I asked the shuttle driver to drop us off at Hale Brook trailhead so we could climb Mt Hale and loop back to the hut. I’d spent plenty of time in this area before so this helped in planning the day. We loosened up and let a larger group take off ahead of us. I’m glad we did that because they were chattering like a bunch of monkeys. The woods were much more serene for their passing.
Anne had forgotten her poles but she found a crooked stick right at the beginning and grabbed that. We hiked up gradually through a forest of White Birch and a few massive Beech trees. Mountain Ash were a bit higher up with their berries just turning red and then the usual conifers took over above that.
We hiked at a leisurely pace, stopping often for short breaks. Jessie hadn’t hiked since May of 2001 when we trekked across the rocky Carter range. It took us about 2 hours to reach the 4054 foot fringed summit. We passed a family of four (including a 4 year old hiker) near the top. The large group from Mass was already there. I’d only been on Hale once before and had spent an hour up there seeing only two other hikers and some Gray Jays. “Old timers always called them Whiskey Jacks.”
I was a bit disappointed as I had planned to propose to Anne using a comic strip I had created to surprise her atop Hales tree fringed summit. The big group left but there were still a lot of people hanging around. The 4 year old hiker and his family made it to the top, a first 4,000 footer for the kid (I think his name was Forrest.)
So we left Hale behind, it added a new peak for Anne and Jessie’s NH 4,000 footer list. Our trail that afternoon was the wonderful and gradual Lend-a-Hand which winds along the cone and down to the Zealand River. At one point we saw a Spruce Grouse. I told Anne and Jessie that they are prone to harass hikers. They urged me to lead the way. It ran alongside me for a bit before hopping into the thicket beside the trail. Hey, I have a way with animals. It never attacked and they doubted the sincerity of my words.
I knew this would be our most relaxed day of the trip and we enjoyed it. The sun was out and it began to get hotter. Green leaves interspersed with some faint colors of autumn helped to shade our path. Lend a Hand path winds along at a nice easy grade for most of its length above Zealand Valley.
If you could jump in your time machine and go back a hundred years your views would be somewhat different. It was an era where lumber barons ruled the land and stripped these hillsides bare. You would’ve seen a once virgin valley now slash cut and barren with the choked Zealand River full of sawdust and forest litter. You probably would’ve seen one of the many trains that regularly ran past Ethan pond and along Whitewall Mountain. And you would’ve seen the devastation that two forest fires left behind.
But time has passed and the valley is once again verdant and green. It’s filled with the song of the yellow rumped warbler and other songbirds. The trees are pretty young here but nature reclaims her own and they will grow mighty and tall once again. There is scarcely a prettier place in New Hampshire than this valley.
I awoke out of my daydream as we crossed the rock scoured banks of the Zealand River and passed the noisy but efficient hydro-pump that supplies water to the hut.
By 2:30 we were at old Zealand hut. We checked in and then Anne headed to the bunkroom for a nap. She was bushed and managed to sleep through the rest of the afternoon. Jessie and I went outside to lay and unwind on the rocks by the tame river cascade. There’s a nice view down towards the pond and with the soothing sounds of water I truly enjoyed our rest.
By the way I did find a quiet spot to Propose to Anne.