Mount Moosilauke is a stand alone mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire near the town of Lincoln. With it's bald summit and 360 degree views, I had been thinking of saving this peak for my final 115 peak. After a hike of Owl's Head the day before, Moosilauke was the best choice for a shorter day so I decided to trash the idea of finishing on it.

The rain started to hit the tent fly around 2 AM at Hancock campground and continued on and off until we rose at 5AM. The forecast and radar showed rain, but the probability of precipitation was low and the accumulations were manageable so we packed up and drove over to the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge trailhead. In the summer, you can drive up the gravel road and park before the lodge area along the side of the road. The lodge is owned and run by Darmouth College and the public can stay there in one of their bunk rooms and eat 5 course dinners. The lodge is beautiful, and I would consider staying here in the future.

We started our hike at 7AM, and headed up the Gorge Trail. The trail is rocky to start and the rocks we damp and wet after the drizzle overnight. We hit a couple of trail junctions early and continued up the Gorge trail path. A few kilometers up the trail, we bumped into the student trail crew. The trail is maintained and landscaped by this crew. You can tell all the way up a lot of work has but put into the trailbuilding process with multiple staircases, water run off pathways, and rocks turned flat side up. The trail itself ascends gradually and I thoroughly enjoyed the effort these students have put into it. 

Further up the trail we passed a minecraft fox stuffy, and then entered into the alpine scrub where we saw a couple of views into the distance despite being a cloudy day with a threat of rain. As we trees thinned the winds picked up and the temperature dropped. The alpine zone on Mount Moosilauke is a wide expanse of grass. It is very open and cairns are there to navigate (helpful even in the summer in the clouds) an the summit is a rocky area with a large handmade sign. I could tell the views would probably be amazing on a clear day but by the time we had summited we were in a cloud. We quickly added 2 layers and took photos and descended to the trees to have a breatk. It had taken us 2 hours and 19 minutes to get to the summit ascending 2500 feet.

We took a snack and water break and then hiked down the same trail we came up, enjoying the flat rocks and staircases on the way down. We hiked by multiple parties coming up and returned back to our car before noon. I think I will have to return to this summit to check it out on a clear day!

Stats:
Date: Wednesday August 20th, 2025
Distance: 12.39km
Time: 4 hours 18 minutes
Ascent: 2589ft
Peak 110 of the 115er list

Owl's Head Mountain is a stand alone 4000+ foot mountain located in the middle of the Pemigewasset Mountain range horseshoe. This treed summit has a longer approach than most objectives in the White Mountains. Due to it's viewless summit, it is dreaded among peak baggers as a large effort with little reward.

Deb and I rose around 5AM at the Hancock campground and ate breakfast. We hopped in the car and drove over to Lincoln Woods and paid the $5 parking fee. We left the parking lot around 6:30AM, and marched down the old rail trail towards the Black Pond turnoff. After a very hot July and August so far, the temperatures had dipped down in the 9C range overnight and the forecast called for sun and a pleasant 22C day - perfect for hiking. By the time we had walked onto the Black Pond trail, we were warmed up and needed to de-layer.  Here we were passed by a trio of trail runners also attempting Owl's Head Peak. We met up with them at Black Pond as they were taking some photos of the view across the pond, one of the few views of the day. Here we exchanged phones and took photos and off they left. The most common way to Owl's Head is taking the Black Pond Bushwhack. Not on any official trail map, this bushwhack is an unmarked trail that connects Black Pond to the Lincoln Woods trail near a river crossing. It was a well trod trail with some blowdown and was easy to navigate - no compass or map required. I could see the trail labelled on my  Garmin watch map. Once we were dumped onto the Lincoln Woods trail, we turned left and handrailed the Lincoln Brook all the way to the turn off.  We originally wanted to climb the slide to the top, but by mistake ended up taking the Brutus Bushwhack up instead.  This is another unmarked trail that is easy to follow and you miss the slide completely. It connects back up to the official trail just below the summit ridge. We got to the height of land pretty quickly and easily and felt pretty happy with our efforts. We were passed by a single male hiker as we traversed the ridge over to the summit proper. The pitiful cairn and word "Owl" carved into a tree was not much reward. In the distance between the trees, you could see some glimpses of the Pemi range but that's it. After a few summit shots we put on a layer and pulled our lunches for a break. 

We found it odd that the trio of trail runners were no where to be seen. As we were eating, they showed up! They had taken the slide up, but we "slow hikers" as they called us had beat them up! We chatted away again, and got invited to be a guest on one of their podcasts! The energy was great and we all left the summit at the same time. We let them go ahead on the bushwhack and realized at the switchback that they had gone the wrong way and were coming back. We got ahead of them again! We met up at the bottom of the bushwhack at the river, taking a break. We kept going, and so they passed us yet again on the Lincoln Brook Trail. Thinking we would never see them again we said our goodbyes. We turned right  before the river crossing and took the Black Pond Bushwhack back, but they continued on the Lincoln Brook trail back as it was more runnable. We marched out the last few miles and ended up meeting up with them in the parking lot. It had taken us 8 hours but them just under 7 hours.  So much fun!

