Caribou 2014

    Today’s hike was a good workout in preparation for a backpack I’ll be doing the end of the month. After a long layoff I’m back in the mountains and loving it.

The beginning of the trail

    Caribou Mountain is located in Western Maine in Mason township and Batchelders Grant near West Bethel and Gilead. It is also entirely within the White Mountain National Forest and The Caribou-Speckled Wilderness. There are three trails to the summit. The first is actually one trail that approaches from two directions. The Caribou trail is about 5 miles long and starts on Rt. 113 in Evans Notch at the Caribou/Mud Brook parking lot, climbs to the saddle between Gammon mountain and Caribou, descends and ends at a gate and parking area at the end of the Bog Brook Road off Rt. 2 in West Bethel. It can be done from either end and in conjunction with the Mud Brook Trail, accesses the summit. The Mud Brook Trail as I said, starts in the same parking lot on 113 and Climbs the Southwest side of Caribou.
    In winter Rt 113 is not plowed so that would mean a long road walk to the trail head. We instead chose the Bog Brook access. The road is plowed to the Pooh Corner Farm in most years. This year it is plowed to the summer parking area at the gate. We didn’t know that and having a two wheel drive vehicle, parked just beyond the farm. This decision led to a 1.5 mile longer hike but was all flat and well packed/plowed. Arriving there at 8:30 we wasted no time getting geared up and getting started.
     We hiked the road to it’s end and began the trail proper. The trail had not been used in several weeks but was nicely packed before that. The couple of inches of snow that fell since it was used was just a nice cushion. We worked our way up the drainage between Gammon and Caribou, commenting on animal tracks we saw there. Coyote tracks. Rabbit, Squirrel both Red and Gray, Deer, Mice and Voles and once a Spruce Grouse.

Mouse tracks in the snow

 All these tracks were left in the fresh snow with their stories to tell to anyone who followed.  The snow was getting deeper as we climbed and it was time to put on snowshoes. Gaining elevation, we came to the sign marking the edge of the Wilderness.

The way now steepens for the last bit before the saddle. We took a quick break at the intersection and headed up the Mud Brook Trail toward the summit.   

    Getting near the top of our climb, the terrain flattened a bit and shortly the views began to open up.  We topped out at about 12:30. An approaching front caused a high overcast but didn’t diminish the views and 30̊ temps and light winds allowed us to sit in the open and enjoy them. I pulled on my down jacket, got a closed cell pad to sit on, grabbed my lunch and enjoyed the vista. After finishing our lunch, we snapped a few more photos, packed our backpacks, put the snowshoes back on and headed down.
    The hike down was uneventful and we arrive back at the car about 2:30.

Moses at the summit

Nice lunch spot with Kezar Lake in the background

   
HikeSafe is a joint effort between the White Mountain National Forest and New Hampshire Fish & Game Department to educate hikers on the inherent risks of hiking and how they can become better prepared before beginning any hike.


Hiker Responsibility Code
You are responsible for yourself, so be prepared:

1. With knowledge and gear. Become self reliant by learning about the terrain, conditions, local weather and your equipment before you start.

2. To leave your plans. Tell someone where you are going, the trails you are hiking, when you will return and your emergency plans.

3. To stay together. When you start as a group, hike as a group, end as a group. Pace your hike to the slowest person.

4. To turn back. Weather changes quickly in the mountains. Fatigue and unexpected conditions can also affect your hike. Know your limitations and when to postpone your hike. The mountains will be there another day.

5. For emergencies. Even if you are headed out for just an hour, an injury, severe weather or a wrong turn could become life threatening. Don’t assume you will be rescued; know how to rescue yourself.

