Mt. Hale via Fire Warden's Trail (Winter)

Trip Details
Date: January 2^nd, 2015
Total Distance: 10.36 mi (via Trimble Outdoors Navigator Pro on iPhone 4S)
Total Time: 4 hours 45 minutes
Total Elevation: 2460 ft gained
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With the start of 2015 it was time for BishopX and I to hit the trails again. Last year we used only microspikes in our few winter hike experiments and it worked okay until half way up Mt. Garfield when the trail was drifted over for the remainder and the steep slopes of the Brutus Bushwhack going up Owl's Head. This year we have purchased snowshoes and were eager to try them out. First up was hopefully a quick trip to the summit of Mt. Hale via the abandoned Fire Warden's Trail, which appears in many trip reports as the normal winter route up Mt. Hale. I had previously found the tree that marks the start of the bushwhack during my trip up the Twins back in 2013 so I knew what to look for.

We arrived at the parking area at the end of Little River Rd (off of NH Route 3) just after 0600 to pitch dark and snow, which would continue to fall for the entire trip. Under headlamps, we crossed the bridge and then made quick work of snowmobile trails and Haystack Rd (FR 304). At this point we were bare booting. The snow was packed down and hard. There is apparently a more direct and straight herd path that may have taken off as much as a mile of round trip distance, but we missed it in the dark and did not think to look for it on our way back out. That herd path joins Haystack Rd just before the bridge to the North Twin Trail parking area, whereas the one we took joins it approximately 0.6 miles from the trail head at a gated access. We arrived at the North Twin Trail and at this point we put microspikes on as the trail was a sheet of ice under a dusting of new snow. We made our way to the herd path that starts at the first river crossing.

The North Twin Trail continues straight across the Little River here.

The herd path forks left here to bypass the first two river crossing and the junction with the Fire Warden's Trail.

Continuing on we hit the Fire Warden's Trail, which even in the winter is clearly identifiable by the sole tree sitting in the middle of the trail. Once over the embankment the trail opens right up onto an old road that stays pretty easy to follow all the way to the summit, which is surprising for an abandoned trail. It just shows how much use it gets and it surprises me that both this and the herd path bypassing the water crossings on the North Twin Trail do not just become official trails. Both of them are getting routine use. We put snowshoes on at this point as the trail had enough new snow on top of a base that was not fully solid. It was an interesting experience using snowshoes for the first time. I found myself feeling like I was walking with clown shoes on for a bit until I got used to it.

Turn left at this tree.

Go over the embankment here to hook onto the old road.

Fire Warden's Trail.

Following the snaking trail up over a small false summit and then continuing on to the true summit in about 2.5 hours. The televators on the snowshoes made ascending the trail in the winter easy. It almost felt like cheating. We did not stay long as winter hiking is still new to us and even with snowshoes on we managed to sweat through most of our clothes so standing still was just too cold.

Summit Cairn

Straight ahead is the Hale Brook Trail.

Straight ahead is the Lend-a-Hand Trail.

Straight ahead is the Fire Warden's Trail and BishopX trying to stay warm by doing laps around the cleared summit area.

About an hour later we found ourselves back onto the North Twin Trail and making our way back to the gate on Haystack Rd leading to the snowmobile trails. Prior to going back to the car we stopped to check out the old fireplace and cellar that are still standing directly across from where the snowmobile trails start.

Here is a shot of the oddly out of place tree in the middle of the trail, but from the other direction compared to the picture earlier.

Another shot of the embankment and the start of the Fire Warden's Trail. The tree you turn at is the one in the foreground.

Cool ice along the North Twin Trail.

The bridge you cross to get to the snowmobile trails (the orange signs on the left are the start).

Turn down this private driveway for the bridge and snowmobile trails.

The parking area at the end of Little River Rd.

As stated above, I currently use Trimble Outdoors Navigator Pro on my old iPhone 4S to GPS track the trip. The program works well, but at times the GPS loses me and can jump quickly to a spot miles away. I would love recommendations for a better GPS tracking program for iOS.