Mt. Hale - 9/26/20
4055 feet - 4.5 mi
The second stop on my quest to climb all 48 4000-footers; Mt. Hale is among the easiest of all of them. I would consider it easier than Mt. Tecumseh, the first of the 48 I climbed. The hike is slightly shorter and the terrain is smoother on average. Like Tecumseh, this one has a wooded summit with limited views and probably not worth doing if you're not aiming to collect them all. That said, I did enjoy this hike and was happy to knock another one off the list.
My dad and brother, Bill, both accompanied me and Lana on this one. None of us had been getting much exercise in the preceding weeks, but I still wanted to check off another of the 48, so this seemed like a good opportunity to do an easy one with the whole gang. Like many of the highest peaks in the state, this one was just over 2 hours away, so we had to get an early start. I bundled Lana into the car at 6am and we headed north.
This time of year as fall sets in, you don't need to climb a mountain to see great scenery, and the drive did not dissappoint. Passing by Cathedral Ledge, and through Crawford Notch, I considered stopping to take some pictures, but I didn't want to waste time as I expected crowds. As I passed through the Notch the parking areas there were already full and people were starting to park along the road, so I was left hoping Mt. Hale would be spared by virtue of being uninteresting.
I almost missed Zealand Road, where the trailhead is located, because my GPS lost signal many miles before I reached my destination and I was winging it. I had to do a U-turn in on the highway when I realized I'd driven past Zealand recreation area, but once there I found the trailhead without issue. The lot had just filled up, with the last slot taken by my dad and brother who had arrived shortly before me. I pulled off the road a little ways ahead and we got started. It was chilly to start with, but once I got hiking I quickly warmed up.
The trail begins with a mostly flat stretch, then briefly ascends steeply before becoming more gradual again. This portion of the trail is relatively smooth, although some of the steep parts had loose sandy or gravelly soil and there were some rocky sections. We chatted as we walked along, stopping to let the dog sniff around or have a little water break.
Approximately a third of the way up the trail we reached Hale Brook, for which the path is named. The water level was low, as we hadn't had rain for many days, but I can imagine in wetter weather it could be tough to stay dry while crossing. There was a bit of rock scrambling to do to get up the other side of the streambed, and Lana slipped trying to jump up, but was able to pull herself up before I got over to help. She was unperturbed, but I checked her belly, legs, and paws for injury. She seemed no worse for wear so we continued on.
From here, the trail gets steeper and rockier. It climbs steadily along a ridege with many sections arranged into stone steps. As the mountainside gets even steeper, the trail turns to the right in the first of a series of switchbacks up this steepest part of the slope. Lana and I were in the lead as we rounded the corner into the switchbacks, and as I looked back I was suprised to find myself face to face with a sasquatch crossing the trail! Oh no, wait, that's just Bill.
Above the switchbacks, the trees turned to mostly evergreens and the air smelled strongly of Christmas. The trees thinned out a bit and we kept thinking we were closer to the summit than we actually were, although we actually had probably close to three quarters of a mile left to go. However, we were able to catch a few glimpses of the surrounding mountains through gaps in the trees as we got closer to the summit.
The summit consists of a clearing, surrounded by trees. In the center sits a giant cairn, more like a pile of rubble than the small stone markers you see elsewhere. There are also visible remnants of the foundation of a fire tower that once stood there. It was removed in 1972 but part of the foundation, some stones and metal poles, remain.
There were a few other people at the top but the clearing provided plenty of space for everyone, and we spent some time resting here. We spotted a large gray jay flying around, eyeing up people's food. I've heard that they'll sometimes take food out of your hand if you offer it to them, but feeding the wildlife is generally frowned upon and it was clear this bird was already too accustomed to humans. I did, however, let a certain animal eat part of my snack.
It was starting to get warm and sunny by the time we headed back down and as usual, I made sure to take ample breaks to water the dog. I don't think anyone else minded as we were all starting to feel the effects of the climb. We made it to the switchbacks and we had to be careful descending through these steep rocky parts. The dusty, gravelley nature of the soil made all of us slip a little bit here and there, but fortunately there were no real accidents. When we made it down to the crossing of Hale Brook, we took another break of a few minutes. I let Lana catch her breath while I went and explored the ravine a little bit. The crossing has small falls just above and below it and I spent some time checking out the little pools. My dad works for the state's Fish and Game Department, and mentioned that there could be wild native brook trout in the stream, but I didn't see any. Hard to believe they could be all that way up the mountain but the state does surveys of streams in the Whites every year and tiny brook trout, usually no more than a few inches long, can be found suprisingly high up in even the smallest of streams.
After the water crossing it was smooth sailing down, although we once again tricked ourselves into thinking the end was closer than it really was. We eventually did make it to the bottom, and after a couple minutes rest and packing up, we sid out goodbyes and headed home. Lana was very tired, and spent most of the ride home laying in the backseat with her head hanging and her eyes barely open. She rarely sleeps in the car for whatever reason, but it was clear she was barely awake. Here's one last pic of her resting before getting back in the car to head home.
