Washington & Monroe 7/30/2008

Today's the day. Shelby and I have been wanting to hike Mt. Washington for a while now. I have wanted to climb it since I drove to the top with my parents 10 years ago. It's a goal that 10 years ago, I never thought would have been possible.

I know that most people take the Tuckerman's Ravine Trail up their first time, but I had heard that one of the best loops to do would be the Ammonoosuc Ravine to Jewell Trail loop. I decided that we could probably handle this hike so we drove to the trailhead and started off at about 9:10AM.

We hiked on relatively flat ground for a bit until we passed where hikers coming from the Cog Railway parking lot would be coming from. The trail steepens from here and heads up over mostly decent footing with some rough spots. There were quite a few stream crossings that I imagine are there year round, but there were also quite a few that must have been formed from the recent rains. The trail was wet in places as well, but we were able to stay dry.

At about 2 miles, we hit the Gem pool. This spot is worthy of hiking to alone just to take a look and hang out. The cascade is probably higher now than usual due to the rain, but this is truly a tranquil spot.

We sat down here and ate some trailmix and chatted with the other hikers we would see throughout the day. We knew that we could not stay for long if we wanted to get to Washington today so we only stayed for a second.

Soon we came to a series of flat ledges that were a little more difficult to get across. The rain again made these tricky and we did get a little wet at the stream crossing at the top of the ledges.

soon after crossing these ledges, we started to get some views down into the valley and of the Cog Railway. We could also see that the clouds were fairly low and that the hope for getting decent Views rom the summit was probably a long shot. We decided to keep on trudging as we were having a good time and the day was still young. I did manage to snap this picture of the Cog going into the clouds before it was too late.

As we kept on trudging, we knew that the Lakes of the Clouds Hut couldn't be far off. I knew it was located in the col between Washington and Monroe, but I still didn't know how far away we were from it. I was hoping that the hut would come soon as I had only packed 1.5 liters of water. I figured that I could fill up at the hut and again on the Summit of Washington if the day went right. Before we knew it, the hut was in view and we were able to run inside and fill up our water supply.

I had been planning to "bag" Monroe while we were here, apparently I failed to tell Shelby this, and she didn't think she would have the energy to get Monroe and Washington today so she stayed at the hut while I ran to the top of Monroe and back.

I stashed my pack in the hut and off I went. I was at the top in no time, and stayed only long enough to take a few photos and then I hiked back down. I didn't want to keep Shelby waiting long. I was back in about 25 minutes.

When I returned, I took this photo of Mount Monroe. From the hut, it looks much more formidable than it really is. It's a fairly easy hike with only one difficult spot. There is a false summit though, so be careful.

When I got back to the hut, we ate the sandwitches that we had packed up. There's nothing like some horseradish mustard to get you going. It is also worthy to note that the water that you can get from the hut is extremely cold which is an excellent thing. I know that by the time I am on the way down from most hikes, my water's warm. Having cold water available is definitely a plus.

After eating lunch, we realized that we were only a mile and a half from our goal for the day.

One great thing about hiking above treeline is that you can see where you walked because all the trails are worn down. Here is a picture I took on Mt. Monroe of the Hut and the Lakes. There were not too many people at the hut while I was there, but the Hut is often called "Lakes of the Crowds" due to the large amounts of people who tend to flock there.

After a few minutes of hiking up the trail towards Washington, we were able to actually see a break in the clouds. The clouds were lifting and there was a chance we would see some views from the Summit today. We have seen some views already being above treeline, but it's always nice to have a view at the pinnacle of your day.

It's always nice to turn around from a grueling hike and see a view like this. The southern Presidentials and I believe Mt. Willey in the background.

After about 5 hours, we could finally say that we did it. We had reached our Main goal for the day and the Highest peak in the Northeast United States, Mount Washington. A lot of people call it George, but I always felt that I couldn't call it George until I had been aquainted with it. Now I can call it George.

The clouds cleared by the time we hit the summit,and we were able to see some spectacular views. One view I couldn't resist was the Cog that was parked waiting to board passengers.

We went inside, and again, refilled our water supply, ate a sandwitch and started to head down the mountain. we took the Trinity Heights connector to the Gulfside Trail. The clouds were beginning to roll in again as a cog went by. It was only a few hundred feet away, but we couldn't barely see it through the clouds.

As we moved towards the great gulf, the Northern Presidentials became quite evident. It doesn't show in the pictures, but these mountains are absolutely massive. From left to right you are looking at Jefferson, Adams, and Madison.

As we moved closer to the Jewell Trail, I took the last picture of the day which is of the ridge we would follow on the way down.