After dreading and putting off this mountain hike for a long time, I didn't find it hard. The trails are easier than most trails (mainly dirt) and the steep ascent doesn't seem to last for very long. The hardest part is definitely the mileage, but your speed is faster than most hikes in the the NorthEast. Also, we didn't see the infamous Pemi bear of 2025, but carried bear spray just in case.

Stats:
Date: Tuesday August 19th, 2025
Distance: 26.2km
Time: 8 hours
Elevation gain: 3100ft
Peak #109 of 115

After our big day yesterday bagging 4 summits along the Franconia Ridge, we decided on a smaller objective for today, Sunday August 10th, 2025. We chose Garfield, a single peak that will complete my Pemi Loop peak bagging mission.

We had a late start of 9AM in the parking lot and headed up a dirt trail through nicely shaded forest. The forecast again today was calling for hot sunny weather 30C with no wind. The trail to Garfield is a 5 mile/8km consistent ramp that starts as a dirt trail and becomes more rocky as you ascend. Footstep cadence can kept quite high on this approach as the trail was nicely constructed with switchbacks towards the top. We got passed by a few groups of hikers with fresher legs than ours and passed other groups that had made some concerning attire choices (jeans!). After reaching the junction of the ridge trail, the rhythm changes as large chunky boulders requires more high steps and turnover slows down. Luckily this doesn't last long, and the Garfield summit offers excellent views of the Pemi Range on one side and down into the valley on the other. It took us 2.5 hours to get to the top. The sun's rays were intense on the summit, so after a 30 min break, we decided to descend. The trail down was pretty easy but we were getting passed as the toll from the previous day and today were starting to take effect. With the hot sweaty weather, I was developing 6 blisters on my feet and the ones on the bottom of my big toes were tender and my pace slowed down. All in all a nice trail with great views. 

Stats:
Distance: 15.8km
Time: 5 hours
Elevation 3100ft
Weather: Hot!

This is peak #108 on my  Northeast115er journey

Despite sleeping at the Lafayette campground, Deb and I decided to drive to the Basin Parking area to begin our hike up the Flume Slide Trail. We started at 6:40AM on Saturday August 9th, 2025. After a brief march on the paved bike trail, we got onto the Liberty Spring Hiking Trail and took the right hand turn at the junction to start the Flume trail. This trail ascends more steeply as you approach the slide - we were glad we started early as sweat was already dripping down our faces. We passed a mother and son and another group of 3 guys before getting to the slide. I like being first up the slide, as there is much less risk for rock fall if there are no parties above you. The  slide climbs 1500feet in a half mile, and is comprised of  a series of rocky scrambles and steep rooted trail. There seemed to be many side trails to opt out any risky moves. I did have to use my hands and feet multiple times, but I didn't feel like I needed to put my rock climbing skills to use. I did however have to stop a few times to lessen my heart rate which allowed one solo male hiker to pass us and sent a rock flying down at our heads. Luckily he yelled 'Rock!' and I was able to put my body behind a tree that shielded it from being hit.

By 10:45AM we hit the summit of Flume and enjoyed the views with a family who had been backpacking the Pemi range over the past few days. There was a father and his triplets (2 sons and 1 daughter). We had a snack and water and took a few photos of each other and carried on. Down into shaded forested trail, we enjoyed walking downhill for a change. That didn't last long as we started a gradual ascent up to the top of Liberty. The ridge was getting busy with a number of day hikers, backpackers, and thru-hikers. We reached the rocky summit of Liberty and could feel the sun's heat starting to hit us like a wall. There was little wind (a rarity), even above treeline to relieve us of our sweat and hot bodies. I had brought 2L of water with me and was well into my first bottle. The summit of Liberty has a marker, and some great viewpoints. We took some photos here and carried on.

Down again into forest trail, we lost some elevation gain and spent some time traversing a bushy flat section of trail. There didn't seem to be the same volume of hikers in this stretch. It must be more popular to hike 2 peaks in one day (Flume + Liberty, Lincoln + Lafayette). We were in the 'no man's land'. The flat traverse was a nice section where we could pick up the pace and move quickly. We then began to feel the path ascent again up towards Little Haystack. Still forested, the trail is a mix of boulders with big and little steps but wasn't that steep which we were grateful for being the third 'up' of the day. This would be the last long ascent of the day as we were moving from Mount Flume at 4200' to Lafayette at 5200'. We popped out of the trees to find Mt Haystack's summit area packed with people. There is a large area that was obviously busy with people who had come up the Falling Waters trail. From here on, we would be above tree line. We took another break here, and had a discussion about Ty Gagne's book "The Last Traverse" that told the a rescue story of two men who were caught up in a winter storm near Little Haystack and had to hide in a cave. We started looking around as we left the summit area and found what we think was where they had to hide during the storm. It looked like the only place that 2 bodies could shelter inside albeit barely. 

