On Sunday we hiked Mt. Starr King, 3907 ft. The trail continues on to Mt. Waumbek, 4006 ft., and only a mile across the saddle, but we did not go across. We shared the peak of Starr King with a couple guys who I surmised by their conversation to be peak-baggers: they were plotting future "death-march" hikes intended to get several 4,000 footers in a day. Between their conversation and the location off Rt. 2 my mind drifted back to what I still consider one of the most unpleasant and dangerous hiking experiences I've ever had, our rain-soaked assault on the Adams/Madison monolith.
On Starr King those two guys and one other older solo hiker were the only people we encountered. We marched right along without conversing, stopped only three or four times on the way up, and twice on the way down, and got back to Gorham early in the afternoon.
Here's someone else's picture of their tent on the peak at Mt. Starr King. This is where we encountered first, the lone hiker, then, the pair of peak baggers (there was no tent).
Gorham, by the way, is full of restaurants that are out of business or soon will be. We had a late lunch at a place that billed itself as a "Mexican Seafood Grill." Like Senor Pizza down the street, it served a variety of styles. Both of us opted for a burger. You know, I don't think they should ask how you want your burger done if they're going to deliver it well-done regardless.
That night we ate light at J's Lounge right next door to our motel. J's might have the best food, and did have the best service, of the three places we tried, but Senor Pizza wins out for the outdoor deck (J's doesn't even have windows).
Early Monday morning we took a bike ride. Less than a mile up Rt. 16 from our motel a railroad bridge, with a walkway suspended beneath it, crosses the Androscoggin. We rode up there, walked our bike across, then rode on a dirt road that parallelled the river (except for one slightly disconcerting detour due to a canal) for about six miles east, where we crossed back over to ride back to town on Rt. 2. For a short portion of the dirt road and bridge at that far end we were actually riding our bikes on the Appalachian Trail, a notion that tickles my funny bone.
Once we got ready after the bike ride, we headed up to Lake Umbagog, nearly an hour drive north. We went into the NH State Park there and rented a canoe. I think our day use fees and half-day rental of the Grumman barge totalled $21. The ranger told us where we might see osprey, a mother duck and chicks, and a yearling moose, but we saw none of them. We did see the osprey nest, and later we saw another, and saw an osprey flying from it. We paddled a ways up the lake to one of the remote campsites no one was using and landed there to take a nap and have a swim before returning.
I really would like to go back to Umbagog and camp at one of those remote sites sometime. It is a beautiful and remote lake, and camping at those sites would have a great wilderness vibe. Seeing Umbagog may have been the best part of a trip that had many great parts to it.
This picture from NH Parks shows a paddler on Umbagog in the same kind of canoe they rented us:
This picture I think shows the exact remote campsite we stopped at.
On Starr King those two guys and one other older solo hiker were the only people we encountered. We marched right along without conversing, stopped only three or four times on the way up, and twice on the way down, and got back to Gorham early in the afternoon.
Here's someone else's picture of their tent on the peak at Mt. Starr King. This is where we encountered first, the lone hiker, then, the pair of peak baggers (there was no tent).
Gorham, by the way, is full of restaurants that are out of business or soon will be. We had a late lunch at a place that billed itself as a "Mexican Seafood Grill." Like Senor Pizza down the street, it served a variety of styles. Both of us opted for a burger. You know, I don't think they should ask how you want your burger done if they're going to deliver it well-done regardless.
That night we ate light at J's Lounge right next door to our motel. J's might have the best food, and did have the best service, of the three places we tried, but Senor Pizza wins out for the outdoor deck (J's doesn't even have windows).
Early Monday morning we took a bike ride. Less than a mile up Rt. 16 from our motel a railroad bridge, with a walkway suspended beneath it, crosses the Androscoggin. We rode up there, walked our bike across, then rode on a dirt road that parallelled the river (except for one slightly disconcerting detour due to a canal) for about six miles east, where we crossed back over to ride back to town on Rt. 2. For a short portion of the dirt road and bridge at that far end we were actually riding our bikes on the Appalachian Trail, a notion that tickles my funny bone.
Once we got ready after the bike ride, we headed up to Lake Umbagog, nearly an hour drive north. We went into the NH State Park there and rented a canoe. I think our day use fees and half-day rental of the Grumman barge totalled $21. The ranger told us where we might see osprey, a mother duck and chicks, and a yearling moose, but we saw none of them. We did see the osprey nest, and later we saw another, and saw an osprey flying from it. We paddled a ways up the lake to one of the remote campsites no one was using and landed there to take a nap and have a swim before returning.
I really would like to go back to Umbagog and camp at one of those remote sites sometime. It is a beautiful and remote lake, and camping at those sites would have a great wilderness vibe. Seeing Umbagog may have been the best part of a trip that had many great parts to it.
This picture from NH Parks shows a paddler on Umbagog in the same kind of canoe they rented us:
This picture I think shows the exact remote campsite we stopped at.
Comments