Well folks, I’m transitioning the hiking blog from Pursuits of Sarah to my main website. This is a shift. Why am I doing this? To simplify. I don’t need two websites when I can have it all on one in appropriate sections. I also figure, my blogging content is primarily hike recaps, gear lists, and other topics pertaining to hiking and trail running… which is most of my client base from a coaching perspective. What I’m saying is, it’s not unrelatable or totally out of left field.
And so, here we go. First hike recap on this blog.
Yesterday was a good day in hiking land. My friend Katie and I decided on a lower-elevation traverse that would allow us to stay a bit cooler (forecasted 90°), avoid masses of humans (it was a Saturday), and hike some new sections of trail. Win win win.
The hike: a traverse from Kedron Flume Trail to Ethan Pond Trail to Zealand Trail with little side trips to Ethan Pond and Thoreau falls.
Distance: 10.05 miles
Vertical gain: 1,798 ft.
When looking at the forecast earlier this week, I wasn’t totally sure if I’d be able to convince Katie to hike given the temps. Thankfully I knew what type of hike to scheme up 😉 And on the plus side, Zealand Road had opened up for the season on Friday.
Something that I’m casually working on is hiking all of the trails in the White Mountain Guide. And I mean casuallllllly. No rush, all for fun. If you’re interested in an excel sheet with all the trails you can find that here. This traverse yesterday got me some new trail sections: Kedron Flume Trail and Ethan Pond Trail from the junction with Willey Range Trail to the junction with Zeacliff Trail.
All I had previously heard about Kedron Flume Trail was that it’s steep. And while this is a hard measurement which is super personal based on an individuals experience and perspective – it wasn’t steep. There were steep spots for sure, but not sustained as some trails in the Whites can be. This trail features a good amount of switchbacks which was a pleasant surprise and the flume pictured above.
While I’m the self-proclaimed “queen of vert” (aka I LOVE steep/technical vert trails) – some flatter terrain is welcome as of late. I managed to get the rona early May which was a kick in the butt with also being two months post-op from Endometriosis surgery. The body is tired and slowly working my way back to big mile days and technical terrain seems to be the ideal approach.
Between the start of our hike and where Ethan Pond Trail meets Zealand Trail we saw one other hiker. GOLD. Don’t get me wrong, I love the hiking community and seeing folks out on trail getting in a dose of nature – but humanless days are also so lovely and quiet. We met a solo backpacker who was hanging out at the Ethan Pond shelter when we took the little (0.1 mile) spur trail to Ethan Pond. Most definitely a spot I’ll be visiting again. Although with Ethan Pond Trail being the Appalachian Trail, it might not be this quite for much longer.
Ethan Pond Trail itself is beautiful. There was a good amount of water on trail yesterday and even still small sections of snow (!!!!!), but I’d imagine by mid-June it will be a little drier. Once we got to the junction with Thoreau Falls Trail, we took that trail to see the falls. Thoreau Falls are ~ 0.1 miles down the trail and the water was raging. The trail actually crosses the falls, which is NOT something I would have wanted to attempt to do yesterday so I’m glad that wasn’t the plan.
After dunking our heads in the water and taking a snack break at the falls we headed back to Ethan Pond Trail. From here the trail starts to head over towards Whitewall, which I had been to before and it’s one of my favorite little gems in the Whites. The section of trail here makes you feel like your out West. I have yet to actually climb up Whitewall, but it’s on the to-do list. After all I dig steep and technical trails 🙂
From here we had ~ 3.75 miles left to our hike, all flat or downhill. All of the vert in this hike was actually before Ethan Pond, which timed out nicely with the temperature creeping up throughout the day. Once we got onto Zealand Trail we saw a few more hikers as the hikes to Zealand Falls and Zealand are much more popular. We were actually surprised to see so many cars at Zealand Trailhead when we dropped Katie’s car off there in the morning… But, then remembered it was Saturday and the road JUST opened so folks had been itching to get there without the roadwalk.
All in all it was a great day and I would 100% hike this route again or any section of it. Kedron Flume Trail might even now be my preferred start point for Mt. Willey. I’m grateful that summer is coming (here?), to be feeling stronger again post-op/rona, and to be getting more trail time. Cheers to a new home base for the hiking blog and many more adventures to come 🙂
“One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted to do. Do it now.”
Paulo Coelho