HikerAmiga
New member
Peak: Mt. Passaconaway (elevation 4,043’), Sandwich Range Wilderness
Trails: Ascent: Dicey’s Mill; Descent: Walden, East Loop and Dicey’s Mill
Team Leader: Madhatter; Team Participants: Boo and HikerAmiga
Trailhead: Ferncroft Road, off of Route 113a in Wonalancet, New Hampshire
Weather: Warm at 80+F and very humid; intermittent clouds and sun; brief sprinkles once
Mileage: Approx. 9.4 miles roundtrip
I arrived at the trailhead at 7:15am making very good time and found the ride on routes 3, 113 and the winding rte. 113a very scenic dotted with many quaint, country homes and pretty bodies of water.
At the Ferncroft Road Trailhead, my first time there, I found it to be nearly half full already at this early hour with a couple of car loads getting ready for their hikes. I looked around and noted the absence of my hiking buddies so after a few minutes, I decided to phone them. I later received their voicemail explaining that they weren’t too far away. While I awaited their arrival, a few more cars arrived and one of these had a couple of guys who were exchanging metal pole pieces so I guessed correctly that these were the Mt. Whiteface folks and I greeted them. There was definitely excitement in their voices as we exchanged niceties on this warm morning.
At about 7:55am, I was happy to see Madhatter and Boo arrive, and after a brief introduction (as I did not know them prior to this day), they geared up and we were finally off at about 8:20am. We walked down the Ferncroft Road to the start of the trail all smiles and chatty. Speaking of chatting, I chatted with them as if I’d known all of my life. Boy, did we click! Such nice people and as we hiked on this marvelous occasion, we got to talk about everything under the sun, I believe! I had to admire their getups on this day as they each wore handsome matching flags bandanas on their heads with alternating white, red and blue shirts. At least I carried my small flag on my pack to show my patriotic spirit, coincidentally, the same one that I carried last year during my first FOT48 event on Jefferson!! So the tradition had continued from last year and I truly hope to consistently participate in future years.
The Dicey’s Mill trail that we ascended had moderate grades throughout with pretty good footing along a beautiful hardwood forest. Only during the last .5 miles does this trail get pretty steep. Also, the one significant water crossing early on that the AMC guide warns about was barely noticeable as Madhatter happily noted. The recent lack of rain had obviously dried it up considerably so that crossing was no issue at all. Aside from a very dry trail and sometimes a bit slippery due to the dry gravelly ground, I noticed multiple blow downs and good-sized ones too though none were too obtrusive. If anything, at each one, I felt like lying down and taking a nap! Seriously, I had only gotten 3 ½ hours of sleep the night prior and about an hour into our hike, the lack of sleep coupled with the high humidity of the day and a rushed early morning breakfast 4:15am made me feel extremely sluggish and tired. As a result, an hour into the hike, I started to fall behind Madhatter and Boo’s pace and felt apprehensive about this. I pushed myself hard to keep up with them and the more I pushed the worse I felt and noted that I was drenched in perspiration. Madhatter and Boo were kind and stopped to wait for me on more than several occasions. At about 2.4 miles, after the crossing, we came upon a large eretic and here we stopped for a bit and Madhatter warned us that from that point on the trail would start to ascend at a steeper grade. Still feeling the severe affects of the humidity, I cringed. If it weren’t because we were on a mission and thus had a schedule to keep which included having Old Glory flying on the summit by 12 Noon, I wouldn’t have worried too much but as we did have this schedule, I felt guilty that I might be too slow especially on this significant occasion. So I voiced my concerns to Madhatter and Boo. You see, while they were each carrying a 5ft PVC pipe and other flags parts, I carried the actual flag, so I needed to be there along with them every step of the way! Madhatter reasoned that when we reached the next junction with the Rollins trail that then we could reassess the situation. So it was! At that section which was only .9 miles from the summit, I informed them that I would be taking a necessary food/rest break and that they should continue on without me to fulfill the ever important mission by the prescribed hour!! Such good companions they were and though heavily perspiring themselves, nothing could take their smiles and excitement away as I proudly passed along the flag (cloth piece) to Boo. They pressed on but not before giving me precise instructions on how to summit as the next nearby trail junction offered various options including heading on an “East Loop” and I was not to do so but instead continue on the Dicey’s Mill Trail.
