Short, hard, but sweet! (Yet hazy!)
Mt Moosilauke. Approx 9 miles. 4,802 feet.
60 dF at trailhead, approx 60 dF at summits, 30 MPH winds above tree line. Sunny throughout, with a hazy overcast sky. Visibility approx 10 miles, max. Very windy at the summit — approximately 25-30 MPH.
Trailhead: 0900. Summit: 1115. Car: 1330.
This couldn’t have been more straightforward. Hike Glencliff trail up and down. It’s not “hard” in a technical sense, but it was strenuous. The trail goes through a short meadow that’s very picturesque and motivating, but after that, there’s a lot of up. It’s not a hard trail in terms of rock hopping, though there is a fair bit of that. Just a lot of up.
After what felt like an eternity, I made the vicinity of the south summit — there is a spur that goes south by about 0.1 miles to reach this, and on the way back, this is a fine thing to do. The views, on a clear day, are there to be had, and there’s only modest elevation gain for a lot of reward.
The ridge is gentle to the very summit, in terms of rise, and the trail itself is very clean and almost paved. Much speed will be made here. Summit itself was bald, but as noted above, not much to see today. Oh well. I did see an old foundation of an abandoned summit house.
On the macro level, a lot of flowers. Nice. I’d like to think I’ll have these identified shortly, but readers are welcome to chime in.
Hiking back down, I met a couple AT through hikers, and then a bit later on, a solo hiker. As always, they add to my trip; just the idea of walking up from Georgia is mind blowing and inspiring.
Moosilauke is a bit out of the way, in the same manner of Cabot, without feeling as “out of the way” as Cabot. If you have time, and it’s a Saturday, the town of Warren has a historical society museum with free admission. If it’s not a Saturday, there’s still a Redstone rocket out in front. Worth checking out to add to the day. New Hampshire’s beloved hero Alan Shepherd gets a mention.
Interestingly, the darker rock was “sweating.” On further inspection, it was buried enough that the ground was helping the rock retain its cold, more so than the lighter, more raised rock.
Approaching the summit.
Looking back; the nearly “paved” trail.
South summit.
Probably the worst the trail threw at me today.
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