Home States  Connecticut  Maine  Massachusetts  New Hampshire  New York  Rhode Island  Vermont  View All Lists  NE 4,000 Footers  NE 100 Highest  NH 4,000 Footers  NH 52 With A View  NH Belknap Range  NH Ossipee 10 Explanation of Ratings Links Ossipee Mountains Notice Search Trail Conditions Trip Log About	Mt. Hale Bethlehem, NH Trailheads, measurements, times, distances, and maps are all approximate and relative to the hike(s) as shown below. Looking up the sideslope section of the Hale Brook Trail Route: Snowmobile trail, Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail, (Mt. Hale), Hale Brook Trail, Zealand Road, snowmobile trail Like the previous winter, I decided to hike Mt. Hale via Zealand Road in bad weather. After parking at the Zealand US 302 parking lot, we headed up Zealand Road to the Hale Brook Trail. Though a bit beat up by barebooters, the trail was nonetheless broken out, with a few inches of powder on top. Lightly snowing with some winds, we reached the summit without having any views. For the descent, we decided to do a light bushwhack and see if we could find a logging road of some sort to cut off part of the roadwalk. We weren't too successful - the clearcuts had slash sticking up, and there were no logging roads going in the direction (downhill) that we wanted. Instead, we ended up popping out on Zealand Road about a hundred feet from the trailhead. The roadwalk back was interesting, as the storm started to ramp up. Reaching the snowmobile trail, we were a bit surprised to see how many sleds were out and about. Hike Ratings Getting To Trailhead: Difficult Destination: Mt. Hale Length: Moderate Steepness: Difficult Navigation: Easy Views: Minimal due to weather Crowds: Minimal Hike Stats Date Hiked: Saturday, January 2, 2010 Hike Commenced: 8:02 AM Parking Elevation: 1,480' Destination: Mt. Hale Ascent Commenced: 9:07 AM Summit Reached: 10:58 AM Time Elapsed: 01:51 Trailhead Elevation: 1,770' Summit Elevation: 4,054' Distance: 2.3 miles Vertical Gain: 2,304' Hike Ended: 1:24 PM Hike Time Elapsed: 05:22 Hike Vertical Gain: 2,714' Hale Brook Trail trailhead The clouds as seen from the summit cairn on Mt. Hale Directions to trailhead: Take US 302 west from Bartlett past Bretton Woods Ski Area. In winter, there is a plowed parking lot on the right, shortly after a bridge, just before the closed Zealand Road entrance appears on the left. In winter, to get to the trailhead from there, one can hike up Zealand Road. Back to Mt. Hale Profile
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