On Saturday September 13th, the big daddies met up for a jaunt up Mt. Moriah. We actually met up in Plymouth, NH and rode the rest of the way up to Gorham, NH. We scouted out a possible headquarters in Randolph, NH first then competed with ATVs cruising down the street in Gorham. The trailhead for Mt. Moriah begins almost in downtown Gorham, just on the other side of the Androscoggin river. The trail we took up was the Carter-Moriah trail. It was a 9 mile trek for a 4049 peak so the climbing is pretty gradual. We stopped at Mount Surprise for some sweet views which inspired Seth to finally buy the PeakFinder app.
Moving onto the main peak, Moriah, we encountered some people who asked us if we were with the flag crew. As it turned out the Flags On The 48 was happening that day at noon (the Saturday after 9/11). We got to the summit in time to give the crew a hand tying down the flag. It was pretty spectacular. The crew had brought up sections of PVC pipe in order to make a long pole. The flag waved proudly. None of us had binoculars so we couldn't glimpse the flags on the other peaks, but now we know we need binoculars. We had our customary beer back down on Mount Surprise peak where the temps and winds were a bit more hospitable.
The weather was hazy, but we still had views. The temps were in the 60s, so just perfect, but we've definitely entered the time of year when the summit and the rest of the hike are two different climates. Stay tuned for the stats.
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| Slabs of granite are easy to hike up, but a pain on the knees going down. |
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| Panorama from Mt. Surprise |
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| This is a picture of a place I have no memory of. |
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| Look out below! |
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| This boulder was resting on a very small surface area. |
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| Made it. Summit of Moriah. |
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| Littering and... littering and... littering, and... |
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| Putting it all together. |
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| Do you need my assistance? |
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| Unit 23, come in 23, do you need me out there? Do you need my assistance? |
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| The Mt. Moriah Crew for Flags on the 48. These guys knew how to get it done. |
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| 'Merica on the top of Moriah. Probably one of the best summit shots we'll get. |
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| Just showing it to you again to prove that these colors don't run. |
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| Sporting the NH hat and the American flag for a view of Maine which is part of Canada, I think. |
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| Looking south east from the summit of Moriah |
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| This is the view from Mount Surprise of Gorham, the northern peaks, and my ass. |
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| The view from Mt. Surprise across the valley at Madison, Jefferson, Adams and Washington. |
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| Hazy, but decent visibility |
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| The Androscoggin River |
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| Bridge Over the River Androscoggin. |
