Baldfaces and More Wild Wilderness

My friend Chris contacted me about a last-minute trip up to the Whites. He's around 82% complete with his redlining and had mapped out a route in the southern portion of the Wild River Wilderness that would take care of all those trails. It was an interesting route and I was happy to hike with someone as I usually hike solo. I picked him up at 4 AM and made the quiet drive north, him sleeping and me thinking. By all accounts the previous day's rain did not cause super high water as was the concern and the weather was looking perfect on Saturday. In fact, after stopping for breakfast in North Conway we considered changing our destination to the Great Gulf Wilderness where he still had trails he needed to hike. Ultimately though we stuck to the original plan which would take us on trails less travelled. I'm glad we did - it worked out very well.

We stashed Chris's bike at the Slippery Brook Trailhead and then drove dirt roads to the East Branch trailhead. We were on the trail by 9:30 AM and enjoyed the briefly cool temps. East Branch climbs very gently but there were plenty of wet sections and overgrown brush to deal with. As we approached the Wild River Trail we encountered swampy soup of a trail which made dry feet nigh impossible. We took the Wild River Trail towards Perkins Shelter where we found a large group of young folk hanging out and smoking their tweeds. We dropped packs near here and jogged/hiked the remainder to where it connected to the Rainbow Trail. We turned around, grabbed our packs and were soon back at the previous intersection. This time we took the Wild River Trail in the other direction to where it intersects with the Eagle Link Trail.

Lots of wet areas/high grass in this part of the Wild River Trail. But the water crossings were very manageable. I found an huge unopened bottle of Fiji Water and drank half of it. He hit the Eagle Link Trail and began the moderate climb up to Eagle Crag. The humidity began making itself known. Lots of big floppy overgrowth hugging the sides of the trail which were constantly pushing back against my poles. Annoying. But the slope was mostly this thick brush which made for views of the Carters through the few trees. After awhile we hit rock slabs and soon we were out in the open among the incredible views.

I've never been over on the Baldfaces so this was a real treat. We didn't actual walk the ridgeline but instead did hiked up and down a bunch of trails that Chris needed. Finally we saw other hikers for the first time (other than the stoner campers). I was starting to feel it by this point. I finally relented and changed my socks and shirt which made a big difference. The climb up South Baldface was when I really began to feel worn out. We passed a couple backpackers heading up and a bunch more people heading down. We rested for a bit at the shelter and then it was time to tackle the ledges. These were absolutely great. Terrific rock scrambling and the views into Maine were just splendid.

Originally we were going to summit South Baldface but time was ticking away and we hoped to squeeze in the Mountain Pond Loop after we finished this hike. So we skipped the summit and instead went down the Baldface Knob Trail. At the intersection we dropped our packs and made the short climb up Eastman Mountain. Great views through the trees here but my feet were beginning to ache. Chris broke his pole on the way down which was sad and we were both ready to head down the Slippery Brook Trail and be done with this hike. We figured with a name like Slippery Brook we'd be facing similar wet, muddy conditions as the East Branch Trail but amazingly it was dry and very runnable. And at the halfway mark it turned to an old logging road which made things even easier. My feet were hurting at this point but I was still happy to run these last few miles to wrap this thing up quicker.

At the trailhead Chris hopped on his bike and rode the five miles back to my car. I hiked about a mile to the Mountain Pond Trailhead and waited about 30 minutes for him. All in all a great day in the mountains. It wore us out but we dragged ourselves around Mountain Pond before calling it a day! Very happy with how the video came out. 

Sleeping Giant State Park in Connecticut

Ventured over to Sleeping Giant State Park on Tuesday since I took the day off.  It was hotter than I thought - it topped out at 90 degrees.  Oof!  Still had a fun time going up and down the various trails but I was beat by the end.  Included some cool drone shots at the beginning, end and throughout.  Check out the video below!

