Get caught up:
Intro and Day 1
Days 2-3
Days 4-6
Days 7-9
Day 10 (Thursday)- Wildcat River Trail, Wild River Trail, Wild River Wilderness, Eagle Link Trail, leaving the Wild River Wilderness, Baldface Circle Trail (north), Route 113- 15 miles
One consequence of my time off trail was that this day ended up being longer mileage than originally planned. The original plan was for night 7 in the Great Gulf Wilderness, night 8 at Imp Camp, night 9 inside the Wild River Wilderness at Spruce Brook or Perkins, night 10 at Cold River Campground. Instead, as you’ve seen, night 7 was at Joe Dodge Lodge, night 8 on a friend’s couch, night 9 at Carter Notch Hut. My original itinerary maxed out my daily mileage at around 13, so doing 15 miles didn’t seem like too much of a stretch considering the last two miles were a flat road walk.
After a lovely hot breakfast and Blanket Folding Demonstration (BFD) at Carter Notch Hut, I was off down the Wildcat River Trail. The trail was very pleasant and I enjoyed that it was less technical with fewer steep sections and rock scrambles than many White Mountain descents. The Wildcat River was high, but wading across it felt reasonable.
I then turned on to the Wild River Trail, entering the Wild River Wilderness and hiking through glorious Perkins Notch. I’d hiked this section of trail on an overnight in the fall and it was how I remembered it- wet and narrow but totally passable. The trail passed Perkins Notch continued in that fashion, switch backing over the headwaters of the Wild River a few times. Again, these crossings were manageable. At this point, my trickiest water crossing had been the day before in the Great Gulf.
Not wanting to have to cross the Wild River further downstream where it could be riskier with all the rain, I choose to take the Eagle Link trail, with one final crossing of the Wild River at the trail’s start. The Eagle Link trail was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was overgrown enough to feel wild, yet obvious enough (with careful attention) to not loose the route. It slowly gained elevation with views of mountains and valleys to the north and behind to the west. Clouds were coming and going in a majestic fashion over the fir covered peaks. I didn’t cross paths with any other hikers in the Wild River Wilderness, making it the only Wilderness area where I had complete solitude.
When I reached Eagle Crag and left the Wild River Wilderness, it started to sprinkle, yet the clouds were lifting for a fantastic view of the Baldfaces. I considered going across Mt. Meader and taking the Basin Rim Trail to the Basin Trail, but I’ve done that route a few times before and was excited to check out something different, so I headed down the northern Baldface Circle Trail (I’d only previously been up the southern part of the circle). On a drier day, I would’ve loved to have taken the Bicknell Ridge Trail, but I didn’t want to add any additional slippery ledges to the hike! I hope to go back and check it out another time.
There were a few slick rock scrambles to navigate at the beginning of the my descent down from Eagle Crag, then the path mellowed out. As I got further down the path, I could hear the roar of Charles Brook. I was originally only mildly concerned about the crossing of Charles Brook shown on my map. I presumed that because the trail was outside of the Wilderness, it would have a bridge if the crossing was challenging. I had seen footprints leading down the path ahead of me, leading to me to believe that **someone** must have recently crossed the brook and it wasn’t an absurd idea to attempt it. Since it did not have a bridge I figured it would be a crossing in a mellow spot, yet nothing about Charles Brook seemed mellow as I walked next to it, and I knew that the drop to Emerald Pool just below the crossing is substantial. I became anxious as I approached the crossing, and it would turn out to be the most technical crossing of the trip.
I scouted for the safest route across and was particularly grateful that Anne had loaned me her hiking poles to finish the trip after I’d snapped one of mine coming down the Glen Boulder Trail. I would 100% avoid this crossing after heavy rains now that I have experienced it. The deepest water I stepped in was mid-thigh, which was fortunately in a pool within arms reach of the shore. What the water may have lacked for in depth, being knee deep most of the way, it made up for in force. The sheer volume coming off the mountain was incredible. While unbuckling my hip belt for safety always makes things a little wobbly, I was glad to have my pack on. My 190 pounds of pack and body weight seemed less likely to get swept away downstream than if I’d been lighter- the downward force of my weight on my legs fighting with the perpendicular force of the water downstream.
