Hiking a NH peak called "The Captain"

[LivesToHike]

A naive question. Has anyone ever hiked over (in non-winter conditions) from Carrigan/Signal Ridge or by some other route in the NH Whites to see the rock dome called "The Captain"? Is there an obvious bushwack, or is this a more challenging slog in the woods?

I don't have the finer resolution USGS maps of the area, and looking at the appropriate AMC map, it wasn't absolutely clear if one could hike in from the Carrigan, from NorthWest or by some other route. The SouthEast route looked undo-able, given the sharp contour lines (I gather this is vertical).


Thanks in advance,

Mike

PS Initially I remembered this as "the Capital", not "the Captain"

 

[Ridgewalker]

Mike, to clarify...are you speaking of the "The Captain" I hope others may chime to readily assist you on your whacking outings.

Regards,

Ridgewalker

 

[LivesToHike]

Mike, to clarify...are you speaking of the "Tha Captain" I hope others may chime to readily assist you on your whacking outings.

Regards,

Ridgewalker

Yes, thanks, Ridgewalker, for pointing that out. I remembered the wrong name when I posted. It is "the Captain" I was referring to.

--Mike

 

[dr_wu002]

The SouthEast route looked undo-able, given the sharp contour lines (I gather this is vertical).

The ridgeline from Carrigain to Carrigain Pond is fairly open... once around the pond/cliffs it gets thick and nasty. The problem is, for some people, that you have to go up Carrigain to get to the little turd hill below.

From the South: a lot of people go this route, mostly angle towards the west side of the Captain, I think. Its thick and horrible in some areas and you have to avoid the cliffs although I've heard of a good route that ascends a flume in the cliff area which you can take advantage of.

Don't even bother going in from Desolation. Avoid.

Some people go over from Hancock. Do a search for "The Captain" -- you'll get a few entertaining trip reports.

-Dr. Wu

 

[jniehof]

As Wu implied, a Hancocks-Carrigain traverse is possible for the true spruce-eater...I've heard of it being done but can't recall the inspired lunatics who undertook it. (I thought it was part of the Scott-Ricker trip of 1882, F&C chapter 26, but alas that was one bit of insanity they avoided.)

The cliff on the Captain has been climbed but the approach is a powerful deterrent.

 

[1HappyHiker]

This might not be of much help to you, but here's some info in the "for what it's worth" department. I've never been on The Captain itself. However, I'd always wanted to get up close to it in order to photograph it. So, this past August I did a trek that got me to a spot very close to The Captain. It involved a bike ride, following a rock climbers path, and doing a bushwhack. I bagged the photo, but didn't bag the peak.

Click HERE for a link to my Trip Report. Maybe it will provide some useful info . . . and then again, maybe not!

 

[LivesToHike]

The ridgeline from Carrigain to Carrigain Pond is fairly open... once around the pond/cliffs it gets thick and nasty. The problem is, for some people, that you have to go up Carrigain to get to the little turd hill below.

From the South: a lot of people go this route, mostly angle towards the west side of the Captain, I think. Its thick and horrible in some areas and you have to avoid the cliffs although I've heard of a good route that ascends a flume in the cliff area which you can take advantage of.

Don't even bother going in from Desolation. Avoid.

Some people go over from Hancock. Do a search for "The Captain" -- you'll get a few entertaining trip reports.

-Dr. Wu

Dr. Wu. Thanks very much for your insights. Except for some slogs up Carrigain and S/N Hancock, I haven't spent much time in this general area; I had no idea how thick the brush/tree cover is. I *might* have guessed that the South route is much worse due to more water runoff and better growing conditions, but I don't think I could tell that from a map.

I'll keep the Desolation route out of consideration.

--Mike

 

[LivesToHike]

This might not be of much help to you, but here's some info in the "for what it's worth" department. I've never been on The Captain itself. However, I'd always wanted to get up close to it in order to photograph it. So, this past August I did a trek that got me to a spot very close to The Captain. It involved a bike ride, following a rock climbers path, and doing a bushwhack. I bagged the photo, but didn't bag the peak.

Click HERE for a link to my Trip Report. Maybe it will provide some useful info . . . and then again, maybe not!

1HappyHiker - Thanks - nice trip report and awesome photo. Now at least I know what this peak looks like! The best photo I've seen of this peak. I think you found the right balance of ride-in, hike-on-trail and bushwack to at least approach this peak.

My enthusiasm is ebbing for the bushwack all the way to the summit. I've got an idea of what I would face. I think your approach of going to see it from 2,600' elev was far better rooted in sanity.

Thanks one and all.
--Mike

 

[Stan]

Nice! Get us all excited about this little gem and now you bail out! ... I was hoping to "enjoy" it vicariously through your experience.

