We headed up to Tunnel Brook Road to the Benton Trail trailhead. The plan was to hike up the Benton Trail, hook onto the Beaver Brook Trail, summit Mt. Moosilauke (4,802’) and return the same way.

The Benton trail was a new trail for us and we were looking forward to it. I like trails that aren't as heavily traveled.

It was easy to follow, but nice and narrow throughout most of its length. The trail up was peaceful, easy, and never overly steep, so we took in everything.

After a mile the forest changed quickly from all northern hardwoods to nearly all spruce/fir. Within 45 minutes we were at the Tunnel Brook Ravine viewpoint at 2800 feet. We were blown away by the magnitude of some of the cliffs. You could hear the water crashing down into the valley. It was awe-inspiring. That was worth the hike all by itself.

Up the Benton trail we went, which was a little more difficult thanks to more rocks and a slightly steeper incline. Then we were at the junction with the Beaver Brook Trail, a mere 10-15 min from the summit.

The approach to treeline was very climatic. You turn the corner, and BAM....no trees....and views open up for at least 180 degrees.

Up the hill we went to the summit where we shared it with about a dozen other people. But it didn't matter to me. You don't come to Moosilauke to be alone.

While relaxing on the summit, we spoke with the alpine steward who works for Dartmouth College. His job is to make everyone reaching the summit feel welcome and remind them not to step on the fragile and rare alpine plants. He was a cutie! He lodges at the Dartmouth Ravine Lodge below and is on the summit 11-3pm. Unfortunately, we had to get rolling. We didn't want to leave at all, but we had no choice so off we went, back down the way we came up.

So many things combined to make this hike up the Moose (Mt. Moosilauke) great. The way Jon and I went up wasn't too difficult so we could take in the scenery, we took a new trail that we haven't taken before, and we got to hike with each other. It was a wonderful day in the mountains.

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