer River Road was still open. The road isn't a hard "hike" in or out, it's just unneeded extra time and distance when it can easily be avoided.

The trail from the start had just a dusting of snow on it. The rerouted start of the Signal Ridge Trail was still a bit soft in places, but now nicely avoids the river crossing. The trail stays gradual along an old rail bed for quite some time with only short ascents thrown in. It's actually a pretty nice walk in the woods to get you warmed up.

The last time I hiked here, the intersection with the Carrigain Notch Trail hadn't been relocated yet. It didn't seem to take long for me to get here. There is now a tree down across what was the Signal Ridge Trail to help discourage hikers from using it. Wanting to see the new reroute, I headed past the old section of trail. There is one brook crossing, but it was easily managed on exposed rocks. Soon I was at the new intersection.

Start of the trail reroute

The new section of trail feels like it wanders a bit through the woods before meeting up with the old trail. The GPS didn't really show this, but it certainly felt like it wasn't as direct as it could be. The route was easy to follow though and not difficult.

Heading up the trail further, you soon start the real climb of the day. The trail isn't steep by White Mountain standards, but the climb is steady and goes on for quite a while. There are a few switchbacks on the way up that help out the hikers. For a short distance before the limited viewpoint, the trail does level out some while following the side hill. But then it starts the climb again before getting into some smaller switchbacks shortly before coming up onto Signal Ridge. While there was snow on the ground today for the hike, microspikes were all that were needed to keep you from slipping.

The climb before Signal Ridge

Once you pop up onto the ridge, the summit is in sight and you can see how close you are now. I've only been here when there was snow on the ground, but Signal Ridge is a pretty cool place. There are great views, the summit is just ahead, and the terrain is quite interesting with the steep and open drop on your right. Even with that drop though, the trail is just far enough away that you can stay safe.

The summit from Signal Ridge

The final push to the summit went well. A few other hikers were now catching up to me, including some hiking with dogs. There was now about 6-8 inches of snow on the ground, but footing was still good with my microspikes on. By the time I made it to the summit, there were now a few others there.

Knowing the wind was blowing pretty well, I changed out my wet layers for dry before climbing up the tower to take in the views and grab some pictures. While I was on the summit, the wind was averaging 16 mph and gusting to 19 mph. It was 19 degrees out and the windchill made it feel like 2 degrees. I made sure to have on a good pair of gloves and my balaclava. While I was on the summit, the clouds cleared up some, which made the views even better. Since we were just starting into winter weather for the season, you could see a snowline on the other peaks which showed where temperatures became cold enough for snow to gather. There was also quite a bit of rim ice that had formed along the tower and summit trees.

Rime Ice

The snowline visible on other summits

Summit view

Summit View

I went down the same route that I came up. There were more hikers headed up now than while I was ascending. This included a family with young kids that were definitely under prepared with poor footwear and gloves for all, plus a general lack of layers and gear for a hike at this time of year. Back down on the rerouted section of trail, I headed out the old section so that I could compare the two routes on the GPS later. The old route is definitely more direct, but the terrain has been washed out pretty bad in places. I can see the being a popular "shortcut" in winter though. The final walk out was easy and quick as I chatted with a fellow hiker about some of the various hikes we had each done.

Signal Ridge on the descent

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

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

Carter Dome (4,832 ft), South Carter Mtn (4,430 ft) & Middle Carter Mtn (4,610 ft) 10-28-14

Distance: 13.3 mi.
Elevation: 3,386 ft. (overall) 4,634 ft. (total)
Time: 3:14 (Carter Dome) 4:34 (Sout Carter) 5:22 (Middle Carter) 7:46 (Total)
Trails: 19 Mile Brook Trail, Carter Dome Trail, Carter-Moriah Trail, North Carter trail, Imp Trail, Dodge Cutoff, Rt 16

To hike the Carters, I decided I would repeat the same loop I did the last time here. Starting up the Nineteen Mile Brook(19MB) Trail to Zeta Pass, then to all the peak along the ridge. Today I would skip Mt. Hight though due to the cloud cover of the day and due to information about icy conditions from other hikers on the trail today.

The hike up 19MB Trail goes quickly. The gain is gradual and footing is pretty good. The trail is easy to follow and stays near the brook. There is one brook crossing where the bridge washed out/away during Tropical Storm Irene. This was the only crossing I was concerned about today, but some rock work has been done here so a couple planks could be placed across it.

Brook crossing with planks

When I got to the first intersection, I headed up the Carter Dome Trail towards Zeta Pass. As soon as I did this, it started to rain lightly and I needed to stop to put my pack cover on. It wasn't hard enough to require a rain coat yet. The Carter Dome Trail crosses a small brook a couple times, but all the crossings are easy and can be done with dry feet. Eventually the trail starts to make a couple switchbacks as it nears Zeta Pass. At the pass, I headed south bypassing Mt. Hight on the way to Carter Dome. Getting higher up the trail, I started to see some ice on the ground. Two days ago there was a rain storm that appears to have been icing conditions higher up. The ice was now falling off the trees as the temperature was above freezing again.

