Hike Club: August 2005

This Weekend and Next

The new plan is that we will hike Blue Job Mountain this Sunday the 28th, since we will be settling into our campground on Saturday.

According to Hiking New Hampshire (A Falcon Guide):
Length: 1.1 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: 350 feet
Summit: 1,356 feet

According to the book we should have "astonishing" "superlative" views from the top of Blue Job's grassy summit. This is another mountain with a fire tower, although this hike will be way easier than Cardigan. I hope we have clear skies!

The Sunday of Labor Day weekend we will do the Whistling Caves hike that I described for last weekend.

Thunder Storm

Well it is pouring and thunder and lightning, so I guess we will have to do the Whistling Cave another time...

Sunday, the 21st

Sunday we will be heading to Upton, MA to visit the Whistling Cave. We switched the date because Pat has an all-day bachelor party extravaganza to attend on Saturday.

According to Foghorn Outdoors, "Whistling Cave is not a cave but two large boulders, one leaning against the other, with a small passageway between them. It's located in an interesting little wooded stream valley littered with such boulders." Sounds like it is worth a look.

Total Distance: 3 miles round-trip
Difficulty: 3
Hiking Time: 1.5 hours
Rating: 7

Hope you can join us!

Mount Cardigan

On Saturday, Pat, Jeff, Scott, and I headed up to New Hampshire for some mountain climbing. We really lucked out with the weather. It was warm, but there were nice breezes and it wasn't humid at all. We took the West Ridge Trail to the summit. The climb up took just an hour. We ran into a few groups of people headed up, but it wasn't too crowded. The top of the mountain was a steep rock climb. I thought it was pretty fun and the views were just amazing.

On the way down we took the Clark Trail to the South Ridge Trail and went over South Peak and Rimrock. We didn't see anyone along these trails. We didn't see much wildlife on this trip, just a snake and a toad.

Overall it was a great hike and I would definitely recommend it.

This weekend, the 13th and 14th

We are headed up to central NH to hike and camp. On Saturday we will head up to Canaan, NH, by way of Framingham since we are meeting up with Scott. We will climb Mount Cardigan and then find our campground. So far just Pat and I are staying up there to camp, but anyone else who is interested is welcome. Or if you just want to swim, shower, or get dinner with us, while up there, that is cool too.

Here is the mountain info:

We will take the West Side Loop in Cardigan State Park east of Canaan.

From Foghorn Outdoors:
Total distance: 3.5 miles round-trip
Hiking time: 2 hours
Difficulty: 4 out of 10 ("The hike entails one of the following qualities: climbs 1,000+ feet in elevation, covers at least four miles, or has steep, rugged sections")
Rating: 10 overall quality ("The quality rating is based largely on scenic qualities, although it also takes into account how crowded a trail is and whether or not you see or hear civilization.")

Mount Watatic

We had a great hike on Saturday. The weather was just perfect. It wasn't humid at all and there was a nice breeze. We took the State Line Trail over Nutting Hill on the way up to the summit and then we followed the Wapack Trail for our descent. We ate lunch on the top of the mountain, where we had the promised "four-state panaramic view." We identified Monadnock and the Boston skyline, but were unsure about which other mountain ranges and buildings we were seeing. We were lucky to have such clear skies.