Mt. Moosilauke & South Peak - Hiking

Mt. Moosilauke (4,802ft)

Elevation Gain: 2,450ft

South Peak Mt. Moosilauke (4,531ft)

Trails: Gorge Brook, Glencliff Trail/Appalachian Trail, Carriage Road, Snapper

Distance: 6.9 miles roundtrip

Duration: 5.5 hrs

My 4000+ Peak #7

Listed 4000+: #10
Difficulty: Strenuous

It was a  beautiful day for a hike! Our group (NewEngland Over 50 Meetup) met up at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge in Warren, NH. We gathered at the turnaround at the end of the Ravine Lodge road before heading off to the Gorge Brook Trail. 

There were several foot bridges we crossed before getting to the junction of Gorge Brook and Snapper Trails. Our group continued uphill along the Gorge Brook. 

 At 1.6 miles we came up to the "Last Water" sign as well as the McKenney Forest Plaque. 

 Further up there were several outlooks with stunning views!

 Hazy views of Mt. Kineo and Carr Mountain!

  At 4,440ft!

 A bit of view of the summit

  Grassy ridge crest just below the summit

 The last 50 yards to the summit! 

Diapensia shrubland flowers grow along the upper trail

 

At the summit there was a good enough crowd and lovely scenery to photograph! Our group spent 30 minutes for lunch and enjoyed the calm, cool breezes.

Bagged my 7th 4000+ footer peak!

Our group decided to summit South Peak so we descended the Glencliff/Appalachian Trails, taking a right onto the spur path leading to the South Peak. At the South Peak summit we sat to admire more views!

 Mt. Moosilauke summit from South Peak and the trail along the ridge between the summits. 

Our descent continued along the Carriage Road and Snapper Trails, ending back at the turnaround. Before leaving we gathered for some cold drinks and pretzel sticks. We had a group of 13 for this hike...a really solid group of folks. And the company was very enjoyable, we couldn't ask for a better day!

There is lookout point along route 118 and I stopped on my way out to take a couple of photos.