October 4, 2009
Today I would cover seven new miles of trail and get a new peak as well. The 4000 footer of the day would be Mount Moriah, but I would be taking the long way by go over Shelburne Moriah first. I got a late start, 8:45. Madison and I headed up the Shelburne Trail.
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The trail started off as a dirt road. I could have driven close to another two miles had it not been gated.
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Next I reached a logging area.
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The road still continued after this but was very, very muddy.
One thing I hate about following a road is that you really need to pay attention. I tend to just keep following the road and forget to look for markers. I nearly missed this arrow on a tree.
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Now I was in the woods and the climbing started. I came to a muddy spot. There was no way around. I guess I would get my shoes a little muddy. That was an understatement. One leg surprisingly sank up to my knee. Yuck!
I was just thankful that my shoe didn't get sucked off. That would not have been fun trying to reach down 2 feet into the muck to fish it out.
Up I climbed. I was on the lookout for the Kenduskeag Trail. I figured it would be at the height of the land before the Shelburne Trail started to drop down. I saw asign ahead. This must be it. Nope, just a wilderness sign.
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I looked around for the trail junction but couldn't find it. I thought this was odd. I would have guessed this would have been the spot. I continued on a few minutes. Still nothing. Then the trail started to drop. I guess it was possible so I kept going. Ten minutes in, I knew that I just had to have missed the trail juction. But I didn't want to stop just shy of the junction either. I gave it 5 more minutes. Nope. So I turned around and headed back to the top. I returned to the wilderness sign. Still nothing. I decided to keep retracing my steps. I finally found it about 50 feet north of the wilderness sign. This was a tough junction to spot. The sign for it was about a foot over my head. I general look down at the tricky terrain when I hike and never even saw it. Oh well, the more exercise the better!!!
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Up I headed. I came to a rock ledge. It was a few feet off the trail but worth the climb. It was early in the day, but I was a little hungry so I stopped for a snack.
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The mountains were struggling to free themselves from the clouds.
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Up a small ladder
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I had somewhat of a view when looking back into the valley . . .
. . . but nothing as I looked ahead.
Madison on some bog bridging which was extremely slick today.
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Madison on top of Shelburne Moriah, a New Hampshire 100 highest.
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On the go again.
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Junction with the Appalachian Trail.
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It was my first time on this section of trail since I originally hiked it back in 2005.
Lots of bog bridging today.
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Madison likes to scramble. There's just no stopping this Greater Swiss Mountain Dog.
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Almost there.
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Madison on Moriah. This was #44 for her.
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The sun was trying to burn a hole through the clouds but couldn't quite do it. No view today.
Maddie and I began our return trip. Here's a partial view I got along the way.
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We headed back over to Shelburne Moriah.
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Although the mountain tops stayed in the clouds, I could see down into the valley.
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Looking back up to Shelburne Moriah.
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I stopped at the same spot that I had on the way up.
I figured this was the best the day was going to get so I took a few pictures.
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Just before I headed down, I finally got a small piece of blue sky.
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Down we headed. I nearly stepped in the same mud hole that I did on the way up. Duh! Thankfully I missed it. I came out onto the dirt road. The fall colors are really coming out.
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Then the sun came out. At first I was upset. Upset that the sun came out later than I wanted. But what could I do. I decided to just enjoy the day. After all, I was outside, I had blue skies, lots of sun, and plenty of fresh air.
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Madison and I finished about 4:30.
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