Trip/Event Location: North Conway, NHUS
Trip Leader(s): Gandalf , JDNnh
Max # People: 15
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Moderate to Strenuous
A demanding climb above tree line to 360-degree views! Post-hike swim at Diana's Baths!
We begin the hike on the North Mountain Trail, passing by Diana's Baths, a tantalizing mix of potholes,
We can meet at 7:30 to carpool from the Campton Post Office at Exit 28 off I-93. Let us know if you'll be carpooling with us.
Otherwise take Rte. 95 North to NH, take Rte. 16 North in Portsmouth and follow it to Conway. To avoid traffic in North Conway, take a left onto Washington Street at the junction of Rte 16 and Rte 153 in downtown Conway. Washington Street is at the very first set of traffic lights after you pass the junction of Routes 16 and 112 [the Kanc]. On Washington Street, bear left af the the fork onto West Side Road. Drive north until eventually coming to a "T" intersection at West Side Road and River Street ~ take a LEFT and stay on West Side Road. Continue on West Side Road, passing Cathedral Ledge Drive on the left. After passing over Lucy Brook on a narrow bridge, go 0.2 miles and look for a small dirt drive to Diana's Baths on the left [easy to miss so slow down]. Parking at Diana's Baths is $3 per vehicle; the annual White Mountain National Forest car pass can also be used here. We'll be driving a blue Toyota FJ Cruiser.
Although this hike had many easy sections, because of the long steep sections and the heat/humidity the Moderate/Strenuous rating became Strenuous. Being avid hikers we initially thought this would be a Moderate/Strenuous hike but by the time we finished had upgraded to Strenuous based on the relative abilities of our hiking club.
From Diana's Baths parking lot, twelve hikers and one dog [Sonny] departed at the scheduled departure time of 9:15am. We checked out Diana's Bath [we couldn' find Diana's tiara] and then headed up the Red Ridge Trail.
The air was hot, hazy and humid as we strolled a couple miles through red pines [oops...I stand corrected...these were hemlocks]. We then came to a junction with a logging road, saw our path had an arrow pointing back into the hardwoods from across, and continued forward. We met up with a group in a small ravine who had lost the trail along with us. Together we found out the trail took a sharp left about 100 yards before the ravine to cross a brook. To prevent future hikers from going straight ahead in error, we blocked off the trail with branches.
We began to climb a little on Red Ridge Trail and then came to rocks and ledges and rested at an awesome lookout area where we could see North Conway and the fire tower on North Kearsage. We journeyed together and leapfrogged upwards with some other hikers. The heat/humidity began to affect Bill so he decided to turn around. It was past noon and we were ready for lunch. We stopped at the junction of Red Ridge and Moat Mountain Trails.
Afterwards, we headed over the beautiful wooded ridge and up some long and steep rocks for the next 1.1 miles to the summit of North Moat Mountain. We enjoyed a 360-degree view. Rich had not carried enough water and became dehydrated. He became dillusional [more on that later] so we gave him some of our water.
We all started the descent together a bit gingerly down the steep ledges of Moat Mountain Trail with little skidding. Jon and I waited up at the brook crossings and/or junctions until those behind caught up. Rich had gone ahead of the pack and ran back towards us indicating he saw two baby cubs scrambling up a tree. [Knowing he was dehydrated and dillusional we had a trouble believing him]. We found this excellent swimming hole and everyone went in to cool off. Everyone was appreciative of the trails but found it tougher than expected factoring in the heat/humidity, 10+ miles and 8 hours we put into it.
We finished off the day at Moat Mountain Brewery and celebrated the birthdays of Kevin, Corey and Miloe whose birthdays were only four days apart. Happy Birthday Boyz!
Outdoor Fitness Level: Very Strenuous
Outdoor Fitness Level: Moderate
Outdoor Fitness Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Comment: Add together 12 interesting guys, hours of majestic views, refreshing swimming spots and a great meal at the Moat Brewery = Adventure!
Comment: Remember we are talking about Rich L being dehydrated and delusional. Rich T was in control at all times, as I usually am....