| The Moose is Loose Trip Report |
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| The Moose is Loose   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: New Hampshire, United States, North America Date Climbed/Hiked: Mar 13, 2009 | Page By: Catamount Created/Edited: Mar 14, 2009 / Mar 15, 2009 Object ID: 497826 Hits: 493 Loading... Page Score: 88.62% - 16 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
The Breakdown Mountain - Mount Moosilauke, NH
Elevation - 4,802'
Temperature - Cold enough
Wind - light breeze
Distance - 7.8 miles roundtrip
Elevation gain - 3,300'
Partners - None
South Peak, elev. 4,523' |
On a whimAfter spending the better part of January and February on the winter hiking sidelines due to a ridiculous amount of work-related travel, the end of the winter started to come together for me quite nicely. In the two weeks leading up to this trip, I had been able to escape into the Adirondack Mountains for some good snowshoe hikes in the Lake George Region. But as much as I enjoyed those hikes, I decided I was in a bit of a New York rut. Other than my highpointing travels, virtually all of my recent time in the mountains had been spent in either the Catskills or Adirondacks. Should I go to Vermont? Nah. It really didn't take long for my thoughts to turn to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. After doing a significant amount of hiking in the Whites during the late 90s and early 2000s, my time in these mountains has been quite limited in recent years. In fact, as I thought about it, I realized that a November 2007 hike of Mount Carrigain had been the last time I'd been hiking in the Granite State. Before that, it was for a September 2005 Presidential traverse. Clearly, it was time to go back.
Once I settled on New Hampshire, the decision as to what mountain to hike came pretty easy. Mount Moosilauke had been one of my favorite hikes during my 4,000-footer days. I frequently thought of it whenever I recalled the best mountains in the Northeast. In the summer, it has a broad grassy summit, a lot of above treeline terrain and great views. I had hiked it in 1997 via the Beaver Brook Trail from the north. As good as it was in the summer, I figured it would be even better in winter. And with a Friday hike planned, I also thought I might get to enjoy a bit of solitude on this extremely popular mountain. My chosen route would be via the Glencliff Trail from the south. The weather forecast for Friday the 13th looked good after some rain and extreme wind in the previous two days. I hoped this Friday the 13th would bring good luck!
Barren summit |
The hikeSo in order to get an early start in the White Mountains, I have two choices. The first choice is to leave the night before and either sleep in my truck or get a hotel room. The second choice is to wake up crazy early to allow myself time to complete the 4-hour drive to the Whites. I have done both many times over the years. On this occasion, I went with the 3 AM wake-up.
I arrived at the Glencliff Trail parking area a little before 8 AM and took some time to scout out the early part of the trail and inspect the trail register. The last "summit party" to sign through the register had been on March 7 - six days ago - and there had been some thaw and freeze cycles in the last several days. Couple that with the wind and rain of the last day and a half and I figured I was going to be dealing with some significant ice issues. The trail in the early going was a hard crust and I made the decision to go with crampons all the way.
Mount Washington. If you look closely, you can see the circus |
Once I got moving, I felt really good. The valley temperatures were crisp but not frigid (probably somewhere between 5 and 10 degrees F) and the AM sun was out in full force. The grades on the Glencliff trail are fairly consistent so it was easy to fall into a rhythm. In the first hour, I put 1,600 feet elevation gain under my feet. The crampons were biting into the crust without causing me to post hole and my legs felt strong. After passing through the 3,000-foot contour, my pace slowed some but I was still able to gain more than 1,000 feet elevation in the second hour as I closed in on the ridge that leads from the summit of Moosilauke's South Peak to the true summit. The grades became much steeper leading to the ridge but mellowed out for the last 8/10s of a mile to the summit.
Lafayette and Lincoln to the left; Washington to the right |
The problem now was not the "steep" but the drifting along the fairly open ridge. Judging by the tops of the trees I was looking down at and the moonscape type of snowdrifts, I would estimate that I was walking on a base of 10-15 feet of snow. As a solo hiker, the thought of cracking through the surface into an unseen spruce trap was a little unsettling as there was no sign whatsoever of any recent traffic. I was careful with my footing and made my way across the ridge to the base of the summit push.
South Peak from the summit of Moosilauke |
The thick snowdrifts turned to hard ice once I hit the summit cone. Any thoughts of turning back disappeared once I was on firmer ground. The summit lay just ahead as I made my way past the cairns to the peak. Quite a different experience than my late spring hike a dozen years earlier. The wind was light but very biting with summit temperatures well below zero. Still I found some time to take some good photos and lingered on the summit for a bit. The views toward Lafayette, Lincoln and Mount Washington were the best.
Saw not another soul until I was virtually back out of the woods and met up with a snowshoer exploring the lower contours of the trail. How often do you get the chance to hike a White Mountain 4,000-foot peak and literally have the entire mountain to yourself? A great day.
Hero Shot |
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Cannon-Kinsman and Moosilauke Range > Mount Moosilauke > The Moose is Loose
