BIGEarl
Well-known member
Trails: Lincoln Trail
Distance – Elevation: 9.6 miles, 2,100 feet
Our options for this week were either the Tripyramids or Mount Kearsarge. Once the storm cleared the area on Thursday we checked the accumulation amounts and decided a hike to Mount Kearsarge made the most sense. We were interested in a full day of hiking and selected the Lincoln trail from the Kearsarge Valley Road to the summit and back. This route works out to 9.6 miles and 2,100 feet of elevation. We expected the hike to take approximately 6hr. 30min.
Four of us hiked together on this day. Early Bird, Jen-san, and I traveled together to the trailhead where we met dRitter. This was the first time I hiked with Early Bird. I have previously hiked with dRitter, but the last time was a little over a year ago. Both Early Bird and dRitter are a couple high-speed hikers that easily stayed well out in front of Jen-san and me. Thanks to both of you for the terrific trailbreaking work.
Our start for the day was the trailhead parking for the Lincoln Trail on Kearsarge Valley Road, .4 miles north of North Road in Sutton. There was no recent traffic on the trail and a quick check indicated we would be postholing very soon after our start. Consequently, we started the day on snowshoes, and stayed with them for the full hike. Even though there was no obvious prior traffic, the trail was easy to follow with clear markings. The start of the hike passed through an area of softwood at the north side of a swamp area. Soon, we broke out to a logging road that we followed for approximately one mile. The trail markings entering and exiting the road were very clear, not at all easy to miss.
A short distance after leaving the road we came to an area that was relatively open with a spur path to a scenic outlook spot. dRitter had already come up to temperature and de-layered before reaching this point. I decided to get rid of my jacket here and managed a quick refreshment. Not long after this stop we reached an open, clear-cut area where the trail is very well marked by a series of stakes with painted white ends to match the blazes.
On the way to the Rollins State Park picnic area the trail generally passes across the northwest slope of Black Mountain with a constant and mild elevation gain. There is a little up and down (but nothing at all like the freaking Fishin’ Jimmy Trail). It is only the final quarter mile where the grade becomes significantly steeper. Along this section we came upon several sets of moose tracks (lots of postholes) that seemed very fresh. One set in particular showed signs of a reddish substance (liquid) everywhere. At one point the moose had laid next to the trail and there was a great deal of the red spots and hair. Since spring is when the moose give birth I assume this was somehow related to that process.
We arrived at the picnic area and decided to enjoy a quick lunch. There were three snowmobile operators speeding around the area and jumping their sleds. Also, they had driven them to the summit and back, running over a fair amount of vegetation in the process. Unfortunately, I never thought to get pictures of their registration decals. I won’t make that mistake again. Soon they left and we were able to enjoy the day in quiet.
Our lunch break only lasted 20 to 30 minutes and we were off for the summit. We followed the Lincoln Trail from the picnic area to the summit. It is advertised as steep and rough, and for a short section it is. We reached the open ledges of the summit under mostly cloudy conditions but the views were still quite good. We could see north to Franconia Notch, east to Mt. Chocorua, south to Mount Wachusett in Massachusetts, and west to Stratton Mountain in Vermont. The wind came up quite a bit and we didn’t stick around the summit for long. We were there long enough to get some pictures, enjoy the view, and we were off.
With dRitter and Early Bird still in the lead we headed down the Rollins Trail from the summit to the picnic area. Most of this trail was now a snowmobile run. We arrived at the picnic area and headed back on the Lincoln Trail. When we reached the logging road we saw evidence of others having hiked in. It looked like one was bare booting while another was on snowshoes. Both made a u-turn before leaving the logging road and returned to the start.
We stepped back into the trailhead parking area 6.5 hours after our start, and after having a good workout with snowshoes. Winter is lasting late this year and the forecasts seem to indicate we’re not through with it yet. If the remaining “winter” hikes are as enjoyable as this hike to Mount Kearsarge it’s fine with me.
Thanks to Early Bird, dRitter, and Jen-san for a terrific hike.
