.June 11, 2006
"Rain, rain go away, come back another day."
It seems like I have been saying that a lot lately. We have had 5 straight rainy Saturdays. Finally on Sunday the clouds started to break up a bit. I checked the forecast and there was a 30% chance of showers both here in Norway and in the White Mountains area. It's worth a shot. I have been on-call at the hospital this week but Jason from work was nice enough to take the remainder of my on-call shift so I could hike. Thanks Jason.
I got a very late start today, 3 pm. And wouldn't you know it, by the time I got to the trailhead it was raining. Well, that is why I picked this hike. Today's goal is to climb Mount Waumbek and there are no views at the top, so I won't miss much.
Snoopy and I started out on the Starr King Trail. We will have to climb up and over Mount Starr King first.
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It would be 2.6 miles to the top of Starr King and I would pass only two landmarks on the way. Snoopy and I started off following the yellow blazes. Within a couple of minutes we came to the first landmark, some type of old well.
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The second was just a small sign about 2/3rds of the way up that read "Spring".
Shortly after the spring I met my only hiker of the day.
"How far to the summit?" I asked.
"About 5 minutes to Starr King and another 20 minutes or so to Waumbek."
"Is there anything that marks the summit of Waumbek?"
"There is a cairn at the top."
"Thank you."
I asked about the summit because sometimes there is no marker on the top of a mountain. A mountain like Mount Waumbek that has no view would be very difficult to tell whether you have reached the summit or not. I didn't want to keep going and I definitely didn't want to stop short.
A few minutes later I reached the summit of Starr King at 3,914 feet. There wasn't much here. I found a geological marker in the rock and the sign below.
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There are supposed to be some fairly good views on Starr King, but I was clouded in today. I did see a couple of places that looked like there would be a good view. They were somewhat obstructed by trees though. It is hard to tell being in the fog but I would guess there are some good views but not great views because of the trees. A minute or so after the Starr King Summit, I passed some type of old chimney and fireplace. There were no other signs of a structure ever being here so either this is all that remains or maybe this was just a fancy place to roast marshmallows.
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Almost all the gain in elevation came in climbing Mount Starr King. From there, the trail dips just a little before going up to the summit of Mount Waumbek. Below, Snoopy at the summit.
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At 4006 feet, Mount Waumbek barely meets the requirements for a 4,000 footer. It is my 22nd New Hampshire (White Mountains) 4,000 footer and my 23rd New England 4,000 footer. Snoopy's totals are 9 and 10 respectively. The biggest reason for the difference in our totals is because last month I spent 2 days in the Whites where I bagged nine 4,000 footers. I stayed at the Galehead hut that night and there are no dogs allowed so Snoopy had to stay behind against his will.
The summit of Waumbek marks the end of the Starr King Trail and the start (or end) of the Kilkenny Ridge Trail.
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Both trails are part of the much longer Cohos Trail. I have just learned of the Cohos Trail last week. The trail is not quite complete. It will be a 162 mile trail through New Hampshire and 150 of those miles are complete at this time. It is expected to be completed by 2007 or 2008. Once complete it will be the longest trail in New Hampshire, just barely beating the New Hampshire section of the AT which is 161. Beating it by just a mile, tell me that wasn't planned.
Snoopy and I made the return trip at a much quicker pace. Snoopy loves going downhill and had to keep waiting for me.
Mount Waumbek doesn't get much credit on the list of 4,000 footers, but it does have some positive points:
The trail was very well maintained. I didn't have to step over a single log or branch and the trail was well marked with bright yellow blazes.
With no views on the summit, it is a good mountain to save for a rainy day.
I completed the round trip in about 3.5 hours so this is a good mountain to climb if you don't have a lot of time or you have to get a late start.
On the way home I decided to drive through the Evans Notch area looking for a couple of trailheads. Route 113 which goes back and forth along the New Hampshire and Maine border goes through this area. Many don't realize it but the White Mountains are not only in New Hampshire. Although the majority of the mountains are, there are 53,000 acres that spill over into Maine. Although there are no 4,000 footers in the Maine section of the Whites, there are still some great trails to hike. Here is a view from the overlook of Evans Notch.
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When I got home, I found out that it had been sunny all afternoon. Figures, there was finally a sunny day and I drove to where it was raining. Many hikers, especially on the AT, have to learn to make peace with the rocks. For me, I am learning to make peace with the rain. You can't fight it.
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