Tuesday Trip Report: The Baldfaces. October 20, 2012

Please join us at the biggest literary event in New England on Saturday, October 27.  I'll be part of the Boston Book Festival's True Story, Personal Visions presentation at 1pm, in the Boston Public Library Commonwealth Salon.  Hope to see you there!

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Baldface Circle Trail, plus a tiny bit of Meader Ridge Trail.  About 10.2 miles total.

Finally, the Baldfaces!  The girls and I have had this loop hike on our immediate must-do list since June.  We've scheduled it multiple times only to have something happen and force a change of plans.  Last week, while we were hiking Mt. Shaw with Dan and Janelle, I mentioned it would be nice to get the Baldfaces out of the way before the snow arrives for good.  Dan and Janelle agreed -- Dan's writing a book on the 52 With a View (Baldfaces included) and his deadline is coming up.  At the time, the weather for Thursday looked favorable, so we agreed to tackle the loop hike together on Thursday if the forecast held.

The next day, I was chatting with another hiking friend, Mark, and I mentioned the Baldfaces.  This hike has been on Mark's list too, so I invited him and his wife, Natalie, to join the party.  They accepted and, in turn, asked some friends of theirs, Mike and Donna, to come along.  Later that evening, Hugh told me he could ditch work for a day and join the crowd.

The girls and I are used to hiking on our own, since that's usually what circumstances dictate.  Alex and Sage were therefore thrilled to have the opportunity of hiking with such a large and jovial group -- especially since that group included ten-year-old Janelle.

The night before the hike, Mark and Natalie came up from Rhode Island and spent the night at our house.  We were happy to have them, and we hope they'll come and stay with us again sometime.

We met Mike and Donna at the trailhead Thursday morning around 8:15am.  Dan and Janelle had started earlier, since they were going up a slightly different route in order to bag an extra 52WAV peak before joining us for the Baldfaces.  They'd meet us just beneath the summit of South Baldface, at the intersection with Baldface Knob Trail.

Our group, ready to roll...

Into the woods...

We took a quick detour to Emerald Pool before heading up the mountain.  The water does look rather greenish...

Up up up...the ascent to Baldface Shelter felt routine.  The grade was moderate and the trail was the typical New Hampshire rocks-and-roots fiesta (with a slew of fallen leaves for panache).

We made it to the shelter around 10:15.  We were supposed to meet Dan and Janelle at the intersection at 11...I was concerned that the forthcoming ledges and scrambles would slow us down and we'd be late, but no one else felt like we had to hurry.  Since I didn't want to be a nag, I decided to relax and enjoy the moment.  We were all having a good time, and I trusted that Dan and Janelle would understand and wait for us if we were indeed late.

After some food and liquids, we tackled the ledges and scrambles. 

Entering the alpine zone...

The fun begins!

I didn't take pictures of the trickier scrambles since I was busy doing my best not to fall.  All in all, they weren't too bad, though the bottom sections were wet and therefore difficult to navigate.  There were a few times when I had to become somewhat intimate with trees and other vegetation as I hauled myself over precarious pieces of granite, but I managed to get myself up without harming the fragile alpine zone.  The girls did just fine and probably did not need my parental hovering.

Speaking of parental hovering...there was one point where Hugh was spotting them and it felt...weird.  I'm the one who takes the girls hiking, so I'm used to doing the sole hovering and spotting.  It was difficult for me to step back and let Hugh handle things for a few minutes.  I guess as Alex and Sage grow older and Hugh accompanies us more and more, I'll have to get used to sharing the parental hovering duties.  That's not a bad thing, of course, it's just...different.

Here's Natalie at the top of a series of scrambles.  Mark is still climbing up...you can see his hand and head behind the bare little tree in the center of the picture below.

Sage heading up the next section...

The ledge below was slanted precariously to the left...this picture does not do the grade justice.

Up we go...with gorgeous views behind us...

Alex saw this cave and wanted to crawl through it.  I told her she wouldn't fit...

...she dutifully came out only to have Sage go in and try to crawl through. 

Sage got stuck and Natalie pulled her out from the top of the cave on the other side...Alex was mad at me for not letting her try...there was a bit of sibling/parental drama...thankfully, that dissipated after a while.

Onward, upward...

Looking toward North Baldface...

Natalie and Hugh, almost at the intersection with Baldface Knob Trail...

The intersection of Baldface Circle Trail and Baldface Knob Trail...

The summit of South Baldface, just ahead...

Looking toward Mt. Eastman...Dan and Janelle were coming from that direction...and there they are, right on the top of that bald spot...

A zoom-in of Dan and Janelle...

We were half an hour late getting to the intersection, but so were Dan and Janelle, so the timing was actually perfect.

Our group is now complete...

Alex and Sage were thrilled to see Janelle again.  The three stuck together for the rest of the hike.

Onward, to South Baldface...

Views on the way up...

The summit of South Baldface!

Views from the top of South Baldface...

Sage lounging...

Dan takes pictures of Alex, Janelle, and Sage...

Dan and Janelle...

Three young ladies contemplating life...

North Baldface, just over there...

After much lounging and eating of brownies, we raised ourselves and headed toward North Baldface.

Almost there...

Check out the foliage.  It's past peak, but those yellows still pop out...

North Baldface's summit! 

  

 Three strong young ladies.

South Baldface from the summit of North Baldface. 

Looking toward Eagle Crag, our next stop.

Donna, Sage, Janelle, and Alex on the summit of North Baldface.

 Me and the girls.

Me, Hugh, Janelle, Sage, and Alex on the summit of North Baldface.

 Summit lounging.

 Dan photographs the girls.

After more resting and tons of food, we headed toward Eagle Crag.

Eagle Crag is on Meader Ridge trail -- it's just a couple tenths of a mile away from the intersection with Baldface Circle Trail.

Sage arrived just ahead of the two other girls...

Janelle was next...

 Alex drew a picture of Mother Earth...

...before following Sage and Janelle up the actual summit.

Sage drew her own picture...

 Natalie and Mark on Eagle Crag...

Donna and Mike on Eagle Crag...

There was more lounging and eating...then it was time to head down via Baldface Circle Trail.

 Cool Halloween tree...

 Leaf art...

Tricky water crossing with conveniently placed log...

Darkness is coming!!

Not long after the above picture was taken, we were all "overcome by darkness."  Though we carried headlamps, we were close enough to the parking lot to find our way out in the dark.  Sometimes it's fun to let your eyes adjust.  

Janelle's headlamp shining in the street.   



Congratulations to Janelle, who hiked 13 miles on this trip (we did a measly 10.2).  She and Dan are almost finished their quest -- you can follow their progress here.

Nat and Mark, it was a pleasure!  Hope to see you both again soon.  Thanks for posting your awesome trip report.

Mike and Donna, it was nice to finally hike with you!!

We're happy this day worked out the way it did.  I haven't hiked with a big group in a long time; this specific combination of wonderful personalities brought an extra layer of joy to an already-spectacular trek.

Good people, fun ledges, slippery rock scrambles, perfect weather, 360-degree views, and brownies.

Doesn't get much better than that.