We continued above treeline enjoying the magnificent views of the Pemi Range and Cannon Cliffs up to Lincoln. The scenery is absolutely stunning. On Lincoln we ate and drank a bit more and lingered a bit longer than usual. It's rare to hang out at the summits but with all the people, it' was hard to get a summit shot in that didn't have other people in the way. We left Lincoln's summit, and traversed the ridge over some rocky outcroppings and found many photogenic spots and areas that one could enjoy the views. We looked at the Lincoln Slide and discussed the possibilities of descending it to access Owl's Head. We yo-yo'd our hike up to Lafayette with a very positive and non-pushy parent of a 9 year old girl that was enjoying her day. It was definitely an interesting experience from a people watching perspective: We had everything from influencer like models, to dogs that looked like that had heat stroke, people that had no sense of trail etiquette, to mostly naked hikers to completely covered up. Many people were staying at the hut, and had only come up with a water bottle! Up on Lafayette there must have been 60 people. Deb drank the last of her 1L of water, while I was about 1.5L in (I had brought 2). We were eager to get down to the Greenleaf Hut to get more water. We descended a rocky path with cairns off the top of Lafayette and dropped over 1000 ft to get to the hut. We found the drinking water tap and filled our bottles up and took another break. I added some electrolytes to my bottle and it perked me right up. There was a group of about 8 women on an AMC hike, and about 20 other lingering around the hut. Still over 3miles/5km to the end of the Old Bridle Path trail. We passed a few groups on the way down this trail, but were mindful of our foot placements in places on the tricky polished rock on the descent. We see polished rock in rock climbing where rock becomes slippery due to overuse. It was easy to spot the polished rock places as it was black. On the way down 5 of the hut workers passed us going up with heavy loads. We passed by some view points of the ridge we were just on and as you get closer to the parking lot, the trail becomes more manicured and steps have been built like a stair case. Upon finishing, we walked through the tunnel and found a hiker in the Lafayette parking lot to drive us over to the Basin parking to get our car. 

Stats:
Ascent: 5330ft/1638ft
Distance: 22.47km
Time: 9 hours, 45 mins (lots of breaks on this hot day!)
Temperature: 30C
Wind: None

Peaks # 104, #105, #106, and #107 of my NorthEast 115er journey.

The Riviere Mistassibi Nord-Est is a whitewater canoe tripping river located north of Lac St-Jean, Quebec. It falls 1200ft over 108km and has long continuous sections of rapids. The number of rapids added to the stunning scenery makes this trip spectacular. I would say it's a 'medium' river in terms of difficulty. After leaving Dolbeau-Mistassini, the town on north end of the lake, it's another 250km north via logging road to get to the start. Information on the the river and how to get there can be found here. For reference, the river gauge was at 219 cms when we left cell range on July 28th, 2025, and when we returned August 4th, 2025 the level was at 143 cms. 

Day 0 Monday July 28th, 2025

We travelled by truck 12 hours (~1000km) to get to the take-out area of the river. This doesn't include the extra 113km up to the put-in. When we arrived at the town of Dolbeau-Mistassini, we made sure to fuel up (including an extra jerry can) and ate a fast food dinner as it was raining and no one felt like cooking. We met our friends in a separate vehicle here in order to do our own shuttle. The logging road is very wide for the most part and is in good condition compared to most logging roads. They even mark the wash outs on the road so you know to slow down.  We stayed in a make-shift campsite near the take-out and set up in the rain. Everyone was tired from long journeys, so we all headed to bed early around dusk. 

​Day 1 Tuesday July 29th, 2025

​After packing up, we left one vehicle at the takeout and then loaded 6 people, 3 canoes and gear in the back of Mark's pick up truck. We left the take-out around 8:10 AM and travelled another 113km up to the put-in taking another 2 hours of travel. This put us at the 158km mark of the river. The put-in area has short trees (are we that far north?) and logs of boggy lichen. Trees are mainly black spruce and evidence of logging and wildfires were evident. We were on the water by 11 AM and noticed that the water levels looked low-ish. In many places you needed to follow where the most water is flowing, and there were many rocks to hit both in the whitewater and flatwater - a theme that would continue for the rest of the trip. Lots of boat scrapes and bumps. The first notable rapid was a class 3 rapid that had a big ledge that we all ran successfully. The next class 3 we lined the top and and ran the bottom. The last class 3 before the campsite our first canoe got caught and took on some water but quick action prevented it from getting worse. We decided to line it instead. The first group campsite on river right at the 144.5km mark was large, flat, and had multiple tentsites. It even had a thunderbox! The weather was sunny and warm and we noticed quite quickly that blackfly season wasn't over in this neck of the woods. The boggy ground was perfect for these creatures. Luckily we had brought a group sized bug shelter that came in handy all trip. We retreated to the tents at 9PM when the dampness set in and the bugs came out in hoards.