BIGEarl
Well-known member
May 2, 2009: Waumbek & Hale
Trails: Waumbek = Starr King Trail, Hale = Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail
Summits: Waumbek, Hale
Hikers: Solo
The day started early in Jefferson hiking Mount Waumbek. The forecast was pretty good later in the day but the early part was questionable. When I arrived the cloud cover appeared to be around 2500 feet. Since Waumbek is not a “view” hike it didn’t really matter that I was probably heading for the summit in clouds.
I had the place to myself when starting out. The bottom portion of the trail was a surprise. The trail was much drier than I expected. Except for a small mud pit near the start the trail was in very good shape all of the way to where it turns off the old wood road and heads for the ridge. From the few stone steps that lead away from the wood road on up through the open hardwoods there was a wet trail but still not as bad as I’ve seen it. Still, you need to watch your step – a wet root or slippery place in the mud can mess up the day.
I quietly made my way up the trail hoping to see some wildlife but nothing was moving around. At approximately 2500 feet I was climbing into the clouds – pretty low and pretty thick. By 2700 feet I was being hit with rain. The rain was light but seemed to increase with elevation. At 3000 feet I made the turn into the spruce and started to find the first ice on the trail. At first there were a few small patches but it didn’t take long to find a continuous monorail. Somewhere around 3300 feet the trail was generally covered from side to side by wet, slippery ice. I haven’t had good luck lately with falls and decided some traction was needed. The Stabilicers did the job.
I made my way toward Starr King and roughly 200 feet below the summit the snow depth increased, the firmness decreased, and I was postholing. I made the change to snowshoes. The change didn’t end the postholes but I think there were only three or four times that I postholed with the snowshoes. The rain had become more significant so I packed the camera away in a plastic bag for protection and didn’t pull it back out until the end of the hike. The hike across to Waumbek and back again, and then back down to the exit from the spruce included several footwear changes, rain, wind, and persistent clouds. Even a bad day in the mountains beats a good day at work – right? Oh well.
Back in the open hardwoods I stopped and removed the Stabilicers for the hike out. The rain had stopped. On the way back to the trailhead I passed three other hikers.
Somewhere around Starr King I started thinking about Hale. I was pretty sure the weather forecast was a good one and the conditions would be improved by the time I hiked that part of the day. This distraction got my thoughts away from the conditions I had and focused on something more positive. It helped.
I hit the trailhead, tossed my things into the back of the truck and took off for the Route 302 lot and my hike to Hale. When I arrived there was a large AMC group preparing for an organized activity of some type. I quietly grabbed my things and set off for Zealand Road.
I decided to hike Waumbek first because I knew the break between hikes would allow me to cool off. A second warm-up would be needed and I thought the roadwalk on Zealand Road would be perfect. It was. A short distance after the end of the pavement I heard a strange noise and stopped to look around and identify the source. Roughly forty yards ahead of me a large female moose stepped onto the road and stood looking at me. She wasn’t moving and neither was I. After ~20 seconds I had a great idea – how about taking a picture. With the moose staring at me I thought additional movement was probably not a good idea so I continued to stand still. Then, a second moose stepped out – a calf. Now I have a real Kodak moment but the camera is still in its case. I tried to move slowly but the mother spooked and walked off before I could get the camera out and ready for the shot. Nice surprise.
I reached the trailhead for the Hale Brook Trail roughly an hour after leaving the lot on Route 302 and was feeling really good. It was easy to drop into a comfortable pace and I made my way toward Hale. A week earlier, I hiked this trail with Sue and Larisa as the initial leg of our Hale/Zealand/Bonds traverse. At that time the snow & ice started at 2000 feet and we pulled out traction there. From 2000 feet to the summit we used light traction. Since snowshoes were not needed the previous week I left them behind on this hike. There has been quite a change in one week. I hiked past the middle crossing with no ice. In fact, I made it to the upper crossing with a completely clear trail – there are a few blowdowns. Finally, after the upper crossing the ice starts. In a relatively short time I stopped to pull out the Stabilicers. The ice/snow line had moved up 1000 feet in one week! The monorail and deep snow continued through the switchbacks all of the way to ~50 feet below the summit.
Along the way between the upper crossing and the summit I met a group of nine hikers returning from the summit. They were fairly spread out and I passed the final three at roughly 100 feet below the summit. We were all moving slowly on the monorail.
I was able to find sections of trail where a strip of bare ground was available on the side of the monorail and I used it. This made the hike much easier but there was a great deal of the trail that required hiking on the monorail. I hit the summit, climbed the cairn for a couple pictures, and made the u-turn to head out. The Celtics were playing Game 7 and I wanted to be home, showered, and fed before the game started. I kept moving.
I passed the others at various places on my way back down. After the upper crossing I stopped to pack my Stabilicers and zip off the legs of my pants. The hike back down to Zealand Road and then to the winter lot on Route 302 was uneventful. Along the way I stopped several times to observe three fighter jets overhead.
Combining Waumbek and Hale makes a pretty good day. Each hike is short and even with the roadwalk on Zealand Road it’s easy to get them both done.
