The weather lately has been in a funk a little sunny but occasional showers, clouds and some severe thunderstorms. This was the case early Friday evening when storms blew through knocking out power and falling trees near our house and across Rt 202 making packing and preparing for the hike Friday night a headlamp affair.

In looking at the weather they were forecasting the higher summits to be mostly sunny Saturday and partly cloudy Sunday so I decided I had a window that would provide fair views. Thunderstorms were due through Friday in all areas and they should suck up all the bad weather, right? Well that’s my theory anyway. Worst case we should have views with clouds moving through the question would be what the cloud ceiling would be for views at the top.

We made the Appalachia trail head off route 2 at about 8:00 am. The lot was quite full and we got one of the last spots. The sun was popping in and out of the clouds all up through the drive through the valleys. It was very cloudy and the ground fog was still lifting. We were hoping the forecast hadn’t changed overnight. My group consisted of Keeley and Rose and our plan was to take the Airline up to Mt Adam’s 5774′ and then if things went well swing over to Madison Hut and ideally summit Mt Madison 5367′. The mileage up and down just Mt Adam’s would be roughly 9.6 miles with over 4600′ of elevation gain. This equates to steep, steady and long. We got rolling and made decent time up to the junction of the Valley Way / Airline Trails. I decided an alternate route might be best opting for what likely would be the easiest accent the Valley Way trail since this was the one used for moving supplies to the Hut. The Airline trail is supposed to provide excellent views but I could see we still had a few clouds and figured take the easier trek up and we could make a loop back down the Airline to pick up the views. This would add a small amount if mileage but easy up is always better.

The group liked the idea and we charged up the Valley Way trail. Keeley had some heal blister trouble so we stopped a couple times for Moleskin and took in a couple short loops to view falls right along the trail. The Valley Way Trail was a decent walk and proved a great choice. We made the Madison Hut at about 1:30pm. It was cloudy but you could see these windows of blue sky in the breaks of the lower clouds. We had lunch at the hut and discussed our plans. Since we had taken so long to reach the hut, we decided to summit Mt Madison since it was only a half mile away if that went well we could still grab Mt Adams. So we started off and up the bolder pile. The route we used was the Osgood Trail which was reasonable and similar to boulder walks on the summits of Mt Jefferson and Mt Monroe. As we gained elevation we grew more exposed to the wind and at the summit the blow was strong and steady. I checked the Mt Washington Weather later that night and they were clocking steady winds for the day of 52 mph with the highest gust at 88mph. The winds did not feel as strong they were on Mt Jackson last year. I was curious and looked them up and discovered they were steady at 59 with a highest gust of 89. It’s a really cool experience to feel the force of nature this way. We hung out and enjoyed the views that came and went with the cloud breaks and took some pictures.We hiked back the way we came reaching the Madison Hut and then taking the Airline cut-off trail over to the shoulder of Mt Adams. The Cut-off was really a short walk in scrub about a 1/8th mile long with unremarkable features. Looking at the GPS is was almost 4:30 and clouds were darkening a bit to the west, and we never got a high clearing of the clouds as we hoped. Rather than press for higher elevation we decided to stroll down the Airline and take in the views of the King Ravine and the Knife Edge. The Airline Trail afforded excellent views as we meandered down. The knife edge isn’t really that precipitous but it was interesting and affords great views. After an hour or so we could hear thunder in the distance and picked our pace up a bit to ensure we made the safety of tree line.After making tree line the trail became steady steep for a stretch with large rocks and lots of big step downs at this same time it started to rain, and rained for 20 min. This tougher area of Airline was not far before the Scar Trail junction. We gave thought about crossing over to the Valley Way Trail knowing that it was relatively easy, but decided that staying on the Airline would be best. We were wrong…The Airline trail continued to get even steeper and remained difficult for quite a while. We made slow pace over this section of trail and it seemed like over a mile before there was any real relief. When the relief started to come the trail had a lot of work being done on it for drainage which seemed to loosen the clay on the trail making for very greasy footing, even on the flats.We made the Valley Way Trail junction and stayed on the Airline and plodded along quite quickly. We made it back to the Appalachia lot and the car about 8:15pm. I estimate the total distance for the day to be roughly  10.2 miles.