Dunkin Donuts in Warner for Jennifer’s post-hike coffee was the next stop.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Distance – Elevation: 9.6 miles, 2,100 feet
Our options for this week were either the Tripyramids or Mount Kearsarge. Once the storm cleared the area on Thursday we checked the accumulation amounts and decided a hike to Mount Kearsarge made the most sense. We were interested in a full day of hiking and selected the Lincoln trail from the Kearsarge Valley Road to the summit and back. This route works out to 9.6 miles and 2,100 feet of elevation. We expected the hike to take approximately 6hr. 30min.
Four of us hiked together on this day. Early Bird, Jen-san, and I traveled together to the trailhead where we met dRitter. This was the first time I hiked with Early Bird. I have previously hiked with dRitter, but the last time was a little over a year ago. Both Early Bird and dRitter are a couple high-speed hikers that easily stayed well out in front of Jen-san and me. Thanks to both of you for the terrific trailbreaking work.
Our start for the day was the trailhead parking for the Lincoln Trail on Kearsarge Valley Road, .4 miles north of North Road in Sutton. There was no recent traffic on the trail and a quick check indicated we would be postholing very soon after our start. Consequently, we started the day on snowshoes, and stayed with them for the full hike. Even though there was no obvious prior traffic, the trail was easy to follow with clear markings. The start of the hike passed through an area of softwood at the north side of a swamp area. Soon, we broke out to a logging road that we followed for approximately one mile. The trail markings entering and exiting the road were very clear, not at all easy to miss.
A short distance after leaving the road we came to an area that was relatively open with a spur path to a scenic outlook spot. dRitter had already come up to temperature and de-layered before reaching this point. I decided to get rid of my jacket here and managed a quick refreshment. Not long after this stop we reached an open, clear-cut area where the trail is very well marked by a series of stakes with painted white ends to match the blazes.
On the way to the Rollins State Park picnic area the trail generally passes across the northwest slope of Black Mountain with a constant and mild elevation gain. There is a little up and down (but nothing at all like the freaking Fishin’ Jimmy Trail). It is only the final quarter mile where the grade becomes significantly steeper. Along this section we came upon several sets of moose tracks (lots of postholes) that seemed very fresh. One set in particular showed signs of a reddish substance (liquid) everywhere. At one point the moose had laid next to the trail and there was a great deal of the red spots and hair. Since spring is when the moose give birth I assume this was somehow related to that process.
We arrived at the picnic area and decided to enjoy a quick lunch. There were three snowmobile operators speeding around the area and jumping their sleds. Also, they had driven them to the summit and back, running over a fair amount of vegetation in the process. Unfortunately, I never thought to get pictures of their registration decals. I won’t make that mistake again. Soon they left and we were able to enjoy the day in quiet.
Our lunch break only lasted 20 to 30 minutes and we were off for the summit. We followed the Lincoln Trail from the picnic area to the summit. It is advertised as steep and rough, and for a short section it is. We reached the open ledges of the summit under mostly cloudy conditions but the views were still quite good. We could see north to Franconia Notch, east to Mt. Chocorua, south to Mount Wachusett in Massachusetts, and west to Stratton Mountain in Vermont. The wind came up quite a bit and we didn’t stick around the summit for long. We were there long enough to get some pictures, enjoy the view, and we were off.
With dRitter and Early Bird still in the lead we headed down the Rollins Trail from the summit to the picnic area. Most of this trail was now a snowmobile run. We arrived at the picnic area and headed back on the Lincoln Trail. When we reached the logging road we saw evidence of others having hiked in. It looked like one was bare booting while another was on snowshoes. Both made a u-turn before leaving the logging road and returned to the start.
We stepped back into the trailhead parking area 6.5 hours after our start, and after having a good workout with snowshoes. Winter is lasting late this year and the forecasts seem to indicate we’re not through with it yet. If the remaining “winter” hikes are as enjoyable as this hike to Mount Kearsarge it’s fine with me.
Thanks to Early Bird, dRitter, and Jen-san for a terrific hike.
Dunkin Donuts in Warner for Jennifer’s post-hike coffee was the next stop.
BIGEarl's Pictures
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