Date: 2012-06-29
From: Ore Hill Campsite

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

Sometime around daybreak it started raining and I was getting a little bit of water in the bivvy since it didn't look like rain last night and I didn't bother setting up my tarp. I wasn't ready to get up yet, so I unstaked the bivvy, moved it towards tree cover and went back to sleep. It was still raining when I got up for good and everything was a little soggy when I started packing up. When I left camp it was still sprinkling, but after 2.6 miles I emerged from the woods at NH Route 25C and the sun was brightly shining. Don't like the weather in New Hampshire, just wait 10 minutes it seems. There was a gated access road across the highway and it looked like an ideal spot for drying out my gear. I lined up all of my wet clothes on the gate and sat down in the gravel to read "Into Thin Air" and eat a second breakfast. It didn't take very long for everything to dry in the warm sun, and I packed up after about a 30 minute break. Up next was a gentle climb over Mt. Mist followed by a long descent into Glencliff. Just east of the AT is Hikers Welcome Hostel, since it was so close by I figured it would be worth a quick stop. The temperature was in the low 80s, and the hostel sells ice cream and Cherry Pepsi, good fuel for the pending climb up Moosilaukee. They also sell lots of used winter gear that SOBOs have discarded after finishing the Whites. I found a pair of rain pants for $5 and a nice winter jacket for $10. The jacket was on the heavy side, but it fit me very well (hard to find with my 79" wingspan) and I figured I could mail it home when I got to Gorham. After a quick email and Facebook check on the hostel's computer, it was finally time to leave and start hiking towards what for a few days would be the highest peak I'd ever climbed. There's a large creek at the base of the mountain, but no bridge across it. After scouting around, I was reasonably sure that the AT went straight across the creek and I used a few logs, rocks, and pipe sections to improvise a dry route across the creek. My shoes didn't stay completely dry on the crossing, but I avoided having to do a ford of the creek. The first part of the climb to Moosilaukee is easy, a gentle ascent on good trail. A few minutes after passing Jeffers Brook Shelter, I found some trail magic at a gate - two slightly melted Hershey's bars. I took one and left the other in case anyone else might pass by. The chocolate was probably overkill after my ice cream in Glencliff but it sure tasted good. With less than four miles to the summit, it was still smooth sailing with the trail passing through a meadow with a view of a nearby ridge. After a small creek crossing, the easy stuff came to an end and the heart of the climb began in earnest. Lots of steep, one step at a time slow going, and plenty of rocks. It was fun though, and there were plenty of places to filter water. Several dayhikers were coming downhill while I was ascending and most of them wished me good luck. Before I knew it, the hard stuff was over and I'd reached a plateau with a trail slightly more challenging than a sidewalk, I believe this was once a carriage road. Things got a bit more interesting as the trail went above tree line and I could feel the full force of the wind. Approaching the summit, there were times when the wind would force my foot to the side while walking, forcing my shoe into the large rocks which littered the trail. This was a small price to pay for the vistas from the ridge, being there at 6:30 with long shadows draped across the valleys was absolutely stunning. After all the hiking I'd done in MD, WV, and PA, it was a real treat to be above tree line at 4,802' and have wide open views in all directions. For reference, the highest point in PA is only 3,213' and 3,360' in MD. New Hampshire mountains are the real deal, the high point in NH is of course Mt. Washington, at 6,288' nearly 1,500' feet higher than Moosilaukee! Being on top of Moosilaukee was an awesome experience but I still had a little ways to go before reaching the shelter. I'm glad I left when I did as the 2.3 miles to Beaver Brook Shelter were incredibly slow. I'd heard that the NOBO descent is one of the steepest parts of the entire trail, and by the time I eventually reached the short side trail to the shelter I wondered if there was anything steeper. I was the only occupant at Beaver Brook and I enjoyed a quiet, restful evening's sleep.