Mount Moosilauke

Date: 5/23/2020

Elevation: 4,802'

Miles: 9.1 (ish. I think?)

Time: 6 hours, 14 minutes (includes ~45 minutes at the summit)

Trail: Gorge Brook Trail

Calories: 2,578

Average HR: 127

Peak HR: 176 (idk these are kind of cool stats to me so I'm including them)

My first 4,000 footer of the summer! I think the last time I hiked Mt. Moosilauke was when I was 12 and all I can really remember about it is the giant banana split sundae I shared with my dad afterwards.

This time I hiked with my brother, who apparently likes to hike way faster than me. He had suggested I go for my first hike the night before and, after half an hour of pleading with him, he agreed to go with me. I packed our peanut butter and jellies the night before, but we still got a later start than planned and left Hanover at 7:30am. We got to what I thought was the trailhead around 8:30am…but then I realized we were at the wrong trail (my b).

I had driven us to Beaver Brook Trail, which also goes up Moosilauke but is apparently “extremely steep and rough” and can be dangerous in icy conditions. Nah fam. We were not trying to start off this project by falling off a mountain. So we hopped back in the car and drove to Gorge Brook Trail (I had mixed up my brooks), which starts at the base of the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the road leading up to the lodge is closed off to cars, so we added about a mile of walking to our journey each way—Will was not psyched about this.

Beaver Brook Trail starts, as the name suggests, on a brook! It flowed more like a river than a brook with all the snow melt, but there are lots of fun lil bridges to cross. After 1.6 miles the trail parts ways with Gorge Brook and starts to get steeper. This is where I stopped to put bandaids on my fast-forming blisters :) We soon found the snow that had yet to feed the brook; I thought I was done with snow until next winter, but I guess not. Since it was still pretty early, the snow had a hard pack that eventually melted into more of a slush for our way down. But the hard pack only formed a very narrow path—if you step just a tiny bit off of it, you can be up to mid-thigh in snow (this happened often). I learned this is called post-holing. Probably best to avoid, but it can be refreshing too. I liked to ease my way through the snowy obstacles, but Will flew threw them without fear (if you know him, you know this makes sense). Microspikes and poles would have made this hike a lot easier and the people who had them were going a lot faster. Oh well, we made it work.

We started to get glimpses of incredible views as the trees got shorter and the trail provides few lookout points along the way. Right before we reached the summit, we passed a woman wearing a Tufts hat who marveled at my Amherst hockey t-shirt (shoutout AWH). She asked if I was on the team and I told her I was graduating the next day. She seemed so happy for me and it was a really cute moment; love that.

After about two hours and 45 minutes of hiking, we reached the summit!! Right before noon, it was so pretty and it felt great to finally sit down for a bit and eat those pb&js. I packed half a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich too, and that will definitely be an essential going forward. With a slight breeze and such a gorgeous view, best lunch I’ve had since Val.

(We think that snow-covered mountain to the left is Mount Washington)

We spent around 45 minutes at the top before heading back down the way we came. The snow was more slushy with the warming sun, so it involved some (safe) sliding. I seriously have no idea how Will moves down the mountain so fast. The trip back was pretty uneventful. We finally reached the road back to the car and honestly this was the most difficult part of the hike. For some reason, walking on the flat ground felt so much more painful on my legs and feet and all I wanted were my Crocs instead of my hiking boots. That road felt like it went on forever and a few times I had to stop and just squat down for a hot sec. Ow.

Finally we made it back and took off our hiking boots to compare blisters. I think Will won, but Crocs have never felt better on my feet. If I didn’t still have Bauer bumps from my high school skates, I think I’d be chilling. We started the drive back to Hanover and Will fell asleep immediately. Classic.

Note to self: You think you’re in shape until you try to do this. My legs, booty, and feet were straight jello after this hike. But honestly I can’t wait until my blisters are healed enough to get back on the trail. So excited for more!!

#hiking #NewHampshire #4000footer #Moosilauke