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
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
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