8/10/2006 - 3 day backpack up Rocky Branch to Mt Washington

MountainDad · Aug 13, 2006, 9:13 PM

To follow up with the RFI I posted last week on the forum, we completed our trip! The group included me, MountainDad, and my sons ScreechOwl (9) and BaldEagle (11) and dog Mia.

We left home mid morning on Thursday 9/10/06 and arrived at the Rocky Branch trailhead off Rt. 16. We hit the trail at 10:37 am to head up to find a campsite. The weather was great, coolish (75 degrees) and dry and sunny. Shortly after starting, ScreechOwl saw a small toad - which led to all of us counting toads on the hike up.

At about the 1 mile mark, the boys spotted a bull moose 20 yds off the trail. In their excitement, they yelled (softly) for me to take a picture. Of course the moose heard it too! No photo. We took several breaks but basically just plodded along. The trail was dry at the beginning but gets wet and a bit muddy as it nears the Isolation Trail.

Where the trail approaches Rocky Branch there is a marked campsite off to the left maybe 10 yards before the stream crossing. The plan was to continue to 1 of the other 3 campsites further up Isolation Trail that have been reported. After crossing the stream, we reached the intersection with Isolation Trail at 2 pm and took a rest and late lunch break at Isolation Shelter.

We hit the trail at 2:45 and continued north along Isolation Trail. This section crosses Rocky Branch several times and is mostly wet and muddy. Another marked campsite is on the left right before a stream crossing. This campsite is up a narrow path that opens in to a small clearing with enough room for 2 tents. The stream provides a supply of clear water that pumped easily. It was a great site, clean and out of the way and made a perfect basecamp. We set up camp at about 4 pm and just as soon as I got the tent and a tarp pitched, the sky opened up! We were all tired from the trek up and crawled in to our warm sleeping bags and listened to the rain and chatted about moose and other interesting things we saw along the trail. The toad tally for the day was 13!

At around 6, the boys were getting grumpy and hungry but the rain was coming down hard. I convinced them to wait another 1/2 hr and I would go out and cook. Lucky for me, the rain stopped right at 6:30! Dinner consisted of "Hunter's Stew" - which is normally cooked over campfire coals. I had pre cooked the vegies (potatos, carrots, onions and parsnips) so I decided to cook over our JetBoil using an aluminum frying plan. I simply unwrapped the aluminum foil the stew was packaged in, and heated it in the frying pan over the JetBoil. Worked fine, the beef tips seared nicely! After cleanup and hanging the bear bag, we all turned in for the night. The temp was cold and a good breeze was blowing.

On rising, we were treated to a brisk but beautiful sunny moning. We had breakfast (Mt House freeze dried scrambled eggs and bacon for ScreechOwl and "real" oatmeal with dried bluberries and blackberries for BaldEagle and me. We packed the boys backpacks with clothes, raingear, food and water for our Mt Washington ascent. BaldEagle and I carried the packs so ScreechOwl got a little break for the day.

We left camp at about 10 am. After hiking for about an hour, we came to 2 more marked campsites. A wooden sign pointed to a site off to the left and 1 off to right. This area was very wet and muddy and not near a visible source of good water. I'm glad we stopped at the earlier site. We reached the Davis Path at 11 am. We continued along Davis Path on our approach to Mt Washington.

Up to this point, we had seen no one along the trail since leaving the parking lot. As we reached timber line, we met several other parties coming up various side trials. We reached the summit at 2:30 and a total of 5 miles. The sky was clear and it was very cold and windy - a beautiful Mt Washington day! Since Mia was not allowed in the summit buildings, I let the boys go in and have hot chocolate and chili dogs. Mia and I tried to stay out of the wind. One of the cog railway workers came out and gave Mia some dog treats for her achievement! When the boys were finished, they came out and I ran in to grab a hot chocolate and chili dog to eat outside with them. I wolfed it down in a few minutes as I watched clouds quickly approach.

