Mt. Carrigain 9.12.12

vftt.org

Help Support vftt.org:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Pete Hogan

New member
Joined
Sep 10, 2003
Messages
186
Reaction score
12
Location
Saratoga Springs, NY
Mt. Carrigain
4700’
September 12, 2012

Wednesday, September 12 came all too soon. We took an R&R day on Tuesday to recoup weary muscles, tired bones and sore feet, but the physical impact of our Mt. Isolation hike on Monday prevailed. I aggravated a recent left leg, medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligament strain on the Isolation hike, but I had brought a knee brace to wear in case I needed it. I needed it now.

We could have taken an extra day of rest and postponed the hike until Thursday, but that would have meant we had to drive home after hiking Mt. Carrigain and we both felt that would be too much in one day. As lame as we were from Monday’s hike, we felt we could work out the soreness in the first few miles of the Carrigain hike. Barb and I would have enjoyed sharing our final summit with the people who were with us on past trips, but in a way, just the two of us was a fitting end our journey.

The drive from JDL to the Sawyer River Road PA was farther than the Rocky Branch PA, but we ready to start hiking by 8:40 AM. As we approached the trailhead from Rt. 302, we noticed that the gate on the Sawyer River Road was open. A rush of excitement came over us as I pulled into the road entrance instead of the adjacent PA. Our wishful anticipation was short-lived however as two construction guys informed us that the road remained closed to vehicles. The repairs to washed-out sections of the road from tropical storm Irene last September had not been completed. Although we thought we had caught a break with the road possibly being open, we were OK with the news because we had planned on walking the additional 4 round-trip miles from the PA anyhow.

We have a similar road (The Ausable Mountain Reserve Lake Road) in the Adirondack Mountains that must be walked by the general public before connecting to many spectacular High Peaks’ trails. It is a private road and therefore it will always have to be added mileage to hike the trails from that area. The 2-mile approach to the Signal Ridge trailhead on the Sawyer River Road went by quickly on the way in. At the end of day, however, it seemed to be much longer than 2 miles…very similar to the AMR Lake Road.

We arrived at the trailhead after a 26-minute warm-up walk and were surprised to see a brand new trail re-route on the south side of Whiteface Brook. It was not long before we reconnected briefly with the existing Signal Ridge trail before taking a second re-route that took us higher above the brook. These two new trail segments meant that the first two potential high-water crossings were no longer in play.

The quiet forest was interrupted briefly on the second “relo” when we heard the sounds of trail work ahead. We met the two people responsible for the trail work and talked for a while with one member of the hard-working crew. We thanked them for their efforts (and our dry feet) and moved on.
The Signal Ridge trail was delightful as we easily walked deeper into the forest. We had one more easy water crossing to go before arriving at the new junction of the Signal Ridge/Carrigain Notch trails. From the PA, we had already accumulated 3.7 miles and ascended 1000’ in 1:40 hours. We were pleased with our progress. That was about to change.

A third “relo” was shortly after the junction. This soft, new section with criss-crossed saw grooves on freshly cut tree stumps circled around a beautiful bog before reconnecting with the old trail.

It wasn’t long before we started climbing in earnest. And climb we did…an unrelenting, head-down grind over countless jagged rocks, long switchbacks and many breathless breaks for (what seemed like) an endless period of time. The topo map clearly showed the hair-pin direction changes in the trail in addition to the less severe, but still moderate vertical sections, but it was taking an inordinate amount of time to reach these map points. It was during this grueling stretch that we started to really feel the effects of our recent Isolation hike and we instinctively slowed to a “protective plod pace” to preserve any dignity we had left.

During this struggle, it occurred to me that descending this rugged section would be more of a concern than the slow ascent we were now into. Working against gravity can sometimes be a useful and safe pace monitor, but descending steep, angled rocks with exhausted legs and a gravity-assisted momentum is an accident waiting to happen.

