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.
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