Now, Where Did I Put That List?

Saturday August 20 2011

    I had planned a couple of weeks ago to hike with Chris this weekend. When he called Thursday evening, I said I had too much to do around the house but after thinking it over I called him back and said I’d go. I’m very glad I did. An acquaintance of his, Marilyn, is working on the hundred highest list which is to say a list of the one hundred highest mountains in New England. There is a group of mountains in Northern Oxford and Franklin counties called “The Six Pack” They are on the list and two of them were our objective today.
    I picked up Chris and Moses the hiking dog at his place at a little after 7:00 and we drove to Bethel to Pick up Marilyn. We left there a bit after 8:00. The drive to the trail is pretty, going up Rt. 2 to Mexico and Rt 17 to Oquossoc and South on Rt. 16 a few miles to Morton‘s Cutoff.  At the Height of Land the view over Moosleukmeguntic there was a beautiful  with a fog rising off the lake forming a cool undercast. There was no time to stop and enjoy the view, we were still nearly an hour from our destination.  From Rt. 16 there is a network of logging roads twenty miles to the start of the trail. We arrived there a bit before 10:30. We got our gear together and headed up the trail.    

    White Cap and North Kennebago Divide are billed in the guide books as bush whacks but there are pretty well defined trails to the top of both of them. Ten years or so ago they would have been infinitely more challenging than they are today. Not knowing  this however we were prepared for battle. I printed off topographic maps for all of us and entered waypoints for the summits and some key landmarks along the way. The trail we were on was an extension of the logging road we were parked on but was impassable for conventional vehicles. ATVs had been traveling along it though so the going was good. We decided to climb White Cap first and as we walked along we came to a cairn marking a trail to the Southwest and we hoped to North Kennebago. We’d find out on the way back. We had started our hike at around 2700 feet. The summit was 3800 feet. As we climbed  we talked about the flora and fauna in the area, noticing piles of bear and moose droppings and areas that had been browsed by moose. We saw moose and fox tracks in the mud in a wet area.
    We got to the col at about 3400 feet and were keeping an eye out for a trail to the right that would lead to the summit. The ATV trail however swung to the right and we continued to follow as long as it was gaining elevation and heading in the right direction.

A few minutes later we came to a cairn and a trail to the left which we followed. We were close now and had only to find the highest ground and the summit canister that held the register. Less than a hundred yards off the ATV track and right beside the trail we were following, there was a clearing with a burned out solar panel attached to a tree. A wire wound up the tree and out of sight. I have no idea what purpose it served. Could it have powered communications for the Border Patrol? The Canada, U.S. border was a mile or so away and this might be the nearest high ground. It remains a mystery. Anyway, we continued along the sometimes faint but always present trail toward higher ground until we pushed through a thicket and emerged in a clearing where the canister was attached to a tree along with a sign “White Cap”

We congratulated Marilyn, this was her 92nd peak . Since it was “high noon” we had a lunch, took some photos and signed the register. Signing was a chore since the contents of the canister were somewhat soggy.
    We soon headed off down the mountain and toward our second peak, North Kennebago. When we got to the cairn at the lower trail junction we headed off. Within a few minutes it was clear that this was not going to be as easy as White Cap. There were herd paths going everywhere. We tried to stay with the most prevalent one but it was hard to distinguish. Soon we were back up on the col and moving toward the trail up White Cap, clearly not where we needed to go. I was looking around but could not see higher ground in any direction.

We decided it was time to stop and regroup, get out a map and compass and take a bearing. I knew more or less where we were and after orienting the map, got a bearing on the direction we needed to go. As we set off again we immediately came across a trail that led in the right direction and we started gaining elevation. Hooray!


The trail was more or less clear all the way to the top. The canister was a glass jar tied to a tree and we again signed the register. Marilyn’s 93rd peak was now In the books.

    The trip down was uneventful with the exception of a branch  the snapped back and hit Marilyn in the face, very near her eye. It was a close call for an eye injury and we were sobered by that. We slowed down and put more distance between us to avoid a repeat.  We were back at the trailhead at 3:30. We had hiked a total of five miles. We all agreed that it had been a very enjoyable and successful hike.

Five Plus Two Equals Chocorua

July 31 2011

Five on two legs and two on four. Seven souls set of to climb Mount Chocorua near Conway New Hampshire today. Beth and I have been talking about hiking together for quite some time. Today we got the chance. I picked up Beth, her daughter Jill and their two dogs Buffy and Bu at Green Pond. They were all set to go and we headed to Sean’s to meet him and daughter Leah. This was to be Leah’s first “big mountain”. A precocious five year old, Leah’s hiking limits were as yet untested on a mountain of this size. Sean decided to take his own car in case they were not able to go the whole way. We left their house about 6:45 and drove to the Champney Falls hiker parking lot on the Kancamagus Highway arriving there about 7:45. Donning hikers and disbursing water, within a few minutes we were off. The weather was clear and with temps in the mid sixties, it was shaping up to be a perfect day.

 Leah was eager to go and to interact with the dogs.
After a quick photo at the kiosk, we headed up the trail The first mile was a shakedown of sorts with everyone trying to find a comfortable pace. Leah preferred to be in the thick of things and with the dogs but since Jill had both dogs on an Alpha lead and they were beside her, that meant four abreast and on a narrowing trail that was not going to work. Sean eventually convinced Leah, she should lead and set the pace. She was good with that and we settled in to a nice leisurely pace. Soon enough we were at the lower junction with the loop trail that goes by Champney and Pitcher Falls. We decided to go by the falls on the way up and  bypass them on the way down.

We got to the lower falls and stopped for a quick break and to take some  photos. A long stretch of dry weather had reduced the flow of water to a trickle but it’s a pretty place anyway. In winter this is a popular ice climbing spot, not much ice around today. We headed up the steep trail that skirts the lower falls and leads to the upper. At the upper falls we waited for a group of faster hikers to pass before continuing on. The next mile and a half seems longer than it is. There is only one good view spot and the trail gets steeper and more rocky than the section below. There are several switchbacks in this section and once past these the Champney Falls Cutoff diverges left and leads to the Middle Sister Trail. The grade soon eases as the trail nears the saddle between Chocorua and Middle Sister. From the more open ledges we began to catch glimpses of our objective.
Soon we passed the Piper Trail on the left and then the West Side Trail on the left a short time later. The last .4 mile is entirely in the open and view get better every minute. We climbed up and over the minor peak North of the actual summit and during this time were passed by several faster moving groups. At last we arrived at the crux move just below the summit, a head high section of ledge the dogs couldn’t negotiate. We could have lifted Buffy but Bu at 100 lbs. was a different story. Beth stayed behind in a shady spot with them as the rest of us scrambled up and over.

 

Leah had done an awesome job all day and with a bit of guidance from dad clambered up to the top. Sean and Jill topped out and enjoyed the views we worked so hard for. Having been here more than a half dozen times before, I headed down to relieve Beth so she could go up. Ten minutes or so later, the summit team came down and we all headed to a lower flat spot for a well deserved lunch. It was a nearly cloudless day and we enjoyed the
endless views. Twenty-two miles to the North,  Mount Washington was clear enough the we could see the summit buildings.

We finished our lunch and headed back across the ledges and down into the woods now meeting groups of hikers on their way up. We took our time going down with Jill and the dogs in the lead and Sean and Leah bringing up the rear.

We made our way down the mountain with several stops to let little tired legs catch up. We got back to the parking lot a little before 2:00 and took a long break on the grass, in the shade. Sean provided a cooler full of cold drinks and fruit. A nice end to a wonderful day in the mountains.