My sights continued to immediately focus on reaching a trail mark, tree or distinctive rock ahead, but I was also envisioning the crest of Signal Ridge where we would be justly rewarded for our efforts with stunning views. Right now, however, there was more work to be done so Barb and I just put one foot carefully in front of the other and persevered. At one point, a hiker passed us on his way down and we asked how much farther we had to go. He scoffed a bit and broke the disheartening news that we had 3 to 4 more, long switchbacks to go plus another 1000’ of vertical ascent. Barb and I just looked at each other silently, turned uphill and dug deeper.

Progress was indeed slow and the gradual, prolonged switchbacks were forestalling more rapid elevation gain. Sometimes a summit feels near with terrain and vegetation changes or lower light from the sky, but I did not have any such perception until we started tighter zigzags up the nose of Signal Ridge.

Signal Ridge was finally reached (6.5 miles; 3550’ vertical; 4:34 hrs.). It was as magnificent as I had imagined. On the way up, Mt. Lowell (3740’) looked much higher than its actual height and now it was a small hill compared to the lofty ridge I was on. Most everything was below us, except for that carrot in front…the Mt. Carrigain observation tower. It was still a half-mile to the summit, but only 300 more feet of vertical so I knew that our goal was within reach.
I took many photos from Signal Ridge especially to the north and west. The deep scars of the slides on the flanks of Mt. Lowell dominated the view directly east of the ridge. The weather was so incredibly beautiful that we tried to savor the time while we were here before moving on to the summit. Signal Ridge was a wonderful opportunity to look beyond the serrated rocks of the steep approach and gaze out into the clear, blue sky dotted with magnificent summits and miles of wilderness. The trail descended a bit and as I looked back toward the top of Signal Ridge, the angle of the eastern slope was amazing.

Signal Ridge gave us a much-needed bounce in our step. Just before the former site of the fire warden’s cabin, we met a husband and wife who we had seen on the way up to the Signal Ridge. They knew we were finishing the 48 and Barb the NE 115 on Carrigain so as we approached them on the trail they lifted their trekking poles in a triumphant arch as we passed under. It was so nice of them to do this and we got another jolt of positive energy from the thoughtful recognition.

It wasn’t long before we reached the final pitch to the summit tower. Barb and I joined hands as we stepped up to the base of the observation tower and the summit disc on the summit rock beneath it. There were two young men already there celebrating their 48th summit and a dog. We congratulated each other and I received my first wet kiss as a New Hampshire 48er in the form of a friendly lick from the dog.

We ascended the tower, the other hikers left and Barb and I had the glorious summit to ourselves. The views were breathtaking! We were treated to sunny, crystal-clear skies and mountains as far as the eye could see. Our last White Mountain, 4700-foot Mt. Carrigain, was a fitting conclusion to our journey because the spectacular, 360-degree views from the summit observation tower encompassed so many of the magnificent mountains we hiked to reach this personal goal.

We basked in the sun for 40 minutes soaking up as much of the positive summit karma as possible. We remembered the magnificent summits we shared with so many wonderful people. It was 2:30 PM and we knew we had a long way to go, but we were so happy with our finish that none of that mattered right now. Reality soon settled in and we started to prepare for the return to the trailhead. In what seemed like a fleeting moment, we were back on the trail once again.

Our New Hampshire and northeast hiking journey had ended, but our friendship will last forever.

Mt. Carrigain
Summit elevation: 4700’
RT distance: 14.0 miles
Vertical ascent: 3850’
Hiking time: 5:12 hrs. ascent – 3:58 hrs. return – 9:10 hrs. total hike time.

Here is a link to the Mt. Carrigain photographs:

https://picasaweb.google.com/107373...authkey=Gv1sRgCM_F5oec7YX_rQE&feat=directlink

After clicking on the link; select slide show; then click pause; then press the F11 key for full screen viewing. Use the (R & L) arrows to manually advance or recall the photos at your pace to leisurely view the pictures and the captions.
 
Top