Ice on the ground as I head up the trail

View from Carter Dome

Ice on the trees at the summit

After spending some time on Carter Dome, I headed back down to Zeta Pass. I met some hikers in this section on my way up that said conditions were icy just below Mt. Hight. This combined with with cloudy skies convinced me to skip Mt. Hight. Normally the best views of the hike are here and it's worth the side trip.

The climb out of Zeta Pass to South Carter is pretty quick with only a few short steep sections. It didn't take too long to get to the next summit. Just across the trail from the summit is a short path to a small view point. I didn't notice this my first time here, but it was cloudy and rainy that day as well. With limited views and continued clouds and light rain, I didn't spend much time here. I headed off up the trail to Middle Carter. The section through here is quick and has a few nice views along the way to make it better. To me, it doesn't feel like you lose as much elevation as to do through here, so that is nice too. There is only one tricky spot (when wet, like today) where you have to go down a steep rock face that doesn't have many good places for footing.

View from South Carter Mtn

View on the trail between South Carter and Middle Carter

The summit of Middle Carter is similar to South Carter in that there isn't much there. The trees on the eastern side of the trail are thin enough you can get some views in that direction though. There is no sign for the summit, and if you miss the small cairn, you could walk right over it. After a short time here as well, I was back to hiking and starting the trek down.

View from Middle Carter Mtn

The trail has a few ups and downs as it works its way over Mt. Lethe. The North Carter Trail junction seems to be a bit further up the trail than you would think my looking at the map. Having been here a few times now though, I don't start thinking "did I miss it?" As it has been in the past, the North Carter Trail was quite wet with water flowing down it in places. There are some sections with small loose rocks as well. At the junction with the Imp Trail, I took a left and keep going down the mountain. Once getting down into the open hardwoods, the trail levels out some. After this, you want to look for a small logged area on your right. Then there is small woods road on your left with tall grass that brings you into Camp Dodge. If you go down their driveway, you come out to Route 16 just down the road from the trail head. When I came through, they were doing construction to replace a bridge on the driveway and I needed to find another way across the brook. That didn't prove too hard though.

This hike doesn't really have any real hard sections on it. It is however a fair amount of elevation gain over the course of it. That makes it take a bit longer than you would think. And makes it a bit harder/more tiring than you might believe ahead of time.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Mt. Whiteface (4,020 ft) & Mt. Passaconaway (4,043 ft) 10-19-14

Distance: 12.0 mi.
Elevation: 2,903 ft. (overall) 4,646 ft. (total)
Time: 3:03 (Whiteface) 5:16 (Passaconaway) 7:37 (Total)
Trails: Dicey's Mill Trail, Tom Wiggins Trail, Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Walden Trail, East Loop

For Mt. Whiteface and Mt. Passaconaway, I planned on a clockwise loop since I had done them in the other direction the last time I was here. My plan was to take some trails up and down that would be new to me on these peaks. Starting off from the Ferncroft parking lot, I headed up to the end of the road. The house there is cooperative with hikers and allows them up the driveway and across the lawn to the start of the trail. It's easy to follow the path so you don't have to wonder around looking for it.

Looking up from the parking lot

I started up the Dicey’s Mill Trail. The trail was easy to follow and started off pretty gradual. There were quite a few leaves on the ground today, but they weren't creating bad footing yet. After a few small climbs and some easy walking, I was at the Tom Wiggin Trail. The warning on the sign could be a bit discouraging for some people, but I was still game to try it. I headed down the trail, and after a bit of mud, was at the brook crossing. I found a safe place to cross and kept my feet dry.

The river crossing

Heading up the Tom Wiggin Trail, it starts to climb right after the crossing. It isn't too steep to start though. After working a bit further up into the valley, the trail starts to turn more directly uphill and starts to get harder. There are some interesting spots along the trail including one large boulder right next to it. As the trail got steeper, I was expecting the leaves on the ground to cause traction problems, but they never really did. The leaves weren't slick and while the dirt underneath was loose and not compact, it wasn't hard to climb up. After some steep climbing, the trail starts to turn towards the right some and head into the conifers. Footing is still a bit rough. As the trail gets closer to the top, it turns left again and the path gets narrower. Some of the trees could use a bit of trimming through here. You have to push through a bit in some places.

Starting to get steeper

Getting rocky

Up on the ridge now, it was a short hike to the ledges. Everything was nice and dry today, so it was easy going over them. The ledges provide the nicest views of the day. After a nice rest on the false summit and enjoying the views, I made the short hike to the wooded summit of Mt. Whiteface. After a short stop for a couple pictures, I was headed down the Rollins Trail. It was just cool enough and there was just enough water that there were a couple small icy spots and I nearly fell once. There are a few nice viewpoints along the ridge that provide good views to the east. It was impressive to see how much work had been done along the ridge to clean up all of the fallen trees.

