Peter (thegibba) and I were planning a hike and watching the weather all week. As it deteriorated day by day we tossed out the higher stuff we were eyeing like Camel's Hump figuring the lower elevation hikes might stay below the cloud deck if it came to that. Turns out it was a good decision. We also didn't need to rush since we just had ten miles to cover for the day and the afternoon looked to be the best part of the day, so after sleeping in, forgetting gear and going back for it, waiting in lines for breakfast and whatnot we finally spotted the car around ten at the south end of the Moat Range and headed for the northern end to start the hike.
Late start to let the weather clear
South Moat was in the sunshine over Red Eagle Pond by the time we spotted a car
We geared up, but decided against dragging the snowshoes along, and started up the Moat Mountain Trail for a visit to Diana's Bath. The only people we saw all day passed us on the way to the falls, which with warm temps and melting snow were running well and carving their way through the ice. After that we followed a solitary set of tracks in the slushy snow along the banks of Lucy Brook to the only major crossing, at which point the tracks turned back. We searched for a way across slightly upstream as the water was running high and the regular crossing didn't appear to be the driest way route, and then continued along the mostly flat trail for another mile or so through more nice woods with some huge red and white pines mixed in. This part of the hike would make a great 5 mile or so round trip stroll. Very scenic and virtually flat, but we had bigger goals for the day and at the junction with the Attitash Trail the Moat Mountain Trail hung a left and finally started to climb.
God Rays on the way to Diana's Bath
Spring like temps had things flowing well
Artifacts
The upper falls were tumbling right along
Some ice that Peter practiced his luge on
Lucy Brook, also flowing well
Huge trees and deep forests made for a great warm up stretch of trail
Last cascades before the climbing started
The weather was spring-like and we peeled layers off in a hurry. The trail is fairly steep gaining 2100 feet in 1.9 miles, so, it's 20% steeper on average (if you can believe it) than the mighty Mt. Tecumseh Trail. The gold Standard bu which all other mountains are measured. The reasons for this are twofold. One, it is said to be as steep and rough as anything else out there, and two, virtually all other mountains out there seem awesome and amazing in comparison.
A mix of snow, ice and bare ground down low so on went the Hillsounds. The woods were almost free of snow too. Really it was a dead ringer for a nice April day and didn't feel like the dead of winter. Water was freely flowing down the trail most of the way also, undercutting the monorail to the point where every so often a foot would break through into a few inches of water underneath. Eventually it all turned to more solid heavy wet snow and ice as we climbed steadily up the beautiful pine and ledge covered ridge, with occasional views through and over the trees. There seems to be a diagonal slash right through the Whites of these awesome mid sized mountains with this type of ledge and pine and other than the true alpine zones it is my favorite terrain to hike in. Kind of has an Acadia feel to it. Maybe that's why I like it so much. Whatever it is the Caribou-Speckled Wilderness, the Badfaces, the Moats and Chocorua all have it and I love it. If you've been to these you know probably know what I mean, and if there's anything out there I have yet to get to that has the same feel to it please let me know!
Going up!
Quite a bit of ice from the thawing cycles last week
Lost of semi-open ledges along the way
Views of Kearsarge North, North Conway, Cranmore and the Green Hills
Anyhow, you catch a glimpse of the summit ledges up ahead and then climb the steepest section of trail, with the last vertical 100 feet or so being on those ledges which were a 70/30 mix of ice and rock. The summit stands at a lowly 3196 feet but feels much bigger and somehow manages to have far reaching views in every direction. We didn't even have the clearest of days but the rest of the ridge with Middle and South Moat in one direction, the Sandwich Range across another horizon, the Pemi Wilderness and the Preis stretching to the west and north and last but not least the Maine peaks, Kearsarge North and the Green Hills providing the backdrop to North Conway to the east. Pretty darn impressive views really, easily better than views from half of the 48 IMO even without the elevation beats all trump card, and we had a little break while soaking it in. You would however, need a friend to complete this route.
The summit up ahead
The last few hundred feet were the steepest of the climb but were mostly soft snow
Lots of ice made spikes a necessity
Added some layers so we could hang around and enjoy the awesome views
View from just below the summit
3196
VFTT of the Kanc fromthe rocky summit of North Moat
Summit Pano's
S->W
N->E
Red Ridge and two more Moats up ahead
George in the clouds
I'm not positive how this works. This says it was in the 30's, but there were clouds and a breeze, and the MWOBS reported colder and windier conditions than last Sunday, so even though we were nowhere near the observatory, if you take the average of the low and high temps there for the day and factor in windchill on exposed skin, well, it still was in the 30's where we were, which felt pretty darn springlike to me since I cover up most of my skin. The calendar however tells me it's still winter.
