btowne33

Moosilauke

Updated: Jan 12, 2021

Family hike for this one

Top of Moosilauke looking eastward to see Franconia Ridge and then white Washington beyond

My oldest daughter Olivia hiked Jackson and Pierce this summer with her friends and ever since then we have been trying to coordinate a hike together. She has been a big supporter of my journey to hike all 48 4,000 footers. I think she is just glad that I have a hobby, but by now probably is tired of me relating all of life's ups and downs to a hiking story in some way. In order for her to go with me the hike had to fulfill some requirements starting with a view and ending without a road walk, so I landed on Moosilauke. Moosilauke is an Indian word meaning "bald face" which is an important note once you get to the top in winter.

The Glencliff trail was a persistent steady incline the entire 3.2 miles up to Carriage Road trail. This made for many breaks up the way with Olivia making comments like she is going to throw up. I was happy to have her, so I obliged even though I like to move much faster and without stopping. Oh, and I forgot my shell jacket and ending up wearing a women's large shell - yup. I have learned through experience to just throw a bunch of hiking gear in the car in case when you get there that conditions have changed, or you forgot something. There was much more snow in the western part of the state and so the snow packed trail was covering all the rocks and roots. In fact, on the up we saw a consistent indication that someone had a sled all the way down. It was like a natural bobsled trail but with a steady incline on your foot to work out the calves.

Cool ridge walk once you get on Carriage Road trail

It was a hard go until South Peak and the beginning of Carriage. The sun was shining at the top and we stopped for some pictures and some hot cider I packed for the occasion. From this point the trail was flat until about .4 miles away from the treeline and the peak. It was a ridge walk with great views out to the Pemi and Washington further out and then you could see the Green Mountains westerly. With fluffy snow and lichen covered trees it was a fun part of the hike, but the whole time we could hear the wind howl above the seven-foot trees.

Coming out of the treeline to see the summit

We geared up with layers, hoods, and googles to the exposed hike up to the top. The wind was enough to push me around and even more so for Olivia. I told her that I did not want to be above treeline for more than necessary and that there was to be no stopping. Not more than 100 feet into this part I looked back, and she had stopped which continued that pattern the entire way up. We were warm with no exposed skin and I knew that from hiking Eisenhower that this was not as bad, but I worried about my daughter. Apparently after talking to her on the way down that she was warm and fine,,, she was just tired but at the time I didn’t know her state of mind. She persisted and she grabbed the top of the summit's sign for stability against the wind, I took a few pictures, and we followed the cairns back down.

Just a tad bit windy today

It’s a 360-degree view and just amazing levels of blue mountains as far as you could see which I would like to spend more time up there during more favorable conditions. Me and Olivia slid on our butt for some of the way down and grateful for some time together. It was definitely more breaks than I am used to but definitely more smiles. Solo hiking certainly has its advantages but sharing this adventure with a loved one is truly special. We made it back to the car after 5 1/2 hours and stopped by the Tilton diner for some much-needed club sandwiches which changed our laggy spirits into renewed sense of reflection.