Open area along the ledges

View from the false summit (top of the ledges)

After getting down to the intersection with the Dicey's Mill Trail, it was time to start the climb up Mt. Passaconaway. The trail was quite wet with water running down it or across it in many locations. The water was never deep though, and it was warm enough now that none of it was turning to ice. The trail makes its way to the summit with a series of switchbacks before one last final rocky climb. At the top of the climb is a small view point just before the short side trail to the wooded summit. Just past the summit is another view point that has views north and east. After some time here, I continued down the trail making a loop around the summit.

A section of blow downs that has been cleaned up

A section of trail with water running down it

View near the summit

After getting back to the trail I came up, it was a short distance to the intersection with Dicey's Mill Trail. After talking with the group of hikers here, I headed down. The gradual decline of the trail and the good surface make it obvious why this seems to be the most popular route up the mountain. The descent down to the river went quick, even with the thick layer of leaves on the trail that could have been slippery. There are multiple trees down across the river near the crossing which provide dry footing to cross on. From here down, it was again an easy hike over gentle terrain that just had a layer of leaves on it. The hike went quickly and I was soon walking back down the road to the parking lot and my car.

Dicey's Mill Trail

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Zealand Mtn (4,260 ft) 10-11-14

Distance: 12.6 mi.
Elevation: 2,221 ft (overall) 3,095 ft (total)
Time: 4:01 (Summit) 6:44 (Total)
Trails: Zealand Trail, Ethan Pond Trail, Zeacliff Trail, Twinway

After doing a 3 day Pemi-Loop earlier in the summer, Zealand Mountain was left hanging by itself in the eastern side of the Pemigewasset Wilderness. Knowing the only views would be from Zeacliff, I saved this hike for a day where clear skies wouldn't matter. So hiking it today where it started off cloudy and cleared some would be perfect. I decided on doing a bit longer of a hike so I could go up the Zeacliff Trail rather than just straight up and back past the hut.

The trail starts off on an old railroad grade, so it is pretty easy and goes by quickly. All crossings of the brook through here are on well made bridges. It doesn't seem to take too long before you are getting towards Zealand Pond just below the hut. When I came through this morning, there was a wet path across the trail that headed into the woods. When I got next to the water, I saw that there was a beaver active and swimming around just in front of me. While I took a few pictures of him and of the area, he just kept swimming in circles seemingly waiting for me to leave so he could get back to doing what he was in the woods. He even tried to encourage me some with a few slaps of his tail as he dove under the water.

Zeacliff in site with a beaver swimming around

After passing by the Twinway Trail, it was still more easy walking along the old rail bed. Footing was smooth and the hike was pretty quick. The leaves that were starting to change two weeks ago when I came through here last had now changed and many had already fallen off. This was a bit disappointing, but there were still patches of nice color. Before long I came to the junction of the Zeacliff Trail.

Looking down into Zealand Valley

This trail meanders over the rocks a bit as it works down into the ravine, but is pretty easy to follow if you pay attention. Once into the trees, it drops steeply the last little bit down to Whitewall Brook. The crossing here was easier than I had expected from reading other's trip reports. There were a few large stones you could easy walk across. Once on the other side of the brook, the trail starts to head uphill fast. It gets steep, but doesn't have any hard obstacles. Just some rocky and root covered terrain as it goes straight up the hillside. As you go further, the trail will start to bear to the right and get a bit easier. It also passes through a small stand of Birch trees. Near the upper end, the trail starts to work around the side of Zeacliff and has one tricky obstacle to go over. There is a large exposed rock that the trail goes up. On the far end of it, there was a good place to climb that had a couple small spots for your feet and hands as you pull yourself up and over.

Whitewall Brook

You'll need to climb up and over this

Once up on the Twinway, it's a pretty gentle walk to the summit. One steep section has a large rock to climb up and a short ladder to help you get the last bit of it. Other than that it is just a walk in the woods, albeit a bit of a rocky one at times.

Twinway Trail

At the summit there were a couple people already there, and more kept showing up. Lots of people were on their way to Guyot Campsite today. Hopefully they all found a spot. On the summit it was only 38 degrees, so a jacket or something was nice to have. After a while here, I headed back down the trail on my way out. Since I skipped it the last time I was here, I made sure to take the short spur trail down to Zeacliff Pond. This small pond has a nice view over it to Mt. Carrigain, but the lighting today left me a bit disappointed.

At the summit

Zeacliff Pond

As I got closer to Zeacliff, the sky started to clear up some. The sun was coming out a bit at times and there were views off in the distance. This was great timing as I came to the viewpoint and had some sun while there. I enjoyed the best views of the day and took plenty of pictures. As I headed back down the trail, it was a bit steeper and rockier than I remembered. There weren't any real hard spots though along the route. Before long I came to the hut, which was a popular spot today. I took a short break here and changed my gear up some before taking some more pictures. The view from the hut was pretty nice today looking down into the valley. After leaving the hut, it was a quick and easy walk back out to the car.

Sun starting to come out

View from Zeacliff

View south from Zeacliff

View from the hut

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE