Shelburne Moriah & Mount Moriah 7-19-08
Shelburne Moriah 3735' Mount Moriah 4049’
Rattle River Trail/Kenduskeag Trail/Carter Moriah Trail/Stony Brook Trail
13.1 Miles 4200' Elevation gain (roughly)
Kevin, Judy and Emma, Marc Howes, Jason, Rebecca, Darlene, Ashley, Steve and Kayla, Keith and Katahdin, and Dave Bear!
Marc invited us to join him on the summit of Shelburne Moriah as he finished his New Hampshire Hundred Highest. He took some flack from all his bushwhacking friends for not completing the list on a bushwhack, but that will probably be a pleasant memory compared to the flack he'll get when people see the way the girls dressed him up on the summit. He was a good sport and went along with it all, but may live to regret it. When we initially were invited along Judy was like, "Why won't he leave me alone? He knows I can't hike in his league. Let's go!"
When we joined him on his final winter summit to complete his 48x1W, we started about an hour earlier than him fully expecting to be overtaken by the strong group of hikers that joined us that day. After spending an hour on the summit of Garfield in dense fog and freezing temps, the party showed up, Marc in a tank-top. It was good fun, and after some champagne we headed back down. Not wanting a repeat of the summit wait Jude decided "We're hiking with them this time." This worked out fine. The youngsters ran on ahead leaving us in the dust, but following our strict parental guidelines of waiting for us at trail junctions and water-crossings.
The weather on this day couldn't have been more opposite than our Garfield trip in January. Overcast and unbearably humid it was somewhat akin to walking through water. When we finally got some elevation under us what air was moving felt like air-conditioning and made the trip up to the ridge more bearable. Turning northeast at the junction of the Rattle River Trail and the Kenduskeag Trail we were now on our way to the summit of Shelburne Moriah. This is a beautiful trail that spends a lot of time crossing bog bridges surrounded by beautiful heath bogs and open ledges as it winds its way across the ridge to Shelburne Moriah. At 3735' elevation it is certainly not the highest around, but it is definitely one of the prettiest little summits we've been on.
Ahead of us on the trail we could see the youngsters racing up the ledges ahead of us. As we brought up the rear we soon caught up to them near the summit. Ever the prankster, Marc popped out of the trees just below the summit and tried to scare the girls who were not amused and started into whacking him with their hikening rods and not allowing him to reach the summit cairn. This epic battle reminiscent of many of the battle scenes from "Lord of the Rings" went on for several hours with the upper hand eventually going to Gimli the Dwarf. Not ones to suffer in defeat for very long the girls promptly dressed Marc, er, um, Gimli, in some really hot ladies attire, thus losing the initial battle, but winning the war.
There was no champagne to be had on this summit, but Dave Bear didn't let us down providing everyone with a various assortment of nips that we swilled with our lunch. The wind was cooperative in cooling us down enough to continue on our way. Those who do not share the same amount of "insulation" as I do were actually a little cold, which I, in my current athletic build, could not imagine. I just wished I was cold, too! It was time now for the kids to zoom on ahead to their goal of climbing Moriah, North Carter, Middle Carter and South Carter and descending from Zeta Pass to Nineteen Mile Brook Trail and out. The rest of the group travelled on to Moriah's beautiful summit, then made our way back down along the Stony Brook Trail.
There was some excitement along the trail coming down which I will not go into detail about. Those there know what happened and acted very bravely and were very helpful. Suffice to say that we are very grateful for your help. It was very hot and humid along the trail this day and little Emma spent a lot of the day with her labored breathing grunting like a Pot-bellied Pig which became a source of amusement for everyone along the hike. I guess once you get used to it it's kind of endearing. She spent every chance she had cooling off in the various brooks along the way and otherwise enjoying her time in the woods with her new friends.
After some rain and a very wet ride in the back of Steve's truck for Dave Bear we all gathered for some sumptuous vittles at the campsite. In true hiker fashion we spent the night around a big fire laughing, telling stories and of course, drinking a few cold ones. It was a great way to celebrate the completion of a great accomplishment. Way to go, Gimli, I, um, mean Marc!
Read MoreRattle River Trail/Kenduskeag Trail/Carter Moriah Trail/Stony Brook Trail
13.1 Miles 4200' Elevation gain (roughly)
Kevin, Judy and Emma, Marc Howes, Jason, Rebecca, Darlene, Ashley, Steve and Kayla, Keith and Katahdin, and Dave Bear!
Marc invited us to join him on the summit of Shelburne Moriah as he finished his New Hampshire Hundred Highest. He took some flack from all his bushwhacking friends for not completing the list on a bushwhack, but that will probably be a pleasant memory compared to the flack he'll get when people see the way the girls dressed him up on the summit. He was a good sport and went along with it all, but may live to regret it. When we initially were invited along Judy was like, "Why won't he leave me alone? He knows I can't hike in his league. Let's go!"
When we joined him on his final winter summit to complete his 48x1W, we started about an hour earlier than him fully expecting to be overtaken by the strong group of hikers that joined us that day. After spending an hour on the summit of Garfield in dense fog and freezing temps, the party showed up, Marc in a tank-top. It was good fun, and after some champagne we headed back down. Not wanting a repeat of the summit wait Jude decided "We're hiking with them this time." This worked out fine. The youngsters ran on ahead leaving us in the dust, but following our strict parental guidelines of waiting for us at trail junctions and water-crossings.
The weather on this day couldn't have been more opposite than our Garfield trip in January. Overcast and unbearably humid it was somewhat akin to walking through water. When we finally got some elevation under us what air was moving felt like air-conditioning and made the trip up to the ridge more bearable. Turning northeast at the junction of the Rattle River Trail and the Kenduskeag Trail we were now on our way to the summit of Shelburne Moriah. This is a beautiful trail that spends a lot of time crossing bog bridges surrounded by beautiful heath bogs and open ledges as it winds its way across the ridge to Shelburne Moriah. At 3735' elevation it is certainly not the highest around, but it is definitely one of the prettiest little summits we've been on.
Ahead of us on the trail we could see the youngsters racing up the ledges ahead of us. As we brought up the rear we soon caught up to them near the summit. Ever the prankster, Marc popped out of the trees just below the summit and tried to scare the girls who were not amused and started into whacking him with their hikening rods and not allowing him to reach the summit cairn. This epic battle reminiscent of many of the battle scenes from "Lord of the Rings" went on for several hours with the upper hand eventually going to Gimli the Dwarf. Not ones to suffer in defeat for very long the girls promptly dressed Marc, er, um, Gimli, in some really hot ladies attire, thus losing the initial battle, but winning the war.
There was no champagne to be had on this summit, but Dave Bear didn't let us down providing everyone with a various assortment of nips that we swilled with our lunch. The wind was cooperative in cooling us down enough to continue on our way. Those who do not share the same amount of "insulation" as I do were actually a little cold, which I, in my current athletic build, could not imagine. I just wished I was cold, too! It was time now for the kids to zoom on ahead to their goal of climbing Moriah, North Carter, Middle Carter and South Carter and descending from Zeta Pass to Nineteen Mile Brook Trail and out. The rest of the group travelled on to Moriah's beautiful summit, then made our way back down along the Stony Brook Trail.
There was some excitement along the trail coming down which I will not go into detail about. Those there know what happened and acted very bravely and were very helpful. Suffice to say that we are very grateful for your help. It was very hot and humid along the trail this day and little Emma spent a lot of the day with her labored breathing grunting like a Pot-bellied Pig which became a source of amusement for everyone along the hike. I guess once you get used to it it's kind of endearing. She spent every chance she had cooling off in the various brooks along the way and otherwise enjoying her time in the woods with her new friends.
After some rain and a very wet ride in the back of Steve's truck for Dave Bear we all gathered for some sumptuous vittles at the campsite. In true hiker fashion we spent the night around a big fire laughing, telling stories and of course, drinking a few cold ones. It was a great way to celebrate the completion of a great accomplishment. Way to go, Gimli, I, um, mean Marc!
Starting out in the steam.
