Mt. Moosilauke: slow and steady

A slow but steady climb up and down Mt. Moosilauke via the Beaver Brook Trail on 28 Sept 2013

One truth that I try to live out is that discovering and pursuing your passions is an important aspect to making your life meaningful. I have found two passions in life, one that I created a living out of: teaching adolescents and the other keeps me healthy, both physically and mentally: hiking.  Friends and family often point out the importance of my faith as well but I can’t really call that a passion, it is more of a necessary component to living just as oxygen is.  The title, “Be Still and Hike” definitely applies to this post as I was feeling very overwhelmed with work, not the teaching part but rather all the other additions to our jobs as teachers as of late, and having a hard time enjoying life, rather was just going through the motions.  I knew a hike would ease some of the tension and was overjoyed finding I had a Saturday free and clear along with a perfect forecast! My goal was to attempt one of the many 4,000 foot mountains in north/central New Hampshire.  A year ago I stumbled upon an old hiking guide from 1972 put out by the Dartmouth (college) Outing Club (DOC) about Mt. Moosilauke.  It drew me in and at my latest book store touring found an updated map book of the area.  By Thursday night I was researching the trails and planning the day.  Due to the drive, I knew this would take all day.  My husband was willing to join me but offered to let me enjoy it alone knowing I treasure solo hikes.  I was a little presumptuous in opting for the “shortest but most beautiful route.”  The fact that the trail was also part of the Appalachian Trail (AT) was another incentive to try it out.  Friday went by quickly and my mind was pretty much on the next day’s hike throughout work.  My husband and I went out Friday night for a “cheap date” to see Nashoba play Wachusett in football (congrats Nashoba!).  I am glad I did because reality hit me that I should plan for a chilly hike.  When we got home I packed and tried my best to fall asleep; always hard to do when you’re excited about the next day’s hike. 

As suspected, I didn’t get up as early as I’d like due to a late night but was out of the house by 8 after eating a huge bowl of oatmeal, my go to meal for any lengthy excursion.  Traffic was delayed three times, twice for construction, once for an accident but I made the trail head parking lot by 10:45 and paid the daily fee of $3.  Normally, I brag about how hiking is great because it’s free but you have to pay for most NH hikes.  I was amazed that the colors were already turning this far north and the blue sky made for a picture perfect day.  It was a little chilly so I kept on my long sleeve shirt and long pants and packed a hat and gloves.  Knowing I had to battle with daylight, I hurried but made sure I had my headlamp and poles.  I have hiked in the night a few times, sometimes on purpose, sometimes not.  Either way have found the headlamp and poles work pretty well to get me back safely. The trail head was clearly marked with signs and a map. I had the map in my bag and headed right on the trail to get going.  I walked quickly so I could summit in plenty of time to enjoy my time on top for a bit as well as leave plenty of daylight for the return trek.  The first sign I came upon listed distances to key aspects of the trail as well as a warning.  Anyone who knows me knows that these warning signs are more of an invitation to me rather than a deterrent.  I was ready for a challenge! Here is the sign:

The most striking component to this trail was the long beautiful cascades coming from Beaver Brook-the trail name.  After crossing a few brooks (another place where poles come in handy) and two bridges it wasn’t long before the trail started to climb and the cascades began.  It was beautiful and I was intrigued by the built in steps nearby.  Here is a picture I took at the start of the climb:

This feeling of intrigue faded quickly, however, as the trail grew steeper, slippery, and steps were accompanied by hand rails due to their precarious locations.  The cascades were beautiful but I didn’t stop long to admire them because so much focus was spent on careful ascension of the wet slippery leave covered rocks.  I kept telling myself this couldn’t last for long and it was better than ice.  Three fourths of the way up I was amazed by the views behind me and focused on the beauty to come at the summit.  

The trail reached a shelter and started to level out at the 1.5 mile mark.  I was unsure about the leveled ground, expecting it to climb again but the trail wasn’t bad at all. There was a trail juncture at 1.9 miles and then the trail became a challenge again as there were more large stones than ground making up the trail.  Again, carefully foot placement was key which is both physically and mentally exhausting. Silently, I often prayed for strength to finish and also wisdom if there was a need to turn back before reaching the summit.  I kept calculating the math in my head of how much time I needed to have enough daylight for the return, particularly for the steep part along the cascades.  Closer to the summit was a beautiful alpine forest with lush moss covering the ground and small pines that smelled like Christmas.  It was moist and muddy but that gave the forest a very healthy feel over the dry ones I hiked in the western part of the country.  The closer I came to the summit, the more hikers I ran into, they were all encouraging me and letting me know I wasn’t far and it was worth it.  I know many people worry about me hiking alone but I honestly feel safer hiking in the woods than I do driving my car on the roadways.  The hikers I meet are always encouraging and pleasant.  I have taken steps to keep safe but won’t go into all those now as I have rambled quite a bit here! Here is a picture of the Alpine forest:

