Total Distance: 9.0 miles Vertical Gain: 3400'
It was a brisk 30F at 7:30am as we got ready to hike at the trailhead. Call us silly, but we start off w/ hunter orange hats during hunting season. Never know, right? And, the hats put a smile on the day.
I had talked to 2 different people about this hike. The re-occurring themes were beautiful views and plenty of false summits. The trail starts off with a moderate grade for the first 1.5 miles.
The trail is easy to follow, and so are the hats!
The trail starts in Gorham, NH, and is NW of Moriah. The sun won't hit us for a little bit. Here it's starting to peek through the trees.
We came across this tree with many fungi shelves. Thought they were pretty cool.
Looks like the Starship Enterprise from the bottom.
After hiking about 1.5 hrs., we came upon this little island oasis of green. Seemed out of place, and very noticeable in its contrast with the bare trees and brown leaves.
2 hours into the hike, we hit some open ledges, which is a minor summit named Mt. Surprise. We couldn't decide if it was named for the views that hit you suddenly, or as you keep going to Moriah, each false summit you reach says "Surprise" to you when you realize that you're not there yet. So let the views begin. Here, looking L to R, are Mts. Washington, Clay, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. The northern Presidentials.
And up ahead, we see a high knob. Is it the top of Moriah? When we get there, we see the answer is NO. But, more good views. You can tell by the pics that there's not a cloud in the sky. Temps have climbed into the upper 40s, and there's absolutely no wind. What a beautiful, rare hiking day for November. The northern Pressies, from higher up on the trail.
And looking NW past Gorham, NH towards the Pliny and Pilot ranges.
Time for a break and a snack. Not a bad seat in the house.
After a nice break, we continue on through the thickening woods.
Thomas spotted this weird circle etched into a rock, looking like an eye. After staring at it a bit, we decided it looked very much like the head of a dinosaur or bird.
A little further up the trail, we found a fallen tree whose base used to be across the trail. Literally picked up every piece of dirt off the trail, leaving only bedrock.
After another false summit or two, we came across a bog section approx. 50' or so long that had some very rough wooden bridges. They were old and rotted in most places. Even down to 1 broken piece in some places. Also, the bog had frozen around the logs. I'll let the video tell the rest of the story.
And for those without video capabilities, here's a still pic.
All in all, cold, wet, and squishy. But what are you going to do? Continue on, of course. And we can see (hopefully) the true summit through the trees.
Upwards we go, as we cross the snow line.
Again, each knob was approached from the north, so anything steep was shaded and cooler. Finally, no more false summits. Here's the short spur path to the top.
And we're here!! Already on top is a very nice fellow by the name of Bob, and his dog, Chelsea.
We made it at 11:30am, about 4 hours. Not the quickest of times, but a great day to enjoy a hike. On top, still no clouds, no wind, and the temps have climbed into the low 50s. Bob offers to take our picture. Absolutely, and Thank You.
We get a full 360 degrees of views. Here are a few of them.
We eat and rest for a half hour, then it's time to head down. We get more of the same awesome views going down, but decided to descend faster than we'd come up, with few stops. Made it down by 2:30pm, for a total trip time of 7 hours, counting lunch and breaks. Just a great day to be in the mountains, and couldn't ask for better weather for the time of year.
We saw the sun rise, and we saw the sun set as we rolled home for supper. The time change makes for early starts as it gets dark by 4-4:40pm in the woods. We're learning to plan accordingly.
Also, #12 for us means we are a quarter of the way through. Woo-Hoo!! Maybe we CAN finish this by Thomas's graduation in 2015.
One last note. It was nice to have daypacks on again after our hike of the Bonds a few weeks ago. But even going lighter, the mountains will always throw you a few curves.
'Til next time........................ PL
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Fantastic!!!!!!
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