BIGEarl
Well-known member
September 3, 2011: Moosilauke & Waumbek – Double Hit & Run
Trails: Moosilauke = Beaver Brook Trail, Waumbek = Starr King Trail
Summits: Moosilauke, Waumbek
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
This was planned to be Day #1 of a two-day back-to-back hiking trip to the Whites. Each of these mountains is relatively short and easy hike; but put them together and they make for a full day. Sue and I like full days.
We pulled into the trailhead lot for Beaver Brook Trail in Kinsman Notch generally as planned. We found four or five others that had camped at the trailhead overnight and it looked like we might be their wake-up call. As we were about to grab our things and take off the sound of thunder started up so we decided to wait for a few minutes. The sky to the west and southwest was very dark and we wanted to see if it was all bark and no bite. After a short time the thunder stopped and we grabbed our packs and took off.
The hike from the trailhead lot to the base of the cascades was a surprise. I expected to see some damage from the recent storm but everything looked great. There was no sign of trail work done to clear blowdowns. I assume there was no storm damage, at least to that point. Warm-up was quick and easy due to the relatively warm temperature and high humidity. By the time we started the climb along the side of the cascades we were both up to temperature. I was getting pretty drenched with perspiration.
The trail continued to be in great shape. The cascades were nice, but not at all crazy. Their flow was similar to late spring; still fun to look at but not at all dangerous. We enjoyed clear trail all of the way past the spur to the Beaver Brook Shelter and on to the Asquam Ridge Trail junction. Even on the final approach to the ridge trail junction we found very little mud.
I expected we would find a blowdown mess waiting at the blowdown field between the ridge trail junction and Mt. Blue. It didn’t happen. In fact, it appeared the storm never came through. Even the mud pits that exist between Mt. Blue and the Benton Trail junction were relatively small and very easy to get past.
This was a huge surprise; we hiked to the base of the cascades, on to the ridge trail, on to Benton Trail, and finally to the treeline and not a single blowdown. On the way I also noticed the water bars were all in generally great shape; but they were recently flushed out. At the treeline we started to get hit by a breeze that was strong enough to make things a little uncomfortable so we stopped and pulled out our jackets. From the treeline to the summit we could only see one to two cairns at any time – we were hiking in a cloud. Once we hit the summit we stopped for a couple pictures, made the u-turn, and headed back out the way we walked in.
On the way back to the trailhead lot we met a very large number of hikers. I’m glad we came early for this one, the place was getting crowded fast. Two hikers named Tim and Jeff (I think) recognized and stopped us for a brief visit. Among the groups we met was a group of six, and maybe more working on trail maintenance. I assume they were part of the DOC gang. They seemed a little surprised when hearing of the general trail condition all of the way to the summit. We met this group at the lower boundary marker for the restricted zone around the Beaver Brook Shelter; .25 miles down hill from the shelter spur. From there to the trailhead we met a steady stream of folks on the trail. It seemed there was a mix; some were headed for the summit and others were only hiking to the cascades with cameras.
We started a little later than planned due to the “weather wait” and made it back to the trailhead generally on plan. We had roughly an hour between trailheads and managed a quick lunch on the run to Waumbek. As we were approaching the turn to the trailhead we noticed a vehicle parked in the “winter” lot on the south side of Route 2. I immediately started thinking the trailhead lot couldn’t still be that full this late in the day. As it turned out the lot was fairly empty. Later we learned the lot was jammed earlier in the day.
Both of us reloaded with water and took off. We still had a very warm day with high humidity. It didn’t take long to fall into a comfortable pace that we could stay with for extended periods between stops; but I still needed an occasional stop to allow things to calm down. We were making our way through the upper hardwoods when we met two hikers headed down. After we passed I heard one say “I think that’s Earl”. The other called to me and asked. I turned around and was really happy to meet 1HappyHiker (John) and his hiking partner Zman (Marty). These guys were the ones parked in the winter lot. John and I have exchanged correspondence many times but had never actually met. Meeting someone like that and being able to finally place a face with the name is one of the best surprises there is. We stopped to visit for a while but were soon on our way.
John and Marty were just the beginning; there were many more that we met on Waumbek. A short distance below the summit of Starr King we passed the final pair and had the place to ourselves. Slowly, I was getting really run down. I think I was able to push myself and reach the summit of Starr King maintaining my pace. We wandered to the cabin clearing and stopped to rest for a few minutes. There I realized I was beat, but the hard work for the day was done. All we had was a short walk to the summit of Waumbek, grab a couple pictures, a cookie, a u-turn, and walk back to the truck. The round trip from Starr King to Waumbek turned out to be more of an effort than it should have been but we still made it there and back generally on the same pace we had been hiking.
From Starr King down to the truck is 2.6 miles of generally all downhill. The headlights came on as we passed the high point on Starr King. The only test the headlights caused involved moths. There’s a huge moth population on the Starr King Trail and they all came out to meet us. After a while it stops being entertaining. I don’t care if I don’t see another moth in my face for quite a long time. Eventually, we hit the trailhead, tossed our things in the truck, and took off.
Even though we had heat, high humidity, and crowds it was a terrific day. Meeting John and Marty was definitely frosting on the cake.
