Daniel Eagan
Active member
Rained overnight and was cloudy and foggy when we awoke Saturday morning. Still overcast when we reached the Grafton Notch parking lot around 10:00, but we could see the summits. However, the forecast was for rain by 2:30 that afternoon.
Took the trail up to Table Rock, what a spectacular view. We were a bit alarmed to see how much the trail descended to meet back up with the AT. Also concerned when the trail up to the Baldpates seemed to slab along a ridge for a long time instead of ascending. When we did get to West Baldpate, it seemed very steep, with a lot of steps. When we got over the summit, we could see clouds streaming across East Baldpate. Down in the col both summits were obscured. Visibility dropped to the next cairn or so as we started to ascend East Baldpate, plus rain started spattering down.
Luckily, high winds whipped the clouds away as we approached the summit, but we could see rain approaching from the west. This was #100 of a completely GPS-free NE Hundred Highest for my wife Melissa and me, and we wanted to stay on this remarkable peak as long as we could. Fall colors evident in the valleys to the west and north, although in the Grafton woods I would estimate colors at between 10 and 20%. Surprised to see a long line of white windmills stretching across a ridge to the northeast.
We wanted to get back over West Baldpate before the rain started in earnest, so we reluctantly headed back down.
Winds were extraordinary, almost knocking me over at times. We enjoyed meeting a new batch of through-hikers, including a woman wearing earphones (she jumped when she saw us) and a bearded man who had taken everything out of his pack in the middle of the trail looking for his rain gear.
We really enjoyed both Goose Eye and the Baldpates and hope to get back to them. I guess now we're stuck with the ADK Hundred Highest, but I can't imagine doing those without a GPS.
Took the trail up to Table Rock, what a spectacular view. We were a bit alarmed to see how much the trail descended to meet back up with the AT. Also concerned when the trail up to the Baldpates seemed to slab along a ridge for a long time instead of ascending. When we did get to West Baldpate, it seemed very steep, with a lot of steps. When we got over the summit, we could see clouds streaming across East Baldpate. Down in the col both summits were obscured. Visibility dropped to the next cairn or so as we started to ascend East Baldpate, plus rain started spattering down.
Luckily, high winds whipped the clouds away as we approached the summit, but we could see rain approaching from the west. This was #100 of a completely GPS-free NE Hundred Highest for my wife Melissa and me, and we wanted to stay on this remarkable peak as long as we could. Fall colors evident in the valleys to the west and north, although in the Grafton woods I would estimate colors at between 10 and 20%. Surprised to see a long line of white windmills stretching across a ridge to the northeast.
We wanted to get back over West Baldpate before the rain started in earnest, so we reluctantly headed back down.
Winds were extraordinary, almost knocking me over at times. We enjoyed meeting a new batch of through-hikers, including a woman wearing earphones (she jumped when she saw us) and a bearded man who had taken everything out of his pack in the middle of the trail looking for his rain gear.
We really enjoyed both Goose Eye and the Baldpates and hope to get back to them. I guess now we're stuck with the ADK Hundred Highest, but I can't imagine doing those without a GPS.