The summit: after a final trail juncture at mile 4, I was only 4/10 of a mile from the summit.  As I often do when fatigued I started counting steps. 250 steps works out to 1/10 of a mile at my stride so I counted down a tenth and then as I started counting again I broke the tree line and my fatigue was all but forgotten by the beauty.  There were very tall rock cairns marking the rest of the trail, lots of hikers mingling about, and magnificent 360 degree views of God’s creation all around.  It was too much to take in.  I did find the summit post, took a picture and then was asked to take a picture of a young man and he gladly took mine as well at the sign.  I took a few other pictures, tried to eat something but typically have no appetite in the midst of hiking.  It was cool at the top and I slipped on my hat and gloves, regretting that I left my coat behind in the car.  I spotted one late north bounder (nobo on the AT) at the summit, reorganizing his gear.  I have learned how to spot a thru hiker by their heavy dirty backpacks and graceful ease of flying on the trail as if they had no weight on their back at all.  Later on I met some newer backpackers, brand new backpacks, short hair, no facial hair, and not so quick on their feet.  I have no excuse but travel quite slow, well at least on steep parts.  Wanting to have as much time as possible to descend I took only a few pictures and then headed back down the way I came. 

The descent: The movement quickly rewarmed me and I made for a quick pace until I hit the boulders.  I took my time on them and could feel my legs lose strength in them. During this time the AT hiker I had spotted on the summit was returning on the trail towards me and asked for the name of the trail.  He seemed worried he had taken a wrong turn.  I assured him he was indeed on the AT North, would hit the shelter soon and road crossing 2 miles later.  I offered him my map and some fruit but he declined and thanked me.  I dream of being a long distance hiker but if I can’t be that then being a trail angel would be my next consideration.  I began to take breaks frequently to hydrate and let my knees rest.  My knees have begun showing signs of arthritis and the moist climate doesn't help the matter in addition to having not had a big hike since mid-summer.  I had promised myself, pride aside, I would take the steep cascades part of the trail very slowly.  Going slowly gave me a lot of time to think.  I also let many hikers pass by, many of whom checked on me to make sure I was ok.  I assured them I was just going slowly.  During some of this thinking time I realized I would struggle as a long distance hiker, especially on steep parts like this with a 30-40 lb backpack on.  At the same time I was having my conversations with God, not out loud unless I just missed a bad slip or fall.  I was grateful to Him for my health to have this hike, his creation to enjoy the beauty, and my husband who encourages me to follow my passions.  I am also learning to be grateful for my job, even on the toughest days and take to heart a lesson learned recently from a friend’s facebook post-that I need to look at others as God sees them.  It’s easy for me to see a student as a good person covered in a lot of tough layers, some of them filled with hurt and frustration.  Naively I assume that adults should be as I expect them to be and I realize all of them have things going on as well.  We are all fighting battles and some don’t have hope, trust, or supportive friends and family to keep them going.  I am grateful to have all of those, in abundance! I did pray aloud at one point as I walked out onto a ledge on the cascades and couldn't see the trail. I walked back up seeing if I missed a turn and watching the sun drop in the horizon panic grew in that I was on a side trail.  I went back out to the ledge and this time looked down, and there they were: the steps and handrails that look so differently when you are descending.  I prayed for strength to get down this steep ledge and thanked God I didn't get lost!  

In the last part of this hike, as I pulled myself over each slippery rock, and even slid on my bottom several times to safety, I never gave up.  I felt a huge triumph as I reach the flat ground and squishy mud under my boots-a sweet sensation after traversing so many rocks.  I happily splashed through the brooks not caring if I got wet as I was already covered in mud.  My car was one of the last in the parking lot but a site I always treasure after a long hike.  I was happy to take my boots off and change my socks and shoes and head on back home feeling so very accomplished.  The hike took 3 hours 20 minutes to summit and another 4 hours to descend with about 20 minutes spent at the summit. 

Some stats including the very slow pace heading back down the cascades at mile 8: