Moosilauke Foliage Scenes: 10/4/22

A climb of Mt. Moosilauke was ideal for a perfect fall day with 110-mile visibility and foliage rounding into peak form. A variety of views were enjoyed from the Gorge Brook Slide, the main summit, and the South Peak.

Nice colors seen from the front of the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. 

 

Open woods bushwhacking in the Gorge Brook valley.

First views from the Gorge Brook Slide.

On the Gorge Brook Slide, which came crashing down during a big rainstorm in November 1927. This was the location of a Dartmouth Outing Club trail from 1966 to 1980. Parts of the old trail can be followed by experienced trampers with good navigation skills, but it has faded into obscurity on some parts of the slide and in the upper woods above, and must be considered a bushwhack. The open part of the slide is very steep with a pitch of 34 degrees and there are some sketchy spots with slippery footing.

 

Looking up a loose rock section on the upper part of the slide.

View over the Gorge Brook valley and the upper valley of the Baker River, enclosed by Moosilauke's Blue Ridge.

Down-look.

Rhodora, a shrub that splashes the slide with showy pink blossoms in late spring, provides another round of color in fall.

The view from the top of the slide takes in peaks of the southern White Mountains.

Nice open fir woods for bushwhacking above 4000 ft.

 

The Moosilauke Carriage Road along the ridgecrest.

A viewpoint reached by a short side path off the Carriage Road peers down into the upper Baker River valley. The Ravine Lodge can be seen from this vantage.

 

The summit in sight ahead.

 

Important message from the Dartmouth Outing Club.

Impressive rock steps and cairns.

 

A broad swath of foliage in the distance between Mt. Kineo and Carr Mountain.

 

Hiking towards the sky.

Looking west towards the colorful slopes of the Benton Range. A flock of skittish American Pipits was foraging along the alpine "lawn" in the foreground.

Waves of mountains in the southern Whites crowd the horizon. In the mid-distance are the somber crests of Mt. Jim, Mt. Waternomee and the Blue Ridge, all part of the Moosilauke massif.

The town of Lincoln is nestled in an intervale ringed by mountains. In the background are Mt. Carrigain, the multiple Hancock peaks, Kearsarge North and Mt. Huntington.

To the northeast, the Franconia, Twin-Bond and Presidential Ranges.

Nice angle on Mts. Lafayette and Lincoln.

Birch gold washes over the lower slopes of Mts. Liberty and Flume. Mt. Washington presides behind.

Looking west to Black Mountain with part of Long Pond at its base.

With 110-mile visibility, the Adirondacks were easily seen with the naked eye through Lincoln Gap in the Green Mountains. Dix Mountain is the flat-topped mass on the left. The dominant cone of Mt. Marcy is in the center. Algonquin Peak is right of center. On the far right are Rocky Peak Ridge and Giant Mountain, with Vermont's Mt. Abraham closing in the gap to their right.

Weathered summit signs.

Heading back along the Carriage Road to South Peak.

The unique view from South Peak, peering down into Tunnel Brook Notch with its beaver ponds and Mt. Clough slides.

Bursts of color around Mud Pond.

Looking along the route of the southbound Appalachian Trail, heading towards Hanover.

The big northern slide in Moosilauke's Slide Ravine.

Late afternoon sun illuminates Blueberry Mountain and the lower Slide Brook valley.

On the descent I continued along the Carriage Road past the Snapper Trail junction to stroll through the gorgeous hardwood forest below 2900 ft. This section of the Carriage Road is lightly traveled, and the footing changes from rocky to mostly smooth once past Snapper.

This is the time of year when the hardwoods literally shine. At 1.4 miles past the Snapper junction, I turned left for a gentle mile on the Hurricane Trail, ending up near the bottom of Gorge Brook Trail. This is a mile longer than the Snapper-Gorge Brook combo, but has much better footing.

Dusk at Ravine Lodge, concluding a memorable fall outing.