We left the summit at 3:30 and after walking for 15 minutes, a cloud had completly enveloped the summit. We continued our descent and just as we aproached timber line it started to sleet. We could see the valley towwards Mt Isolation where we were camped was sunny. We quickly reached the trees to take a short break to get on our raingear. I explained to the boys that we needed to be careful but to keep moving to get well in to the trees in case of lightening or more sever sleet/hail/rain. They were great and we continued down. The sleet quickly turned to light rain which stopped after about 30 minutes. We made good time back and reached camp in 3 hours. We were all exhausted but felt great about having completed a 10 mile day and ascent of Mt Washington! While the boys crawled in their bags to warm up, I cooked up the Mt. House Chili Mac with Beef. It is always tricky pleasing the pallets of kids - especially with light weight fare - but this one was a hit! I served them dinner in the tent under strict orders that they be careful not to spill food. Mia and I ate our dinners outside under a beautiful clear sky and colorful sunset. We all turned in and went right to sleep.

Saturday morning we got up at 7:30 with a goal of breaking camp at 8:30. We had poptarts for breakfast with hot chocolate. It was cold and windy but sunny. We packed the packs and redistributed the leftover food and headed out at 8:35.

The trip down was uneventful with relatively infrequent breaks. It took us 4 hours to hike the 5 miles out to the parking lot. We passed a few parties coming up for the weekend.

We all had a great time. We had hiked 20 miles in 3 days, did a 10 mile day with an ascent of Mt. Washington, got rained on, sleeted on and saw a moose! All in all, a great trip!

Cheers,
MountainDad

skibum9995 · Aug 13, 2006, 11:06 PM

Sounds like you had a good time. I'll be heading up Rocky Branch to Isolation next week with my dad and brother. How wet was the trail? Last time I was up there it was like hiking through a stream.

MountainDad · Aug 14, 2006, 9:45 AM

SkiBum, it was definately not as bad as hiking through a stream - we've done that too! Even with several hours of solid rain on Thursday night, the trails were not that bad. It was easy enough to keep feet out of the mud if you pay attention. The mudiest section is between Isolation Shelter and the Isolation Trail/Davis Path connect. No bugs though! Keep an eye out for moose.

cheers,
MountainDad

**JimG.** · Aug 14, 2006, 9:50 AM

This sounds like it would be a great backpacking trip for me and my 2 oldest sons (10 and 12).

MountainDad · Aug 14, 2006, 10:05 AM

The 10 mile day was pretty long and hard so it would depend a bit on your son's temperaments. However, the climb up to the camp site is great and there is Mt Isolation to ascend rather than Washington. We had planned to do Isolation on the first day after setting up camp but the rain prevented it. The kids especially loved the stream crossings. Not difficult but a bit challenging and fun.

Cheers,
MountainDad

**JimG.** · Aug 14, 2006, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MountainDad

The 10 mile day was pretty long and hard so it would depend a bit on your son's temperaments.

My boys love to rough it, they love camping, and they love hiking. Anything where they can run up ahead and laugh about how slow Dad is.

MountainDad · Aug 14, 2006, 11:28 AM

"Anything where they can run up ahead and laugh about how slow Dad is."

I hear you on that one! I did a great job keeping up until the last several miles coming down. I was going so slow that even our dog (who is an Entlebucher - a Swiss Mt Dog bred for herding) was coming back to check on me and eventually she got so annoyed that she got behind me and prompted me along! The boys would wait for me to catch up and told me that they could tell how far back I was by how long it took Mia to make a round trip. Smart boys. Next time, I'll let them carry most of the gear down!

Cheers,
MountainDad

**JimG.** · Aug 14, 2006, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MountainDad

Next time, I'll let them carry most of the gear down!

Cheers,
MountainDad

That's what boy children are for, they just don't know it yet. And I'd give the dog something to carry too!

My 12 year old asked me yesterday how long until he gets to use the riding mower. I told him next weekend.

I don't think he was expecting that answer.

MountainDad · Aug 14, 2006, 12:36 PM

Jim, your kids sound like mine! Mia does carry her own pack (a Kelty K9) and she loves it. Her food, collapsable dishes, treats and a leash. Maybe I should load her up with a bit of the group equipment like the water pump or something. I have my oldest learning how to ride the John Deere too, same situation - he asked when he would be old enough and I said "right now". He still needs to work on cutting around the trees though!

**JimG.** · Aug 14, 2006, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MountainDad

Jim, your kids sound like mine!

