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Published: September 26th 2008
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I didn't want to make my first hike back east too easy...
So my friend, Tom had this hike out in the White Mountains that he had been planning for twenty years or so. He pitched the idea of doing this hike before I started my new job as a public educator and suffering from a little mountain withdrawal, I said "sure, let's see what the White Mountains look like". I wasn't sure exactly what to expect as I have never played out in the White Mountains before. If you aren't familiar with the White Mountains let me inform you of what I know.
*
Mount Washington has the craziest weather on the east coast and perhaps the nation. It is in the center of two giant air masses/ weather systems and is encased in clouds for most of the year. It has the highest recorded wind speed ever measured from the ground at a whopping 231 mph.
* The White Mountains have been logged over extensively within a hundred years give or take ten years
* They are one of the most heavily hiked mountain ranges in the north east and a lot of the peaks are named after presidents,
hence why it is called the "Presidential Range".
The Hike
I forgot how much hiking in the east was different then hiking out west. The trails are stumpier and rockier and tend to go straight up things instead of switching back and this hike was no different. It was a long two day hiking loop of 28 miles. We hiked up the Zealand Trail to Ethan Pond Trail which took us over a very sweet boulder field and to Thoreau Falls. After crossing the falls we hoped onto the Thoreau Falls Trail (which it is unlikely that Thoreau actually ever hiked in this area, but we think they named the falls after him as a marketing ploy) and connected up to the Wilderness Trail. The Wilderness Trail was something else, it is actually on an old railroad bed that was used about a hundred years ago to ship lumber out of the woods and when they made the White Mountains into a national forest, well the woods did what the woods does. It grew in and now only a hundred years later it is hard to see or even imagine a logging camp being around and there
not being a tree at all on the mountain. The only signs we saw were an old overgrown rock wall, a water pipe sitting in a stream bed, the occasional railroad tie in the trail, and the original railroad trestle that they used for the train. This was a nice gentle trail that meandered through the woods and around Zealand mountain. But when we turned on to the Bond Cliff Trail, it was a straight up ascent and a couple of crossings of the Pemigewasset River. We passed a couple of nice looking campsites (you can camp out in the White Mountains as long as you are 200 feet from the trail and a water source).but since the sun was still shining we decided to push on and get as close to the final ascent as possible that night. Now that was a bad mistake because as you get higher and higher up towards the alpine zone (before you hit it) the conifers are getting thicker and thicker. So when we were ready to make camp, 200 feet off the trail was a very rocky, not super nice, barely any room for the tent, camping spot. With a sigh we
did the best we could with what we had. For dinner I made Lester Kenways famous "Roaring Brook Ramen" and it wasn't half bad. Here is the recipe:
Roaring Brook Ramen:
1 package of Ramen
1 Container of Stuffing
Step 1:
Cook Ramen
Step 2:
Add in Stuffing and remove from heat
Step 3:
Wait five minutes and eat.
Simple and believe it or not I ate a whole stuffing box and the Ramen in one sitting, no leftovers! I'm a big boy!
After a very bumpy and slightly uncomfortable night we got up early ate some breakfast, which consisted of blueberries (MAN WERE THERE BLUEBERRIES). Because of the heavy rain received in New England this summer the blueberry crops were amazing. I must have ate a whole half a quart of blueberries through out this trip. It was awesome. I went blueberry crazy. The second day was the tough and challenging (there is a 10 foot rock cliff you have to climb) ascent to the top of Zealand mountain and Bond Cliff. This is where the weather change was extremely noticeable. Hiking inside of the forest is a nice and amazing shelter from the wind,
once you broke through the forest and entered the krummholz (German for crooked wood) area the temperature dropped drastically and quickly more layers had to be put on. But the view from on top of the Bond Cliff is amazing and Montana-esque. It is beautiful up there and the blueberries were an added treat!
The air was clear and the sun was shining and the wind was blowing, it was hard to believe that 24 hours before it was hailing and thunder was pounding down on this very large cliff. The weather out east is HIGHLY erratic and is a factor people should plan for whenever going out on an alpine hike!
The rest of the hike was downhill for the most part, but long. Luckily on our way down we ran into some Canadian Jays and we had some food left over to share with them. This actually was the first time I've had a Canadian Jay land on my hand and eat out of it. It was a real cool experience.
Finally before we left the White Mountain national forest, we stopped by Zealand falls and dunked our heads in for a little bit to
cool off and walked our way down to the Zealand Falls Hut. Now the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) has this hut system where you pay hotel rates(usually around 89 dollars if you aren't a member) to stay in a cabin in the middle of the woods and you get a nice warm place to sleep and a meal. Not sure if I'm down with that, but maybe if you have a family and some cash to burn it would be a good idea. If anyone has ever stayed in these huts and knows what it is like, please let me know, I am definitely curious.
Overall it was a great way to experience the White Mountains for the first time and I think I've found a nice place to go and play, it may not be in my backyard like the Bridgers, but it is definitely close enough for the weekends!
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Robin (R^3)
non-member comment
Luke, you are a big boy!
hehehehehe ... whole box of stuffing + ramen ... That lends to our old-school breakfast status check. Man, can you pack it down! The hike + view sounds fun/beautiful. I'd check out that trail in a second. Awesome sweetness :)