After the summit the trail dropped quickly down the most rugged stretch of trail for the day. A few icy scrambles gave us pause, one of which looked like a 20 foot high express lane to the ER so we whacked around it. A few icy spots along the narrow trail with 30 foot drop offs almost made us put on the crampons for a bit. I know, I know, that's a total DB move, but if you have them and feel more comfortable in them why not use them? We did mange to get by the trickiest spots slowly with some veggie holds and eventually the trail moderated and was just a snowy walk through the woods. There were times when we questioned the wisdom of leaving the snowshoes behind but those stretches were short. Occasional views, occasional foot deep post holes, but nothing major on either front and we climbed up to the rocky summit of Red Ridge for another look around. Nice spot, with both North Moat behind you and Middle/South Moats ahead of you this could be used for a great loop of Red Ridge and North Moat if you don't have a car spot for the full traverse and is definitely a loop I'll be back for, but we had plans to catch the sunset from the wide open expanses on Middle Moat and so we didn't stick around long.
Should we have brought the snowshoes??
Viewpoint along the way with a nice view of Middle & South Moats ledges
A few wet and/or icy scrambles along the way
Looking back at North Moat's summit
And ahead to Middle as blue skies briefly return
VFTT of Red Ridge
From Red Ridge the trail dropped about 400 feet before regaining it on the climb of Middle Moat. Only 2800 feet high but with lots of open ledge there are constant views. It is 30 feet higher than South Moat also, but somehow South is the one that gets the 52WAV designation. Not exactly sure how that works.
Anyways, the lower ledges were icy but the upper ones were mostly open and bare rock so off came the spikes. Bare-booting was easy enough and a short off trail excursion takes you to the actual summit. From there we wandered about while the show began. At first the sun seemed like it was going to just fizzle out behind the clouds and ruin our plans, but some glimmers of pink started to appear in the east, and over the next half hour the sunset really evolved from blah to wow! The sun never actually showed itself but the clouds all around started turning pink, then orange and yellow, then back to pink and purple before finally fading away into the night.
Sun going down as we head for Middle Moat
Peter taking a look back at North Moat and RR
Lots of nice open ledge near the top
North Conway
South Moat from Middle
It appeared we weren't going to get much of a sunset at first...
...then to the NE the sky started to turn pink...
...and the clouds overhead got in on the fun...
...the western horizon joined the party...
...eventually it gave a satisfactory finish to the day
Sunset over the Sandwich Range
The tallest mountains in the Sandwich Range
Not the biggest but easily the best mountain in said range
Twilight view of North Conway and our next stop, South Moat
We watched most of it from the summit but around twilight started the easy walk over to South Moat's summit while the lights came on in the village below. I love night hiking, but especially love it when the lights of the towns below come on at dusk. With no moon to interfere it was quite a sight and we stopped there for another half hour taking some pictures and enjoying the last light of the day before breaking out the headlamps for the trip down. The south ledges of South Moat were very icy. Most were solid but soft ice actually, and we made it with sharp Hillsounds but again gave thought to crampons for added bite. Nobody was around to look at us and think bad thoughts about how we looked in them, and getting down safely is part of the game, but we stuck with spikes and with just a minor slip each made it down just fine. The melt-water was really running heavily down the ledgy trail below the ice but for maybe half a mile in a hardwood section there was virtually no snow or ice at all and we could easily bare boot it. Farther down the trail went back into the shadowy pines and the ice returned so we put on the spikes again for the rest of the hike, which moderated in steepness and eventually almost flattened out before and after the crossing of Dry Brook and hitting the home stretch to the parking lot. We fetched my car and headed for, where else, the Moat Mountain Brewery for a quick bite to eat before heading home.
Headed for South
Stop along the way to take a peek at the lights
Surveying the valley lights from the summit of South Moat
Light of North Conway
Where else can you go after a Moats Traverse to get a bite to eat?!
Perfect ending to the day
I had hiked South and Middle Moats before, but never North, and Peter hadn't hiked any of the range, so it was 2 new 52WAV for him, one for me and some redlining for both. Both of us ended up with a check mark on the Views and Brews list. I wouldn't want to crap on anyone's bigger aspirations by suggesting a mid-sized mountain, but with about 10 miles and 3500 feet of awesomely scenic and fairly rugged trails, no people in sight, views for days from open summits and ridges, you could do much worse than the Moat Mountains if just looking for a good hike. I do think with all the wet snow and melt-water that when it re-freezes this one is going to be a pretty scrappy hike on the steep sections of trail and icy upper ledges on both ends of the range, and sharp traction will be a must until it gets more snow. But it's a fantastic hike and we definitely enjoyed it. 9 out of 10 if I had to rate it. With bluer skies and/or more snow or on a nice summer day and it's a perfect 10 in my book.
) I was astounded by the expansiveness of the vista. Interesting views towards the Pemi and Sandwich areas. Unique perspective on how deep the Carter and Pinkham notches were. The U shape was clearly defined from this angle.
that glows from my window. 
