Hiking the Moose

The views stretched for...feet today...

It had been a couple weeks since I had taken my pup on a hike, so I knew he would primed and ready for a big day. I decided to take him to one of my favorite peaks in New Hampshire and what would be his biggest mountain to date, Mt. Moosilauke. Having hiked it via the Gorge Brook Trail at the start of my quest to tackle the NH 4000 Footers back in 2014, I wanted to try a different route to the top, so I decided upon the approach from the Glencliff Trail to add in the South Peak summit I had yet to visit.

We started a little after 8 a.m. up the Glencliff Trail parking area. This is same route northbound AT hikers take as they head into the heart of the White Mountains. The beginning conditions were as good as I could ask for on such a well-used path. For the first mile and a half the trail was almost completely dry with easy, soft footing and only a spare root or rock jutting out of the ground here or there. The grade at the start was mostly moderate with a few steep pitches that made my pup and I have to catch our breath before continuing.

At about 1.5 miles in we reached a couple brook crossings that then gave way to a wetter, muddier, rockier, and..."rootier?" (we'll go with it) trail. In several spots the footing was squishy at best, and it seemed that every rock and root on the ground had just enough moisture on it to make every step a slippery decision. The stretches of soft ground from earlier had given way to a relentless battle of stepping on, over, and in between all these obstacles that were to be our trail for most of the rest of the way up. Even as we reached a long stretch of little elevation gain, having to meticulously plan each step subbed in as a new annoyance.

About 2.5 miles in we reached the stretch of trail known as "The Agony," (knowledge nugget from Stephen D. Smith's NH 4000 Footer Guide) and we quickly learned how well-deserved that name was. This half mile full-on ascent was a rocky rampart with little relief along the way. It was the steepest stretch of trail the whole day, composed mostly of large rocks and boulders. It was like climbing a collapsed, jagged staircase from a not-so-funhouse. We were happy to leave it behind once we reached the junction with the Moosilauke Carriage Road 3.0 miles into the hike.

Up in the alpine zone

At this junction there is also the short spur trail to the South Peak, but I decided to save that for our return trip back down. Therefore, it was up into the alpine zone and onto the main Moosilauke summit. Up to this point it had been a mostly sunny hike, but during this 0.9-mile stretch the clouds and wind descended upon us, limiting our visibility to only 100 ft. or so in front of us. I made sure my pup stayed in close range ahead of me as the scrub trees gave way to the completely bare home stretch to the summit sign. This section of the trail was a relief after "the Agony" with only about 300 ft. of elevation left to gain over that 0.9-mile run. It was still muddy even in it's flat stretches, but the rockier portions of this trail were dry and easy to navigate. Being an old carriage road, it was weird to see such wide sections of trail so high up in the Whites!

New highest summit for this guy!

The summit was a blustery blanket of clouds which my pup enjoyed much more than me. We only spent enough time for me to snap a picture of my furry friend on his new highest summit hiked before we headed back into the scrub trees for some relief from the wind.

I appreciated the orange trail signs on a day like today

Before heading back down the Glencliff Trail, we took the 0.2-mile spur path over to the South Peak summit. This trail started as a soft, damp stretch of mud before entering a quick, steep, rocky push to the top. It was a very tight single-track ascent, made ever more enjoyable by another calamity of rocky steps forming the climb while conifer branches snatched at me and my trekking poles.

We had a little more luck with views at the South Peak, with a few distant mountains briefly poking in and out of the clouds rolling by us. My camera sadly deleted the pictures I took of these peaks, but know that the views here were better than its higher counterpart.

A wee bit blustery on the South Peak. I had to keep my hat from flying into the valley below!

After taking in the South Peak for about 20 minutes we headed back down towards our car. Having dealt with so many stretches of soggy trail, the descent was just as rough as the climb to start the day. At this point, the bottom of my hiking shoes were more mud than tread, making for slippery steps on roots and rocks the whole way down. I was happy to reach the dry, soft trails we started the day with to give my feet and knees a break as we trekked towards the parking lot.

Some nice limited views on the home stretch

Minus losing the photos I took and the lack of views from the main summit, it was good day up in the Whites. When we got back home, my pup was ready to head outside again, so apparently 8 miles of hiking and 3300 ft. of elevation gain wasn't enough to wear him out! Having now taking the Glencliff and Gorge Brook Trail to the top, I definitely prefer the Gorge Brook for its more moderate ascent. The next time I head up to tackle the Moose, I bet I'll be taking that one again.

Here are the time breakdowns for our hike:

• Start at Glencliff Trail parking area - 8:05 a.m.
• Junction with Moosilauke Carriage Road - 10:18 a.m. (3.0 total miles)
• Moosilauke summit -  10:50 a.m. (3.9 total miles)
• South Peak summit - 11:25 a.m. (5.0 total miles)
• Left South Peak summit - 11:45 a.m.
• Back at Glencliff Trail parking area - 1:41 p.m. (8.2 total miles)