It's sunny today but the rest of the week is supposed to be rainy, so I'm going to try to squeeze another hike in. I'm getting a late start. It's 2:15 and I need to head home by 5:45. I'm not sure if I have time to make it to the summit or not. I'm not sure how long this trail is and to make matters worse, the road isn't plowed all the way to the trailhead. Madison and I started off and almost immediately met four hikers who were just finishing their hike. It took them 4.5 hours. I'm going to have to do it in 3.5 if I wanted to get home on time. It took me about 20 minutes just to hike to the trailhead. I was hoping the sign at the trailhead would tell me how far to the summit. No such luck.
The trail started off very gradual. I knew it would get steep eventually but I sure went a long way at a gradual pace. I bought a new toy last night, but I got home so late from yesterday's hike, I didn't get a chance to learn how to use my new GPS. I brought it along anyway. I see it is plotting the path that I am taking. It's also nice to know my elevation as I hike. I know there is a big climb coming. The trail had steepened by the time I reached the Caribou Speckled Mountain Wilderness.
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Madison loves to crawl in the snow.
After a steep climb, I reached the junction with the Mud Brook Trail. The summit was only about another half a mile so I dropped my pack. I put on my coat in case it was cold at the summit and continued on. I reached what I thought was the summit. I wasn't too impressed. I had heard there was a great view up here, and I could barely see through the trees. I also checked my new GPS and was disappointed that the elevation was 30 feet off. Then I realized I wasn't quite at the summit. The trail ducked back into the trees for a couple more minutes before emerging at the true summit. My GPS was right on the money. It was reading 2854 feet. Because I was standing, I was actually holding it 3 or 4 feet above the summit. I lowered it to ground level and it went back and forth between 2850'-2851' matching the map that I had stating the summit was 2850'. I think I'm really going to like this GPS once I learn how to use it.
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Looking east
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Looking to the northwest
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Madison on the summit
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Looking across Caribou's open summit
I could also see the Presidential Range which was mostly blocked by the Carter-Moriah range. Unfortunately, the picture I took didn't come out. Caribou is a beautiful mountain. For me it is only about 45 minutes away so I hope to come back. Madison and I returned over the same route, getting down the mountain in an hour and fifteen minutes.
