Let it Snow? Mount Hale - Thoreau Falls/Shoal Pond Loop 10/16-10/17 2009

LET IT SNOW

Well once gain, it was a fun night playing music at Gritty McDuffs in Portland followed by a the long drive to the White Mountains. This week's goal was in the area surrounding Zealand Falls beginning with a hike up Mount Hale (4054') then down to the Zealand Falls Hut, past Thoreau Falls to Stillwater Junction, then back up the Shoal Pond trail and a short road walk back to the car.
I didn't get to the trailhead until almost 4am and was surprised to find that several inches of snow had fallen.  I put on my headlamp and started up the Hale Brook trail.  It ascends steadily for a little over two miles and a couple thousand feet of elevation gain to the open summit of Mount Hale.  The higher I climbed, the snow became deeper, clinging heavily to the trees.  It was cold and a stiff breeze was blowing so I only paused once to drink and eat a bit.



Soon, I reached the top just as the sky was beginning lighten slightly.  The was a good six inches of snow here and I quickly stomped out a flat spot for the tent.  It was a record setup, I was so tired from a ten hour day of teaching followed by a gig followed by the ride followed by the hike! I climbed immediately into the sleeping bag and slept for about five hours, until I awoke to the sound of a day hiker snowshoeing back down from the summit past my tent.  I took a minute to install some 1/4" hex head sheet metal screws in the soles of my trail runners. I knew the trail down would be iced ledges in several sections as well as many frozen bog bridges.

I learned this trick from "Flyin' Brian Robinson" - in 2001 he successfully hiked all of the Appalachian Trail (2168mi), the Continental Divide Trail (2558mi) and the Pacific Crest Trail (2645mi) for total of 7371 miles in 300 days!  On a trip in early October my buddy RJ and I had hiked aloop up Cannon Mountain then over the Cannonballs and down to the Kinsman Pond Shelter for the evening. There had been a huge early snowstorm and we had had a fun but exhausting day of breaking trail in deep snow. We were hanging out in the shelter with the stove roaring, in our bags and wearing down jackets when much to our surprise in walks a very tall thin man with a tiny pack. He quickly had his entire pack emptied and his gear spread around him in an obviously well rehearsed routine. We started to chat with him and I quickly figured out who he was - I had read about his attempt online.  He had been doing 30+ mile days consistently before the storm had slowed his progress.  He had left his map in Hanover and was headed for the Presidential Range.  I offered for him to take my map, which would cover from there to the ME/NH border. He took down my address and sure enough 5 days later my map arrived in the mail along with a note of thanks.


The wind was still blowing and the temp was just over twenty degrees. I brewed up some hot water and added half to my camelbak to keep it flowing and had some cereal and powdered milk with warm water in a ziploc, it feels great to hold on a cold morning. I had heard that several of the rocks on the summit were strongly magnetic and my compass spun around as I circled the summit cairn.

The view to the east toward Zealand and the Twins

From here the Lend-A-Hand Trail descends the north ridge of Hale, passing through several wet areas. The trail is named in honor of Edward Everett Hale, editor of a journal for charitable organizations in Boston. I couldn't have been happier to be in the mountains once again, with a fresh blanket of white.  I took a moment to thank the universe before I set out on my day's journey.  The trail descended steadily to an open ledgy area with a nice view to Whitewall Mountain.

 

Whitewall Mountain and Zeacliff in the foreground and Mt Bemis, Carrigain Notch, Vose Spur and Mt Carrigain behind.  Foliage with snow is about as good as it gets!

From here the trail got steeper and the miles flew by - the next thing I knew I was at the junction of the Appalachian Trail. I turned left and headed down past the water pump to Zealand Falls Hut. I stopped in to fill up my water - the croo members told me they had drained the water lines in preparation for the winter season but I was welcome to fill up from the big kettle on the stove.  We talked for a bit, the two guys on duty were heading out for the season tomorrow.  Zealand Falls Hut is one of three AMC Huts that remain open in the winter and the winter croo was coming in the next day. I bid them farewell and headed south on the AT toward Thoreau Falls.

Looking south from Whitewall Mountain

  Looking north from the same spot - the tiny silver speck on the hillside is the roof of the Zealand Hut with Mount Hale behind

I have always loved this spot, for it's wide open view and the perfectly flat topped boulder that makes a perfect place to stretch out and enjoy the view. Whitewall mountain is a crumbling mass of angular white rocks, several of which are piled precariously atop one another like a geologic game of Jenga that has lasted way too long.  The trail here is a perfectly flat band of sand that cuts a swath through the rock slide as it continues down to the valley floor. Just a beautiful place. Soon the trail enters some open birches and lovely mossy areas, the snow was non-existent here and it had warmed up to the high 30's - ideal hiking weather.

I turned off of the AT and started down the Thoreau Falls trail and soon I had reached the top of the falls. What a spectacular spot! There is a large flat ledge, pockmarked with glacial potholes where boulders had ground out a small circular bowl as the glacier slid along. I enjoyed the view east toward the Bonds and listened to the water tumbling down. There was an exciting moment as I chased my sleeping pad down the sloping ledge, not thinking about the drop below, until the last second.  Whew!

