Ray
New member
On Monday 11-06 I I set out for Mt. Isolation which for me would be #46. The weather reports called for a generally good day with milder 50-ish temperatures. I hit a bit of rain and some menacing dark clouding while driving up through the Ossipee area which caused a little concern. However the rain had abated by the time I reached the trailhead. Not knowing quite what to expect I took along my stabilicers and my snowshoes along with additional warm clothing and the usual emergency supplies that I take when hiking solo. I was also able to try out a new pair of waterproof Sorels which were invaluable in view of the extremely wet and sloppy conditions encountered on both the Rocky Branch and Isolation Trails. These boots also enabled me to save time without bushwacking at the nonetheless quite tricky water crossings.
There's lots of mud on the trails and plenty of opportunities to break through the thin ice surfaces and sink deep. Snow depth increased as I progressed down the Isolation Trail making this a difficult trail to follow at times. On two occasions the footprints forked to the right and left. Both times I took the right hand side, finding myself dead ended in the bush and having to backtrack. As you near the junction with the Davis Path there are many more blowdowns and around the tentsite area plenty of tracks with a real lack of consensus in direction. Very frustrating! The fading yellowish blazes (you have to look carefully to find them and they seem to appear only on the last .10 mile of this trail) are a great help and I was soon able to link up with the Davis Path.
The Davis Path is well packed out and in fine shape but the ice does increase with the gradual elevation gain while approaching Isolation. Here my stabilicers were helpful and I kept them on all the way to the summit. The summit views were lovely with Washington slightly enshrouded in mists. I paused to experience the absolute solitude as I had met no one on this hike nor would meet anyone on the long way back.
My thanks to fellow hiker marchowes who did this hike the day before. I'm glad that your footsteps were there to follow, man, and hearty congrats on reaching your 48th. It was a great hike but as my predecessor says in his TR it is long and wet.
The following morning I set out for Mt. Waumbek which would be #47 (gettin' there). I was able to bareboot all the way to the Waumbek summit using my regular hiking boots although there were several slick areas especially in ascending the northerly slope of Mt. Starr King. The trail was well packed out. Snow depth at the sides, particularly at the Starr King summit approach, may be up to a couple of feet with occasional postholing. I found this to be a surprisingly pleasant hike overall. Well, one more to go. I'll keep ya' posted (no pun intended).
Ray
There's lots of mud on the trails and plenty of opportunities to break through the thin ice surfaces and sink deep. Snow depth increased as I progressed down the Isolation Trail making this a difficult trail to follow at times. On two occasions the footprints forked to the right and left. Both times I took the right hand side, finding myself dead ended in the bush and having to backtrack. As you near the junction with the Davis Path there are many more blowdowns and around the tentsite area plenty of tracks with a real lack of consensus in direction. Very frustrating! The fading yellowish blazes (you have to look carefully to find them and they seem to appear only on the last .10 mile of this trail) are a great help and I was soon able to link up with the Davis Path.
The Davis Path is well packed out and in fine shape but the ice does increase with the gradual elevation gain while approaching Isolation. Here my stabilicers were helpful and I kept them on all the way to the summit. The summit views were lovely with Washington slightly enshrouded in mists. I paused to experience the absolute solitude as I had met no one on this hike nor would meet anyone on the long way back.
My thanks to fellow hiker marchowes who did this hike the day before. I'm glad that your footsteps were there to follow, man, and hearty congrats on reaching your 48th. It was a great hike but as my predecessor says in his TR it is long and wet.
The following morning I set out for Mt. Waumbek which would be #47 (gettin' there). I was able to bareboot all the way to the Waumbek summit using my regular hiking boots although there were several slick areas especially in ascending the northerly slope of Mt. Starr King. The trail was well packed out. Snow depth at the sides, particularly at the Starr King summit approach, may be up to a couple of feet with occasional postholing. I found this to be a surprisingly pleasant hike overall. Well, one more to go. I'll keep ya' posted (no pun intended).
Ray
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