Isolation

Total trip duration: 7:24:11
Distance:  13.3 miles
Hikers: Vance and Quinn
4000 footer completion count: Mount Isolation #33 (4,004 feet)

Today we had quite an adventure!  We took the Glenn Boulder trail > Davis Path > [Mount Isolation] > Davis Path > Rocky Branch trail.  Our original plan was to follow the same trail back that we took out but a bit of spontaneity on Quinn's part led us to the Rocky Branch trail as our way down.

It was a cool morning as we left the Glenn Ellis Falls parking lot.  Suffice it to say, the Glenn Boulder trail is steep and rocky from the start.

 Quinn wandered off the trail a bit to check out the falling water.  A beautiful spot indeed!

 Now that's one big birch!

Quinn always seeks out the crannies!

It was still and peaceful as the sun made it's way over the mountains.

Uh oh, he's gone beast mode!

Approaching Glenn Boulder.  What a glorious sight!

 

Boy was he dwarfed by that boulder!

Looking back at the magnificent natural wonder, we were awestruck.  I've been coming up to Pinkham Notch since as early as I can remember and every time I drive route 16, I'm amazed by this boulder that looks as though it could roll down the mountain at any time.  Amazingly, up until now, I've never had an up close encounter.  What a treat it was! 

As we continued climbing, the clouds moved in and out.  One minute there would be spectacular views...

the next, a wind whipped whiteout.

 As we approached Boott Spur, the wind settled down.

What a rapturous feeling to walk through the clouds along the Davis Path.

Most of the hike along Davis Path to Isolation was downhill.  We had the trail to ourselves.  When we reached the summit of Isolation, great views of the Presidentials were abound.

The weather on top was excellent.  It was just the two of us for a half an hour or so.  We sat soaking in the surroundings, enjoying lunch and each other's company.  Some fellow hikers coming from the Dry River Shelter joined us and were kind enough to take our picture.

At the junction of the Davis Path and Rocky Branch, we decided to change our plans and take the Rocky Branch back to route 16.  The change of plans added 1.3 miles to the hike but offered some different terrain and a more gradual decent.  Also, a hiker along the way offered to give us a ride from the Rocky Branch lot back to our car (a 3.5 mile road climb) if we were at the lot when he returned.  So off we went to the land of big orange mushrooms!

Outside of being rocky, the Rocky Branch trail was wet!  Lots of cool little river crossings and rock hopping for Quinn.

We checked out Rocky Branch Shelter #2.  Quinn wasn't impressed!

After checking out the shelter, we made our way across the Rocky Branch river, the trail started to climb.  After a while, Quinn became convinced that he had seen "the real trail" back at the river.  We hadn't seen any signage as we climbed along so I agreed to go back to the river and check it out; it turned out his mind was playing tricks on him.  Convinced we were on the right path to begin with, we took a moment for an Oreo cookie break!

Interestingly, the steepest part of the descent on the Rocky Branch trail was toward the bottom.  As we came out of the trees, the sun lit up the parking lot.  It felt good to be on even footing!  We started to make our way north on 16 and we were incredibly fortunate to have a fellow 4000 footer adventurer and her daughter stop and give us a ride back to the Glenn Ellis River lot.

We took a quick dip in the Ellis river (same spot we enjoyed after the Wildcats) and headed out onto route 16 toward home.  We soon saw brake lights ahead.  A group of cars had stopped to see a beautiful moose enjoying her lunch.  She examined the onlookers cautiously and then made her way to the other side of the road to finish her meal.  What a spectacular way to finish our action packed day on the trails!

Quinn's Take

My dad and I decided to hike Mount Isolation.  Once we parked we headed up Glenn Boulder trail.  The trail was very steep and rocky going up.  Once we got half way up, I found a walking stick just my size.  Then, beast mode!  There was a big boulder leading up to great view.  A few yards away, my dad's favorite rock.  He had been dreaming for this moment!  It looked like it was going to fall off the mountain.  We got to a sign that said Isolation trail.  We stopped for a quick rest then made our way down the trail.  A sign pointed us to the Mount Isolation summit.  It was a short hike from there to the top.  Finally we got to the summit and had lunch.  I finished lunch and had two Oreos.  Yum!  We started down when we saw two signs.  One said Davis Path and the other said Rocky Branch.  We decided to have an adventure and go down Rocky Branch.  A little ways down, we decided to look for Rocky Branch Shelter.  Then we got to a sign that said Rocky Branch Shelter 2.  It was not a pretty sight.  We came across a river and didn't know which way to go.  The trail felt like we were going back up the mountain!  We circled back to be sure we were on the right trail.  After a while we met a man hiking that said we were two miles from the bottom.  As we got to the bottom, my legs turned to jelly.  We had no car at the lot so we got a ride from a nice lady and her daughter.  I think we had a great hike.  Happy trails to all!