Mt. Starr King and Mt Waumbek

I woke up at 5:30 staring at the rain trying to decide whether or not I wanted to hike today.  I looked at the Mountain-Forecast website and it read – cloudy, clearing, precipitation potential 1/10^th of an inch, winds 5 mph.  So I decided to head out to check off another 52WAV mountain (Mt. Starr King) and threw in a 4K (Mt. Waumbek) for good measure.

Most of the drive I wondered why I left the heated blankets of my bedroom.  The weather did not look promising; it rained most of the drive.  As I got close, the clouds were so low to the ground I was unable to see any of the surrounding mountains.   ‘Well it will be interesting’, I thought to myself.

I got to the trailhead at 8:45 and was surprised to see the parking lot was almost full.  At the trailhead the trail gently ascended, winding through a lovely forest.  There is a walk-over blowdown about 15 minutes in and a number of ‘difficult to avoid’ muddy areas. There is another minor walk-over blowdown near the summit. 

During the hike, I looked for the elusive morels but was not successful.  I ate a number of trillium leaves as I hiked and was surprised to discover just how delicious they were uncooked!   I collected some for tomorrow’s lunch, and took photos of more wildflowers.  I photographed what I think were wild leaks and contemplated collecting some; but without knowing for sure, I decided to leave them.

Starr King Summit

There was still some ice on the trail as you got closer to the summit of Starr King.

I didn’t know about the fireplace at the top and I got so distracted by it, I didn’t photograph the limited summit views.

I was startled by a male spruce grouse trying to lead me away from his nest with his beautiful display.  I followed him for a bit and took some photos.

Not too long after, a marten ran across the trail in front of me!  

Then came the rain.  It was a light to moderate rain as I hiked toward Mt. Waumbek.  (Waumbek isn’t  much of a summit!  Just a cairn surrounded by trees!)  I took a couple of selfies and sat while the ERD (evil rat dog) ate his lunch.  As I started my descent, the skies opened up, bringing heavy rain, then hail.  Hmm, no one predicted hail!   I had gloves and warm clothes so I wasn’t worried.  Since I had already reached the summits and was on my way down, I was actually enjoying the change of weather.

Waumbek Summit 

Summit Selfie 

I watched a number of hikers pass by in a hurry to get to the summit.  Some were very unhappy with the weather change.  One hiker was very annoyed after asking me how much longer and I replied 20 minutes.  “20 minutes, you’re kidding!” she said exasperated as if I was the one responsible for the weather change and the distance to the summit.

Half way down the weather started to clear and the forest was illuminated by an enveloping fog.  It was beautiful and serene.  I sat for a while, took some photos, and smiled.  It was a wonderful close to an eventful hike.

Beautiful forest fog

Owl pellet with rodent mandible

muddy boots

Chaga - medicinally beneficial and makes a delicious tea.

Cherry Mountain/Owlshead

After spending a few days at a yoga workshop with my teacher from India, I knew my legs were going to be tired today.  So even though this was a moderate trail, between the yoga, and the many cool distractions on the trail (false morels - Gyromitra esculenta, the beautiful but deadly false hellebore - Veratrum viride,  the spring call of unknown birds, and many wild flowers including the show-stopping red trillium -Trillium erectum, and the relatively uncommon, Painted trillium -Trillium undulatum, my hiking was slow today. The trail was dry with the exception of a few avoidable muddy areas near the beginning of the trail. There was a minor blow down about 10 minutes into the trail and two others on Martha's mile trail.  All an easy walkover. 

It’s a beautiful woodland trail.  The views were somewhat limited on Cherry Mountain due to cloud cover, but were beautiful on Owlshead.  Just as we were moving toward the summit of Owlshead, unpredicted rumbles of thunder sounded overhead.  Nothing makes me more nervous than the sounds of thunder on an unprotected summit.  We scrambled up the rocks to the summit, took a few photos, enjoyed the views and darted back down as the sound of thunder drew nearer. 

Purple (red) Trillium

Painted Trillium

False Morel - deadly - do not eat!

Cherry Mountain

A quick, tie the camera to a tree, timer selfie on Owlshead :)

Lightly steamed, purple trillium leaves with a little olive oil and salt.  It taste like a cross between spinach and arugula.  When harvesting, only pick ONE leave per plant.  Do NOT pick Painted trillium leaves. 

Mount Jackson, Mount Webster Loop

The trail to the Webster/Jackson fork was muddy with a moderate amount of running water.   I ascended up to Mount Jackson first. The water crossings were minimal but the water was running fast so I decided to carry my Chihuahua rather than watch him be swept to the bottom of the mountain.

postholing it at 3100 feet up to Jackson

The trail was easy going until 3100 feet when I started postholing.  The postholing increased as I got closer to the summit, but even with the postholing it was an enjoyable, easy ascent.  I loved the baldface scramble to the summit.  It was windy at the top but the weather was so beautiful I never needed to put on a jacket. 

I have hiked many mountains solo, but this was my first solo 4000 footer.  I was hoping to have the summit to myself but there were some college-aged students at the top.  Two of the three wore sneakers and their feet were soaked and cold. They decided to stay at the summit until they dried and warmed themselves.  

After 30 minutes, realizing I would never get the summit to myself, I headed onto Webster.  The snow was soft and deep and my dog and I postholed it the entire way to Webster and most of the way down to the car.  The summit was nice but paled in comparison to Jackson’s. 

The trail going down from Webster was much more treacherous than the Jackson side.  The running water was so deep that I finally picked up the dog and put him on top of my backpack.

Just before I reached the waterfall I fell on the ice and slid about 20 feet.  Yes, I was wearing my spikes but they just weren’t penetrating this part of the trail.  At the waterfall I just shook my head as I noticed the water crossing.  There was no choice but to walk part way through the rushing water, knee deep.  I threw the dog back on top of my pack and headed across.  

I was startled by the beauty of the glacier-like blue ice alongside the waterfall.  I sat along the edge of the water and stared at it for a long time.  It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen on a hiking trail. 

From there on it in it was easy trekking back to the car.

Mount Jackson, Webster Loop Video

taking a break on the way up to Jackson

beautiful waterfall with blue ice!

Traverse to Webster

beautiful blue ice!

Waterfall and blue ice!

Dog on the top of my backpack

Almost at Webster

First view of Jackson summit

running water, snow and ice on the hike up to Jackson

Postholing to Webster

Views from Jackson

The ERD enjoying the summit

The trail, not a water crossing

Webster Summit

W

Wet boots on the trail

Black Mountain, Benton, NH

The forecast was rain but I decided to hike hoping the weather would clear by the time I got to the summit. There is a quick worthwhile side trail to the historical Lime Kilns.  I recommend checking it out before heading up the mountain.

I ascended the Chippewa trail.  It's a steep, beautiful trail with white veined stones (granite?) and carved stairs along the way.  A lot of the trail was a muddy stream and especially slippery at the bald rock viewpoints.  The fog engulfed the summit but started to clear a bit on the way down so I got some views on the descent. The hike down was a little treacherous with the running water and slippery rocks.  Must be amazing on a clear day.

Lime Kilns

Historical information on the Lime Kilns

view from the top of the kiln

fog at one of the viewpoints

My friend an my ERD

my friend at one of the viewpoints

my friend and her Chesapeake Jetty

today's hiking companions

fog

socked-in at the summit :)

Jetty and the ERD (my evil rat dog)

clearing skies on the descent

My friend's Chesapeake

Tired dog