Hiked Wildcat “A” on 10/25/14. This was peak number 516 for “The Grid over 60”. It was a nice bright sunny day with mild temperatures. Trail was pretty wet from previous days rains especially above the junction with the Carter Dome trail. Nineteen Mile Brook had more water in it than I had seen in a long time.
High water in Nineteen Mile Brrok
There was also quite a bit of water flowing over the dam that used to supply water for the Glen House.
Water flowing ove rthe dam
Fortunately there were bridges over the side streams that flow into Nineteen Mile Brook as they might have been difficult to cross without getting wet feet.
One of many bridges
Once reaching the summit I sat in the sun and admired the views and ate my PBJ.
Carter Dome and Mt. Height to the northLooking down into Carter Notch and the Carter Notch Hut
Hiked Galehead on 10/24/14. This was peak number 515 for “The Grid over 60”. It was supposed to be cloudy and maybe some drizzle in the morning and then clear up some in the afternoon. The clearing never happened and it drizzled during the entire hike with a lot of drops falling off the trees. It was a pretty wet hike. The trail was pretty wet and muddy with the rains from earlier in the week. Here is the trail sign at the trailhead.
Sign at the beginning of the Gale River Trail
There was a lot of water in the smaller streams and in the Gale River.
Gale River at the base of an old slide
The Galehead hut was closed for the winter. I had hoped to sit on the bench on the front porch but the wind had blown the rain and drizzle onto the bench and it was quite wet. I did eat my PBJ there on my return from the summit.
Galehead hut closed for the winterSummit of Galehead
Hiked Mt. Hale on 10/16/14. This was peak number 514 for “The Grid over 60”. Forecast for the day was some showers in the morning and rain in the afternoon. When I got to the trailhead the sun was out but hiding behind clouds. Since there isn’t any view from the summit and there was the threat of rain I didn’t bring my camera. As I climbed higher it got cloudier and cooler and eventually a light rain started. At the summit it was fairly cool, raining and very windy. I tagged the summit and started back down immediately. About half way down it stopped raining and the sun came out. Took a picture of the trail sign at the start of the trail.
Hiked Mt. Jackson on 10/15/14. This was peak number 513 for “The Grid over 60”. After the initial steep ascent I stopped at Bugle Cliff to look at the view.
Looking at the Highland Center from Bugle Cliff
Continuing along the trail I crossed Flume Cascade Brook which has a tall waterfall visible from Rt 302.
Flume Cascade Brook
At the summit there were good views in some directions and covered in clouds in other directions.
Looking south through Crawford Notch
To the north there were more clouds but some views.
Hiked Isolation on 10/14/14 with Mike Lynch. This was peak number 512 for “The Grid over 60”. It was a fairly warm and humid day so there was a lot of sweating involved. Once we reached the height of land on the Rocky Branch trail we took the Engine Hill bushwack which eliminates 2 major stream crossings and about a mile of trail. The bushwack goes through several beautiful birch glades.
Birch glade on the Engine Hill bushwack
There was also a lot of evidence of bear and moose activity on the bushwack.
Pile of bear poop
Once we reached the summit it was quite a bit clearer than was forecast and hardly any winds.
Mt. Washington with the top obscured by the clouds
Monroe and Little Monroe
We returned to the parking lot by the same route. Only 64 peaks left to finish “The Grid over 60”.
Hiked Madison, Adams and Jefferson on 10/12/14. These were peaks 509, 510 and 511 for “The Grid over 60” The plan for the day was to do a Presidential traverse, but that didn’t happen due to the conditions that we faced in the morning. The weather forecast was for a clear day and a little bit windy. After hiking up the Valley Way to Madison Springs Hut we were in the clouds with temperatures in the high 20s and quite windy. We went to the summit of Madison which was made difficult because of the wind and there was rime ice on all the rocks. Between being staggerd by the wind and having to be very careful where you put your feet it took us a lot longer than ususal to complete this part of the hike. There were no views from the summit as we were in the clouds and I don’t think I could have stood still long enough to take a picture. We returned to the hut and had a PBJ. We took off for Adams and stayed on the Gulfside trail to Thunderstorm Junction and then took the short hike up to Adams. This seemed a better choice as it wasn’t as steep and there wasn’t much rime on the rocks. It was not as windy on Adams as it had been on Madison and the clouds lifted briefly for some small views.
Mike on Adams with some rime on his eyebrow
Hikers trying to take a picture on Adams. Note the flag they are trying to hold
A brief peak at Washington from Adams
Descending Adams
We left Adams and headed over to Jefferson. The winds had let up quite a bit and the sun was trying to come out and eventually did as we headed up to the summit of Jefferson.
Looking to the Wildcats from near the summit of Jefferson
There was still some color in the valleys but well past peak color.
Looking at Washington and the southern Presidentials from Jefferson
There were a lot of people on Jefferson, many more than I expected based on the weather conditions we saw in the morning. Most of the people had come up the Caps Ridge trail from Jefferson Notch. This a short but quite steep way to get to the summit. We had a second PBJ on Jefferson. We decided at Jefferson that we didn’t really have time to complete the traverse and be down to the car before dark so we headed back to Appalachia via Randolph Path, Israel Ridge and Link trails. We got back there just as the sun went down.
Some nice rime ice
Randolph Path following the contour above tree line
Even though we didn’t complete the traverse it was good hike and fun to be above treeline. Only 65 peaks left to finish “The Grid over 60”.
Hiked Mt. Moosilaukee on 10/5/14. Peak number 508 for “The Grid over 60”. Turned out to be another viewless day although if I had waited until later in the morning there would have been views. Hiked the Glencliff trail which had lots of wet leaves, rocks and bridges from the rain the previous day and evening. You had to be very careful where you put your feet.
Slippery wet bridge on the Glencliff trail
When I got to the junction with the Carriage Road I stopped and put on a few layers as it was windy and cold and the clouds were blowing by.
Nearing the summit in the fog
As I descended the sun finally came out and there were views from the fields near the bottom of the trail.
View over the field of milkweed near the trailhead
Hiked Wildcat D on 10/1/14. It was peak number 507 for “The Grid over 60”. I had spent the previous week volunteering at the Mount Washington Observatory and although I hiked during the week up there I hadn’t been able to hike any peaks for “The Grid over 60”. The summit of Washington was in the clear when we left with an undercast and Wildcat D was not visible. It was cloudy but no rain as I hiked up to the summit, there was very dense fog at the summit and no views at all. There was nice foliage as I came down the ski trail with some short views across the valley.
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