October 8, 2011: Mt. Moosilauke (#19)

As soon as I left New Hampshire in August, I knew that November was far too long to wait to bag another peak.  Not only would I have to wait three months, but I would completely miss the fall foliage season for which New Hampshire is famous.  So I sat down last month and made plans to travel to New England, and I've been hoping for good weather everyday since.
After a full day of traveling from central Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia, to DC, and finally to Boston, I was up early this morning for the last leg of the trip to the White Mountains.
The weather forecast was for temperatures close to eighty and blue skies, and the day did not fail to impress.  Truly an Indian Summer! 
In addition to my usual hiking companion Steve, we had the pleasure of hiking with Dan and his brother Bill as well (Check out Dan's blog HERE).  After spotting a car at the Ravine Lodge, we made our way over to Benton.
We chose to ascend via Benton Trail to avoid large crowds up for the holiday weekend, and were surprised to find Tunnel Brook Road gated.  As we started the 1.5 mile road walk, we soon realized that the road had been badly damaged by Hurricane Irene.

The road walk passed quickly and we were able to enjoy some bright fall colors along the way.

We made it to the trailhead by 9:50 and began our ascent.  After the only major water crossing, we found ourselves peeling off layers, and we soon arrived at a ledge with spectacular views into Little Tunnel Ravine and north toward the Kinsman Ridge.

North and South Kinsman

After a bit more climbing we came to another look-out with views of Vermont's Green Mountains through the haze to the west.  There were many nice reds in the valley to the west, and after enjoying the view for a few minutes, we continued toward the summit.
Before long, we left the tree cover and found ourselves in the plateau of alpine fields that surrounds the summit.  The views to the east were unbelievable!  Although I'd seen many pictures of the views from Moosilauke before, to see it with my own eyes was a whole different experience.  It seems that from Moosilauke, all of the White Mountains are laid at your feet, and I can honestly say it was one of the best views I've had so far.

We wandered through the alpine zone taking in all the views as we walked the last few steps toward the summit.  At 12:18pm, we arrived at my nineteenth summit in New Hampshire.

Franconia Ridge, appearing much more compact than usual, as viewed from the southwest:

It was around seventy-five degrees on the summit, which is almost unheard of for this time of year in the Whites.  It was pretty windy, but definitely far from bone-chilling, and we were able to find a sheltered place to relax.  We spent about an hour eating and talking, took a few last minute photos from the summit, and began a beautiful ridge traverse to Moosilauke's South Peak.

Most distant: Mt. Washington; middle: the Bond Range; foreground: Mts. Liberty and Flume...

We enjoyed mountain cranberries along the way, and we were at the South Peak in no time.  From the South Peak we had impressive views all around, and it was far less crowded than the main peak.

Beautiful fall colors on the scarred face of Mt. Clough, looking northwest:

Group summit shot with Moosilauke's main peak in the background:

We headed down the Carriage Road from the South Peak, and then took the Snapper Trail toward the Ravine Lodge.  After a very rewarding day above the trees, we arrived at the Ravine Lodge around 3:30pm.
Was seven hours on the trail worth the day of traveling to New England?  Without a doubt.  Being able to make it up north was the perfect way to break-up the semester and take some time to enjoy the season.  It was also great to be able to share the trail with new friends and familiar faces at the same time.  A weekend well spent and a perfect day in the mountains!