I’ve posted some pictures from the hikes.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Waumbek = Starr King Trail, Hale = Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail
Summits: Waumbek, Hale
Hikers: Solo
The day started early in Jefferson hiking Mount Waumbek. The forecast was pretty good later in the day but the early part was questionable. When I arrived the cloud cover appeared to be around 2500 feet. Since Waumbek is not a “view” hike it didn’t really matter that I was probably heading for the summit in clouds.
I had the place to myself when starting out. The bottom portion of the trail was a surprise. The trail was much drier than I expected. Except for a small mud pit near the start the trail was in very good shape all of the way to where it turns off the old wood road and heads for the ridge. From the few stone steps that lead away from the wood road on up through the open hardwoods there was a wet trail but still not as bad as I’ve seen it. Still, you need to watch your step – a wet root or slippery place in the mud can mess up the day.
I quietly made my way up the trail hoping to see some wildlife but nothing was moving around. At approximately 2500 feet I was climbing into the clouds – pretty low and pretty thick. By 2700 feet I was being hit with rain. The rain was light but seemed to increase with elevation. At 3000 feet I made the turn into the spruce and started to find the first ice on the trail. At first there were a few small patches but it didn’t take long to find a continuous monorail. Somewhere around 3300 feet the trail was generally covered from side to side by wet, slippery ice. I haven’t had good luck lately with falls and decided some traction was needed. The Stabilicers did the job.
I made my way toward Starr King and roughly 200 feet below the summit the snow depth increased, the firmness decreased, and I was postholing. I made the change to snowshoes. The change didn’t end the postholes but I think there were only three or four times that I postholed with the snowshoes. The rain had become more significant so I packed the camera away in a plastic bag for protection and didn’t pull it back out until the end of the hike. The hike across to Waumbek and back again, and then back down to the exit from the spruce included several footwear changes, rain, wind, and persistent clouds. Even a bad day in the mountains beats a good day at work – right? Oh well.
Back in the open hardwoods I stopped and removed the Stabilicers for the hike out. The rain had stopped. On the way back to the trailhead I passed three other hikers.
Somewhere around Starr King I started thinking about Hale. I was pretty sure the weather forecast was a good one and the conditions would be improved by the time I hiked that part of the day. This distraction got my thoughts away from the conditions I had and focused on something more positive. It helped.
I hit the trailhead, tossed my things into the back of the truck and took off for the Route 302 lot and my hike to Hale. When I arrived there was a large AMC group preparing for an organized activity of some type. I quietly grabbed my things and set off for Zealand Road.
I decided to hike Waumbek first because I knew the break between hikes would allow me to cool off. A second warm-up would be needed and I thought the roadwalk on Zealand Road would be perfect. It was. A short distance after the end of the pavement I heard a strange noise and stopped to look around and identify the source. Roughly forty yards ahead of me a large female moose stepped onto the road and stood looking at me. She wasn’t moving and neither was I. After ~20 seconds I had a great idea – how about taking a picture. With the moose staring at me I thought additional movement was probably not a good idea so I continued to stand still. Then, a second moose stepped out – a calf. Now I have a real Kodak moment but the camera is still in its case. I tried to move slowly but the mother spooked and walked off before I could get the camera out and ready for the shot. Nice surprise.
I reached the trailhead for the Hale Brook Trail roughly an hour after leaving the lot on Route 302 and was feeling really good. It was easy to drop into a comfortable pace and I made my way toward Hale. A week earlier, I hiked this trail with Sue and Larisa as the initial leg of our Hale/Zealand/Bonds traverse. At that time the snow & ice started at 2000 feet and we pulled out traction there. From 2000 feet to the summit we used light traction. Since snowshoes were not needed the previous week I left them behind on this hike. There has been quite a change in one week. I hiked past the middle crossing with no ice. In fact, I made it to the upper crossing with a completely clear trail – there are a few blowdowns. Finally, after the upper crossing the ice starts. In a relatively short time I stopped to pull out the Stabilicers. The ice/snow line had moved up 1000 feet in one week! The monorail and deep snow continued through the switchbacks all of the way to ~50 feet below the summit.
Along the way between the upper crossing and the summit I met a group of nine hikers returning from the summit. They were fairly spread out and I passed the final three at roughly 100 feet below the summit. We were all moving slowly on the monorail.
I was able to find sections of trail where a strip of bare ground was available on the side of the monorail and I used it. This made the hike much easier but there was a great deal of the trail that required hiking on the monorail. I hit the summit, climbed the cairn for a couple pictures, and made the u-turn to head out. The Celtics were playing Game 7 and I wanted to be home, showered, and fed before the game started. I kept moving.
I passed the others at various places on my way back down. After the upper crossing I stopped to pack my Stabilicers and zip off the legs of my pants. The hike back down to Zealand Road and then to the winter lot on Route 302 was uneventful. Along the way I stopped several times to observe three fighter jets overhead.
Combining Waumbek and Hale makes a pretty good day. Each hike is short and even with the roadwalk on Zealand Road it’s easy to get them both done.
I’ve posted some pictures from the hikes.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
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