Hoping to get away for a couple days in New Hampshire and do some hiking Laurie and I planned on going up to the mountains Sunday and Monday. The weather forecast wasn't to good, especially for Monday. Cloudy on Sunday and periods of showers along with all day clouds on Monday- high temp 55 degrees. Figuring we had at least one dry day and really wanted to get up to NH for the first time this season we went.
I love hiking mountains, but the way I see it, if I'm going to the top there has to be a view. My original plan was for us to hike Mt Jackson. Jackson is one of the easier 4000 foot mountains. It is completely sheltered in the woods except for some slickrock the last 100 feet or so. Its got a great view looking north to the rest of the Presidential range. I thought this would be a good staring mountain for Laurie. Unfortunately the clouds were very low so the only view at the top would be that of fog.
Plan B - Usually if the sky isn't clear, I go for waterfall hikes. This way I don't need to see for miles to enjoy the scenery. We decided to go to Zealand Falls. The hike is about 5 miles round trip, mostly flat except for the last tenth. On the way are a couple beaver ponds to look at. At the top just past the falls is Zealand Hut. If we got rained on, we would have some shelter to dry off in and eat our lunch.
We hiked up through the woods until we got past a couple beaver ponds. At one of the last ponds there was a bull moose feeding on water plants. This guy had very small antlers ( especially for this time of year) but he was huge. The moose was still very young maybe only two or three years old. However, other than the antlers he was as big as any moose I have ever seen. He reminded of those six foot twelve year olds we all went to school with. While the rest of us were struggling to make it over 5 1/2 feet, these kids have size twelve shoes and are just to big for their age. Same with this young moose. When his antlers grow in proportion to his size in a year or two, he will be the dominant male in his territory.
We watched the moose for 10 minutes and took some pictures. A half hour past the moose we reached the waterfall. We sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the water. After the dry summer, the water was not rushing over the falls, but it was still nice. We walked up past the falls and just past the hut. Fifty feet from the hut the trail crosses the river just above the falls. Laurie and I found a sitting rock with a comfortable back at the river and ate lunch. After a quick trip to the bathroom we headed back to the car. Unfortunately, the moose had left the pond so on the way back all we saw were chipmunks.
For supper we cooked steaks on the portable grill. Then we had a fire for an hour before going in the tent for the night. During our sleep it began to rain and did so throughout the night.
In the morning after packing the wet tent up and eating some maple and brown sugar oatmeal ( like you care what kind of oatmeal I ate for breakfast ) I looked at the map looking for another alternate hike. Mt Jackson was more out of the question Monday than the day before. The clouds were lower and the forescast was for rain ( and this was new to me ) lightning and hail after 2 pm. Laurie suggested Dianas Bath. Although, not a large waterfall, Diana's Bath is a neat area. There is a series of small cascades and pools. Not to far from the tourist mecca of North Conway, Diana's Bath is packed with people during warm summer days. I can't blame all those people. Although it is to crowded for me in summer season, its a great place to wade and splash in the water to cool off.
In the morning after packing the wet tent up and eating some maple and brown sugar oatmeal ( like you care what kind of oatmeal I ate for breakfast ) I looked at the map looking for another alternate hike. Mt Jackson was more out of the question Monday than the day before. The clouds were lower and the forescast was for rain ( and this was new to me ) lightning and hail after 2 pm. Laurie suggested Dianas Bath. Although, not a large waterfall, Diana's Bath is a neat area. There is a series of small cascades and pools. Not to far from the tourist mecca of North Conway, Diana's Bath is packed with people during warm summer days. I can't blame all those people. Although it is to crowded for me in summer season, its a great place to wade and splash in the water to cool off.
At 51 degrees and misty on a weekday in mid September, the promise of solitude seemed much more likely to be fullfilled. We walked the .6 miles out to the pools. We rock hopped over the cascades and pools for a little bit. We found a nice spot at the top of a natural waterslide and watched the stream before heading back to the car.
Unfortunately, on the way back to the car the weather started to deteriorate. Instead of going out for another trail for the afternoon, we wimped out and came home three hours earlier than planned.
Unfortunately, on the way back to the car the weather started to deteriorate. Instead of going out for another trail for the afternoon, we wimped out and came home three hours earlier than planned.
All in all, the weather was not perfect but we had a great couple days. I think we absolutely chose the right trails. Seeing the moose on the trail was the highlight of the trip. A pretty awesome memory in my opinion.
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