May 13, 2011: Mt. Hale (#15)

What a beautiful day for a Friday the 13th hike!  We started up the Hale Brook Trail under blue skies and warm temperatures headed for the 4,054 ft. summit of Mt. Hale.
The trail offered a lot of scenery as we gently climbed toward the ridge.

It's been too long since we've smelled the pine scent of summer in the mountains, and there were actually other hikers on the trail today, too.  It seems that spring has arrived.
We met many friendly people on the trail today, including a woman out bird-watching, a young woman who had turned around at the first water-crossing and was considering an alternative hike, and Trish and her two daughters just before the summit...glad you were all out enjoying today's weather!
As we ascended we were able to see the Presidential Range through the trees - a nice bonus that wouldn't be possible in the summer.  I was constantly craning my neck backwards looking for the perfect break in the branches to snap a shot of Mt. Washington.  I was eventually able to get my shot of the grand mountain.

We also had views to the Sugarloaf Mountains from an area that had been logged (hate to talk about logging in the Whites like it's a good thing)

The trail is marked by three major water-crossings, none of which gave us too much trouble, though they did involve getting your feet a little wet.  It was a good trail choice for the day, though, thanks to the brook which provided refreshing, cool breezes. 
We crossed a nice section of side-hill which made for pleasant walking and also offered views up toward Mt. Hale through the trees.

After the second water crossing (approximately 3,000 ft.) the dreaded monorail began.  This monorail was much less avoidable than the one on the Osceolas and remained pretty constant all the way to the summit.

Like most 4000-footers, Hale teased us by making us think we were almost to the summit several times before actually getting there.  Through the trees we could make out the Willey Range, as well as Carrigain Notch, which I had never seen before with my own eyes.

Whitewall Mountain through the trees:

Before long there was a light at the end of the tunnel.  We left the cover of the trees and came into the sun on my 15th peak.

We spent over an hour on the summit eating lunch, enjoying views of the Twin and Willey Ranges from the top of the 5-foot cairn, and watching the needle on our compass spin due to magnetic rocks on the summit.  I also walked a short ways down the Lend-A-Hand Trail as well as located the entrance to the abandoned Fire Warden's Trail.

The Willey Range from the top of the cairn (Mt. Field and Mt. Willey):

South Twin Mountain:

North Twin Mountain:

Eventually, we decided we should probably head back down.  It was certainly nice to lounge in the sun and enjoy a mountain summit, but a certain monorail was calling our name.

A glimpse of Mt. Jackson on the descent:

The snow was actually much more manageable on the descent, and once past it, we enjoyed a relaxed walk back to the trailhead.
After packing up the cars, I had a great drive down Rte. 302 with the windows down and the Presidential Range out of the clouds.  I stopped by the Mt. Washington Hotel to snap some shots of the Range, which is rapidly losing snow in this beautiful weather.

Great weather to enjoy the forest and grab another peak.  Another perfect day in the mountains!

May 10, 2011: E. Osceola (#13) & Osceola (#14)

As always, I hope for blue-sky days for my hikes.  It goes without saying that when I woke up this morning to gray skies, wind, and a threat of rain, I was slightly disappointed.
I needed a hike that got me more than one four-thousand-footer so that I wouldn't get stuck on unlucky #13, so the Osceolas seemed like a logical choice (this is really just an excuse to spend more time on mountain peaks).

There are several highly rugged peaks under the name Osceola, but only the East peak and the main peak qualify for the AMC's list of four-thousand footers (the two left-most peaks above).  In fact the other peaks don't even have official trails to their summits.
As we drove across New Hampshire, my assessment of the weather shifted and it seemed that there may be some hope for views after all.
Unfortunately, Tripoli Road has not yet opened for the season, so we would be climbing from the much less-forgiving approach via Greeley Ponds Trail - Mt. Osceola Trail.  We were on the trail just before 9:30am.
I was concerned that water levels may be high making for difficult water-crossings, but they turned out to be much easier than expected.  The trail climbed extremely gently toward Mad River Notch and within half-an-hour, we reached the junction with the Mt. Osceola Trail.

Now the real climbing started.  We had views up to the impressive cliffs of East Osceola as we ascended toward the rocky ridge.

I also feared our impending encounter with snow and the dreaded monorail, but the trails remained bare for a surprising distance.  There were icy sections, and at times an avoidable monorail, but nothing that required traction.

We were soon rewarded with peek-a-boo views of the Tripyramids, Carrigain, and the winding Kancamagus Highway.  We passed the only other hiker of the day, who informed us she had gotten past the East peak, but turned around shortly after due to snow.

The climbing was steep and required a lot of care avoiding the patches of snow and ice, but we soon arrived at a wide open view at the base of a small scramble.  From there we had views to the Northeast and down to Greeley Ponds.

Passaconaway, North Tripyramid (and the North Slide), and Middle Tripyramid:

The Hancocks (and the Arrow Slide):

I was pleasantly surprised to find out there are vistas shortly before the East peak.  There is actually a small spur trail that juts off the main trail giving excellent views in most directions.

The main peak up ahead:

Scar Ridge:

The East peak up ahead (our first stop):

Franconia Ridge, Owl's Head, and Mt. Garfield:

A short climb from our vista, we reached Mt. Osceola's East peak, at 12:24pm.

Past the East peak, conditions deteriorated quickly.  Snow depth increased and we gained some up-close-and-personal experiences with monorails (and now I understand why they are so dreaded).  Unlike the mile between North and South Kinsman, the mile between East Osceola and main Osceola was long, steep, and difficult.
We arrived at the famous chimney, which was actually a fun climb (though not for the acrophobic).
Above the chimney we had nice views looking back toward East peak.

We could also see the base of the Presidential Range, though the high peaks were shrouded in clouds.

From there to the summit of Osceola, it was a power struggle between the nasty monorail and segments of bare trail.  The monorail won for the most part.

After an unpleasant struggle to balance on the tightrope-called-monorail, we popped out at Mt. Osceola summit with spectacular views all around.

Waterville Valley:

Panorama from the summit:

Presidential fog and Mt. Carrigain:

I could have sat on that summit all day; the temperature was reasonable, the winds were reasonable, the views were unbelievable, and I didn't even miss the full Presidential view.
We had a long descent, after re-summitting East Osceola, and arrived back at the trailhead by 5:20pm.
I had a lot of worries going into this hike, but, as usual, the White  Mountains surpassed my expectations and the day couldn't have been better.  I think next time I'll approach from Tripoli Road, but any day in the mountains is a day well-spent.