 

The sky was a nice shade of blue with some interesting cloud formations and I lay on my back for a while just watching them float by. I could have stayed there for hours, but I had many more miles before my day would end. After a tricky river crossing involving iced rocks (quite a way up stream from the normal crossing) the trail descends rapidly to the base of the falls. I was really looking forward to the next section, a five mile relatively flat stretch following old logging roads. I stepped up my pace as I had read that the route finding gets a little tricky near the end, and I hoped to reach the Wilderness Trail before dark. This section of the Pemi is a Federal Wilderness Area, with very limited signage and blazes coupled with lots of leaves on the ground obscuring the footpath. From there I planned to go on a few more miles (a section I had just hiked by headlamp a few weeks before) to Stillwater Junction then turn north on the Shoal Pond trail and camp off trail somewhere.

I had a great time cruising along, the setting sun colored the ridges to my left - I found the tricky section and got turned around for a moment, but found my error and now followed along the North Fork, usually out of sight but it's sound was ever present. The trail entered a meadow, a pleasant surprise and I dug out my headlamp here as it was getting dark in the woods. I sang all the tunes from the Seldom Scene CD "Scenic Roots" at top volume. I mean absolutely belting it out! The echo in the woods here was great. Talk about your simple pleasures.

Soon the bridge over the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River appeared and it was officially dark. I crossed over and met the junction with the Wilderness Trail. I dug out another layer, the sky was completely clear and the temps were dropping rapidly. I was really looking forward to dinner and made my way easily along the bank of the Pemi, through the open marshy section that soaked my feet last time and finally came out to the open rocky riverbed.  Again I was glad to have been here before - this time I didn't have to search around for the spot where the trail re-enters the woods.

Had I read the White Mountain Guide's trail description for the Shoal Pond Trail I would have seen...  "at Stillwater Junction the trail leads across East Branch at the site of an old dam (no bridge; may be difficult in moderate water and dangerous at high water)"

It was clear that I wouldn't be crossing here in the dark. I went up the riverbank in both directions for quite a ways searching for an alternate crossing but the recent snow had rapidly melted during the day and water levels were high. I decided to just stop where I was and cook some food and then go find a place to camp for the night. I ate quickly and then packed up to go find a spot for the night, there are lots of legal spots before the no camping zone at the junction. When I have extra time hiking I always like to make a note of any potential campsites for the future, and I remembered one from a few years back. It was a cold night - at one point I checked the thermometer and it was eight degrees!

In the morning I decided to cross the river and then do my morning chores. I had a bad feeling about the crossing and it turned out I was right!  I scouted the banks again to be sure I hadn't missed a better opportunity in the dark last night but nope - this was it. I could see there was going to be at least one very tricky spot, maybe I could stay dry if I did a little construction. So I dragged some logs from the woods and built a rickety bridge across the central section of the crossing and got my pack on.  I made it halfway across, managed to flip one log across the next wide open gap between the boulders and stepped across just in time for the log to shift and go floating away down the river. I had about 25' left to go and was out of options. I just had to commit to one fully submerged leg, I leaped across and immediately slipped off the rock and fell ass first into the rushing stream, floating down about 100 feet or so before grabbing onto a rock and trashing my way out.  This was brisk, it was 17 degrees this morning. As fast as possible, I laid out my foam pad, stripped off my soaking wet clothes - instantly shivering to the point where I had some difficulty getting my shoes untied. I put on my dry set of clothes and attempted to wring out my shoes. I fired up the stove, ate some cereal with warm milk and had a bottle of hot gatorade. I was feeling ok except for my toes which were absolutely freezing. I swapped out my insoles and socks for my spare set, and remembered I had a pack of toe warmers in my first aid kit! Yeah baby! An hour later my feet were fully warm and by time I got back to the car my shoes were completely dry. That NEVER would have happened with boots on. 

I had good incentive to keep moving and reached the shores of Shoal Pond over three miles away in short order. It's a rather large pond and it had frozen overnight. There was a lot of driftwood and I tossed a piece out onto the ice and it slid a long ways, making a very cool sound across the lake in the silence of the morning. The ice was thin and perfectly clear. The entire pond acted like an enormous drum head. I started tossing sticks across the surface, trying to get one to glide all the way to the other side. I must have spent 30 minutes there, enjoying the sun which had finally "risen" over the peaks in the west - I never did get a stick to the other side. Good clean fun! I decided to kick it into high gear and make a push to Zealand Falls Hut. The miles flew by, it was clear and cool and a light breeze was blowing - I savored each step. I reached the point where I would leave the AT and walked up the trail a bit to pump water one last time. I heard the sound of music coming down from the hut, getting louder and louder. It turned out to be the two hut crew members I had met the day before, each carrying a packboard strapped to the sky with stuff, including an enormous 1980's-sized boombox! I stayed back and let them go on ahead, hoping to enjoy a quiet end to my trip.  It was just under three miles to the end of Zealand road and then a couple more miles to my car.

I passed many dayhikers and folks staying at the hut headed in the opposite direction, it was a Saturday after all. I reached the road and laid in the sun in a grassy patch for a bit.  My new friends from the hut were meeting the AMC van and unloading their packboards. After a rest and a check of the feet (which were completely dry by now - amazing) I headed out down the gravel Zealand road. The last time I walked this road I ended up walking all the way back to the AT trailhead on Route 302 in a thunderstorm - this time it was a pleasant stroll. The guys from the hut came by in their car and offered me a ride but I declined - I didn't want the journey to end.  One the ride home I was treated to a spectacular view of the Presidential Range encased in white. Winter is here.