Tag Archives: Waterfalls

Hike: Royces

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In the seemingly never-ending pursuit to hike the New Hampshire 200 Highest and to red-line the White Mountains National Forest trails, I headed to one of my favorite areas to hike: Evan’s Notch. I originally planned to hike on both sides of the notch, starting with the Royces, and then heading over to Speckled and Blueberry Mountains on the east side. But, black ice on the trail slowed my pace, and my feet hurt (endless battle with plantar fasciitis). So, I bailed after East Royce to get done before dark. Plenty of waterfalls to see on this hike, and the view on East Royce was surprisingly excellent.

ROUTE

  • Parked at Basin Pond on Basin Road in Chatham, NH
  • Hiked Basin Trail to intersection with Hermit Falls Loop
  • Left on Hermit Falls Loop to Hermit Falls and around to Basin Trail
  • Right on Basin Trail to red-line and then up to Rim Junction
  • Right on Basin Rim Trail to West Royce and continued to intersection with Royce Connector Trail
  • Left on Royce Connector Trail to intersection with East Royce Trail
  • Left on East Royce Trail to summit of East Royce and back to intersection
  • Right on Royce Connector Trail to intersection with Royce Trail
  • Left on Royce Trail to trail head on Route 113
  • Right on Route 113, then right on Basin Road, and back to parking lot

PHOTOS

STATS

Date: 27 November 2020
Distance: 11.5 miles
Moving Time: 05:00:46
Pace: 26:10/mile
Elevation Gain: 3570′

Tracing White Mountains Trails:
Basin Trail
Hermit Falls Loop
Royce Trail
Royce Connector Trail

Contact Me

maine.wanderlust@gmail.com

Trail Run: Mount Israel

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I needed a long mountainous trail run for my training schedule, and Jeff came along to try out some trail running. We decided on Mount Israel to knock off a 52 with a View peak and do a little Tracing White Mountains Trails. It was a cloudy day so we had no view, but we saw some bears. A cub crossed the street on the drive in, and I spotted another while we were running along Guinea Pond Trail heading toward Sandwich Notch Road. In all my years running and hiking in the White Mountains, it was only the second time I’ve seen a bear.

ROUTE

  • Parked at Mead Base parking
  • Hiked up Wentworth Trail to Mount Israel Summit
  • Ran down Mead Trail to Guinea Pond Trail
  • Turned right on Guinea Pond Trail to Guinea Pond Side Path and Guinea Pond and back out
  • Turned right on Guinea Pond Trail following it to High Water Bypass and on to Sandwich Notch Road
  • Turned left on Sandwich Notch Road to Bearcamp River Trail
  • Turned left on Bearcamp River Trail to Beede Falls and back to Sandwich Notch Road
  • Turned left on To Lower Falls Trail to Lower Falls and then back to Bearcamp River Trail
  • Turned right on Bearcamp River Trail past Cow Caves to Mead Base parking

PHOTOS

STATS

Date: 09 September 2020
Distance: 9.4 miles
Moving Time: 02:33:09
Pace: 14:16/mile
Elevation Gain: 1973′

Tracing White Mountains Trails:
Guinea Pond side path
Mead Trail
Wentworth Trail
Bearcamp River Trail

Contact Me

maine.wanderlust@gmail.com

Winter Hike: Mount Chocorua Sunrise

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Trail Report

For my son’s 9th birthday we spent the weekend in North Conway, New Hampshire at the Red Jacket Resort. The resort had an indoor water park with water slides and a wave pool that the boys could play in all day. Early Sunday morning I got up to make the short drive to Mount Chocorua to hike it for sunrise.

Mount Chocorua, one of the more difficult peaks in the White Mountains for me to pronounce, was named after a Sokosis Chief.  Legend had it that the mountain’s namesake leaped from the summit to his death while cursing the surrounding land rather than being killed by the white man who was pursuing him. It is that beautifully rocky, shark-fin peak you see peaking between trees when driving from Maine toward the Kancamagus Highway.

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Hike: Hale and Zealand

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Trail Report

A couple of friends and I took a day off work just before Thanksgiving to do a loop of two New England 4000 Footers in New Hampshire. The mountains of Hale and Zealand can be accessed by trailheads off Zealand Road, which is found just north of Crawford Notch. Two days prior I hiked Mount Waumbek and afterward drove up Zealand Road to confirm it was still open. There is a road status page online, but I’ve been burned by out of date government pages before.

We drove up early Tuesday morning, found the road still open and arrived at the Hale Brook Trail parking at 7:45 am. The weather was cold and cloudy and it was spitting snow. The Hale Brook Trail was a consistent, moderately steep hike up to the summit of Mount Hale, though it switchbacked through the steeper grade to alleviate the climb.

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