After they departed, I felt reassured that all would work out for the best and I sat and nibbled on various foods and drank and rested a bit. Consequently I started to feel much better!!
After a 20-minute break, I glanced at my watch and saw that it was 11:10am and figured that if I could hike that last .9 mile prior to Noon, then I too could be in compliance with the Noon deadline. Actually, if I could summit by Noon, I would also complete the ascent under the 3:45 hour book time!! Woo hoo!! I had a couple of incentives to keep me motivated and so feeling much better, I dashed off! I believe I enjoyed this last .9 miles the best as at this point in time, due to the higher elevation, a wonderful breeze was blowing and offset the oppressive humidity considerably. At .5 miles to the summit, the trail steepens and I ambled up slowly wishing at times that I had longer legs (my new pet peeve). Again, despite the steepness, as I felt so much better, I really enjoyed this section. The woods were so very quiet and very beautiful. The last 10 minutes or so prior to summiting were somewhat anxious ones as I scurried as fast as I could to make the Noon deadline!! I could feel my sweat glands perspire once again but this time, it wasn’t an annoying feeling but more of an adrenaline rush!! As I approached the summit, I noticed clothes, socks laying around and I knew that my companions had made it and in a few steps, I walked up and saw our handsome flag, standing upright and strong while Madhatter and Boo beamed with satisfaction! I glanced at my watch and noted, 11:59am!! One whole minute before Noon!! Woo hoo!! This was surely a great day to behold for many reasons!! We then proceeded to photograph Old Glory with our respective cameras to include taking a few of us along with the flag! As Mtnmama would have said at this point, “God bless America!” (Later that eve, I’d hear her say this a few times).
During the period that we were at the summit, in roughly two hours, we saw folks come and go and I got to photograph a few people that visited with us and joined us in paying respect to the memory of the victims of 9/11. Most appeared to be very happy to be there with us and appeared warmed by the concept of this event.
Also, during this 2-hour period, we shared with folks cookies and brownies, compliments of Boo and had occasion to visit a few nearby outlooks. Unfortunately, the weather was such that haze obstructed our getting clear views of even the nearby peaks and despite using binoculars, we could not make out any other flag displays. Still, we knew in our hearts that they were out there flying just as proudly as ours was on Mt. Passaconaway!!
Our descent was uneventful and for variety’s sake, Madhatter suggested we return via the Walden and East Loop Trails. It’s noteworthy to mention that the Walden Trail, at least the higher section that we traversed on, had a number of ledges that afforded us additional views, though still pretty hazy ones at best. We made very good time descending in just slightly over two hours.
Later that evening, I continued on to the Woodstock KOA campground for the post FOT48 event festivities while Madhatter and Boo headed home to another engagement. I think I speak for the three of us when I say that we had a very gratifying experience during this FOT48 hike on Mt. Passaconaway!!
Please see my pictures link below to include a very interesting testament of what the wind is capable of at higher elevations (see the last picture of Silentcal who summited Mt. Jefferson).
http://hikeramiga.phanfare.com/album/409186#imageID=26102813
Trails: Ascent: Dicey’s Mill; Descent: Walden, East Loop and Dicey’s Mill
Team Leader: Madhatter; Team Participants: Boo and HikerAmiga
Trailhead: Ferncroft Road, off of Route 113a in Wonalancet, New Hampshire
Weather: Warm at 80+F and very humid; intermittent clouds and sun; brief sprinkles once
Mileage: Approx. 9.4 miles roundtrip
I arrived at the trailhead at 7:15am making very good time and found the ride on routes 3, 113 and the winding rte. 113a very scenic dotted with many quaint, country homes and pretty bodies of water.
