On Wednesday I hiked Mount Chocorua with my brother and his son. Jason wanted to hike this mountain with his son like we hiked it in September 1988.
I had marked the hike we did in my White Mountain Guide. I discovered that we hiked Liberty Trail and Brook Trail “9/88 with JL”. Wow, that was a long time ago. I was 17 and Jason was 14.
This time we are 50 and 47, and his son is 15.
I didn’t remember the forest road to the trailhead nor did I remember much of that hike in 1988. However, the Liberty Trail is a perfect hike which starts out fairly flat and after a mile you start to climb. In about a mile from the peak we would catch a glimpse of the summit and couldn’t believe it was a mile away – it seemed much farther.
Then the granite slabs started and a bit of scrambling. This is a tough hike! Just below the summit there is a section that seems a bit sketchy but we got up it and saw 360 degree views. While Washington was in the clouds we could clearly see Passaconnaway and Whiteface, and the peaks off the Kanc.
We ate lunch and then headed down Brook Trail. This counter clockwise loop is clearly the best because we kept looking back to see if we could see the summit and there aren’t clearnings where you can see where you are going. After a half a mile or so of rocks and butt sliding, it is a nice, gentle hike back to the car. We spotted a beautiful waterfall.
The trail is in great shape – thank you trail maintainers. Hiking is always a great way to get to know someone and just talk, talk, talk. It was nice to catch up with my brother and his son on a humid, no-wind day in the mountains.