Mount Moosilauke has lots of different trails that lead to the summit. My wife Leesa missed out on my hike there the previous weekend, so I volunteered to go again... just taking a different trail.
For our 9/22 hike, we were also going to meet Leesa's brother Rob at the trailhead. When we got there, his car was there but he was not. We started the hike, figuring we'd hook up with him at some point. This route for this trip began at the
Moosilauke Ravine Lodge and climbed the Gorge Brook Trail to the summit. For the decent, we made a counter clockwise loop by coming down the Carriage Road Trail to the Snapper Trail.
The previous weekend had perfect weather, but this day wan't so promising. The mountain was socked in with clouds that didn't show any sign of clearing. It was also much colder (high 30's) and there was a fierce wind. At treeline we met Rob, who had already been to the summit, but came back down to the trees to stay warm.
 |
| Looking NW to Black Mountain (open summit) from South Mountain. |
 |
| Choices, choices |
 |
| We went up via the Gorge Brook Trail and came down via the Snapper Trail |
 |
| Interesting signwork... |
 |
| Last water ... 3300' |
With the weather the way it was, we didn't linger at the summit. WE huddled behind the rock wind wall for a few minutes, but that was it. We started down the carriage road trail towards South Peak.
 |
| We couldn't see beyond the summit cone |
 |
| The old carriage road |
At the South Peak spur trail we took the 0.1 mile spur to the summit. It was starting to clear! As we stood there at the top, the clouds blew out! Moosilauke was now visible. What also caught my eye was the open rock summit to the NW, which I determined was Black Mountain, not a 4000 footer, but a peak on the 52 with a view list. Another future hike...
 |
| Moosilauke is soon to appear! |
 |
| The summit of South Peak |
 |
| A dedication... |
 |
| Looking NE from South Peak |
 |
| Looking towards the summit of South Peak |
We debated whether to go back to Moosilauke, but it was still cold and windy so we chose to continue down.
 |
| Moosilauke appears! |
There were quite a few people on the trail, in spite of the weather. What can you say, Moosilauke is a popular mountain. We enjoyed our trip. This route is the most popular route and probably the least strenuous.
Hike Stats:
Hike Distance: 7.8 miles
Hike Time: 5 hours, including stops
Total Vertical Gain: ~2600'
No comments:
Post a Comment