Kevin Judy and Emma
Well-known member
Can a dog be happy?
Small steps. It had been about nine weeks since our last "big" trip, a winter traverse of the Twins and Galehead. We had a failed attempt at Madison partially due to some sluggishness on our part, but also due to an injury Emma sustained slipping on some ice while wrestling with some other dogs on a weekly outing. On Madison she seemed fine, but was nearly lame the next day, so we have taken a necessary hiatus that has seemed to last forever. Over the last week Judy took Emma to Mount Major and Straighback Mountain, then a few days later she went to Rattlesnake (Rumney) with me. After these small outings she seemed no worse for the hike, so we planned something a little longer and higher.
Trout Lily Erythronium americanum
Mount Cardigan is always a good choice at any time, but this seemed like a perfect fit for slowly breaking back into it and to make sure Emma was really ready for it. We got to the lodge about nine and although the weatherman had been wrong several times recently, he nailed it when he forecast a sunny spring day with light winds and temps in the mid to upper sixties. What a perfect spring hiking day, with the best part being that the blackflies that had been becoming increasingly annoying in southeastern New Hampshire had not yet heard that it was spring around Mount Cardigan. A light breeze, warm sun and no flies! My kind of hiking day!
View of Mount Cardigan from Firescrew
In our quest to always cover new ground we decided to make a loop over Firescrew as the approach to Cardigan. Many times in the past we had looked longingly at it's bare summit and said, "We must go there next time." Well, it was one of those things where you're kicking yourself, "Why didn't we do this before?" What a beautiful trail through hardwoods, then rising up into the damp, dark spruce forest and finally out onto open ledges with million dollar views. As we broke out above tree-line we realized that it was truly one of those days without a cloud in the sky, yet not so warm that we were hoping that some would come along and blot out the sun to cool things down.
View northeast from Firescrew
Along the way we found Wake Robin Trillium in all stages of bloom, Bellwort with it's tiny bell-shaped flowers just blossoming, Trout Lily in different stages of opening up, from tiny new buds to wide open flowers, and great patches of Round-leaved Yellow Violets. We found a little bit of mud here and there and an occasional patch of snow, along with a blowdown or two, but all were easily circumnavigated. The views to the north and east were tremendous, with the crown jewel of the White Mountains, Mount Washington, standing proudly at the center, surrounded by its expansive family. We had the trail to ourselves until we actually reached the summit of Cardigan where we found almost as many dogs as people and dubbed it "Dog City".
Emma takes in the view spanning from Mount Moosilauke (L) to Mount Chocorua (R)
On our descent we again tried to cover new ground by descending West Ridge Trail to the junction with Skyland Trail where we followed this east to Rimrock. Then headed northeast again along South Ridge Trail to the great cairn on the nearly bald summit of South Peak. Dropping back down into the spruce, then bearing east again along the Hurricane Gap Trail to the AMC High Cabin. After checking out the locked cabin which we had never visited before we dropped down to PJ Ledge where we heard the now very familiar greeting of "Emma!" Seems people know her wherever we go, which is nice. Here we greeted Happy Hiker and her friend who I'm sorry I can't remember her real name, but who I anointed with the trailname "Long Trail" (Ale) due mainly to what they were sitting there enjoying in the warm spring sun.
View of Cardigan from South Peak
From there we followed the Clark- Holt Clark Cut-off -Holt- and Manning Trails back to the lodge where the parking lot had begun to look like weekend at Pinkham Notch. Along the way we helped remove a blowdown or two. There are some that will need some serious cutting on trailday next weekend. It was a great day and a great hike and reminded us that some of our favorite hikes, indeed, our favorite places, are these smaller, bald knobs like Cardigan, Chocorua and the Baldfaces. The miles of open ledges and walking above tree-line surrounded by distant, beautiful views make these hikes every bit as enjoyable, in fact more so, than many of the 4k hikes we have done.
Complete set of pictures here.
KDT
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