Mt. Moosilauke - November 8, 2020

My wife and I spent the weekend in the Whites, spending Saturday hiking Mt. Moriah (separate report coming for that one). We stayed in Plymouth on Saturday night and I snuck out of the hotel in the wee hours and made the 30 minute drive to the Glencliff trailhead. I've never been up Moosilauke from this trail and figured it shouldn't be too hard to follow with a headlamp. I was correct although I still managed to go off trail once or twice as one does in the dark. Originally I didn't think I'd make it up for sunrise but I was making good time and started to push when I realized I was on target. There was a one short section of Glencliff that was fairly icy, making me regret my lack of spikes momentarily, but it was short lived.

Once I reached Carriage Rd I could see the spectacular sunrise poking through the trees. I pushed as fast as I could in order to get above treeline before the colors faded. I didn't encounter any more ice - just a lot of mud. I was able to get my look at the sunrise which was splendid. I continued on to the summit which ended up being more overcast than anything. But the weather was so warm that I was able to throw on my synthetic jacket and linger up there for twenty minutes despite the steady breeze and being in shorts. The last time on Moosilauke it was a bit of a zoo so having the summit to myself was a nice treat.

Originally I had planned to just descend Glencliff but I was doing well on time so I decided to head down Carriage Rd and take the Hurricane trail back to the car. There was one brief section of snow/ice on Carriage Rd but otherwise the trail was fairly dry. And a joy to run down. Hurricane trail had a couple peaceful streams and a partially obstructed viewpoint at height of land. This trail was marked well by blue blazes which I was thankful for as it was a little tough to follow with recent heavy leaf cover.

Happy to fit this one in before heading home. After showering and checking out we still had time for a tasty outdoor breakfast at the Main Street Diner (maybe the best homefries I've had). See below for a short video of my hike!