Mt Magalloway

[snowbird22]

Hi, Everybody

I always wanted to take a ride way up north to Pittsburg Nh and I noticed that there is a Mt Magalloway up there. I read a little about it and from what I gathered there is a hiking trail to go up there with a fire tower but thats all the info I could find. Has anyone ever hiked that? Is it worth the trip? Any idea where the trailhead is (on route 3?) Any info would be greatly aprreciated.

Chris

 

[Mattl]

The AMC Guide describes the route quite well, and it is a pretty decent mountain to climb with very nice views. Some of the logging roads can be confusing at times. -Mattl

 

[Umsaskis]

Easy hike, great views into Maine and Canada. Views of the Ct. Lakes are best had from partway up, not at the top. Once you turn off Rte. 3 onto the Magalloway road, there are signs at every turn thereafter directing you to the tower.

If, at the top, you try to take the loop back down to the bottom, don't mistakenly take the "trail" that leaves right from the summit, because this just goes to a spring and eventually peters out, but you'll lose some elevation in trying it out. The loop connection is a ways down from the summit.

 

[bill bowden]

Magalloway

There's a cabin (if memory serves) and a register as well as a fire tower. the summit was very well cared for and a most pleasant place. The east side of the peak is a sort of a mini version of Cannon Cliff with a trail along the edge and offers excellent views to the east and north. From vague recollection, Stub Hill and its two sub peaks are particularly well viewed. Since most of the North Country peaks are both wooded and trailless, Magalloway offers a very nice contrast.
For the truly desperate peak bagger there is a 2900 foot subpeak on Magalloway (trailless) which is listed as a NH 200 highest peak.
As of my last visit the roads were not in too bad a shape (4 WD nice but not necessary) but were not especially well marked.
For only driven peak baggers, there's a very reasonable route up Diamond Ridge, (NH3000) offering open woods and restricted summit views to the north from the Magalloway road near the east end of the ridge.

 

[Seeker]

Yep, we did it a few years back. It was a pretty short hike, as I recall, and we did the approach on mountain bikes, so that added some fun to the mix. Great views!

Not sure I'd drive all the way up there for it, but that's just me. We were already up there staying at a cabin in the Dartmouth Land Grant, so it was an all-day venture for us.

 

[RoySwkr]

From June through October use the directions in the White Mtn Guide if you have one, although a DeLorme Atlas or even topozone.com will probably work. From an obvious parking lot there is an ATV trail to the summit with a fire tower & 2 wardens cabins the last time I was there. There is a parallel hiking trail to most of the ATV trail, less than a mile.

In winter & spring the road may be unplowed or gated, under the new master plan for the area you can't drive it in winter even if the road is plowed. This leaves you hiking from US-3 where there is a wide parking spot near where the road starts, maybe 8 miles each way.

 

[Amicus]

A Scudder's View Guide Peak

Magalloway is one of the 54 peaks in Scudder's White Mountain View Guide (2d Ed.), published a few months ago by High Top Press and available at Mountain Wanderer in Lincoln and probably other hardcore hiking bookstores. Besides his usual six diagrams spanning the compass, he has a nice description, which I haven't compared with that in the AMC Guide.

For me, to do even one of these peaks on a clear day with Scudder's diagrams, especially one I may never get back to on a clear day at least, would be worth the $18. Even more so for Magalloway and the like, far from the heart of the Whites. I am a bit of a fanatic, I admit, in the pleasure I derive from being able to identify every little bump and knob on the horizon.

 

[NewHampshire]

To expand a bit on Amicus' post about Scudders guide. There is a section in the back that shows you how to predict the best visibility periods. Again, another reason to spend the small fee of $18. No point in driving 3 5 or 6 hours to get wonderful views of the inside of a cloud .

Brian

 

[snowbird22]

Thanks for all your responses...... Still feel free to throw out ideas and comments...

 

[RoySwkr]

I need Magalloway for the Y List. Has that "master plan" been implemented?

Who knows, are you doing that list in winter? I thought we could climb it on your "after work fire tower" hike series. Get somebody with a minivan, hike up the ATV trail in moonlight, take turns driving & sleeping and be back in time to go to work the next morning

 

[Nate]

Yeah, Magalloway is pretty far up there. Hence, make sure it's a clear day when you head up, so you'll have some great views from the tower. When I did it in the summer of '02, the dirt roads were very drivable all the way in (even though I was driving a subcompact). The route is well-marked all the way from Route 3, with signs at each intersection marking the way (they alternated between saying "tower" and "trail." Since it's a relatively short hike, another worthwhile jaunt in the area is going over to Fourth Connecticut Lake (which is the source of the Connecticut River). To reach it, all you do is follow Route 3 up to the border and park at the small lot at American customs. From there, follow the border swath west for about a mile or so, and then the trail for the lake turns off to the left. Following this stretch of the border isn't as cool as the section by Boundary Peak, but the lake itself is really lovely and peaceful (although I really hesitate to call it a lake, because when I was there it was more of a mud pond), and the trail goes all the way around it. It's cool to think that the water from this very placid and removed spot will eventually flow the length of the NH-VT border, pass through Springfield and Hartford, and eventually reach the Atlantic. Anyway, another worthy mountain in the vicinity of Magalloway is Mount Monadnock (no, not that Monadnock), which is right across the river from Colebrook. I have yet to claim it, but supposedly there's a tower on the summit, and I've heard it's a very worthwhile hike. Now that I think about it, the trails in Dixville Notch aren't that far from Colebrook either.

 

[bobandgeri]

Anyway, another worthy mountain in the vicinity of Magalloway is Mount Monadnock (no, not that Monadnock), which is right across the river from Colebrook. I have yet to claim it, but supposedly there's a tower on the summit, and I've heard it's a very worthwhile hike.

We hike Monadnock in July 04 - photos of of the fire tower can be seen on our trip report:

http://rbhayes.net/monadnock.html

 

[J&J]

Re: Mt Monadnock fire tower in Vermont-

7/8/2005 - Vermont's Mount Monadnock Tower Status
News from the Cohos Trail newsletter

TRAIL VOLUNTEER NOTES

Nearly 70 people came out during National Trails Day to help ferry materials up two miles of trail to the fire tower on Vermont's Mount Monadnock, standing high over the Connecticut River valley across the river from Colebrook, New Hampshire. Organizers of the event were astonished by the number of folks who volunteered for the project. The fire tower now boasts all new steps, landings and tower cab deck. Its a must do trip. Standing as it does high above the upper Connecticut River valley, with scores of blue ridges and ranges rippling in the distance, the tower offers a world class view of rural, mountainous New England.