Waumbek Trip Report

What’s the difference between Wildcat D and Waumbek? You might say 44 ft., and you’d be right (optional answer: the elevation gain for Waumbek is greater), but the real answer is in the hiking. So let’s go.

This hike may have been the easiest of them all, with easy to moderate grades and good footing all the way up. Unfortunately there were no views. There are supposed to be views of the Northern Presidentials from Starr King but the sky was think with haze and I couldn’t see anything far beyond the summit.

That’s it, the hike was easy, so here’s the interesting part. On the way up, I met Nancy and her sister in law and their dogs. They live in the two of the beautiful “cottages” which they renovated along Starr King Rd. The lower half of the walk was through open hardwoods forest with lots of maples and one moose. The moose was lying ten yards away from the trail and leisurely eating moose food. It wasn’t bothered by any of us, including the dogs which were anxious to chase the moose. We got past the moose without incident. Nancy’s sister in law left us at Starr King’s summit. Nancy and I hiked the rest of the way together. She filled me in on all the dirt on the AMC (why does an non-profit build a hotel and need a liquor license?), Jefferson and vicinity and the 4000 footers (she did them all over two summers and finished when she was 61.)