Waterville Valley Hostel Weekend

On Friday, July 29th, the following GO members joined us [Jon and Mike] for this weekend at Rock 'N River Hostel: John, Bob, Phil, Rob and Dean. Carlos, who was staying nearby, spent the evening with us, and then went back to his place to retire for the night. It was great to catch up with Carlos, a fellow GO board member, who escapes the heat of Florida, by spending some time in the White Mountains every summer. Most of the participants got up to the hostel around 7:30PM. John and Bob met up at the Sculptured Rocks in the afternoon and then went to the nearby Mad River Tavern for dinner before arriving. This first evening was spent socializing on the deck with Tiki torches lit up. Rob brought dark chocolate and strawberries to share on the deck. Rock ‘N River was the perfect place to get away from everyday stress and to get outside for a hiking adventure. We blew out the Tiki torches and turned down the house lights later in the evening to view the billions of stars above us!

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day with temperatures expected to get near 80 degrees by mid-afternoon. We certainly were ready for exercise after a breakfast of bagels and coffee provided by Jon and Mike! Some members added breakfast food items to share such as hard boiled eggs.

We left for our hike to Mounts Morgan and Percival by 10AM and arrived to meet everyone else at 10:45 AM from the Mount Percival trailhead. John was really excited about this hike because he was thinking of posting it but Jon and I beat him to it! At the trailhead we met Carlos, Tony, Craig and Chuck.

We decided to do a short 0.3 mile road walk to reach the Mount Morgan trailhead in order to make this a loop hike. We started under an old road covered by towering pines that provided a shady canopy. After a 20-minute warm-up with easy walking, we discovered that the trail assumes its true character as a mountain path. Chuck’s boundless energy and sense of humor is always a pleasure on our hikes! At 1.7 miles we turned right on the Crawford-Ridgepole Trail.  The trail continues climbing until reaching a junction just below the Morgan summit: we turned left to tackle the technical “cliffs” route with ladders, caves, and boulder scrambling. What fun! We then reached the summit of Mount Morgan [2,220 feet] and enjoyed broad views of Squam Lake, Lake Winnipesauke and the surrounding White Mountains. We stopped here for lunch and then continued northeast on the Crawford-Ridgepole trail to Mount Percival [2,212 feet]. Southward, as on Mount Morgan, the lakes absorbed our attention, but we also were able to see more of the northern mountains such as Mount Chocorua’s pinnacle, Mount Paugus, Mount Passaconaway, Mount Whiteface, Sandwich Mountain [Rock ‘N River Lodge is on the other side], Osceola and two ski trails on Tecumseh. For the descent, we took the technical “caves” route. The "lemon squeezer' was incredible that led us into a huge cave! We rejoined the regular trail and returned back to our vehicles in shady woods. Jon was very pleased to have kept his neon green hiking boots clean on its ignaugural voyage! This trail is fantastic…it provides a bit of everything for minimal effort: ladders, caves, rock scrambles and spectacular views! Bob struggled at first but once he got his rhythm going was fine. He was a bit hesitant about the ladders and caves but his determination led him to do it all! Tony, another fellow GO board member talked his partner Craig to join us, who loved the hike…it’s a keeper!

After a decent day of hiking we drove back to Rock ‘N River for a swim! We walked down to the Mad River from the house for some sunbathing and soaking in the Mad River. It was a tricky river crossing for newbies but entirely doable. We reached our private sandy beach, took a dip in our swimming hole and sunbathed. The water was refreshing and the temperature was just right!

Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we returned back to the deck for some appetizers brought in by everyone and some beer/wine while enjoying the spectacular views. Everyone stepped up and shared some delicious apps. Jon prepared a mouth watering home cooked dinner of marinated grilled chicken breasts with peppers, grilled pork loin [with homemade applesauce prepared by Phil], rice, pasta salad and salad. Nobody left the table hungry! Later we had chocolate cake topped with ice cream. We then hung outside around a roaring bonfire sharing stories with Dean being the DJ sharing with us his extensive collection of eclectic music!

On Sunday after breakfast everyone packed their bags and said good-bye’s with promises of meeting again at future GO events.  

This was a wonderful weekend spent with a great group of guys. It was relaxing and everyone seemed to have a nice time. Thanks to everyone for making it such a special gathering. 

Join us this weekend at Rock ‘N River [Mike and Jon’s house] in Waterville Valley, NH for a fun weekend of hiking and swimming!

Jon and I are running this hiking weekend from Rock ‘N River [Mike and Jon’s house] in the White Mountain National Forest for this getaway! This is an opportunity for Newbies to get started with hiking and for experienced hikers to help the Newbies. It’s all about all of us having fun together! Lodging is optional to participate but we think you’ll have more fun, cut down driving back & forth in one day, and get to make new gay outdoorzy buddies better if you spend the weekend.

Mounts Morgan and Percival Hike

We will be meeting at the Mount Percival trailhead for 10:45 AM and the directions are posted below. We will start walking south on NH 113 for 0.3 miles until we reach the Mount Morgan trailhead that will enable us to make this a loop hike. We start off on an overgrown logging road and after a 20 minute warm-up the trail becomes a true mountain path. At 1.7 miles we’ll join the Crawford-Ridgepole Trail.   

We’ll take the wooden ladders and climb up the cliff route to reach the summit of Mount Morgan at 2,220 feet however there is a bypass route if you don’t like ladders. We’ll have lunch on the summit with views of Squam Lake and Lake Winnipesauke! After lunch we’ll take the short bypass trail to the north lookout that provides views of wooded Sandwich Mountain.

We’ll then continue on the Crawford-Ridgepole Trail to reach the summit of Mount Percival at 2,212 feet. The view is better here with lakes and mountains all around! For the descent, you have the option of going down through the caves or another bypass route. We’ll follow the trail to the road.

Vertical Gain: 1,452 feet [Moderate]
Distance: 5.75 miles 
Approximately 4 hours outing duration

Après-Hike

After the hike we will return back to the house, put on our swim trunks and walk down to the Mad River to relax. We will have to cross the shallow river so wear sandals [not flip-flops] or old sneakers. We’ll bring down a cooler with cold beverages. Bring a small beach chair [we have extras but not enough for everyone] since we will be hanging out on rocky beach. We have a nice swimming hole to soak into! Later on we’ll relax on our deck for beer/wine/snacks to enjoy the spectacular views, have a family style BBQ and a campfire under the stars! It’s BYOB all weekend. If you will not be spending the weekend with us and would like to join us for the BBQ [$10 to reimburse our food costs], let us know so can ensure there is enough food for everyone.

Lodging Option

Rock ‘N River has 2 rooms with 4 bunks each. The bunks include linen/blankets and there are plenty of towels in both bathrooms to use for showers. We can only accommodate 8 members indoors for the weekend so RSVP quickly!  Members who reserve both nights instead of one night will be given priority…so if you only reserve one night you may ultimately not have a place to stay.  Rock ‘N River will be open take in arrivals Friday night at 7PM. Saturday & Sunday mornings we will start the day with coffee and bagels.

Rate

The rate of $25 for Friday night and $35 Saturday night [includes BBQ]; or $60 for the entire weekend. Includes a bunk bed with a breakfast each morning, BBQ Saturday night and full access to the amenities at Rock ‘N River such as the Mad River, outdoor deck and campfire.