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| Saturday I did something I've never done before which was to hike the King Ravine Trail to the top of the King Ravine head wall. This trail is one of the most wild and charismatic trails in the White Mountains and it was the perfect day for it; a perfect summer day as the photos attests. The King Ravine Trail requires some elementary rock climbing techniques, provides more exercise than the gym, and it's fun. The photo is looking north towards the Pliny Range (closest and which includes Mt. Starr King and Mt. Waumbek), towards the Kilkenny Wilderness with Mt. Cabot (part of the Pilot Range) in the distance and down onto the "rock glacier" on the floor of King Ravine. The light colored opening in the very center of the photo is the location of Lowe's Store where I started my hike. |
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| The bottom of Lowe's Path where it's swallowed by the forest just of Route 2 in Randolph, across the road from Lowe's store and gas station. The name on the store is related to the name of the trail which was cut between September 1875 and the summer of 1876 by Charles Lowe and Dr. William Nowell. It was originally designed to go straight from the front door of Lowe's house, called Brookvale, in Randolph, directly to the summit of Mt. Adams with the deliberate intention of making the grade as even and unvaried as possible. Charles' descendants still run Lowe's Store. |
Although the Lowe's Path was Charles Lowe's passion William Nowell made notable
contributions to its creation as well as the creation and upkeep of other trails over the decades. With the founding of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) in June, 1876, both men would be at the core of the AMC's trail building initiative, and, in fact, it was Nowell, as the Club's "Councillor of Improvements" who drew up a lengthy list of trails the "to be made", paths that would occupy both Nowell and Lowe for the next 20 years. This photo is taken on the northwest flank of Nowell Ridge. Readers might remember an article in this blog posted three years ago where I measured the largest trees on Nowell Ridge, mostly yellow birch and occasionally a large red spruce.
contributions to its creation as well as the creation and upkeep of other trails over the decades. With the founding of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) in June, 1876, both men would be at the core of the AMC's trail building initiative, and, in fact, it was Nowell, as the Club's "Councillor of Improvements" who drew up a lengthy list of trails the "to be made", paths that would occupy both Nowell and Lowe for the next 20 years. This photo is taken on the northwest flank of Nowell Ridge. Readers might remember an article in this blog posted three years ago where I measured the largest trees on Nowell Ridge, mostly yellow birch and occasionally a large red spruce.
This yellow birch was one of the largest ones I measured at 3 feet 2 inches in diameter. It's right off the trail....
and towers over the surrounding forest trees
A stone stair case which is an effective method, labor intensive, for preventing trail erosion. It uses materials at hand which is an advantage.
A water bar that uses materials at hand.
This enterprising group was making its 15th anniversary hike up Mt. Adams and were about to divide into two groups--one group heading up the Lowe's Path and the other up the King Ravine Trail.
The Lowe's Path at its junction with The Link.
The junction of the King Ravine Trail from Lowe's Path.
Cascade Camp, originally built by Charles Lowe and a handful of other trail builder as a makeshift shelter so they wouldn't have to go all the way back down to the valley every night, but it quickly became a popular, fanciful place for hikers and hiking parties over the years. It was located just off Lowe's Path a short distant above the King Ravine Trail junction. (Photo by Guy L. Shorey and reproduced from Among the White Hills: The life and Times of Guy L. Shorey edited by Guy A. Gosselin and Susan B. Hawkins, foreword by Bradford Washburn, pubished by Mount Washington Observatory, 1998)
The King Ravine Trail follows the contour of the west wall of King Ravine to economize on ups and downs and it twists and turns through hardwoods like these yellow birches and balsam fir and spruce as it cuts across the lower floor of the Ravine.
The forest in the Ravine is but a reminder of a great forest that grew here prior to the logging that reached this high on Mt. Adams in the early 1900s. At that time there was a large logging camp on the floor of the ravine that had the look and feel of a small town and even sported a mens clothing store. In the 1920s the eastern wall was severely burned over by a forest fire that climbed over the Air Line Trail and progressed down as far as Snyder Brook before being extinguished by heavy rain.
This King Ravine Trail crossed Cold Brook just below the trail junction
with the Short Line Trail and just below Mossy Falls, one of the loveliest
waterfalls in the White Mountains.
with the Short Line Trail and just below Mossy Falls, one of the loveliest
waterfalls in the White Mountains.
Just above Mossy Falls the trail begins to rise steeply, and
though still in the forest, it becomes apparent that the
landscape is changing.
though still in the forest, it becomes apparent that the
landscape is changing.
Within a few more yards it offers some easy rock
climbing over a series of boulders...
climbing over a series of boulders...
and, here and there, some views up to the top of the ravine.
