Isolated at Isolation...No Really

 Sad story. I moved back to Vermont today. I've been packing, unpacking, cleaning, and organizing for HOURRRSSSSS. Literally. I need a break.

Enter my hike on Thursday. I woke up after Wednesday night's storm to gray clouds playing tug of war with peeks of blue sky. I decided to cheer on the blue parts through action and headed up the Kanc towards Glen Ellis Falls on Route 16 in Jackson. I found some really awesome jams on a pop station as I made my way northeast. I was rocking out so hard, getting jazzed for the hike, that a guy on his bike got a good chuckle. The plan was to hike Isolation up the Glen Boulder Trail/Davis Path, run back down and then venture across to bag Wildcat D. I mean, time is dwindling if I'm to get all 48 by the end of the year.

The signage for getting on the Glen Boulder Trail is very clear. You head straight from the parking lot, not turning left towards Glen Ellis Falls, but instead towards the toilets until you spot this lovely sign. It'll point you in the right direction (and only 1.6 miles to the boulder? sweeeet!)

The trail was expectedly wet and muddy after the monsoon that stormed through. There were rocks to galavant across like stepping stones guiding you along. I got distracted by a giant toad jumping around until he hid in a hole. While I was chasing him I heard the tinkling of water that signaled a waterfall. Therefore, I proceeded to this gem.

Then I wondered what happened to the trail because there was no way I was going to be able to scale the muddy hill that was in front of me. So I did the reasonable thing and backtracked to where I saw the toad. That's when I noticed the markers were on the rocks. Duh.

This hike was definitely more technical (read: rocky) than the ones I've been doing this summer.  I also greatly appreciated the clear signs at every juncture. Such as: 

and 

Here's a disclaimer: if you don't like getting your feet wet, literally, then don't do this hike after a rain storm. I gave up having clean, dry feet after a rock wiggled lose in a brook crossing and left me ankle deep in water. The hike actually became more enjoyable after that moment because I just blasted through any minor water/mud, which, again, there was a sufficient amount of. 

Just walk through it. Your shoes will dry. 

Oh, also, at that ski trail juncture there's a nice little look out of more cascading water that I do not suggest you just walk through. 1. It's more rapid. 2. There's no point.

Just for viewing. Not walking in. Unless you want to.

So you continue up because of course that's how you get to Isolation, but it's also the way you get to Glen Boulder and you want to see Glen Boulder. Trust me. Hiker be warned, there is a slight scramble you will have to conquer before you see said boulder. It's fun though! I was reminded of Howard and our climbing buddy yelling at me to trust my feet when I was rock climbing. It's really hard to do when you can't look down and see you're feet though. (Side note: when you come back this way, this doesn't seem like a scramble at all and you'll wonder why there were excited butterflies when you went up, or that's just me.)

Scrambling

Then, when you least expect it (although now you'll be expecting it) you'll see Glen Boulder. It's breathtakingly awesome when you're not expecting it. I guess I should've given you a spoiler alert before saying that part.

See, it's up there! Just follow the cairns!

If you're feeling a little lazy, stop hiking altogether at the boulder. The views will make you smile from ear to ear, kind of like what I'm doing in the picture above. (And clearly, the blue skies won out for the most part.)

Some fog did roll into the valley.

The trail is above tree level for the majority of the time as you weave through the cairns to Slide Peak, aka Gulf Peak. The trail is like a talus field: full of rock jumping. I think you can tell I got distracted by all the beauty and I couldn't help myself from snapping pictures left and right and forward and back.

Up and Up

Blueberries! 

Views for days.

Hang out. Have a snack. 

After a quick snack, continue on until you get to the junction with the Davis Path. Go down the hill, away from Mount Washington if your mission is to get to Mount Isolation. It says it on the sign even, and I'm a very careful reader of signs now a days.

The fog really rolled in at this point, leaving me viewless. I was okay with that because as you go downhill (yes, downhill) it becomes wooded. Oh, and wet again. It was pretty much hiking down in a small, continuously running brook. There's also trees that have been blown over. Looks like the Big Bad Wolf was working overtime.

No worries though. They don't obstruct your path.

