After thoroughly enjoying a hike up Holcomb and Deer Mountains in the Giant Mountain Wilderness Area last weekend, I came back today to tackle Noble Mountain.
I parked the car at the designated campspot off of Route 9, just north of the intersection of Route 9 and 73. With great difficulty (and with water shoes), I found a place to cross the Boquet River with only a couple steps taken in the cold water. This was the hardest part of the whole trip. In summer, and with lower water, it would be much easier.
Rev and I headed north winding our way through the series of cliff bands just north of the Boquet.
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| The beautiful Boquet River |
Next we followed the southern spine of the Noble Mountain ridge as it wound first NW then NE.
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| The Dix Range. |
Threre were quite a few slabs of rock along the way where views were plentiful.
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| Rev's always first up |
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| Looking northeast |
Just shy of the SE knob, or false summit, was a big slab of rock where I built a small cairn atop a pyramidal shaped rock. Although the skies look cloudy in most of these pictures, there were more breaks of sun than expected; a pleasant surprise!
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| I built this little cairn. In the background is the Dix Range on the left and part of the great range on the right. |
The SE knob was the highlight of the trip. Great views and an interesting rock formation were the highlight.
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| A fun rock formation on the SE knob |
The final push to Noble was easily visible to the north, and it consisted of light hardwoods.
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| The profile of Noble Mountain ,as seen from the SE knob. |
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| Approaching the summit |
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| A large rock within sight of the true summit |
The summit itself was unspectacular. Some views could be found walking to the west edge of the ridge. Lots of prickers/nettles were located in portions of the summit area.
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| Rev, waiting for me at the summit |
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| An interesting stump near the summit |
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| The combination of dying birches and streaky gray sky provided a stark landscape |
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| Back to the SE knob |
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| Looking south |
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| Looking north |
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| Rev took us back by following our scent |
While Noble Mountain is less than notable, the hike leading up to the SE knob is interesting and worthwhile.
Hike Stats:
Hike Distance: 6.5 miles
Hike Time: 4.5 hours
Total Vertical Gain: ~ 2200'
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| The route (click image to enlarge) |
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