Terrifying 25: (ALMOST) Great Gulf Trail

Friday, October 13, 2023 - I have done some "52 With A View" hikes recently, so it is time to tackle something from my "other list": the Terrifying 25. The "Terrfiying 25" is a list of trails in New Hampshire that have what may seem to be some type of "dangerous activity" associated with them (rock slides, multiple ladders, etc). There are 20 "Required" Trails, plus you select 5-of-14 "Optional" trails.

On the map:
Yellow = "Required", have not climbed
Blue = "Optional", have not climbed
Green = "Have Climbed"

I have climbed 13 of them, and today is a trail just east of Mount Washington:

From the Parking Lot on Route 16, I'll be going west on Great Gulf Trail all the way to the summit of Mount Washington.

I already summited Mount Washington back on August 27, 2015 (read that blog here), but from the west side:

That day I started the hike in lovely weather, but the top was howling wind, in a cloud. I'm hoping for something better today.

According to the AMC Guide Book "White Mountain Guide", the trail is 7.8 miles to the summit, gaining 5,000 feet in elevation, and (generally) takes 6 hours 25 minutes:

After Spaulding Lake, the description reads: "The trail runs south and then southeast, with magnificent views of the gulf and surrounding mountains, rising 1,600 ft. in about 0.8 mi. over fragments of stone, many of which are loose. Extra caution is needed in an area where the trail crosses a rock slide caused by the 2011 storm, where the footing may be especially unstable. The way may be poorly marked because snow slides may sweep away cairns. The trail generally curves a little to the left until within a few yards of the top of the headwall; then, bearing slightly right, the trail emerges from the gulf and ends at Gulfside Trail near the Cog Railway. It is 0.4 mi. from here to the summit of Mt. Washington."

I guess we know why it is on the "Terrifying 25" list!!!!

I wasn't concerned about "how hard it was", or even "how long it had taken other people"; my major concern is darkness:

So, wherever I was, just turn around about 3:30 - i can certainly get down a mountain in 2-and-1/2 hours.

I guess I got off to a late start, or maybe it was the traffic on 128. I was up at Chocorua Lake at 9:40. Looking South:

and looking North at Mount Chocorua:

At the Parking Area at 10:45

and on The Trail at 10:55

Soon you cross over the Peabody River, looking upstream and downstream:

The first 2 miles were fast - 20 minutes and 24 minutes respectively:

(NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: This was a lovely hike, and I got to take Wendy hiking along this part on Tuesday, October 24, 2023)

Back to my hike: After 2 miles, the trail gets considerably harder, crossing over and then going up alongside the "West Branch Peabody River":

There is moss EVERYWHERE, which makes hiking hard because you have to concentrate and determine EVERY STEP:

I eventually made it up to Spaulding Lake at 2:08 - 6 miles into the hike, 3 hours 13 minutes after starting:

As you can tell, I'm UP IN THE MIDDLE OF A CLOUD! There is NO VISIBILITY HERE, which means there is NO VISIBILITY up ahead ("with magnificent views of the gulf and surrounding mountains"). I continued another 1/8th of a mile and turned around:

Oh, and it was raining too.

3 hours later I took a really cool picture crossing the Peabody River, with the blue sky peaking through:

I did 12.25 miles in 6 hours 37 minutes, finishing basically 1/2 hour before sunset:

It all looks pretty cool in Google Earth:

I changed the image-date for the last 2 screenshots (better terrain). The weather was so bad that I had NO IDEA that there was this MOUNTAIN JUST IN FRONT OF ME!

I will have to do this hike again next June, with a lot more daylight (and hopefully sunshine).

Dinner on the road, and home by 10. Thank You God for this wonderful ADVENTURE DAY!

For my listening pleasure today - all from a cd I burned 20 years ago, in wma format:

Buffalo Springfield - Retrospective - The Best of Buffalo Springfield, 1969

This past Sunday I found out that Jimmy Buffett died (on Sept. 1), so the rest of the day are Jimmy Buffett albums:

A1A, 1974

Banana Wind, 1996

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, 1977

Don't Stop The Carnival, 1998

Far Side of the World, 2002

Fruitcakes, 1994

Havana Daydreamin', 1976

I saw Jimmy a few times over the years - the first at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC (with Carly Simon and James Taylor sitting just a few rows in front of me), down in Charlottesville, up at Great Woods (when Wendy lost a shoe out on the lawn - typical Buffett story). I missed the one in which he trucked sand into the Boston Garden for a concert in JANUARY. Thanks for Great Music, and Great Memories.