There's a tendency for hikers to bunch up on some sections
that require more time to navigate as in the next photo.
that require more time to navigate as in the next photo.
The Reverend Thomas Starr King began writing The White Hills around 1860
and there's confusion about the dates of his visits to the Randolph area. He
often was in the company of James Gordon, a well known mountain guide who
blazed out a crude trail from Broad Acres Farm straight up Mt. Madison that was
rough in places but popular with hikers trying to get up onto the ridge. This may
have been as early as 1858. Starr King ascended Gordon's trail up Madison before his
ascent through King Ravine. We don't know the date of his King Ravine exploration,
but assume it was close to 1859. On that trip, James Gordon was also his guide.
and there's confusion about the dates of his visits to the Randolph area. He
often was in the company of James Gordon, a well known mountain guide who
blazed out a crude trail from Broad Acres Farm straight up Mt. Madison that was
rough in places but popular with hikers trying to get up onto the ridge. This may
have been as early as 1858. Starr King ascended Gordon's trail up Madison before his
ascent through King Ravine. We don't know the date of his King Ravine exploration,
but assume it was close to 1859. On that trip, James Gordon was also his guide.
These undaunted hikers scurry off to complete the side trail called
the "Subway" which is great fun as it takes the trail under boulders
rather than over the tops of them.
the "Subway" which is great fun as it takes the trail under boulders
rather than over the tops of them.
From Rev. Thomas Star King's The White Hills, p. 358, 1870, "Huge rocks were piled in the most eccentric confusion; crevasses, sometimes twenty and thirtyfeet
deep and spanned with moss, lay in wait for the feet; thickets of scrub
spruces and junipers overgrew these boulders, and made the most sinewy
opposition to our passage. Every muscle of our bodies was called into
play fighting these dwarfed and knotty regiments of evergreens. A more
thorough gymnasium for training and testing the working and enduring
powers of the system could not be arranged by art. After six hours of
steady and hard climbing--which, added to three of the afternoon
previous, made nine hours of toil in scaling the ridge--we gained the
plateau above which the pinnacle of Adams soars."
Huge boulders on the ravine floor just below the head wall. The
size of this boulder can not be appreciated from this photo, but
it is as big as a small house. Many are larger.
size of this boulder can not be appreciated from this photo, but
it is as big as a small house. Many are larger.
It's rather daunting. Earlier in this blog I reviewed a research
paper that gave an excellent history and description of this
"Rock Glacier" that has made King Ravine famous.
King Ravine Rock Glacier: A slight digression
A Masters Thesis written in 1978 by Diane Eskenasy, then a University of Massachusetts grad student, was titled The Origin of The King Ravine Rock Glacier in The Presidential Range of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Her thesis, and several others on various topics, somehow, or other, ended up at Tuck Shelter some years ago and they've been sitting in the book shelf there to be read by a few curious souls. I've been curious about the "rock glacier" in King Ravine for years and have wanted to camp in King Ravine for a few days to explore its nooks and crannies. The rock glacier is reported to be the only one of its kind in New England. They are commonly found in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wyoming. Ms Eskenasy wrote: "King Ravine, one of the north facing cirques on the Presidential Range, contains an inactive rock glacier, a mass of rocks having the morphology of an alpine glacier." I may, this summer, get into King Ravine and integrate Ms Eskenasy's thesis into a blog article with photos that might help explain what a rock glacier is and how it evolved.
paper that gave an excellent history and description of this
"Rock Glacier" that has made King Ravine famous.
King Ravine Rock Glacier: A slight digression
A Masters Thesis written in 1978 by Diane Eskenasy, then a University of Massachusetts grad student, was titled The Origin of The King Ravine Rock Glacier in The Presidential Range of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Her thesis, and several others on various topics, somehow, or other, ended up at Tuck Shelter some years ago and they've been sitting in the book shelf there to be read by a few curious souls. I've been curious about the "rock glacier" in King Ravine for years and have wanted to camp in King Ravine for a few days to explore its nooks and crannies. The rock glacier is reported to be the only one of its kind in New England. They are commonly found in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wyoming. Ms Eskenasy wrote: "King Ravine, one of the north facing cirques on the Presidential Range, contains an inactive rock glacier, a mass of rocks having the morphology of an alpine glacier." I may, this summer, get into King Ravine and integrate Ms Eskenasy's thesis into a blog article with photos that might help explain what a rock glacier is and how it evolved.
Shape
of the King Ravine rock glacier from an aerial photo. The mass of rock
debris is roughly 1800 feet long and 1000 feet wide. ( Diane Eskenasy,
1978).
