Green Mountain, NH, 04/08/07

[rocket21]

Green Mountain, NH

Date Hiked: 04/08/07

Trails(s) Hiked: High Watch Trail

Difficulty: Moderate

Conditions: Packed powder

After skiing Loon on a cold, snowy morning, I decided to bypass my afternoon plans of skiing Wildcat (burrrr) and instead do a short hike.

Despite the mostly cloudy forecast, I arrived at a sunny trailhead. Initially I had planned to snowshoe it, however I discovered the trail was broken out with heavy bareboot traffic, and thus went back to my truck and swapped my shoeshoes for Stablicers.

Though there were moderate winds, there was still an abundance of snow in the trees, making for a really nice hike once I arrived in the evergreen woods. The hike itself gets progressively steep - starting off level, becoming more moderate in the evergreens, and then having a short steeper pitch near the top.

The views of the Whites were obscured due to the snowstorm that had been hanging out since I was there this morning, however pretty much every other direction was clear.

After taking in the scenary for a few minutes, the intense wind drove me back to the ground. Taking advantage of the cushion of the fluffy powder, I jogged half of the way back to the base. Boy am I out of shape.

High Watch Trail

View from the fire tower looking northwest at Mount Chocorua

 

[Amicus]

Warden Harry Libby has manned the firetower since before '89 (when I first climbed it), and I trust he will be back on duty in May (as he was last Oct.). Had you taken the Libby Trail, you would have passed the remains of the old Libby farmstead, before the turn east to the Dearborn trailhead, also in Effingham - third and best of the Green Mt. trails.

The trailhead for the Dearborn is in a clearing just past where Hobbs Road, a dirt road running west from 153, drops down to a rough Class 6, on the right just after the sign. The Society for the Preservation of New Hampshire Forests was running a campaign last year to buy the land around the trail, parts of which have been heavily logged in recent years. I'm not sure of the current status of that campaign. (Hobbs Road is marked by a green historical sign for the oldest teachers' - "Normal" - school in NH).

 

[rocket21]

Had you taken the Libby Trail, you would have passed the remains of the old Libby farmstead, before the turn east to the Dearborn trailhead, also in Effingham - third and best of the Green Mt. trails.

I think I saw that trailhead a few days ago when I initially scouted this out - the reason I chose High Watch yesterday was for a) length (short) and b) accessibility (trailhead not far from the Class IV sign)...Sounds like I need to check out some of the other trails soon! Thanks for the information.