Outdoor Diversion: A November Hike to Mount Moriah

A day after Thanksgiving and I needed to hike off some of that turkey dinner. I would be getting a late start so I wanted something close to home. I decided on Mount Moriah, it was a short drive and I had not hiked it in November. The forecast was looking good with clearing skies and warmer temps. My route would take me up the Carter-Moriah Trail and back down the same way.

I arrived at the Bangor Street parking area and just barely had enough room to park my car. I had never seen so many vehicles in this parking lot. There was a large group of hikers heading to the trailhead as I arrived. They departed while I was putting my hiking boots on. I threw on my pack and did the short road walk to the trailhead. The ground was bare and completely free of snow and ice down here but that would change.

It wasn't long before I came upon my first blowdown and there would be many more as I continued up. All the blowdowns could be passed either over, under or around. There were some blowdowns that completely blocked the trail and they required a walk around. There were also uprooted trees and one was massive. I was able to get a photo with me standing beside it to get some perspective.

The snow started gradually and never amounted to more than three inches. Along the way I passed the large group of hikers that I saw at the parking lot and I managed to stay ahead of them for the rest of the hike. The ledges were covered in ice with a layer of snow on top making it very slippery. It was at the first icy ledge that I put on my microspikes. Even with traction there was some very tricky sections of icy ledge that required the help of some nearby trees.

A little further up the trail I heard a clacking sound. I recognized it as hiking poles being struck together. I sometimes do this when I'm hiking through a quiet section of woods to make some noise just in case there may be a bear around. It may sound funny but I did actually startle a bear beside the trail once by being too quiet. When the hiker got down to me I found out this is exactly what he was doing. He told me there were fresh bear tracks along the trail up ahead.

As I continued up another hiker told me about the bear tracks. He said I would be able to see them to the right of the trail. I kept a watchful eye and sure enough there was some good size bear prints going off into the woods from the trail. It looked as though the bear was there early in the day and I'm sure was long gone by now.

I reached the summit and was surprised that I had it all to myself. There was a small group of hikers taking a break just below the summit but up on top it was just me. The sky had cleared nicely and the views were spectacular. There was a slight breeze blowing and I was feeling a bit chilled so I put on a thin windbreaker. I knew a very large group would soon be here so I got my panoramic video and several photos before dropping back down below the summit.

Sure enough, just as I was dropping down off the summit the large group was coming up. I let them pass then continued my descent. The only problem areas on the way down was the icy ledges that required careful footing. On some of the ledges I found it easier and probably safer to sit down and do some buttsliding. When I passed the final ledge the microspikes came off.

After the ledges it was an easy and uneventful hike down to the trailhead. The sun had already set when I got back to the parking lot just before I needed my headlamp. It was a beautiful November day and a very nice hike to the summit of Mount Moriah.