What a treat to enjoy a visit from my brother Drew, his wife Kate, and their grandson, Ben, who had come east from the flatlands of Illinois for a ten-day stay with his grandparents. Ben, age 16, said he wanted to see mountains (Drew joked that the highest elevation near Ben's home was a highway overpass), and so they headed up to the Whites from Connecticut for a few days. On two sunny, hazy, hot and humid days we took Ben on a pair of introductory hikes, both in the Zealand Valley: up to Zealand Falls Hut on the first day and up Middle Sugarloaf on the second day. We're pretty sure he enjoyed it!
With a teenager an early start is not gonna happen, so we headed up the Zealand Trail around 11:30 am. A passing hiker kindly snapped a photo of us at the trailhead. I warned them about the "quarter mile of misery" on the rough, rocky, muddy section of Zealand Trail near the start, but assured them it was mostly smooth sailing after that until the short but steep climb to the hut.
Along the trail, a peek down at the Zealand River.
First view of Zealand Ridge as the trail emerges in the open beaver wetlands: Zeacliff, Zeacliff Pond Peak and the Zealand Mountain summit (left to right).
Crossing the long, formerly Z-shaped bridge.
The beavers must be busy, as the water level was higher than when I came through here in June. Or maybe it's due to all the rainfall since then.
Looking for beavers, but saw only frogs.
Mount Tom seen across the beaver pond near the A-Z Trail junction.
Zealand Pond and Zeacliff.
Ben powers up the rock steps towards the hut.
We made the short side trip for a look at Zealand Falls. There was a guy scrambling up through there barefoot, cooling off under the cascades along the way. He is visible above left of center.
The iconic view of Zealand and Carrigain Notches from the front of the hut is getting overgrown.
Ben enjoyed scrambling up the ledges of Whitewall Brook.
Lots of mountain avens (Geum peckii) blooming here. Found only in the White Mountains and one island off the coast of Nova Scotia.
View down to Zealand Pond and out to Mount Tom.
I think Ben has his eye on the sloping rock at the top of these ledges.
Made it!
After Ben came back down the ledges, he and I went up the Twinway above the hut to see the water pump and check out the upper cascade.
On the way back out.
On the way back down the Zealand Trail we passed three croo members lugging supplies back up to the hut, not fun in the heat and humidity. They are a rugged bunch.
On the next morning we got a somewhat earlier start to beat the heat.
The first part of Sugarloaf Trail is an easy walk along the Zealand River.
Posing by the big split boulder.
On the way back down Ben squeezed through the crevice.
The 900-foot climb up Middle Sugarloaf has varying grades, including this gentle section. This was a sort of homecoming for me as my friend Bill Vecchio and I were the adopters of this trail from 1986-2005, but I hadn't been up here in 10 years.
Ascending the rock staircase that leads up towards the saddle between Middle and North Sugarloaf.
Along the steep final approach to Middle Sugarloaf. It was a hot climb.
Kate scales the ladder near the top.
Wonderful if hazy views from the expansive summit ledges. Billowy clouds crown the Presidentials.
Long view up the Zealand Valley to Mts. Tom and Field.
South Sugarloaf and various ridges of Mount Hale.
More ledges below.
North Twin, Peak Above the Nubble and The Nubble.
Zoom on North Twin, with the top of the 1995 northern slide visible.
A young mountain man.
Sheep laurel in bloom.
Ben checking out the long views to the west.
Posing in front of a glacial erratic.
After the hike we took a ride up to the Cog Railway Base Station, where Ben got to see three passenger cars coming down.
No visit to the Whites is complete without a stop to see the iconic view of the Mount Washington Hotel and the Presidentials.
Last stop was the Willey House site in Crawford Notch, where Ben naturally hopped out onto a rock for a photo-op with the Webster Cliffs as a backdrop. Welcome to the Whites!
Holy cow! My fiancee and I met you at Zealand falls on Wednesday! I talked to you about your grandson visiting and my parents not seeing my grandkids since Covid!!! Good to meet you!! Glad you had fun!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun couple of days, and a great introduction to White Mountains hiking for Ben. I love those two hikes!
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