Sunrise on Mt. Pierce 8.2.09

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Whitten

New member
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Messages
29
Reaction score
6
Location
Windham, ME
Time Started: 2am
Sumitted: 4:45am

Trail taken: Crawforth Path

We arrived at the Highland Center around 12:30am, way too early to actually start up the mountain without having a lot of time to kill at the top. So we hung around in the Highland Center waiting to leave. When it came time to leave I was feeling very tired and wasn't sure I wanted to go - a little pushing changed my mind and we headed out at 2am.

The trail was super wet and very muddy. My boots and pants were a good indication of that by the time we were done. The falls were running exceptionally hard - all of the rain lately definitely showed. I was expecting the woods at night to be more 'alive' of wildlife - but our exciting adventure only included a handful of moths and one small toad.

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We took our time hiking up since it had been a long time for me since my last real hike, and we also knew we would still have time to kill before the sun came over the ridge. The temp couldn't have been better; it was in the upper 40's and no humidity! Definitely made for a comfortable hike.

When we reached the ridge line and were starting to get our first look at the mountains, it was still very dark, but still very breathtaking. As we reached the open part of the trail below the summit, we started to stay in this area in order to get better pictures of the sun cresting. The wind was blowing pretty hard, and the temps definitely dropped off a little. Because we had stopped moving we had to put gloves and our winter hats on to keep warm. The sun was already turning the sky a pink color:

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Mt. Washington was in the clouds:

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but with the wind blowing as hard as it was, and the clouds moving so fast, it didn't stay in the clouds for very long:

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Several fog banks came over the summit, obscuring our views several times and making everything damp. But we also noticed as the sun was moving quickly up over the ridge, that the temperture was definitely warming up already - and we were able to get rid of the gloves and hats.

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As the sun finally cleared the ridge, we decided it was time to start heading down, as the forecast for later in the day was showers. The sunrise was clear and beautiful, but you could still see the clouds that undoubtedly brought some weather to the area later in the afternoon:

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As we headed down the mountain, we started to wonder if this would be the first time we would have hiked without seeing anyone else on the trail. We thought that we would see a least a few people up at the top with us enjoying the sunrise after staying the night in the hut, but we never saw another person join us. As we started to trek down the mountain we felt a few drops of rain, and realized we were extremely lucky that we saw anything at all for the sunrise.

Further down the trail we ran into four guys who were on their way up. They had seen our log in at the registry and thought it was cool that we had gotten up to see the sunrise. So we didn't get through the hike without seeing anyone! A quick trip to Gibbs Falls on the way back to the car:

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and we then ran into three other individuals who were just starting out. So a total of 7 people, which was definitely fewer than we had seen previously on the Crawford Path.

It was a beautiful morning! Definitely worth the trip - and I can't wait to do it again. I can't think of a better way to start the day - on top of the mountain with my wonderful husband. :)
 
Last edited:
I had a great time on this hike, thanks for sharing the sunrise with me! :cool:

^MtnMike^
 
Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing them.

What a nice way to spend a morning together!

:)
 
Great photos! I wish I had the ability and follow through to get up super early and summit a 4K for sunrise in summer!
 
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