In addition, if you were planning on the bridges to help you keep your feet dry you might want to rethink that notion. A lot of them are well loved and have either sunk, become detached, are rotted, or just don't exist

Muddy toes! Of course my shoelaces are untied. Typical.

There's a junction I failed to snap a photo of both times I went by it. If you see it, keep going straight on the Davis Path. I believe the other option is Isolation Trail East which is why I stopped and debated which way for a minute before getting informed by a very nice family that I needed to continue on downhill. Yes, the majority of the hike on Davis Path is downhill. There's some nice flat running parts as well as uphills as you pass Rocky Branch and get closer to Isolation.

It's uphill and flat-ish from here

Luckily, there's a little temporary sign announcing you go up to the right to hit Isolation. The misting had stopped at this point, my shoes were disgustingly muddy and wet, and the views were AWESOME! Except to the North as the fog was still hanging around those darn Presidentials. 

So, now it was time to head back and go UP the Davis Path. This is the part most people are not stoked about when taking this route to Mount Isolation. However, I felt like it was quicker going up than going down this time around (I'm also throwing out raps. I must be tired.) So the nice thing about an out and back is how I know where I am and what's coming up. The bummer about this route is I find it difficult to run down a rocky, boulderish trail. However, I was feeling good when I got to the bottom so it was time to add 4.7 more miles onto the 12 miles I just completed.

I contemplated stopping off at the car and dropping some gear off before cruising up the Wildcat Ridge Trail. I decided not to waste the time and head to the trail. You need to jump over the stone wall that gently guides you to Ellis Glen Falls. Then comes the "brook" crossing. Well, after multiple inches of rain it was more of a white rapids crossing. I made it half way across and found it impossible for the combination of my short legs, wet sneakers, and camera swinging around my neck to make it across. I wasted half an hour on a rock contemplating all my options, looking for different ones, and wishing the water wasn't so high so I could just jump in and walk across. I'm cool with wet sneakers, but that water was rushing and was clearly going to hit me at the hips. I turned around.

I decided I would hang out with all the tourists, otherwise known as 93.2% of the parking lot, and check out Glen Ellis Falls. I was thoroughly impressed, just like with Glen Boulder. It was well worth the flat, .3 mile walk.

So I headed back to my car feeling all warm and fuzzy from the waterfall and boulder, but frustrated that I wouldn't be able to cross off Wildcat D. 

BLESSING IN DISGUISE, MY FRIEND.

Soooo, apparently, when I wear polarized sunglasses and the sun comes out I don't see that the lights are still on in the car. And since my hiking car is older, it also doesn't beep at me saying, "Hey, idiot, you left the lights on!" nor do they shut off automatically. So imagine my surprise, not pleasant for the first time that day, when pressing unlock wouldn't unlock the car. DEAD.AS.A.DOORNAIL. (How cliche.) I swear I should be blonde because at this point I had no idea I had left the lights on and the battery was just dead. 

Did I mention my phone was well on its way to dying as well? AWESOME! The fact that I had to walk down the road for service was just icing on my cupcake. I called the boy (of course!) to ask what procedure to take. He LOVES these phone calls, especially when he's out of the country (that's a different story though) or at a work event (that's this story, and kind of the other one, too). He did me a solid and get me added to his emergency roadside stuff and called a tow, but only after I found a super duper nice couple to try to jump me (didn't work). They also hung around with their car running so I could give my phone some life.

It took over 2.5 hours from trying to unlock the car to getting it jumped. Those roadside assistant guys have a legit system to give your car some power though. That part took two seconds. Afterwards, I didn't want to turn the car off because I was scared it would die (yes, this is my first dead battery! I don't know the rules!) So, I drove straight home instead of running all the errands I had planned in North Conway. That lead to a very hectic Saturday (hunting for a dress for a wedding THAT day). The  car is also still kicking. I actually used to to schlep all my stuff to Vermont from New Hampshire (it was a lot of schlepping). 

And reader, do not fear, I'll be back to the great White Mountains this weekend to check some more peaks off, as well as Labor Day. It shall be my sanity before the school year officially gets underway. 

Until then, happy trails, wading, and getting around.

Ha forgot the stats:

Total milage: 12

Time: a hair under 5 hours

Exertion: moderate

Views: totally worth it