Wild River Wilderness 50k - Carter-Moriah Ridge

The main hike of my recent trip to the Whites was a big loop that took me through the Wild River Wilderness and over the Carter-Moriah range.  I started on the Shelburne Trail at 4:50 AM.  It was decidedly brisk at 43 degrees and very welcome as it meant no bugs for a while.  The seven miles of the Shelburne trail were often runnable and the climbs never too steep so this was a good way to ease into the day.

The Highwater Trail was going to be another story as I had heard from a friend who recently hiked it.  They had said that it was washed out in places and that makeshift paths had been made using pink ribbons to mark the way.  This all proved very true and I went off trail pretty much immediately when I took the river bed a ways instead of heading straight across.  After cutting across the woods I found the trail but soon I got even more wrapped up in thick brush, which led to me wandering this way and that before I returned to the river and just took the path of least resistance.   After that it was mostly much easier to follow though there was still one section ahead to trip me up.

It was my first time along the Wild River and it was impressive how wide it was.  The water was very low but the fallen trees lining the shore made it clear that this river was serious business in high water.  Once I passed the intersection with the Moriah Brook Trail things got easier on the Highwater in terms of navigation but the trail itself began to climb a bit and move away from the Wild River.  The chilly temps were long gone and it was now climbing towards the 70s.

I was both looking forward to and dreading the Black Angel Trail which would bring me up just below Carter Dome over five miles.  The first 1.5 miles had a good amount of runnable terrain but the trail went on and on, climbing ever higher.  It was cool seeing Carter Dome from the other side but it made me think it was closer than it actually was.  The bugs finally came out and the sun was high enough to make things steamy in the woods.  There were a couple water spots up high where I was able to top off all my bottles and not long after the last one I finally hit the Carter-Moriah trail. 

Finally on the ridgeline after 16.5 miles, it was a short jaunt to the summit of Carter Dome.  The bugs on the summit made it clear what I was in for and I promptly turned around and headed for Mt. Hight.  I was definitely feeling it at this point and was looking forward to a long break on the Hight summit to refresh and nourish.  But the bugs were worse on Hight, probably the worse I would experience all day.  After a few minutes I had enough and continued on.  So long as I was moving the bugs were only a nuisance.

I slowed down considerably on the ridgeline, feeling the elevation.  I encountered a good number of hikers doing the Carters or the whole ridge, including an AT hiker who was slackpacking from Rattle River and clearly enjoying the feeling of being unencumbered.  Found one more water source somewhere between Middle and North Carter but my hamstrings nearly seized up when I crouched to fill up.  Thankfully they didn’t lock up and I had no further issues. 

After the intersection with North Carter Trail it was a slow four miles to get to the Moriah summit.  There were some wonderful views to be had though and a nice breeze on some open sections made for a fairly bug-light resting experience.  There were a good number of people on the Moriah summit so I didn’t linger long.  I could see Shelburne Moriah waiting for me and knew I still had almost a 1/3 of the hike to go, though most of it would be downhill. 

The descent down Moriah features some lovely bog bridges and the climb up Shelburne Moriah has lots of open scrubby rock which feel like they belong at a higher elevation.  The summit of this mountain is a little tricksy – I kept thinking I was nearly there only to see another cairn up ahead.  At the actual summit I took a little breather and enjoyed the last views of the day before I began descending for good.

Turns out Shelburne Moriah had more views on the way down but soon I was in the woods for the last time.  My legs were holding together pretty well and I was descending at a decent clip.  I refilled my water with three miles to go and once I hit the last two miles of old road I was able to get back to a shambling run.  I encountered my first angry grouse but it ducked off into the brush before I could get footage.  For the only time in this hike I encountered deer flies, the likes of which I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced.  If nothing else they kept me moving (watch the end of the video to see just how many).  I finished the Shelburne Trail and threw myself into the car and cranked the AC to escape the devil flies.  Satisfied but completely spent I drove ten minutes to the West Bethel Motel, where I showered and managed to drag myself out again for dinner before returning and promptly falling asleep at 7:30 PM.