6. To share the hiker code with others.

Kearsarge North 2014

        It’s been a long time since I posted here but I have good, well...some excuses, honest! I won’t bore you with all that. Suffice to say, I have not hiked anything meaningful in well over a year.  Today’s hike of Mount Kearsarge North was long, long, long overdue.
    Kearsarge North while not a big mountain, provides nice views and a cool fire tower in which to have lunch and take a break. I hadn’t been here since Chris and I stayed overnight, (see previous post) in February, 2011.  Kearsarge also provided the right level of workout for a middle aged hiker after a long layoff.
    We came equipped to deal with a variety of trail conditions. It turned out to be almost exclusively ice, with a few short sections of bare , wet trail. There were a couple of other guys getting ready to go when we arrived, they were wearing full crampons. Probably overkill for this mountain but I used them once here too, to get used to them before I had to use them where I absolutely needed them. I started out with my Hillsound microspikes and used them the whole way. Chris started with bare boots and soon switched to Yak tracks. We also carried snowshoes but soon after starting we ditched them a short distance off trail. I marked their location with my GPS and we continued along. As the trail steepened it became clear the Yak tracks were not going to cut it and Chris switched to micro spikes.

Some of the trail was bare

First views

    There was a high overcast, with the forecast calling for snow later in the day. We were hoping to get to the summit before the views were obscured and to get on the road home before the traveling got bad.
     We didn’t meet anyone until we got to the top of the ledges where we met a couple with a couple of dogs. They warned us about some ice near the top that their dogs could not negotiate. Not sure if it was the dogs or the owners that got nervous but Moses the hiking dog handled it with aplomb.

Moses shows how to do it

Chris on a sketchy section

 As we got nearer the summit, after the last switchback, we met a few other people headed down. We were within sight when a young couple with a dog overtook us and as the dogs made friends, we hiked the last bit to the fire tower.  Once at the summit the wind which had been nonexistent all day, picked up enough to make us take notice as we took off the traction devices and climbed the steps to the cab of the tower.

    Once inside, I wasted no time. I tore into my pack and first got out my puffy down parka and second grabbed the stuff sack with the food in it and a water bottle. I was famished. As the four of us ate lunch, we made small talk and found out the couple was from Peterborough, New Hampshire. Their dog, a nine month old Border Collie seemed well behaved. I meet many people while hiking and the overwhelming majority of them are nice folks, these people were no exception. We chatted back and forth for about ten minutes until they began to get chilled. Having brought no additional warm clothing with them, they had to get going to stay warm. This was the case with most of the people we saw.  We headed down and encountered probably a dozen more people on the way up. As we neared the parking lot we picked up the snowshoes we had ditched off the side of the trail.

View of the Presidential Range

    We were asked twice if we were staying overnight, a polite way of saying “Wow, your packs seem big for this mountain”. What most people don’t think about is, what happens if for some reason say, injury or being lost, you have to remain motionless for a significant amount of time. These folks were chilled after ten minutes of inactivity and it was 25 degrees in the fire tower with no wind. How would they feel after an hour or two in the wind and below zero temps that can frequently be the norm in winter?
    In my winter day pack I have;

1   closed cell foam pad
1 Pr. insulated Gore-Tex pants
1 Pr. Fleece pants
1 Gore-Tex hooded jacket
1 800 fill hooded down jacket
1 balaclava
1 knit hat
1 pr. Extra socks
1 pr fleece lined wool mittens
1 Outdoor Research Bivy bag
A small first aid kit
A small repair kit
1 headlamp
1 small flashlight
At least two means of making a fire
1 Stove and pot (optional depending on where I am hiking and if hiking with another person who has one.)
2 1 liter water bottles
Food for the day plus
Map and compass
GPS (optional)
Camera

My winter day pack is also my summer backpack. All the stuff I carry weighs about 25 lbs including food and water. If the trail conditions are completely unknown or likely to change while I am out, I’ll also carry snowshoes whether I need them to start or not. This adds 4.5 lbs. I don’t carry this stuff because I like to punish myself, I carry it because I MAY need it. It might help me or another person in distress be more comfortable.
I learned to be comfortable outdoors in winter a long time ago and learned more when I started climbing mountains in winter more than fifteen years ago. I have no intention of perishing or suffering due to something I have control over. Be safe out there.