Black Snout/Snoot???

[Trainwreck]

Thanks to all of you who gave advice on my last post about the Ossipees.
Will hike Mt Roberts
I am intrigued however, about Black Snout. My hiking partner Miss Rosie, has a large black snout, and when my shoulder allows, I'd like to go up there. I read some TRs, but would like to know about views if any, and degree of difficulty. Miss Rosie is a BIG black lab.
Thanks, Sandy

 

[Amicus]

There are a variety of ways to reach Black Snout, by trails from the SE and the SW. The most popular, however, leave from the Mt. Shaw Trailhead on 171, near Sodom Rd. in Tuftonboro. From there, both the Mt. Shaw and the Tate Mtn./Big Ball Mtn. Trails will take you to Black Snoot - the best route in my opinion is to make a loop of those, including the summit of Shaw, which is not far and has different views, looking north.

Some hikers I know went up there just last Sat. and posted this TR on RoT, which you can read and judge for yourself. I think either trail might be a bit much for someone who does not want to use hiking poles.

 

[BobC]

Yes, it was Getawaygirl (Amy) and I that did that trip.

We never actually made it to Black Snout's summit, and as the aforementioned TR indicates, we never even did the loop - just went up and back via the Mt. Shaw & Black Snout trails (but skipped the 0.3-mile Black Snout spur due to lack of time). So I can't say anything about the Black Snout views.

However, as to the difficulty for your Black Lab, I don't think she'll have any problem. While we were hiking the Mt. Shaw trail, a woman went past us with a pretty big Golden Retriever, which is just about the same as a Lab, with a black snout to boot.

 

[Michelle]

Views

Nice views of Winnipesaukee from Black Snout, though I think there are better views from Tate/Big Ball Mtn. The trail between the two is nice and worth the walk. (Banana Tr.) I did the Shaw/Snout/Tate loop on Sunday, very nice, 3 cars in the lot when we went up, 22 when we came down! Wow! The trail up Shaw is steep in spots, not difficult, just steep, then it's carriage roads/snowmobile trails to Shaw and Snout, Banana trail not difficult, lightly travelled in spots, very nice, rocky summits of Tate/Big Ball Mtn are great for hanging out on. Nice area, not difficult hiking, have fun!

 

[rocket21]

It should be noted that there's a short scramble just a bit south of Big Ball Mountain along the Banana Trail (south of Black Snoot, north of Tate Mountain Trail). I assume the blue ice that had covered it since December is gone. There is a bypass to the right of it (heading northbound), but even then there's a little bit of a hop.