My camera is still in the shop - but Sue's works.
Pictures, eventually.
Trails: Moosilauke = Beaver Brook Trail, Waumbek = Starr King Trail
Summits: Moosilauke, Waumbek
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
This was planned to be Day #1 of a two-day back-to-back hiking trip to the Whites. Each of these mountains is relatively short and easy hike; but put them together and they make for a full day. Sue and I like full days.
We pulled into the trailhead lot for Beaver Brook Trail in Kinsman Notch generally as planned. We found four or five others that had camped at the trailhead overnight and it looked like we might be their wake-up call. As we were about to grab our things and take off the sound of thunder started up so we decided to wait for a few minutes. The sky to the west and southwest was very dark and we wanted to see if it was all bark and no bite. After a short time the thunder stopped and we grabbed our packs and took off.
The hike from the trailhead lot to the base of the cascades was a surprise. I expected to see some damage from the recent storm but everything looked great. There was no sign of trail work done to clear blowdowns. I assume there was no storm damage, at least to that point. Warm-up was quick and easy due to the relatively warm temperature and high humidity. By the time we started the climb along the side of the cascades we were both up to temperature. I was getting pretty drenched with perspiration.
The trail continued to be in great shape. The cascades were nice, but not at all crazy. Their flow was similar to late spring; still fun to look at but not at all dangerous. We enjoyed clear trail all of the way past the spur to the Beaver Brook Shelter and on to the Asquam Ridge Trail junction. Even on the final approach to the ridge trail junction we found very little mud.
I expected we would find a blowdown mess waiting at the blowdown field between the ridge trail junction and Mt. Blue. It didn’t happen. In fact, it appeared the storm never came through. Even the mud pits that exist between Mt. Blue and the Benton Trail junction were relatively small and very easy to get past.
This was a huge surprise; we hiked to the base of the cascades, on to the ridge trail, on to Benton Trail, and finally to the treeline and not a single blowdown. On the way I also noticed the water bars were all in generally great shape; but they were recently flushed out. At the treeline we started to get hit by a breeze that was strong enough to make things a little uncomfortable so we stopped and pulled out our jackets. From the treeline to the summit we could only see one to two cairns at any time – we were hiking in a cloud. Once we hit the summit we stopped for a couple pictures, made the u-turn, and headed back out the way we walked in.
On the way back to the trailhead lot we met a very large number of hikers. I’m glad we came early for this one, the place was getting crowded fast. Two hikers named Tim and Jeff (I think) recognized and stopped us for a brief visit. Among the groups we met was a group of six, and maybe more working on trail maintenance. I assume they were part of the DOC gang. They seemed a little surprised when hearing of the general trail condition all of the way to the summit. We met this group at the lower boundary marker for the restricted zone around the Beaver Brook Shelter; .25 miles down hill from the shelter spur. From there to the trailhead we met a steady stream of folks on the trail. It seemed there was a mix; some were headed for the summit and others were only hiking to the cascades with cameras.
We started a little later than planned due to the “weather wait” and made it back to the trailhead generally on plan. We had roughly an hour between trailheads and managed a quick lunch on the run to Waumbek. As we were approaching the turn to the trailhead we noticed a vehicle parked in the “winter” lot on the south side of Route 2. I immediately started thinking the trailhead lot couldn’t still be that full this late in the day. As it turned out the lot was fairly empty. Later we learned the lot was jammed earlier in the day.
Both of us reloaded with water and took off. We still had a very warm day with high humidity. It didn’t take long to fall into a comfortable pace that we could stay with for extended periods between stops; but I still needed an occasional stop to allow things to calm down. We were making our way through the upper hardwoods when we met two hikers headed down. After we passed I heard one say “I think that’s Earl”. The other called to me and asked. I turned around and was really happy to meet 1HappyHiker (John) and his hiking partner Zman (Marty). These guys were the ones parked in the winter lot. John and I have exchanged correspondence many times but had never actually met. Meeting someone like that and being able to finally place a face with the name is one of the best surprises there is. We stopped to visit for a while but were soon on our way.
John and Marty were just the beginning; there were many more that we met on Waumbek. A short distance below the summit of Starr King we passed the final pair and had the place to ourselves. Slowly, I was getting really run down. I think I was able to push myself and reach the summit of Starr King maintaining my pace. We wandered to the cabin clearing and stopped to rest for a few minutes. There I realized I was beat, but the hard work for the day was done. All we had was a short walk to the summit of Waumbek, grab a couple pictures, a cookie, a u-turn, and walk back to the truck. The round trip from Starr King to Waumbek turned out to be more of an effort than it should have been but we still made it there and back generally on the same pace we had been hiking.
From Starr King down to the truck is 2.6 miles of generally all downhill. The headlights came on as we passed the high point on Starr King. The only test the headlights caused involved moths. There’s a huge moth population on the Starr King Trail and they all came out to meet us. After a while it stops being entertaining. I don’t care if I don’t see another moth in my face for quite a long time. Eventually, we hit the trailhead, tossed our things in the truck, and took off.
Even though we had heat, high humidity, and crowds it was a terrific day. Meeting John and Marty was definitely frosting on the cake.
My camera is still in the shop - but Sue's works.
Pictures, eventually.
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