When I head up this trail again I would do the Valley Way up, Airline down and diverge to the Scar and Valley Way to complete the decent. If the Scar Trail (which i haven’t been on) happened to be as bad as the middle section of Airline I know it’s only about 3 tenths long and the views the upper part of the Airline provides are well worth the effort.

The King Ravine is a magnificent view from the Airline Trail. I know the King Ravine trail comes up it, but that would be an extremely long steep head wall to come up even in the best of conditions, so avoid that unless you’re looking for the challenge. By all accounts we made good choices for the day with the exception of not taking the Scar to cross-over to Valley Way Trail. Keeley’s back was bothering her on the way down but she marched on like a trooper. Rose did excellent for the day.

So we had a wonderful day with less than ideal weather. We left a hike to Mt Adam’s for another day, which Rose said was becoming a habit for us. I must say though I won’t mind another trip up the Valley Way Trail to this area of the White Mountains. On a clear day the views here would be indescribable. Here is a link to all the Pictures from the Day.

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Today also marked the one year anniversary of my Dad’s passing. I am not sure that I believe that makes it a truly special day, but it special enough that I remembered it so I will acknowledge it here. Going forward I would prefer to remember his birthday, anniversary or even the day he was discharged by the army, but today I remembered.

When my father became diagnosed and ill I realized just how precious and short lived our time is on this in this world and I wrestled with my own mortality. I struggled with his fight and seeing his suffering. After talking to him about the old times I hiked to Mt Willard, a place we visited via snowmobile in my teens. On that short hike returning there I discovered all the joys of hiking, cleared my mind, recalled happier times, and acquiesced his fight with cancer.  I suppose then it is fitting then that I stood on a rocky, timeless summit a year to the hour since his passing and remembered him.  I do think it is unfortunate we never had the opportunity to hike when he was alive, but that’s o.k. I take him and his memory with me today on every trip!

Rose, Teah and I headed for end of the Kancamagus highway with the objective of spending our first night in the backwoods and reaching the summit of Mt Hancock. We made the trail head for the Hancock Notch Trail about 3:30pm after checking in with the Ranger Station to verify my understanding of the rules.
We have camped before but not as a group with the dog, and not with fully loaded packs up and down a 4400 footer. So this would be a trip of firsts and hopefully Teah would be cooperative.

The first couple miles of trail was really easy with minor increases in elevation and the trail was quite wide and obviously an old road. There was water along most of the trail, providing that welcome relaxing ambient sound in the woods. At the Cedar Brook Trail junction we saw a man camping just off the trail, obviously he didn’t get the memo of being 200′ back. We ended up hiking about 2 miles in to just before the first stream crossing on the Cedar Brook Trail and made camp up on a wooded rise. We were close enough to hear the stream but high enough and off the trail as required to not be seen or bothered by passers by. There was plenty of dead firewood laying down for a camp fire.

