I woke up at 5AM and left the house just before 6. I was intending on hiking Owl's Head, but since it's pretty long, I was getting a late start and really didn't feel that great, I changed my mind during the drive up and ended up hiking Mount Waumbeck. I think it's pronounced Womb-beck, but like a few of the other 48, I really have no idea.
I stopped to fill up my tank with gas and encountered this ...
61 Bucks for 16 Gallons! You Fargin Iceholes!!!
Ok...the rest of the ride was typical, though I encountered traffic just past route 1 into New Hampshire. As luck would have it, it didn't last too long and I was back with the cruise control set to 55!
I arrived at the trailhead, and quickly got my gear together and ended up starting exactly at 10am. Below is a picture of the trailhead sign.
Like the previous picture shows, there was very little snow at the trailhead. The snow was here and there until just before the first mile. From there on out, it remained constant with still many FEET of snow on the summit. Tough to tell exactly how much is still on the ground, but the melt away around the trees indicated that it's at least 3-4 feet. I expect by the end of May, it'll all be gone.
The snow 'monorail' held up nicely the whole day, even when I finished I still never post holed. It was nice not wearing snowshoes, but it wasn't so nice carrying them! This being my first winter season hiking, I sure am looking forward to summer like conditions. The rocks are a bit tougher on the knees, but I'll gladly trade that for the reduction in weight on my back. Goretex Shell, Micro-Spikes, Crampons, Ice Axe, etc, etc...
I made it up to the summit of Starr King at took in the great view, sat down to eat some chow and ran into this guy.
I was sitting on the fire place (a pic will follow below) and I turned my head, and this bird is about 4 feet away from me. I thought He/She was obviously waiting for me to drop some food, and figured this must be a great feeding ground for it. After hiking the entire trip, I determined that this trail surely doesn't get the same travel as say Lafayette and Lincoln, but the trail was very well formed and so easy to follow, the traffic must be pretty constant.
On the right side of that same photo, you'll see my pack. The monorail held up so well, I decided to dump my pack and run over and back to the summit of Mount Waumbeck. This was a very good idea. :) Even though it was just past noon, the monorail held up the entire round trip. I made it back to Starr King summit just before 1 and was very happy with my time. Below you can see the summit of Mount Waumbeck.
Pretty much worthless, but in order to summit all of New Hampshire's 48 4000 footers, it must be done. For what I'd think is pretty obvious reasons, I didn't stay very long.
Back on Starr King I took this one. The panorama below is not as good as I thought it was, but it shows pretty much the entire Presidential Range on the left. You can't really see what's on the right, but it's Lafayette and Lincoln. Take my word for it, it was much better in person!
And below is just a normal shot of the Presidential Range. Great day, awesome weather with a good view. I type view, in place of views purposely. Other than a few slivers of day light between some of the trees, this was pretty much all to be had.
Ok, back to the bird. I just did some googling, and I'm pretty sure it was a Grey Jay. I told myself, though it's typically bad to feed wild life, if it was still there when I got back, I'll try to get it to feed directly out of my hand. Unfortunately, it was obviously very intimidated by my manliness, and it didn't budge. Sooo...I placed two peanuts and an almond on the fire place and backed off. The picture below tells the rest.
*It's above my backpack on the mantle stealing my peanuts! After it bolted, I walked over to notice it left the almond. Go figure!
After about a 15 minute break, I headed back down. It was uneventful, and as I approached the end, I was happy for 3 things. 1; Bagging another of the 48. 2; Catching the views (even though limited) and enjoying the outdoors. And, of course...
...the finish line!
I finished just before 2:30 ... and right after taking that picture, I bumped into the only person I saw the entire day. We wished each other well, and I was on my way back home with another in the books!