I have my oldest learning how to ride the John Deere too, same situation - he asked when he would be old enough and I said "right now". He still needs to work on cutting around the trees though!

This is good beta...glad to see you've started your oldest out on the mower, I didn't know if I was being too ambitious starting my oldest on it. I'll keep a copy of this e-mail to seal his fate. Actually, he's looking forward to it.

Once they get the initial kick in the pants, my boys are pretty good about helping out with chores.

Aug 13, 2006, 9:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
MountainDad Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Groton, MA Posts: 8	8/10/2006 - 3 day backpack up Rocky Branch to Mt Washington To follow up with the RFI I posted last week on the forum, we completed our trip! The group included me, MountainDad, and my sons ScreechOwl (9) and BaldEagle (11) and dog Mia. We left home mid morning on Thursday 9/10/06 and arrived at the Rocky Branch trailhead off Rt. 16. We hit the trail at 10:37 am to head up to find a campsite. The weather was great, coolish (75 degrees) and dry and sunny. Shortly after starting, ScreechOwl saw a small toad - which led to all of us counting toads on the hike up. At about the 1 mile mark, the boys spotted a bull moose 20 yds off the trail. In their excitement, they yelled (softly) for me to take a picture. Of course the moose heard it too! No photo. We took several breaks but basically just plodded along. The trail was dry at the beginning but gets wet and a bit muddy as it nears the Isolation Trail. Where the trail approaches Rocky Branch there is a marked campsite off to the left maybe 10 yards before the stream crossing. The plan was to continue to 1 of the other 3 campsites further up Isolation Trail that have been reported. After crossing the stream, we reached the intersection with Isolation Trail at 2 pm and took a rest and late lunch break at Isolation Shelter. We hit the trail at 2:45 and continued north along Isolation Trail. This section crosses Rocky Branch several times and is mostly wet and muddy. Another marked campsite is on the left right before a stream crossing. This campsite is up a narrow path that opens in to a small clearing with enough room for 2 tents. The stream provides a supply of clear water that pumped easily. It was a great site, clean and out of the way and made a perfect basecamp. We set up camp at about 4 pm and just as soon as I got the tent and a tarp pitched, the sky opened up! We were all tired from the trek up and crawled in to our warm sleeping bags and listened to the rain and chatted about moose and other interesting things we saw along the trail. The toad tally for the day was 13! At around 6, the boys were getting grumpy and hungry but the rain was coming down hard. I convinced them to wait another 1/2 hr and I would go out and cook. Lucky for me, the rain stopped right at 6:30! Dinner consisted of "Hunter's Stew" - which is normally cooked over campfire coals. I had pre cooked the vegies (potatos, carrots, onions and parsnips) so I decided to cook over our JetBoil using an aluminum frying plan. I simply unwrapped the aluminum foil the stew was packaged in, and heated it in the frying pan over the JetBoil. Worked fine, the beef tips seared nicely! After cleanup and hanging the bear bag, we all turned in for the night. The temp was cold and a good breeze was blowing. On rising, we were treated to a brisk but beautiful sunny moning. We had breakfast (Mt House freeze dried scrambled eggs and bacon for ScreechOwl and "real" oatmeal with dried bluberries and blackberries for BaldEagle and me. We packed the boys backpacks with clothes, raingear, food and water for our Mt Washington ascent. BaldEagle and I carried the packs so ScreechOwl got a little break for the day. We left camp at about 10 am. After hiking for about an hour, we came to 2 more marked campsites. A wooden sign pointed to a site off to the left and 1 off to right. This area was very wet and muddy and not near a visible source of good water. I'm glad we stopped at the earlier site. We reached the Davis Path at 11 am. We continued along Davis Path on our approach to Mt Washington. Up to this point, we had seen no one along the trail since leaving the parking lot. As we reached timber line, we met several other parties coming up various side trials. We reached the summit at 2:30 and a total of 5 miles. The sky was clear and it was very cold and windy - a beautiful Mt Washington day! Since Mia was not allowed in the summit buildings, I let the boys go in and have hot chocolate and chili dogs. Mia and I tried to stay out of the wind. One of the cog railway workers came out and gave Mia some dog treats for her achievement! When the boys were finished, they came out and I ran in to grab a hot chocolate and chili dog to eat outside with them. I wolfed it down in a few minutes as I watched clouds quickly approach. We left the summit at 3:30 and after walking for 15 minutes, a cloud had completly enveloped the summit. We continued our descent and just as we aproached timber line it started to sleet. We could see the valley towwards Mt Isolation where we were camped was sunny. We quickly reached the trees to take a short break to get on our raingear. I explained to the boys that we needed to be careful but to keep moving to get well in to the trees in case of lightening or more sever sleet/hail/rain. They were great and we continued down. The sleet quickly turned to light rain which stopped after about 30 minutes. We made good time back and reached camp in 3 hours. We were all exhausted but felt great about having completed a 10 mile day and ascent of Mt Washington! While the boys crawled in their bags to warm up, I cooked up the Mt. House Chili Mac with Beef. It is always tricky pleasing the pallets of kids - especially with light weight fare - but this one was a hit! I served them dinner in the tent under strict orders that they be careful not to spill food. Mia and I ate our dinners outside under a beautiful clear sky and colorful sunset. We all turned in and went right to sleep. Saturday morning we got up at 7:30 with a goal of breaking camp at 8:30. We had poptarts for breakfast with hot chocolate. It was cold and windy but sunny. We packed the packs and redistributed the leftover food and headed out at 8:35. The trip down was uneventful with relatively infrequent breaks. It took us 4 hours to hike the 5 miles out to the parking lot. We passed a few parties coming up for the weekend. We all had a great time. We had hiked 20 miles in 3 days, did a 10 mile day with an ascent of Mt. Washington, got rained on, sleeted on and saw a moose! All in all, a great trip! Cheers, MountainDad