The area was used previously and with a bit of searching Rose actually found a small fire pit and we set-up camp near it. Rose started gathering fire wood and I started with the tent. Once the tent was up I started the fire and Rose set-up the furnishings getting the pads, sleeping bags, and cribbage set ready for the night. We had some back country gourmet Lasagna which only required a couple cups of hot water from my Jetboil stove. The Lasagna was actually quite good and the portion was decent. We had a couple glasses of wine toasting our adventure and enjoyed the fire. Teah liked the tent hung out inside most of the evening. We were all inside about 9:30, using our headlamp LEDs as a ceiling light for Rose to kick my but in cribbage.
I was up about 4:30 as it got light. Teah was concerned and had to lay by the door to keep an eye on the forest and she kept giving concerned vocalizations off and on. I nodded in and out until 5:30 but I thought Teah might have to go out, I certainly did and so up and out we were. I tried to get her to walk to the stream with me while I pump water for the camelbacks, but she was not leaving Rose behind. I put Teah in the tent and headed off for water. When I returned I pulled our food out of the tree and made some scrambled Back Country Denver Omelet and hot chocolate. Note to self, powdered eggs are horrible, Rose took a pass, I ate mine and Teah got the bonus and ate Rose’s. We packed up and hit the trail about 9:30.
There are several stream crossings on the Cedar Brook Trail, in high water they would be very tough to traverse. Actually the whole area would likely be problematic in early spring since it was muddy in places and a lot of water was along the trail. There are also many great places to camp in this area all the way in up to the north south fork. We reached the Hancock Loop Trail and decided to go to the North Summit. The seven tenths to the summit were quite steep and steady, but this would be the only heavy elevation gain of the trail. This section had many high step ups and in areas had loose shale like stones mixed in, making footing a little treacherous. We reached the summit about 12:00 and hung out on the outlook, had lunch, and rested. The views were great we could see Mt Chocorua to the south and Mt Oceola and points west. Teah was tired, we all were and we decided not to do the additional 1.3 miles of the loop to the south summit and just headed back down the way we came.

On our way out we were passed by a single hiker who did the South loop and a three group who arrived at the trail head just after us who had also done the South loop. We had seen all these folks on top and they left the Summit about the same time we did. We probably should have gone for the loop it would have been just a little extra effort, but 8.7 miles was enough for this trip and everyone had a tiring great time. Besides the South Summit loop was described as “Reliably Steep” in the AMC guide. Rose unlocked the car and the rest of the doors would not unlock, dead battery, lights were left on. A man from Connecticut had cables and obliged us with a jump. Disaster was averted, we changed out our shoes and were on our way.

There was to be a break in the weather so north I went.  My hike would start off Sawyer River road and follow the Signal Trail to the summit. The hike is 5.1 miles from the parking lot to the summit for 10.2 rt.

Today I would be hiking solo. I would prefer to be with someone, obviously it’s safer but I have taken all the precautions and am fully equipped. Well I did forget my hiking poles but that shouldn’t be a problem.

The trail started out following a fast flowing stream the grade of the trail was quite easy for the first couple miles with a long stretch that was nearly level. The trail is an old woods road that has grown in. At about 2 miles in the trail split with the Carrigain Notch Trail to the right and Signal Trail to the left. Not far after the split there is a stream crossing that is the widest of the bunch and without poles was a tricky rock hop. This stream could be trouble in higher water requiring a walk up or down to find a way to pass. I also noticed that there really wasn’t much in the way of trail markers or blazes on the trees up to this point. This is not an issue this time of year but in the winter could make staying on the trail a bit tricky.

After crossing the stream the trail starts getting steeper quickly and maintains a steady steep grade throughout. The footing and condition of the trail was excellent compared to many other trails, there were not a lot of high step up and downs that can be hard on the knees. The trail is fairly grown in and does not afford much in the way of views until you get almost on top. There are a couple windows to view here and there but not many. The last 1/2 mile of trail there is an interesting ridge walk which is similar to the alpine areas of the presidentials.

I made the summit in just over 3 hours. The summit has a tower that affords 360 degree views of the whites which is quite unique. I hung out, had my lunch, and took some photos for about 45 minutes. I had the summit to myself the entire time which I must say is rare, The last summit I had to myself was Mt Eisenhower last summer.

The weather report was to be for clearing skies but upon arrival there were cumulus clouds and they looked to be building. I could see lake Winnipesaukee and a town in the distance I think was Bartlett. The views were outstanding and I would guess I could see 30-40 miles likely more.

I started down and made great time. I had to pump water from one of the little springs trickling across the trail to replenish my Camelback and made it down in just over 2 hours. The stretch of trail (the initial 2 miles) is a nice woods walk for anyone to enjoy. It crosses steams several times and they were flowing well. This area would also be very condusive to tenting overnight and or picnicking. The stream certainly run well enough and are large enough to hold brook trout. I also noticed the Sawyer River would be awesome fishing with access off the Sawyer River road it is an easy walk down the bank 40 yards or so. I certainly will revisit this area in the future with tent and pole.