A last minute decision had me choosing a short hike instead of a long one today. My initial hiking plan was a long hike to Mount Isolation but some health issues had me doing the short hike to Mount Hale (4,054') up the Hale Brook Trail. The weather forecast was calling for hot temps with some wind. This is an easy 4.4 mile round trip hike.
I arrived at the trailhead and had to park along Zealand Road as the parking lot was already full. It didn't take long for the black flies to find me when I stepped out of the car. When I started up the trail I never had another problem with black flies or mosquitoes as long as I kept moving. As I got closer to the summit the wind picked up and helped keep the flying insects down.
I reached the summit and it was getting quite crowded. The summit cairn was full of young hikers so I moved off to the further side of the summit and took a short break. There are no views up here so after a snack and a few selfie pics I started my descent.
It was an uneventful hike back down. I reached the trailhead after two hours and fifty minutes from starting my hike. During my hike today I kept thinking about my last hike to this summit back in January. Zealand Road was closed and it was a ten mile hike. The temperature was -24°F below zero! While I'm not a fan of hot weather I am enjoying the recent warmer temps after a very cold and long winter.
My health issues caused me no problems and I was glad to have done the shorter hike today rather than the long one. It felt good to get out on the trail!
Enjoy the pics!
Mount Willard on the drive to the trailhead
Mount Hale from Zealand Road
The hike starts here
Gnarly tree
Water crossing
Lady slipper and bluebead lily
Not much water flow in this brook
Mount Hale Trail
Summit is up ahead
Standing at the Fire Warden's Trail on the summit
Land-A-Hand Trail at the summit
Bunchberries blooming on the summit
Young pine cones
Obstructed view
A zoomed in Mount Washington from the trail
Tree burl
Hale Brook
Back at the trailhead
Low water in the Zealand River
Having Fun in the Great Outdoors!
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