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Kearsarge North Mountain, 04/14/07

threecy

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Kearsarge North Mountain, NH

Date Hiked: 04/14/07

Trails(s) Hiked: Kearsarge North Trail

Difficulty: Moderate

Conditions: Packed powder, slush

Originally, my intent was to ski Wildcat in the morning and hike Kearsarge North in the afternoon. I then made the mistake of laying down on my couch for a moment. Nonetheless, I was able to get my act together in time for a noon start for hiking.

Upon arriving at the trailhead, the sky was very cloudy and the parking lot was full. This is where a 4 wheel drive pick up comes in handy - you can park in a snowbank and not worry too much about it.

The trail was well packed by previous snowshoers and hikers, so I decided to hike it with just Stablicers. After snowshoeing for what seemed to be forever on Belknap Mountain the night before, I was glad to have a lighter load on my feet.

The beginning of the trail is rather flat - allowing me to do some jogging. Once the brook could be heard, things steepened up a bit - nothing too bad, however.

After just about an hour of hiking, things started to open up - isolated snow fields, lower evergreen growth, etc. In addition, the clouds moved out and it turned sunny. Near the summit, a northwestern view could be seen through the trees as the trail started to get steep in a few short bursts.

The summit fire tower is one of the nicer ones around - with the nearly bare summit, the one story high tower offers excellent views in all directions - and has a nice sized cab open to the public, as well as a wrap around deck.

Seeking my bag of trail mix, I realized my backpack was open...and gloves and winter hat were missing. Opps.

Trying to push myself to exhaustion, I decided to jog much of the way down. Near the very end of the trail, I was fortunate enough to discover my hat and gloves were hung up on trees by some hikers. A good end to a nice hike.


kearsargenorthmtnsummit-2007-0414a.jpg


Mt. Washington as seen from the deck of the Kearsarge North Mountain Fire Tower
 

Mike P.

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Thanks for the TR. That's one peak on my to do list. In-Laws have a timeshare just down the road from the trailhead on the corner.
 

threecy

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It's a great view up there and the trail, maybe about a mile into it, gets really nice. I intend to revisit when this snow is gone and check out Barlett Mountain (the peak west of it).
 
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