5-12-12 The scenic route to Cardigan

[grouseking]

I've hiked Cardigan at least 7 or 8 times, so I was looking for a fun way to the summit, that maximized the sub alpine environment. After consulting the map, I came up with a fun trip. We started at the AMC lodge, and set out on the Woodhouse trail.

Not a great pic...but I thought I'd show a pic of the dwarf ginseng.

The Woodland trail was interesting...sadly it was also tick infested, but we all managed. After approx 2 miles, we came to a big beaver pond.

Moose tracks everywhere...I searched for one, but no luck.

From here on out, the Woodland trail wasn't exactly your normal hiking trail, thanks to its obscurity. Thankfully, it was easy to follow thanks to good blazing. Before long, we made it to the Skyland trail near Church Mountain.

I've been looking forward to hiking this section of trail for awhile now, and it did not disappoint.

Turkey Vultures having fun

First wide open view of Cardigan and Firescrew. These were both on the itinerary today, but first, the Skyland trail continues towards Mt Gilman.

I love this view towards Croydon Peak and Grantham Mtn in Corbin Park. That must be some wild country out there with all those wild boar running around. Also, Ascutney in the background in the upper right...

Great view to part of Newfound Lake

A view into the whites and a whitecapped Mt Washington

Time for a lunch on Mt Gilman...great views from here. Cont in a min

cont in a minute

 

[grouseking]

Part two...

Now, we were on our way to Rimrock, the South Peak, and Cardigan....

Here we are...

Cardigan ahead

Heading up the summit cone

A look back to where we had been.

It was extremely windy on the summit, prob 30-40 mph gusts, so we took refuge a bit below, where we had a great view to the east.

From firescrew, back to Franconia Ridge, the Twins and other fun peaks

Time to head to Firescrew...

Views back to Cardigan the whole way.

I like Firescrew a lot more than Cardigan. Its quieter, a bit less windy, and the views to the north are some of my favorite in NH.

Fairly evenly placed lenticulars

Ragged Mtn and Kearsarge Mtn

Great view to Smarts Mtn, love that peak

One more just because...

We descended down the Manning trail back to the lodge. I ran out of water so I was running on fumes by the end of day, but this was still a spectacular hike. We could not have asked for better weather. I hope to be redlining some other Cardigan trails as time goes by. Hope you like!

grouseking

 

[Seeker]

Like indeed! My favorite little mountain. Thanks for the TR.

 

[IQuest]

Very nice pics! I have one question though, Did you ever see the junction for Skyland Cut-off? (between Grafton Knob & Church Mtn) I was in that neck of the woods at the end of March and never saw it. Also the AMC Guide makes no mention of it, nor does it show it on the map. I thought that I had just imagined it on the sign.

 

[mtruman]

Really nice Phil! We haven't been to Cardigan in a couple of years and are really anxious to get back. Thankfully we have it in our plans for this week and your pictures and account of the day make me even more ready! You threw in a few trails that we haven't tried before and I believe that they will all be on a future itinerary. Thanks for the virtual warm-up hike!

 

[Creag Nan Drochaid]

"Skyland Cutoff" = Woodland Trail

Thank you for opening this post, and now you know that the title of it was all I had to say, 'cept this site wants a message, so here it is. Happy hiking!

 

[Maddy]

I don't "just like" .... I LOVE! Great trip reports and pics. Thanks for sharing.

 

[grouseking]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I now have my new fav route to Cardigan! I highly highly highly recommend it!