Wolf Cub will have to wait...Moosilauke x2 though!

Well folks, mother nature threw a little wrench in the plans to bushwhack to the summit of Wolf Cub on Saturday, so we had to make alternative arrangements.  It had rained quite a bit on Friday night into Saturday morning, so the brush that we would have had to push through was drenched.  Given the fact that these conditions would have not only been unpleasant, but potentially dangerous, our trip leaders proposed that we hike to the summit of Moosilauke in place of the bushwhack.  I hiked Moosilauke last year, but truly enjoyed the summit and was looking forward to seeing it once again.

Clouds from Moosilauke's South Summit

Was I disappointed that I was unable to get my first true bushwhack under my belt - well, of course.  But regardless, the trip up to the summit of Moosilauke was great.  There was a total of seven of us in the group, and the weather turned quite sunny after the morning rain.  The hike up was great, and I learned a bit about each of the people I was hiking with.  We cruised up relatively fast.

As morbid as it sounds, we were hoping for bad conditions at the summit so that we could practice hiking above tree-line in deteriorating weather.  Once we broke tree line it became incredibly foggy and very windy, but the rain held off and the visibility wasn't too bad.  That being said, it was windy and cold enough for us to need to seek shelter amongst some of the rock alcoves that are strewn about on the summit.

Being my first AMC group trip, and really the first time I hiked without one of my family or close friends, I was fascinated at hearing the different stories that each person had and what mountains they enjoyed, etc.  The conversation was great!  In speaking with one of the trip leaders, I have decided that I am going to try to become more involved in the AMC Boston Chapter and sign up for the different socials/hikes, etc. that are planned through it.  Why did I wait so long to join?

After eating our lunches we decided to head over to Moosilauke's south peak, something that I had stupidly skipped on my last outing up Moosilauke.  It was only a quick tenth of a mile off of the trail we were descending down, and the summit was deserted.  The windy weather and clouds/fog make the scenery quite beautiful, and the clouds whipping by showed you just how volatile the weather can be up in the Whites.  Suprisingly, this was the only time I broke out my camera to take a photo, as the remainder of the hike I was too busy conversing with the group that I didn't think twice about taking pictures.  Plus, I already have about a hundred photos from my last time up Moosilauke.

We hiked down pretty quickly to the base and parted ways.  Some of the group was heading off to swim at Echo lake, others were going to hike an additional mountain - I was tempted to join both parties but had already made prior plans so decided to head home.  The ride home was relatively uneventful - save for the fact that I was excited about joining this organization and already thinking about my next trip with the AMC!