With a few surges in adrenaline I made it safely across the brook and headed onward to Rt 113, passing the only two hikers I’d see that day- a couple of folks strolling up presumably to check out Emerald Pool, as it was late in the day to be heading up the mountain.
While I was tired, and my right foot was starting to ache from my slip on day 7, the road walk was fairly enjoyable thanks to a beautiful view.
Around 6pm, I arrived at Cold River Campground as the only camper there for the night. I ate some ramen peanut noodles with dehydrated cabbage and carrots, got annoyed at the mosquitoes, threw a bearhang that looked oddly out of place at a campground, and went to bed.
Day 11- Road walk to Bickford Brook Trail, To Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness, to Blueberry Ledge Trail to Summit Loop to White Cairn Trail to Shell Pond Rd to Rt 113 road walk- 7.2 Miles
I was pretty tired from yesterday’s long day (and the trip as a whole) and decided to sleep in and take a more leisurely walk today. My only goal was to get to and through the Caribou-Speckled Wilderness which was a hop and skip away from my campsite. Originally, I’d planned a point to point with Bob meeting me on the other end (south end of the Miles Notch Trail) but waiting for him napping in my tent after a short lap suddenly was more appealing than an epic finish waiting to be picked up in a buggy parking lot. I had just enough cell service to send out a text with my change in plans that morning, but didn’t have enough service to get a reply until I’d sumitted Blueberry Mountain, so went I sent off I packed for a full day just in case I didn’t have a reply and Bob was headed for Miles Notch.
I went up the Bickford Brook Trail and the crossing was easy peasy, despite being so close to the dramatic slides. I took the Blueberry Ledge Trail to the summit of Blueberry Mountain and enjoyed the sweeping views, some of my best this trip given all the days of rain and clouds. I was soaking in the (relatively) blue skies and enjoying finally drying out. I lingered on the summit loop, happy to have a chance to slow down rather than press onward.
I took the White Cairn Trail down and was afforded more wide views on the descent. Of the 12 Wilderness Area boundary signs I passed, this is in the top 2- tied with the above treeline stake when I exited the Presidential-Dry River Wilderness on the Davis Path near Slide Peak. The walk down Stone House Road was pleasant, and I read a little bit about the history of the Stone House and was impressed with the owner’s desire to keep the properties hiking trails open to the public. I soaked in the views from Rt 113 once more and then headed back to camp for lunch.
Bob pulled into camp when I was nestled in my tent for a nap and it was thrilling to be reunited. He helped me break camp (after we decided to head back to VT that night rather than car camp), I changed into clean clothes and we headed out of the White Mountain Naitonal Forest.
We stopped in Gorham and had dinner at Big Day Brewing. I had some delicious soft pretzels and the beef, veggies and rice pictured above (would highly recommend!). I was still making up my calorie deficit, so we also stopped and got ice cream on the drive home. The irony of the calorie deficit is that I also brought home extra food, but sometimes my appetite or time to eat just didn’t match my caloric needs. Sitting eating in the bugs and/or rain often made me inclined to rush meals.
Final Reflections:
I thought I might feel some sort of euphoria upon leaving the 6th Wilderness and having accomplished my goal. Instead, I felt ambivalent. I was equal parts ready to go home and bummed to be heading home. Ending with a jaunt up Blueberry Mountain, a mountain I had chaperoned groups of kids up and down back in my WM environmental ed days, felt in some ways anti-climatic. It wasn’t some high peak or rugged, remote trail. While just across the road in Wild River Wilderness I had seen no other hikers, in the Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness I saw more people than in any of the other designated wildernesses.