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Aug 13, 2006, 11:06 PM	#2 (permalink)
skibum9995 Okemo GS 2/11/08 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hooksett, NH Posts: 485	Sounds like you had a good time. I'll be heading up Rocky Branch to Isolation next week with my dad and brother. How wet was the trail? Last time I was up there it was like hiking through a stream.

Aug 14, 2006, 9:45 AM	#3 (permalink)
MountainDad Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Groton, MA Posts: 8	SkiBum, it was definately not as bad as hiking through a stream - we've done that too! Even with several hours of solid rain on Thursday night, the trails were not that bad. It was easy enough to keep feet out of the mud if you pay attention. The mudiest section is between Isolation Shelter and the Isolation Trail/Davis Path connect. No bugs though! Keep an eye out for moose. cheers, MountainDad

Aug 14, 2006, 9:50 AM	#4 (permalink)
JimG. MRG-20th hole Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Hopewell Jct., NY Posts: 6,100	This sounds like it would be a great backpacking trip for me and my 2 oldest sons (10 and 12).

Aug 14, 2006, 10:05 AM	#5 (permalink)
MountainDad Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Groton, MA Posts: 8	The 10 mile day was pretty long and hard so it would depend a bit on your son's temperaments. However, the climb up to the camp site is great and there is Mt Isolation to ascend rather than Washington. We had planned to do Isolation on the first day after setting up camp but the rain prevented it. The kids especially loved the stream crossings. Not difficult but a bit challenging and fun. Cheers, MountainDad

Aug 14, 2006, 11:28 AM	#7 (permalink)
MountainDad Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Groton, MA Posts: 8	"Anything where they can run up ahead and laugh about how slow Dad is." I hear you on that one! I did a great job keeping up until the last several miles coming down. I was going so slow that even our dog (who is an Entlebucher - a Swiss Mt Dog bred for herding) was coming back to check on me and eventually she got so annoyed that she got behind me and prompted me along! The boys would wait for me to catch up and told me that they could tell how far back I was by how long it took Mia to make a round trip. Smart boys. Next time, I'll let them carry most of the gear down! Cheers, MountainDad

Aug 14, 2006, 12:36 PM	#9 (permalink)
MountainDad Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Groton, MA Posts: 8	Jim, your kids sound like mine! Mia does carry her own pack (a Kelty K9) and she loves it. Her food, collapsable dishes, treats and a leash. Maybe I should load her up with a bit of the group equipment like the water pump or something. I have my oldest learning how to ride the John Deere too, same situation - he asked when he would be old enough and I said "right now". He still needs to work on cutting around the trees though!