.June 18, 2006
I've been wanting to do this hike for a long time. It is a hike in the White Mountains that is overlooked by many. The reason many don't hike it is because it is not on the Appalachian Trail and it does not have any mountains over 4,000 feet. I've been concentrating on my AT and 4,000 footer goals this year, but decided to take a day and do this hike. The main reason I have been looking forward to this hike is because several miles of the trail are above treeline. Jason from work will be joining me today. After hearing me talk about my adventures, he has shown a strong interest in hiking. I have taken him on a few smaller hikes, but this is the first big one. Being Sunday, I had church this morning so we are getting a very late start. We parked the car at 1:00 pm crossed the street and headed north on the road 100 feet or so where the trailhead is located. It is a loop trail, my favorite type of hike.
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The first couple of miles were very easy, but that quickly changed. Below, Jason experiences his first long, steep, stone staircase.
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I estimated we should be close to the shelter but with temperatures in the mid-90's we had to stop for a break before then. After rehydrating ourselves, we continued on just to find we had stopped about 5 to 10 minutes short of the shelter. That's the way it goes.
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After the shelter, the trail got extremely steep as we entered the alpine zone.
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The ledges that I had been reading about started just after this. This picture doesn't do justice on how steep the trail is here.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ This picture captures it a little better.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ If you do this hike and you want to skip the ledges, you can take the Slippery Brook Trail. This will add a couple of miles to the loop. Snoopy did very well on the ledges although he needed my help on several occasions. After the ledges we looked up to what I thought was the summit of South Baldface.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ As I neared the top I saw a large cairn so I was convinced it was the summit. Notice the balancing act with the stone on the top.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I looked up to the mountain behind me which I thought was North Baldface. I got my map out and realized that it wasn't North Baldface, but South Baldface. I couldn't believe it. We weren't on the summit yet. We continued on when we found this cool stone seat where Jason posed for me.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Another half a mile to the top of South Baldface
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ As we looked up the trail to the top, we were sweating bullets. This has been by far the hottest day of the year. I had brought lots of water for myself and Snoopy but was now wondering if I had enough.
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We finally made it to the top of South Baldface at 3570 feet. There was a slight breeze at the top. With the extreme heat, all we could think of was the Emerald Pool that we had read about. However, we wouldn't reach it until close to the end of our hike. I gave Jason the option of taking the shorter Slippery Brook Trail back but he was as determined as I was to complete the loop. We set our sites on North Baldface.
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We dropped in and out of treeline as we headed up to North Baldface. There was another steep but fairly short climb as we reached the summit of 3610 feet. We looked back to South Baldface.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The heat was effecting Snoopy the most. I made sure he was getting plenty of water.
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We began our descent of North Baldface when I came across this large stone. I thought it was neat to find a stone so close to being cube shaped.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Snoopy tried to find some shade but didn't have much luck.
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We reached the junction for the Bicknell Ridge Trail which would cut off a couple of tenths of a mile. I didn't read the sign carefully enough and took the trail be mistake. Within a few minutes I realized the mistake. We probably lost about 10 minutes. We headed on to Eagle Crag. I guess Eagle Crag is a couple of tenths of a mile off the trail, but we decided to hit it. There is no sign on the top, we just went to what we thought was the highest point. There was a great view of South Baldface from here. It was hard to believe we were over there just a couple of hours ago.
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It was time to get going. The Emerald Pool was calling us. The trail down was very steep at first but then became more gradual. We made really good time coming down and as it became evening, the heat wasn't as bad. It looked like we would have enough water after all. Towards the end of the loop, the trail follows the Charles Brook. This helped make the trail more interesting. We finally made it to the side trail for the Emerald Pool. I would guess it is about .1 - .2 miles off the trail but well worth the extra effort.
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After reaching this beautiful spot, we all took a swim. The pool is actually fairly deep here and well over our heads. Snoopy enjoyed the cold water as well. After the extra hot day we just had, this pool was a piece of heaven. We got back on the trail and finished the .7 miles back to the car. For his first big hike and it being extremely hot, Jason held up tremendously. Great job, Jason! Thanks for coming.
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