Friday, April 29, 2016

Beautiful As Always, Mt. Moosilauke 4/24/2016

Can't wait to meet some great people at the Hike It Baby Meet-and-Greet on May 6!  Beech Hill Farm, Hopkinton, NH at 11am!!

Mt. Moosilauke
Glencliff Trail, The Moosilauke Carriage Road
3,300 feet of elevation gain
7.8 miles round-trip

We started off with one of our hiker friends, John Myers.  It wasn't too cold or too warm when I got out of the car, and the snow was off the ground.  I knew there would probably be ice and snow further up the trail, but for now it was bare except for the thin strands of grass that perked up from the dirt.  After Mom took a picture of John, Sage, and I, I stood by the gate and turned to take an image of them.  The sun showed itself through the trees.


There were occasional leaves and the trees were still mostly bare, recovering from the winter.


We shortly arrived at the intersection.  There was a pole in the picture!  I think the pole belonged to Mom.  She was using her pole to remind us where to go.


Talking on the trail.  The sun is slowly rising...



The trail no longer stayed bare.  The remains of a mostly timid winter showed themselves.  We tried our luck without traction, grabbing onto trees and walking on the rocks. 



Got about half of Sage's face with this image!


The snow became more plentiful and the ice started to go away.  There's Sage walking along...


Here we are at the summit of Mt. Moosilauke!  It felt really cold up there, which was a contrast from the general temperature we all felt while hiking up the mountain below tree line.  It was also quite windy, which contributed to the icy feel of our faces.  None of us wanted to take our hands out of our gloves for longer than we had to.  We each got a very quick picture at the summit, and then we ran into the protection of the rocky remains of the ancient hotel on top of the mountain.  I didn't get other pictures of scenery because of the frigidness issue.  However, you can get a glimpse of beyond in the summit image below.  Beautiful blue mountains and rolling hills appeared all around Mt. Moosilauke.


Rushing to take cover!  Here is John smiling for a summit picture--the sign, though you can't see it in this picture, is to the right of John.


While we were resting on the summit, eating our precious chocolate and candy, we saw (and heard) a helicopter.  It had a red cross on it and it flew over the mountain.  Here are the pictures I managed to get...




After we felt rested, we got up and continued back down the mountain.  We wisely decided to put on our balaclavas for the way down; the wind situation hadn't changed.  Before we descended, we met some nice people on the top.  There was a boy and a teenager and their father (I presume).  It was lovely to meet other kid hikers like ourselves!  They were wearing fewer layers than us, but they looked content and comfortable anyway.

On the way down, we met a friendly group of teenagers coming up the mountain.  We also decided to put on our Hillsounds.  We survived without traction on the way up, but we didn't feel like taking the risk on the way down!

The end of a great hike!  As usual.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Franconia Ridge Traverse. April 17, 2016


Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Liberty, Mt. Flume
Old Bridle Path, Greenleaf Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Osseo Trail, Lincoln Woods Trail
4,800 feet of elevation gain
14.4 miles

By now I was feeling better; last week I was sick and couldn't hike.  That is why there wasn't a trip report last week. 

A hiking friend, John Myers, came with us on this traverse!  We started off at a comfortable temperature--not too cold, not too hot.  I was excited because I really enjoy traverses!  Especially when the views are beautiful and the weather is behaving. 


Spring is coming!  There wasn't snow on the ground.  The soft and firm dirt felt better than the sinking, unpredictable snow I had mostly experienced during the previous few months.


Hiking with poles--I like focusing my camera on them.  Sage is blurred in the background.  As you can see, there still isn't snow on the ground.

Ice starts appearing, as we all expected.  It was slippery but still manageable without spikes...



Getting up there!  Here's some views.





This is a photo Mom wanted to contribute.  You can definitely see that the ice is growing!

At the hut.  The ice was pretty bad on the way here, but we eventually put on spikes and dealt with it.  Sage is taking a break!


Sage ascending Mt. Lafayette.  You can see the summit sign in front of her.


Mt. Lafayette's summit!



Looking at the spectacular views...


There were a lot of people on the summit.  Beautiful day, too...we delayered down to our T-shirts.



There's John.  We're starting to head over to Mt. Lincoln.



Mom wanted to contribute this picture.  It is a nice one of Sage and I hiking up Lincoln with Lafayette behind us...

The sky is so amazing!  Shocking blue with thin, faded wisps of white...


Looking back at Lafayette...

Mt. Cannon over there...

Mom took this picture of Sage...

...and this one of me...on the summit of Lincoln.


Liberty and Flume in the distance...taken by Mom.


Here is Sage hiking to Mt. Liberty...



Here we are on Mt. Liberty!  Summit marker!  Sage and I had been working on our chocolate bunnies from Easter and were finishing them up here.


Sage and I (Sage on the left and me on the right) on Liberty.  Photo by Mom...


All of us!  John took this one.






Mom took this one of John, Sage and me.

There's Flume...




Mom...



...me...



...and Sage...on Flume.  By the time we got here the temperature was very warm!  It truly felt like summer with a breeze up top.



Flume!  5.5 miles down, and then the end of another great hike.