Mt Moriah, Moose, and Fun

 

This past weekend was the annual CARC hiking weekend.  This year we went back to the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Mackenzie went with me this year for her first time in the Whites.  On Friday morning we got up early and headed to Hatfield, MA to meet up with the rest of the group.  Once all together we discussed what hike we wanted to do.  One group would go and hike Mt. Osceola, and the other would hike Mt Moriah.  Since I had already hiked the Osceola’s, we went with the Mt Moriah group.  We arrived at the trailhead by mid-morning and began hiking.  It was a beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze.  It was about 4.5 miles out to the summit, and a steady climb the entire way.  Along the way the trail climbs over the smaller Surprise Mt. and on to Mt. Moriah.  We stopped for some views and had lunch about half way up. 

After lunch I ran out of gas and struggled to keep any kind of pace.  I think lack of training and hiking leading up to this weekend caught up with me.  Mackenzie did great and went on ahead of me, reaching the summit and enjoying the view.  Eventually, I made the summit and was able to rest for a bit.  Then came the long descent back to the truck.  We were pretty tired when we made it back to the truck and the cold ice tea and air conditioning felt good for the short ride to Joe Dodge Lodge and a well-earned shower.

We were surprised when we arrived at the lodge to find a mother moose and 2 babies munching leaves around the parking lot of the lodge.  Very cool to see the babies. 

The next morning we both decided to take a shorter hike and let our legs recover.  We hiked out to Lowes Bald Spot, about a 4.5 mile round trip from the lodge.  We enjoyed nice views of Mt. Adams and Madison and the Great Gulf Wilderness.  It was a fun hike.  We were able to enjoy a relaxing afternoon hanging around the Pinkham Notch and Joe Dodge lodge.

Sunday was travel day and we enjoyed a nice breakfast and fellowship with the CARC group.  A quick hike up to Cascade Falls and then we hit the road for home.  A fun and successful weekend hiking.  It was another 4000 footer for me and Mackenzie got her first in the Whites.  Looking forward to next year.

South Taconic section hike

Mac and I went for a nice section hike on the South Taconic Trail yesterday, from Bash Bish to the Mt. Washington SP headquarters.  It was a little over 6 miles on a nice mostly sunny day with temps in the 60's.  I have hiked this section as an out and back a few times so I had warned her that there was a good climb to start off then it would be a nice ridge walk.  I had forgotten how hard of a climb it was.  We climbed roughly 1000' elevation in about 1.3 miles.  We were both whipped when we got to the top.  We stopped and had a snack and some water, taking a much needed break.  Once back on the trail it was much as I remembered it, a rolling ridge walk with scattered views both to the East and West.

  We could clearly see the Catskills in the distance.  Now that we were on the ridge we made good time and were soon at the summit of Alander Mt.  We took another break and enjoyed the view before making our way back and taking the Alander Mt. trail back to the State park headquaters and the car.  The Alander Mt. cabin is still standing, although it is a little rougher than the last time I was there.  The floor is getting pretty spongy.  Mac enjoyed checking out all the notes and trinkets left by other hikers.  The trail back hasn't changed much from my last trip.  We passed the primitive camping areas and were soon back at the car.  We were both tired, the initial climb having taken a lot out of us, but I enjoyed the hike and love that area.  We will be back.