Thanks for bringing it up, though. 1happyhiker is all too modest about his photo and the route he followed. That 2600' vantage point seems like a worthwhile endeavor in itself.

 

[LivesToHike]

...

Nice! Get us all excited about this little gem and now you bail out! ... I was hoping to "enjoy" it vicariously through your experience.

Thanks for bringing it up, though. 1happyhiker is all too modest about his photo and the route he followed. That 2600' vantage point seems like a worthwhile endeavor in itself.

Stan,
Yeah, I know. I got everyone keyed-up that I was going to bushwack my way in and then climb the Captain. Then reality set in.

I like 1happyhiker's route in - it gives one the satisfaction of seeing this granite dome, without the requisite full day of spruce eating, and follow-on trail-rash. Still, I'd love to stand on this dome and get the view, but I'll have to wait for the express trail build-out.

--Mike

 

[dr_wu002]

Stan,
Yeah, I know. I got everyone keyed-up that I was going to bushwack my way in and then climb the Captain. Then reality set in.

I like 1happyhiker's route in - it gives one the satisfaction of seeing this granite dome, without the requisite full day of spruce eating, and follow-on trail-rash. Still, I'd love to stand on this dome and get the view, but I'll have to wait for the express trail build-out.

--Mike

You can get a great view of it without ever leaving a trail. Park at the Sawyer Pond TH off Sawyer River Road and walk in on that huge logging road. When you get to a big yard where the road starts to peter out you'll get a great view of The Captain...

-Dr. Wu

 

[hikerfast]

I think nhmtnhiker and a friend from this board who name escapes me did the captain a few years ago and put up a big report about it

 

[HAMTERO]

Here is the TR from one of NH's trips I was on. I did another one in winter before that with Suebiscuit and NH has done it at least once more solo. That time was 17 hours or so.

The top of it is a bitch.

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12800&highlight=captain

Pretty easy to do a search and find out what you need to know.

 

[LivesToHike]

You can get a great view of it without ever leaving a trail. Park at the Sawyer Pond TH off Sawyer River Road and walk in on that huge logging road. When you get to a big yard where the road starts to peter out you'll get a great view of The Captain...

-Dr. Wu

Thanks, Dr Wu! --Mike

 

[LivesToHike]

Here is the TR from one of NH's trips I was on. I did another one in winter before that with Suebiscuit and NH has done it at least once more solo. That time was 17 hours or so.

The top of it is a bitch.

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12800&highlight=captain

Pretty easy to do a search and find out what you need to know.

Holy cats. That's quite a hike. I was surmising that a winter trip was just completely off the hiking richter scale... ...what an amazing hike. Great photos and trip report!

Point taken about doing a search. But maybe by asking about the Captain, someone else's curiosity will be sparked enough go out there and find the summit. ;-)

Part of my curiosity came from recent readings about Granite domes here in New England as well as elsewhere. Also, a posting elsewhere that described The Captain as a small scale yosemite granite dome. I've since read folks comparisons to El Cap. I'm not certain. I need to look back through my camping shots from Yosemite, esp in the high country.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hikesnh/sets/72157621930314705/

I was hoping to find a summit out here that looked like one out in Calif. When I was out there, Mt Dana's summit cone reminded me alot of Mt Adams's summit back in our beloved NH Presidentials - a talus field above a certain elevation.

Thanks to one and all for your postings. I'll plan to at least get out to The Captain this summer to see it from the forest road. Getting to the summit may not happen, given the requisite spruce-eating required . But who knows.

--Mike

 

[DougPaul]

You can get a great view of it without ever leaving a trail. Park at the Sawyer Pond TH off Sawyer River Road and walk in on that huge logging road. When you get to a big yard where the road starts to peter out you'll get a great view of The Captain...

IIRC, you can also see it from Signal Ridge on Carrigain.

Doug

 

[dr_wu002]

IIRC, you can also see it from Signal Ridge on Carrigain.

Doug

You can see it now if there's a good snow pack. Otherwise when I was there over the summer I really couldn't get a glimpse of it.

-Dr. Wu

 

[DougPaul]

You can see it now if there's a good snow pack. Otherwise when I was there over the summer I really couldn't get a glimpse of it.

OK--its been a while since I was there (minimal snow cover). I recall seeing it from somewhere out near the end of the ridge--maybe the trees have grown.

Doug

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Here is a recent view from Signal Ridge towards the Osceolas and Hancocks. I believe The Captain is the first complete bump you can see on the very right.

Tim

 

[dr_wu002]

Here is a recent view from Signal Ridge towards the Osceolas and Hancocks. I believe The Captain is the first complete bump you can see on the very right.

Tim

No, the Captain is a little turd hill. Even in deep snow you have to strain to get a view from Signal Ridge:



The mountain equivalent of a clitoris without any of the fun...

-Dr. Wu