At the same time, it’s great that there is wild beauty accessible to those looking for a shorter jaunt. Who am I to gate keep the Wilderness? I’ve spent enough of my life doing the opposite- guiding canoe trips in the BWCA and leading backpacking treks in the White Mountains, teaching Leave No Trace principals to keep wild places wild. In fact, I have the (now defunct) Cragged Mountain Farm Summer Camp and my time as a trip leader there to credit for some of my knowledge of and previous experience in a few of these Wilderness Areas that helped shape the route for this trip. I also credit those experiences with making me accustomed to hiking with a heavy pack! (By my trip leader/foster mom standards, my 45 pound pack was light!)
Much of this trip was seeped in memories. The group of kids I’d camped with at a particular campsite, the trail my now husband and I hiked on our first date, the pregnancy I had carried while camping in the Great Gulf who never made it beyond my womb. The literal highs and lows of the mountains and valleys echo the figurative high and lows of our lives.
My friend Emily asked me on our drive over if I do hikes like this because it is enjoyable or because I like the challenge. I responded that I wasn’t sure if it’d be fun, because I had never done a trip like this before. My longest solo trip previously had been 3 days, and while I’d done much longer canoe trips, my longest backpacking trip prior to this was 7 days. Ultimately, the trip presented with a mixture of type 1, 2, and 3 fun. Type 3 fun, is of course not actually fun, like night 6 tenting in thunderstorms. Type 2 is fun after the fact, like my slog down the Glen Boulder Trail after that sleepless night. Not so much fun at the the time, but a super neat trail to look back on. Then there were the type 1 moments of pure joy, like cruising across the Shoal Pond Trail taking in the scenery, listening to the birds and squishing in the mud like a toddler in rain boots.
So the answer of course is, it’s both. It’s fun and it’s challenging. Would I do it again, or something similar? I would certainly consider it. I loved that this trip goal gave me flexibility- peering over the maps for months beforehand weighing options for where to go was it’s own amusement, one not afforded by picking a pre-exsisting route or sticking to one trail. The trip ultimately offered a nice balance of solitude at Wilderness campsites and social opportunities at sites like Sawyer Pond and Ethan Pond- I’m not sure I’d want to do a long trip that was strictly busy sites (the answer to my dad’s inquiry about if I desired to thru-hike the Long Trail) or a lengthy solo trip that didn’t afford me any opportunity to interact with others.
So what’s next? I’m excited to explore deeper into the Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness at some point. Bob and I are taking a foster kiddo for respite on a canoe camping trip in a couple of weeks. Section or thru-hiking the Coos Trail might be next on my longer hike bucket list but not any time soon. I’m taking some time to focus on some of my other interests- biking, biathlon and climbing. (I won the Singletrack Shootout at Craftsbury for expert women 2 days after my trip and am jonesing for more). I’m toying with the idea of making a few more how-to videos on Instagram (@backcountrykae) after the popularity (by my non-influencer standards) of my “how to stay dry sleeping in a puddle” reel and requests from a few different friends for other pro-tips.
Speaking of puddles. I just read this morning that Mt. Washington got 16.58″ of rain in June, the second highest ever recorded, which tracks with my experience. The USFS post also cautions about river crossing safety – turn around don’t drown- and explains that just 2 feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles. If you came here looking for a trail report, I’ll repeat – don’t do the South Baldface Circle or Bicknell Ridge Trail after heavy rain, that crossing is SKETCHY.
Back home in Vermont, water has also been abundant. Hiking across the washouts on the Dry River Trail was a cool challenge (in the conditions we found). Hiking across washouts that currently make my road impassable after historic rainfall and unprecedented flooding earlier this week is surreal.
You can take human influences out of nature and designate Wilderness. But you can’t take the power of nature out of the built environment. The devastation of these floods in Vermont communities is horrific. And while nature and the uncontrollable is at play, so too, is our rapidly changing climate and our human carbon contributions.
I have hope that these Wilderness Areas and their stunning beauty and ecological richness will stay for generations to come despite the changing climate. My 11 day trek was incredible experience and I am so grateful to have the privilege of having the time and resources to do it. A final shout out to my support crew- Bob, my dad, Emily, and Anne for making this trip possible!
sixW2s 