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about visiting Art Museums and National Parks (and hiking in the Rockies)
hyperlink: dixonheadingwest
http://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/

52 With A View: Mount Success

Wednesday, August 23, 2023 - This is a zoomed-in map of the New Hampshire "52 With A View" - I have climbed 24 of them so far. I'll be doing Mount Success today:

Because Wendy will be away tonight at a play up in Maine (meaning I don't have to get home for dinner at 6:30), I will be doing the "farthest away" peak.

For today's drive, I picked-up Ellie in Ipswich and dropped her off at an appointment in Burlington. Then 4 hours north (the last 5.4 miles on a dirt road) to the Mount Success Trailhead:

Beautiful Day in New Hampshire:

At one point, they were paving the road near Jefferson, New Hampshire, which gave me the chance to stop and take a picture of an iconic New England Church:

At 2:30, I was one of five cars parked at the trailhead:

After 10 minutes you are into the woods:

And at 1.25 miles you are GOING UP:

To give you an overview of the whole hike, it should have been 6 miles, but I took a side-trail looking for plane wreckage (did not find it):

At about 1.5 miles you get to the side-trail for the "Outlook Loop":

Pretty impressive views from the "Outlook Loop":

Back on the Success Trail, things can get a little boggy:

So, I'm an-hour-and-twenty-minutes (2.4 miles) into this hike, and I'm feeling pretty good. The description I read said something about "plane wreckage" off on a side-trail. I'm not a "plane wreckage" groupie (I know they are out there - you may be one), but I thought "Well, a little side-trip might be cool." So up into the woods I went:

It was a Very Hard hike. At 1/4 mile, I caught up with a guy and his son, who asked if I was "Looking for the plane crash?" (that means we hadn't passed it). Saying Yes, I continued (faster than them) for another 1/4 mile and gave up. There were these weird signs on the trees:

This trail sure is nowhere near the US/Canada Border, and it also certainly is not part of the Appalachain Trail!

Well, that was certainly a waste of 45 minutes/a mile!

Back on Success Trail, heading for the Summit:

Cool USGS Marker to add to my collection:

South of the Main Peak is a sub-peak. To quote the 52-With-A-View book: "Just below this ledge to the south is an expansive sub-alpine meadow traversed by bog bridges where cotton grass blooms in late summer.":

I would call it a "bog" instead of a "sub-alpine meadow", but then you might not get as many hikers:

Nice views on the sub-peak:

Back on the main peak, that is my way back down:

To quote the 52-With-A-View book: "The trail drops off a small chimney-like section, which can be tricky if wet. Hikers with long legs have an advantage here.":

I wound up doing 6.9 miles in 3 hours 49 minutes - great hike, except for the silly little side-trip. Thank You God for this great "52 With A View" day!

For my listening pleasure today:

Patty Larkin - Tango, 1991

Lyle Lovett - I Love Everybody, 1994

Actually, I don't need to keep this album.

Madonna - The Immaculate Collection, 1990 greatest-hits album

Taj Mahal - Giant Step/De Ole Folks at Home, 1969 double album (electric and acoustic)

The first album (Giant Step) is a really good electric album; the second (De Ole Folks at Home) is banjo-traditional-blues. Not my cup of tea.

Dave Mason - Alone Together, 1970 solo debut album

Dave Mason's 1st album after he quit Traffic. I like it.

John Cougar Mellencamp - Big Daddy, 1989

Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, 1973 second album

I think this is my favorite album by Bruce and the gang. Wendy and I are going to see him at Gillette Stadium tomorrow night (note from the future: He played "Kitty's Back", "The E Street Shuffle", and "Rosalita" - all from this album - excellent!)

The Rolling Stones - Flashpoint, 1991 live album

Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars, 2019 album

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about visiting Art Museums and National Parks (and hiking in the Rockies)
hyperlink: dixonheadingwest
http://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/