Mt. Isolation (4,004 ft) via Glen Boulder Trail – Pat’s Last 4000 Footer in NH!

Sunday June 11, 2006

Hikers: Gram, Pat, Pat S., Scott
Weather: 50s, In the Clouds, Wet, Windy at the Boulder
Distance: 12 mi
Elevation Gain: 3200 ft
Duration: 9.0 hrs

Pat, Gram, Scott and I met at the Glen Boulder Trailhead for Pat’s last 4000 footer. Our route to Isolation was unconventional – we would climb to 5,000 feet before descending towards Mt. Isolation – but we’d get some alpine exposure and scenery for our effort. The weather turned out to be decent. We were in the clouds for much of the hike and though it was wet, it never really rained. Both the route and the hiking partners turned out to make a very enjoyable hike. It was one of the better hikes I’ve done in quite a while.

We were supposed to meet at the trailhead at 8:00am. I ended up getting there a little early (it only took 2 hours and 15 minutes to drive) so I went to the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center and bought a parking pass. I then drove back to the trailhead, parked, and started looking at the map to pass some time, when a blue Prius pulled up next to me. I didn’t hear the car pull up, so I didn’t notice the car until I heard a light tap of the horn. I turned and waved back at the driver. I assumed the light tap and wave was simply a friendly gesture between Prius drivers, but I soon found out this was Scott and Gram and they were also waiting for Pat. Pat had come up to the NHOC’s Jackson Cabin on Friday night and had worked on building the new cabin all day on Saturday in the rain. He had overslept and came tearing into the parking lot just before 8:30am.

The ascent up the Glen Boulder Trail is actually the shortest route to Mt. Isolation’s summit, but it is definitely not the easiest. Glen Boulder is only 1.6 miles from the trailhead, but there is about 2000 ft of elevation gain in that mile and a half. The trail climbs at a constant, steep grade up to the boulder, where there are a couple sections of ledge. The trail is above treeline at the boulder, and we encountered a strong, gusty wind. It’s amazing how much more difficult hiking becomes in a strong wind – it becomes more like a battle than a hike. Ever step turned into several as the wind pushed us around.

After the boulder, which offers great views all around, the trail climbs up the ridge along the Gulf of Slides. The route goes in and out of the trees until breaking above treeline one final time near the top of the Gulf. The upper portion of the Glen Boulder Trail and the Davis Path are lightly used. We were lucky enough to have the diapensia flowers exploding in bloom all around, including some places on the trail itself. I’ve never seen the flowers near peak bloom. It is quite a sight.

The descent down Davis Path and the final ascent to Isolation’s summit went by quickly. Soon we were on the summit of Isolation in the wind and clouds. We all offered Pat congratulations on reaching his final 4000 footer summit; Scott pulled a small cake out of his pack, Gram blew up a balloon that said “Over the Hill”, and we had the celebration well underway. We didn’t have anything normal to cut the cake with, so Scott used his hoe that he brought for trail work. It worked surprisingly well.

Scott and Gram had adopted the section of the Davis Path from the summit of Isolation to its junction with the Glen Boulder Trail. Though Pat and I considered helping Scott and Gram with their trail work, the trail was in decent shape, tools were limited, and it was already 2:00 pm with a long hike ahead of us. Pat and I decided to head down on our own.

The descent included an unusually large amount of ascent, as we had to climb back up to 5000 ft before descending the Glen Boulder Trail. On the way down Glen Boulder, we were treated with an incredible sight. There was a vivid rainbow arching right over the ridge we were descending. It looked so perfect. Pat and I stopped to take a few photos even though we knew the pictures would never capture the moment well.

This was such a great hike. I’m very glad I went. I might even try and adopt a trail like Gram and Scott to give something back to the mountains.