This is a profile
representing the rock glacier after the separation of the King Ravine
ice lobe from the continental ice sheet after the disappearance of the
ice sheet from New Hampshire. (From Eskenasy, 1978). (I took photos of
these diagrams using my camera with one hand while I
attempted to flatten the page with my other hand--which accounts for the
distortion in parallax)
Modern
profile of the rock glacier. The term rock glacier doesn't imply that
the rock lobe is moving. It means that the glacier, at one time, when it
was active transported blocks from higher on the cirque headwall. The
predominant ice has since melted leaving the blocks in the form of a
glacier. The time line between the first diagram and this one is roughly
11,000 years (from Eskenasy, 1978).
The trail is effective in getting to the head wall itself, but becomes
just a part of the fabric of the mountain beyond this sign where it
heads upward using an existing rock "stream" and doesn't stop 'til it
reaches the top. The trail is relatively steep, averaging just under
40 degrees from just beyond this sign up to top.
just a part of the fabric of the mountain beyond this sign where it
heads upward using an existing rock "stream" and doesn't stop 'til it
reaches the top. The trail is relatively steep, averaging just under
40 degrees from just beyond this sign up to top.
A great beginning!
It quickly climbs and with the need to use both arms and legs
it becomes absorbing the way a rock climb does so that one
doesn't notice the larger panorama. That's the rock glacier in
the center of the photo.
it becomes absorbing the way a rock climb does so that one
doesn't notice the larger panorama. That's the rock glacier in
the center of the photo.
A good, well defined perspective of the "rock glacier" that sits
in the mid section of the ravine floor.
in the mid section of the ravine floor.
These "fresh" looking boulders make one think of others that
might follow. This one has no lichen or moss and the inference
is that it came down recently, but, in fact, it may have come
down years ago. Still, it gives one pause, particularly as
you look up at what's above.
might follow. This one has no lichen or moss and the inference
is that it came down recently, but, in fact, it may have come
down years ago. Still, it gives one pause, particularly as
you look up at what's above.
This may not look it, but it's very steep, and the huge rock formation
in the background is near the so-called "Gateway" at the top, and
seems to be overhanging the trail. The rock "stream" is the trail.
The overhanging rock formation looked a bit ominous and I felt
myself listening for falling rocks.
in the background is near the so-called "Gateway" at the top, and
seems to be overhanging the trail. The rock "stream" is the trail.
The overhanging rock formation looked a bit ominous and I felt
myself listening for falling rocks.
A second showing of this photo and a reminder of what a lovely day it was.
Looking north along the eastern wall. The Chemin des Dames Trail meets the Air Line Trail just about in the center of the photo. In fact, if you look closely, you can see a gentleman in a bright yellow shirt that I passed near Mossy Falls, just coming out above tree line.
Balsam fir cones. The steepness at this elevation on the head wall is similar to Tuckerman Ravine head wall. The two ravines are similar in several ways and most conspicuously in the way the curvature of the "bowl" shape that is often the defining feature of small, local glacial cirques.
Yes, this is a boulder.
Steep slabs often referred to as the "bulk heads" at the eastern crest of the headwall.
Abigail Adams across the head wall.
The King's Gateway as it was originally called.
(from Among the White Hills: The life and Times of Guy L. Shorey edited by Guy Gosselin and Susan Hawkins, foreword by Bradford Washburn, pubished by Mount Washington Observatory, 1998)
Topping out just below the summit of J. Q. Adams.
Beautiful Mt. Madison.
Rev. Thomas Starr King emerged from King Ravine through "the
massive gateway" that "marks the boundary between rugged ravine
and exposed mountain-side. It was in emerging from the ravine at
his point that (King) obtained the view of Mt. Madison to which he
refers as so striking." ( p. 93 Appalachia Vol. 1, 1876-1878.) In August,
1876, almost 20 years later, Charles Lowe and J. Rayner Edmands sat
at this same spot and discussed standarizing the King Ravine "Path". Lowe,
with the help of hired woodsmen, completed it on September 16, 1876.
Hikers coming down from the summit of J. Q. (John Quincy)
Adams (the summit of Mt. Adams is off to the right and
a little higher)
Lovely as can be. Looking north across to Mt. Waumbek (4,006' asl) on the right, and
Mt. Starr King (closest and in the center). Mt. Cabot is in the center distance on the skyline .
Mt. Starr King (closest and in the center). Mt. Cabot is in the center distance on the skyline .
Alpine goldenrod.
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| This has long been my favorite spot in the White Mountains at the top of the Valley Way Trail. |
Looking back at Mt. Madison over a small forest of balsam fir.
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Megan Farrell of the Madison hut crew on her way up to the
hut with a load of "Req", meaning fresh food and sundries. |
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I ran down in a little over an hour, hitch hiked back to Lowe's Store
to get my car and was in Gorham by 5 pm. |
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