September 3, Chloe and I hiked Mount cube, which was my 5th 52 with a view (52WAV) peak. We also summited North Cube. Here are some helpful links I found while researching the hike:
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- Climbing Mount Cube and North Cube – SectionHiker.com
- Mount Cube – Dartmouth Outdoors
- Weather
- Mount Cube, NOAA
- Smarts Mountain (closest forecast to Cube), Mountain Weather Forecast
The Plan
Since this was Chloe’s (my dog) first hike, I wanted to keep it pretty short, but still hit something on the NH48 or 52WAV lists. I considered Smarts, Cube, and Stinson and after discussing the peaks with the NH 52 With a View Facebook group, I decided on Cube with a trip to North Cube to (hopefully) get a a timelapse of sunrise. I had a hard time deciding which trail to use, but last minute I settled on the Cross-Rivendell Trail, since it was the shortest. After less than 60 minutes of sleep, I hopped into my car and headed to Baker Road in Orford NH. With the lack of sleep as well as my inability to estimate how long NH hikes will take me (more on this later) I wasn’t really sure how long I’d be on the trail, but I estimated my day would look like this:
- Trail/Peak Name: Cross-Rivendell Mt. Cube Trail
- Intended Route: Cross-Rivendell Mt. Cube Trail off of Baker Road to Mount Cube then the “OLD” AT to North Cube.
- Here is the map I used for my hike, including the track from my actual hike:
- Departure & Return Time/Date: Day hike for Sept 3, 2018. Leave home around 3 a.m. I hope to return home by noon PM at the latest
- Hike Itinerary: Based on my previous hikes in NH, I am estimating that I’ll need approximately 90 minutes to reach the summit of North Cube. Reaching the summit at 6 a.m. will give me a few minutes to setup a timelapse of sunrise.
- 4:30 a.m.: start hike
- 6:00 a.m.: North Cube summit
- 7:00 a.m.: start descent
- 8:30 a.m.: end hike
The Outcome
Leaving home, I was optimistic that I’d get a nice view of sunrise and hopefully get a nice timelapse to boot; I could see a a few clouds in the sky, but could also see plenty of stars. I was a little nervous about finding the trailhead, but Google Maps worked well and I made it there faster than expected.
Starting the hike, I was a little worried about how Chloe would be on leash, since she hasn’t been on a leash very much and is easily distracted. I am guessing it was due to it being extremely dark, but she did not pull on the hike up, which was a pleasant surprise. About 80 minutes into our hike I realized that we would not see a sunrise – as we approached the summit of Mount Cube we suddenly found our selves in the clouds, walking through mist. About 10 minutes later we found ourselves on the summit of North Cube, looking at a wall of grey.
Chloe laid down for a nap, so we spent about 50 minutes on the summit while she rested and I held out hope that we’d get some sort view, even though we had missed sunrise. Around 7 a.m. we started our descent back to the trailhead.
I am a little disappointed that I did not get to watch sunrise, but overall, it was a good day. It was nice to finally get Chloe out on the trail and I look forward to hiking with her again. I may try to hike both Smarts and Cube via the AT next year; maybe I’ll have a better view then.
Geek Stats
Mount Cube and North Cube via Cross-Rivendell Trail || Distance: 4.32 miles || Duration: ~4 hrs (including a ~50 min break waiting for sunrise) || Gain/Loss: ±1721’|| Max Elevation: 2,909′ || Difficulty: Easy
Since moving to NH, I’ve had a difficult time estimating how long I’ll need to complete a hike. In CA, I was able to look at the stats for a trail and easily come up with an estimate. I am hoping by tracking the info below over a few hikes, my estimates for NH hikes will be more accurate.
| Split Name | Pace | Climb |
| Mile 1 | 36:01 | 878 |
| Mile 2 | 48:31 | 610 |
| Mile 3 | 47:38* | -337 |
| Mile 4 | 49:07 | -937 |
| Mile 5 (partial) | 34:03 | -207 |
| Split Name | Mileage | Climb |
| Hour 1 | 1.48 | +1200, -46 |
| Hour 2** | .68 | +390, -103 |
| Hour 3*** | .69 | +78, -409 |
| Hour 4 | 1.44 | +241, -1155 |
*adjusted for 50 minute break
**includes 30 minutes of inactivity waiting for sunrise
***includes 20 minutes of inactivity waiting for sunrise
no hiking from 1hr 30min to 2hr 20min
Photos
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Gear
- Deuter Airlite 28 – with the large number of packs I’ve been testing and types of hikes I’ve been doing, my Airlite has been sitting in storage for a long time, but this was the perfect opportunity to use it! While I did push the capacity of the pack (I attached a MiniNet so that I could easily carry my rain gear and extra water on the outside of my pack), it performed well.
- Trew BeWild – While it did not rain, the jacket worked well as a wind breaker.