Markh062079
New member
I had been waiting to go hiking with a friend of mine on Wednesday, but at the last minute they couldn’t make it and I was faced with still wanting to do a hike but having to go solo instead! Since I live in the Woodstock area I figured I would do something local and I wanted to do something a little bit more challenging. I picked hiking up to Mt Moosilauke via the Beaver Brook Trail. I had done Mt Moosilauke last year via the Gorge Brook Trail and I absolutely loved both the trail and the summit views. The Gorge Brook Trail was without a doubt one of the easier trails that leads to the summit of a 4000 footer. With that said, this was the foreboding sign that greats you soon after you start on the Beaver Brook Trail:
That sign made me want to do this trail even more!
The trail is indeed steep, but you are distracted by that painful fact with the beautiful cascades that follow you for most of the way up the steep part of the trail.
Once you reach the ridgeline the trail mercifully levels off and the rest of the way up to the summit is a breeze. It was pretty windy and chilly by the time I got up there. I had the whole summit to myself and took the obligatory summit shots.
I hunkered down for awhile at the summit to keep out of the wind, and after taking a few more shots I headed back down.
I stopped at the Beaver Brook Shelter and took some shots of the great views that are offered from it. It must be pretty amazing to wake up and see the Franconia Ridge first thing in the morning. I was going to leave a witty comment in the shelter log, but alas, there was no pen to be found.
I made it down the trail in no time. The steepness of the trail that worked against me on the way up, made the journey down a breeze. Last month I had been hiking in the Lonesome Lake area and noticed new stacks of wood for tail maintenance. I noticed a similar stack near the trailhead on the way out of this hike. It looked like someone had raided a large piece to throw across a small stream near the trailhead. It was kind of wobbly and I decided just to hop on the nearby rocks.
I got back to my car around 6:30 and soon I was heading home to Woodstock. A great end of a great hike!
That sign made me want to do this trail even more!
The trail is indeed steep, but you are distracted by that painful fact with the beautiful cascades that follow you for most of the way up the steep part of the trail.
Once you reach the ridgeline the trail mercifully levels off and the rest of the way up to the summit is a breeze. It was pretty windy and chilly by the time I got up there. I had the whole summit to myself and took the obligatory summit shots.
I hunkered down for awhile at the summit to keep out of the wind, and after taking a few more shots I headed back down.
I stopped at the Beaver Brook Shelter and took some shots of the great views that are offered from it. It must be pretty amazing to wake up and see the Franconia Ridge first thing in the morning. I was going to leave a witty comment in the shelter log, but alas, there was no pen to be found.
I made it down the trail in no time. The steepness of the trail that worked against me on the way up, made the journey down a breeze. Last month I had been hiking in the Lonesome Lake area and noticed new stacks of wood for tail maintenance. I noticed a similar stack near the trailhead on the way out of this hike. It looked like someone had raided a large piece to throw across a small stream near the trailhead. It was kind of wobbly and I decided just to hop on the nearby rocks.
I got back to my car around 6:30 and soon I was heading home to Woodstock. A great end of a great hike!
