South Moat Mountain; North Conway
"Conquer the trail, test your limits, share your experiences, & don't let the opportunity to embrace nature's beauty pass by."
I failed to make it out for a hike on Wednesday due to lack of time, and the winds and temps were not to my liking for anything above 4,000ft. I did however attempt riding my bike into town, about 12 miles. Not realizing how windy it was down here in the valley, I got on my bike started riding and within the first mile turned my ass around. Yup, I gave up on that idea and called it a day.
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| Picnic Lunch @ Rocky Gorge |
Sometimes, it's my gut just telling me don't do it, or stay back, or just go home. Wednesday was one of those kind of days. I just simply was not on my game. So, I was in hopes I could make up for it on Thursday!
Today is Thursday, and I think I surely made up for it. I spent my morning, kind of feeling lazy, with no motivation at all. Finally, I got myself moving and packed up a lunch and got in the car. I enjoyed my lunch at Rocky Gorge on the Kancamagus Highway, in hopes of some motivation there and warmer weather. I figured if I did a hike, it would be something much closer to home, and a little later in the day. Lunch was very peaceful and enjoyable. I even took a little walk to Falls Pond that is located just across the river from the gorge.
Once lunch was over, I changed and decided to hike South Moat in North Conway. I have heard and seen wonderful things about the Moats and have been dying to get up to the summit of them for over 3 years now. It amazes me that some of the most beautiful mountains are right in my back yard.
I pulled into the trailhead parking lot, to see I was the only one there. It was just before 2:00pm and I was finally starting to feel motivated. I sprayed myself down with some bug spray, given it's officially Black Fly season round' here. Then I hit the trail. The start of this trail has been re-routed due to Logging, and goes just to the left and you can follow the marked ribbons in the trees until it connect back with the original trail.
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| Tree Rings |
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| Logging Truck |
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| Hikers Take Notice USFS |
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| Moat Mountain Tr. |
Eventually the trail becomes much more rocky, then before you know it ledgy, and then a very steep climb over rocks upwards. My first ultimate views were on the back side of the Moats looking towards the Pemigewasset Wilderness, with Chocorua being the first mountain you see. It was absolutely stunning! I continued upward, breathing heavily, and starting to feel tired. Ready for the trail to finally end, then came another small scramble. After a few of those "just over that hill is the summit" moments passed, it finally was there. 
I made it to the summit in just over an hour! The wind was blowing, and the clouds were rolling over my head making the sun disappear off and on. I enjoyed my time up there for about 20 minutes, catching my breath, taking photos, and enjoying my water. There is no better feeling in the world than sitting on top of a mountain all by yourself.
Headed down, my mind was finally in a place where it would wander off into deep thoughts. The one deep thought I was thinking about the majority of the way out while I had the trail to myself is trust. How much trust a hiker has in the natural surroundings on trail. For every step you take you put your trust into almost everything around you. Actually from the moment you get out of the car, you do that exact thing.
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| Cairn |
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| Cairn |
I started to think about all the things I trusted while I was on trail. Here is what I came up with.
- Bug Spray
- Yourself
- Rocks
- Roots
- Pine Needles
- Leaves
- Branches
- Fallen Trees
- Water Sources
- Moss
- Puddles
- Mud
- Others
- Dogs
- All Gear
- Trail Markings
- Signage
- Trailhead Parking Lot
Those were just some of the few things I came up with. Most of it consisted of trust in the ground your walking on. I have had this conversation many times, with many different hikers and it always is the same. For every rock, root, leaf, or pile of pine needles you step in, you trust that it will not fail you and will not make you fall, slip, or trip you.
Hiking here in the White Mountains we are very fond of staring at the ground the entire way up, and then finally getting a chance to look up once we are stopped and at the summit. Mostly for the sake of preventing us from getting hurt on trail. I have tripped or fallen many times just because I was looking up, or elsewhere.
The biggest thing of all, is trusting others. A question I get most often as a solo hiker is, "Aren't you afraid, or what do you do about strangers?" Honestly, the hiking community is a very tight-nit community, and it's very rare some strange person is going to hike a pretty rugged and tough hiking trail just to hurt another person. But, it does happen and can happen for sure. So, here is where trust comes into play. You just put your trust into yourself. You must always trust your gut. I have had only one case where another hiker had made me feel very uncomfortable. I made sure to have my hand on my pocket knife the entire time hiking near him until I could bag out and get away from him.
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| Marks from Trekking Poles |
For the most part, I enjoy solo hiking. I think my favorite part to it is enjoying the sound of my own two fit pounding the ground, one step at a time. There is no one to talk to, only time to focus. It usually helps put me into focusing on my surroundings instead of catching up with a friend that I haven't seen in a while. (although I prefer to hike with others) It's the once and a while getting out by myself that I truly realize the beauty of the forests. |
| Hike Safe & Keep on Trekking |
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