Mount Hale (#7) August 7, 2010

Trail: Hale Brook Trail


Total distance: 4.6 miles Vertical gain: 2300'



Wow! After taking 8 1/2 months off, we've done 2 hikes in 3 weeks. The cool thing about this hike was, well, it was cool. Literally. On the drive over, in which we saw a moose (no pics), temps were in the mid-50s and stayed there even though we didn't start hiking until 9:20ish on a crisp, clear Saturday morning. Here's Thomas at the trailhead.






But wait! There's more! We actually had 2 of our family join us for this excursion. My wife, Darcy, and daughter, Josie. After talking about getting them out for almost a year, they finally agreed to join us on a 4K jaunt. They were a little concerned about the distance and vertical gain, being more than what they normally hike. How would they fair? Josie had a little stomach ache that morning, but thought she'd give it a go. Tough, happy kid, and a good sport to boot.

Oh, why not a group shot. Having them with us today made me snap a ton of pics, so there are more pics than normal in this trail report.

Here's Thomas and Josie starting up the trail.

Happy hiker mom, Darcy, enjoying that fresh mountain air.

The beginning of the hike was really at a lower angle, with no struggles or complaints from the crew. Having 4K newbies and Josie's take on things really lent a festive air to the hike. What the world looks like through young eyes helps you discover and see things that you might not give a 2nd look to normally. Here's Josie having fun crossing a tiny brook on a log bridge. She had better balance than I did!

Here's Thomas looking back at me, giving me the"Whatchya doin?" stare.

After a ways more, Josie was ready for a little break for water and a bite. She had also worked enough to dump the sweatshirt. Once fueled up, she gives the "Let's rock and roll, Daddy!" all good, 2 thumbs up sign.

A ways up, the shenanigans continue on the trail. Where's Waldo? Or Peek-a-boo. We'd have lost her if not for the bright pink sweatshirt around the waist.

Not counting various small flows across the trail, there were 2 bigger "stream" crossings. Here's Josie, trying to keep her sneakers dry while making it across the first crossing.

And taking a break at the second crossing, with a nice little set of falls coming down through.

After the 2nd crossing, the trail does steepen quite a bit as it switchbacks up a high angle section of 600-700 vertical feet, trying to gain one of the shoulders that run down from the summit. A bit of work, but everyone's still smiling. Josie, feeling on top of the world.

As we were cresting the ridgeline, we noticed a couple of cool things. First was this small mushroom in a moss or fern bed. It seemed a delicate setting in the middle of the trail. Darcy's boots give you some perspective.

Once we got out of the ravine's shadow and onto the ridge, the sun decided to come out and gave us some warmth. Out of nowhere this butterfly flies right through all of us and lands on a tree beside the trail. It lets me pull out the camera, snap a couple of pics, and then goes on its merry way.

Aproaching the peak from the Northeast kept us out of the not-too-bad winds most of the way, but as we made the final push, you could feel the coolness in those slight winds. Not too far away now, can see blue skies low on the horizon.

Finally, we break through the trees into a clearing, where a VERY large summit cairn sits on top.
Thomas stops just shy to take a pic by the top sign for the Hale Brook Trail.

Here is our summit pic, #7 in the books for us, and #1 for Josie and Darcy. Not that they're starting a list of the 48s. (I'm starting one for them.) Never know what might get into them later on in life.

Some quality family time!!

We got to the top at 11:30 am, and it took about 2hrs 10mins to reach the top. Time for lunch!!

It's hard to smile with a mouthful of food.

You can see the remnants of the old summit firetower, including pieces of concrete and the lag bolts sticking up from the ground.

Looking around the top, you realize that there is not much for views from ground level. Mt. Hale used to be a fairly bald top, but like a few of the summits in the Whites, treeline has started to creep higher and higher thanks to global warming. But with a 5-6' high summit cairn to stand on, certain views can still be had. This is looking SE, towards from L to R, Mts. Tom, Field, and Willey.

And looking SW, towards North and South Twin mountains.

When we got to the top, 2 people and a dog headed out down the Lend-A-Hand trail towards the Zealand hut. We had the summit to ourselves the whole time, and after eating lunch, decided to head down. We had heard there were some nice views just a little ways down the Lend-A-Hand trail, but the girls wanted to start heading down, as we were all a little chilled. Just as we start back down the trail , here come a few people to enjoy their own private summit. Maybe we had all reserved different times?

On the way down, some views came to us that had not been apparent on the way up or from the top. Here's a great view of Mount Washington through the trees just below the summit of Hale.

Josie took this picture of a family of mushrooms, again in a light moss or fern bed, on a Birch tree trunk. The pole tip lends perspective.

Here we are at the upper stream crossing, with Thomas and Josie still smiling.

And another break at the lower stream crossing.

Close to the bottom, Josie still is making us do silly things, as this video shows. A hiker was coming down behind us, and had no problem keeping the conga line going.

Alls well that ends well. The girls thought the hike was easier that they had anticipated, or expected. Took a break at the car for 15mins, and headed out for the drive home. Once we got to Rte 2 East by Jefferson, NH, we were rewarded with tremendous views of the northern Presidentials. From L to R, the peaks of Mts. Madison, Adams, and Jefferson.

And lastly, Mt. Jefferson with the rocky walls of Castle Ravine in the forefront. To think Thomas and I will be on top of that some day. Woo-hoo!!

The trip down took us 2hrs, almost as long as the trip up. Josie was very happy to have done a 4Ker, and the fact of hiking 4 and a half miles. Opens hers eyes to possibilities. And the temps stayed in the mid-50s to lower 60s all day, which is perfect weather for hiking.

And Thomas and I were glad to have had some of the family join us on a hike. We look forward to them and others joining us on some other hikes.

I can see Thomas getting stronger hiking-wise as he gets older, and am really looking forward to some of the longer hikes and more dramatic peaks we have yet to add to our list.

'Til next time ........... PL