Monkeyboy & Skeetah Bait do the Caribou loop

“This trip Started out Saturday at 5 PM. A little later than we normally like to get started, but we had a busy day and got stuck in traffic. We planned to hike the Mud brook trail to Caribou Mt. and back down the Caribou trail. Evan's Notch is a little known, lightly hiked area of the White mountains. It has neither the fanfare of other notches, nor the superlatives of other areas of the Whites. Perhaps that is the biggest draw, in that this is very nice hiking. The old guide book we read said there was a shelter just over the mountain. A buddy had told me that the last time he was there, it was still there. But.... the White Mountains map, didn't mention it. We brought the tent just in case.

As it turns out, it didn't matter if there was a shelter, we were not to make it that far this night. It was getting dark before 7 and we had to reload water, which cost us some more time. Hiking was now being done by headlamp. We were watching for likely campsites and didn't find one until we came to a very nice large overlook.

SB and Suzy stayed put, checking out the view by the full moon. I scouted ahead to ascertain whether or not we were 2 minutes away from the shelter. We weren't even to the top yet... The spot SB was waiting for me at was a very nice site, so we made camp. We found a soft spot and set the tent, then went to the knoll for dinner.

It was a beautiful night. A single layer of fleece kept the cool night at bay, while the full moon nearly eliminated the need for headlamps. This moonlit dinner consisted of, arguably, the world's best hamburgers, rice pilaf and a three musketeers bar, washed down with tea and gator aid using water freshly filtered water from the rushing stream crossed earlier. The angry red planet was very visible as were fireworks from a local backyard. The stars were out to provide a stunning backdrop. In the distance, the lights of cars crossing a pass in the mountains could be seen. Coyotes serenaded us from the valley. Suzy found a soft level spot on the ledges to rest, while my bride and I enjoyed the evening. Just the two of us, on a cool autumn evening, the sounds and smells of nature....

We were to sleep for some 10 hours in that fresh mountain air. Morning was to bring a show as impressive as last nights show. We were above the clouds, looking down into the valleys. The lower mountains projected above the wispy fog, much like islands in a lake. The sun is shining and we are in shorts as we eat breakfast on the knoll overlooking the valley. Breakfast consists of Oatmeal, tea and gatoraid, followed by a chocolate bar. The use of a camera was mandatory, as the foilage colors were in full bloom. As we are breaking camp a young couple, that obviously started hiking early, come thru. We aired out the bags and tent while eating and the condensation was dried off by the time we packed up. We hiked to Caribou peak and there are incredible views all around, the wispy clouds still enveloping the mountains. While the colors were stunning, the morning haze was to dull the rich autumn colors in the pictures.

The trail alternates from muddy to rocky to moss covered rocks to roots, typical for Maine. The path down follows a nice stream, with many waterfalls and cataracts. We resupply with water and dilly dally down the trail. We meet many day hikers and a couple other parties who spent the night on the mountain also. I dare say, we had the primo spot on the mountain. After our spot on the side, there were signs posted, basically saying that the areas above were to be treated as above treeline. That was the only spot better than ours, and no camping was permitted there. One party stayed at the site of the lean-to, which has been removed. Glad we had our tent.

Lunch was taken at a water fall. Soup was boiled and sandwiches were made. It was a very relaxing lunch, followed up by more chocolate stashed in the bottom of the food bag by the resident chocaholic. It is amazing how everything else doesn't matter when you are sitting by a thrashing waterfall. We resolve to do more of this, yet we don't really know how, as we are moving soon. Then hunting season is coming, and, and, and.....”

“very descriptive and awesome summary! sounds like a blast, one day i'll get to maine....”

“Fine reportin' there mb!”

“you write a great trip report monkeyboy!

=D”

“Agreed, another very well written report. Very cool to read. Makes me really miss the northeast. Thanks for sharing!”