All in all, this was a great trip. Great views. It's also the single greatest elevation gain that Shelby and I have tackled in a single day. Maybe we will make this a yearly trip. Also, these 4000' peaks were numbers 13 and 14 for me, and number 6 for Shelby.

East Osceola 7/26/2008

It has been over a month since I have done any serious amount of hiking. The last 4000' peak I "bagged" was Mt. Osceola. We got caught in a thunderstorm up at about 3000' which kept us from going up and over Mt. Osceola to the East peak. Today we figured that since we were getting a late start, we should try to "bag" East Osceola.

We arrived at the trail head or the "base" as Shelby likes to call it at about 10:45 and found the last parking spot available. It was on the grass, but with the new vehicle, it has a little more clearance than my Jetta so we were able to avoid the larger rocks. At 11:00 we hit the trail and soon hit our first water crossing of the day. The water was very high due to the extreme amounts of rain and thunderstorms we have been having lately. All the crossings of the day were crossable despite the high water.

The rain also caused a lot of muddy patches, but we were able to get through all of them without getting the boots muddy. Only one area caused much of a problem, but with some creative thinking we were able to get around it.

The Greeley Ponds Trail was nice and flat, too bad we only got to be on it for about 1.3 miles. The day after all was about trying to get a view and getting some exercise so we had not choice but to take the Mt. Osceola Trail at the junction.

As soon as we diverted off the Greeley Ponds Trail, the trail steepened and dried out a bit. The trail seemed to relentlessly climb. I see how quickly I can get out of hiking shape after taking some time off. I'll just have to take less time off.

The steepest part however was the easiest. For the most part we were stepping over roots and rocks and everything else, but the steepest part was this ledge with great footing.

Soon enough, we were at the top. There were very limited views from the top, but we were able a quick picture with the Cairn. There were only a few people at the top. Most of the traffic that we saw was headed to Greely Ponds to hang out for a bit. Next time, we'll have to walk the extra half hour and take a look at the ponds.

We had intended on hiking over to Osceola today, but because we hadn't hiked in a while, we could feel our legs already so we decided to start on down the way we came. On the way down, we did get some pictures at the viewpoints that were there. When there are no views from the top of the peaks, it's always nice to have a view or two on the way. Just another reason I like hiking above treeline so much.

I believe that this picture is of the Hancocks and Carrigain.

All in all, another great trip in the whites.

Battie 7/12/2008

Today we decided to take a different direction. Instead of heading North on route 16 in New Hampshire, we decided to head North-East and drive to Camden. Shelby had always wanted to see this quaint coastal town so we decided that today would be a good day as we were going to get a late start on the road.

We got on the road at about 10:15 and drive up I95 to I295 to Route 1 North until we hit Camden. The trip took just under 3 hours due to the heavy traffic...It is tourist season after all. We parked downtown and walked around and visited some of the small shops on the Main St, and we went down to the Harbor and watched the ducks for a bit. We even saw a Cormorant fishing in the harbor and sunning itself on the rocks. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me at the time. We then decided to get a drink and sit by the harbor for a while and watch some of the boats coming and going.

Upon finishing the soda, we decided to that the view must be great from the Camden Hills and that we should go take a hike up Mt. Battie. We drove to the trailhead on Mt. Megunticook Rd and began our 1/2 mile trek up the mountain.

For a tiny mountain of only 800 feet, it turned out to be surprisingly steep. The rock that we were stepping on was smooth and our boots did not grip very well. We both commented on how tough this little climb was turning out to be. This was actually a full body hike in places and we both thought that coming down might be even tougher. We did know however that we only had 1/2 mile of this and that it was going to be over as quick as it began.

Sure enough, we reached the top in less than 30 minutes, and were able to see the distinct tower at the top... Do you see it? Pretty hard to miss this distinguishing landmark. You can actually see the tower from the harbor in Camden, but it is much cooler in person to look at. We took a quick trip to the top to check out the views and we were not disappointed.

We looked out and saw the Penobscot Bay and all the Island in it. There are too many islands to name here, but they are all very interesting to look at. If ever there was a time to have a wide angle lens, now was it. The more I hike the more I try to convince myself to buy a decent camera. The 6 Megapixel Fuji will have to do for now I guess.

On the way out of the tower, I thought it would be cool to take this picture. Too bad I don't know the people sitting on the bench, but feel free to... +Insert Sentimental Caption Here+

At last, we made the hike down, but I couldn't help but take a picture of the town of Camden on the way.

If you are ever in this area of Maine, I would highly suggest climbing this mountain. Actually, there is also a road to the top, but I assure you, you will appreciate it more if you put in the effort to make the walk.