Moosilauke

Total trip duration: 5:18:31

Distance: 7.6 miles
Hikers: Vance and Quinn
4000 footer completion count: Moosilauke #18 (4,802 feet)

 Let the winter hiking begin!  OK, well it isn't officially winter, however, it felt like it when we arrived at the Beaver Brook trail parking lot this morning.  Our route today was an "out and back" on the Beaver Brook trail (which joins with the Benton trail shortly before the summit).

There was light coating of snow on the ground and in the trees as we began our trip up Moosilauke.

 

We crossed a couple of bridges that were unlike others we've seen to this point in our 4000 footer adventures.

  

Soon we reached the stunning Beaver Brook cascades. 

We followed the cascades for about a mile and a half.  It was so peaceful and quiet with the only sound being the running water along the trail.

Quinn found a bunch of big icicles growing off of the rocks to play with.

The views were absolutely mesmerizing.

We reached the trail fork for the Beaver Brook Shelter and decided we'd hold off on checking it out for the way down.

As we ascended, the snow got deeper and the icicles got bigger!

What a winter wonderland!

We knew it would be cold and windy above treeline.  Thus, we stopped for lunch and a hot drink before attempting the summit.

As we made our way to the summit, it felt as if we had somehow been transported to the planet Hoth.  The landscape was frozen and magical!

The peak afforded views in all directions.  We hung out for a bit hoping that someone would come along to take our picture.

Just as we were getting ready to head down a couple of people appeared on the Carriage Road trail.  We had our picture taken and despite wanting to soak in the surroundings for longer, it was just too cold.  In the short time we were at the summit, the lines for our water supplies had both frozen solid.

As we made our way back to treeline, we took in the snow covered mountains surrounding us.

Once we reached treeline, we picked up the pace to generate some heat.  It was so much fun flying down the mountain through the snow.  With each pole plant and turn in the trail the snow kicked up and it felt like we were skiing.  We took a little detour down to the Beaver Brook Shelter to check things out, have a snack and some hot tea.

 

It was a little icy and tricky in spots on the way down but mostly it felt like fun free fall through the snow.

 

Quinn and I had an unexpectedly great day of hiking.  This hike definitely ranks up at the top of the mountains we've climbed thus far.  We can't wait to do this one again.  There are several ways to get to the top that we'd like to explore and it surely would be a completely different hike in the summer.  With waterfalls, 360 degree views and some challenging terrain, Moosilauke is a real gem! 

Quinn's Take 

On Saturday my dad and I hiked up Mount Moosilauke.  We started on the Beaver Brook Trail.  The trail was flat and snowy at first.  We came across the Beaver Brook Cascade which is a waterfall that we hiked along for about 1 1/2 miles.  The waterfall was so beautiful because there were ice formations.  It looked fake!  The trail got tricky because the snow made it slippery.  I was happy that there were "grippys" along the way that we could hold onto to keep our balance.  The snow got deeper and deeper.  Once we got to treeline we stopped to eat lunch and my dad surprised me with some of my favorite cookies as a treat!  We also had some warm tea.  At the summit, it was so cold and my gloves were frozen!  I enjoyed the 360 degree view.  We got our picture taken and left because we were frozen!  On the way down we came to a hut where we finished our tea and had some snacks.  My favorite part of the hike was sliding down the side of the trail in the snow on my butt.  This was a hard hike because of the snow.  This was my second favorite hike!