At the Ferncroft Road Trailhead, my first time there, I found it to be nearly half full already at this early hour with a couple of car loads getting ready for their hikes. I looked around and noted the absence of my hiking buddies so after a few minutes, I decided to phone them. I later received their voicemail explaining that they weren’t too far away. While I awaited their arrival, a few more cars arrived and one of these had a couple of guys who were exchanging metal pole pieces so I guessed correctly that these were the Mt. Whiteface folks and I greeted them. There was definitely excitement in their voices as we exchanged niceties on this warm morning.
At about 7:55am, I was happy to see Madhatter and Boo arrive, and after a brief introduction (as I did not know them prior to this day), they geared up and we were finally off at about 8:20am. We walked down the Ferncroft Road to the start of the trail all smiles and chatty. Speaking of chatting, I chatted with them as if I’d known all of my life. Boy, did we click! Such nice people and as we hiked on this marvelous occasion, we got to talk about everything under the sun, I believe! I had to admire their getups on this day as they each wore handsome matching flags bandanas on their heads with alternating white, red and blue shirts. At least I carried my small flag on my pack to show my patriotic spirit, coincidentally, the same one that I carried last year during my first FOT48 event on Jefferson!! So the tradition had continued from last year and I truly hope to consistently participate in future years.
The Dicey’s Mill trail that we ascended had moderate grades throughout with pretty good footing along a beautiful hardwood forest. Only during the last .5 miles does this trail get pretty steep. Also, the one significant water crossing early on that the AMC guide warns about was barely noticeable as Madhatter happily noted. The recent lack of rain had obviously dried it up considerably so that crossing was no issue at all. Aside from a very dry trail and sometimes a bit slippery due to the dry gravelly ground, I noticed multiple blow downs and good-sized ones too though none were too obtrusive. If anything, at each one, I felt like lying down and taking a nap! Seriously, I had only gotten 3 ½ hours of sleep the night prior and about an hour into our hike, the lack of sleep coupled with the high humidity of the day and a rushed early morning breakfast 4:15am made me feel extremely sluggish and tired. As a result, an hour into the hike, I started to fall behind Madhatter and Boo’s pace and felt apprehensive about this. I pushed myself hard to keep up with them and the more I pushed the worse I felt and noted that I was drenched in perspiration. Madhatter and Boo were kind and stopped to wait for me on more than several occasions. At about 2.4 miles, after the crossing, we came upon a large eretic and here we stopped for a bit and Madhatter warned us that from that point on the trail would start to ascend at a steeper grade. Still feeling the severe affects of the humidity, I cringed. If it weren’t because we were on a mission and thus had a schedule to keep which included having Old Glory flying on the summit by 12 Noon, I wouldn’t have worried too much but as we did have this schedule, I felt guilty that I might be too slow especially on this significant occasion. So I voiced my concerns to Madhatter and Boo. You see, while they were each carrying a 5ft PVC pipe and other flags parts, I carried the actual flag, so I needed to be there along with them every step of the way! Madhatter reasoned that when we reached the next junction with the Rollins trail that then we could reassess the situation. So it was! At that section which was only .9 miles from the summit, I informed them that I would be taking a necessary food/rest break and that they should continue on without me to fulfill the ever important mission by the prescribed hour!! Such good companions they were and though heavily perspiring themselves, nothing could take their smiles and excitement away as I proudly passed along the flag (cloth piece) to Boo. They pressed on but not before giving me precise instructions on how to summit as the next nearby trail junction offered various options including heading on an “East Loop” and I was not to do so but instead continue on the Dicey’s Mill Trail.
After they departed, I felt reassured that all would work out for the best and I sat and nibbled on various foods and drank and rested a bit. Consequently I started to feel much better!!
After a 20-minute break, I glanced at my watch and saw that it was 11:10am and figured that if I could hike that last .9 mile prior to Noon, then I too could be in compliance with the Noon deadline. Actually, if I could summit by Noon, I would also complete the ascent under the 3:45 hour book time!! Woo hoo!! I had a couple of incentives to keep me motivated and so feeling much better, I dashed off! I believe I enjoyed this last .9 miles the best as at this point in time, due to the higher elevation, a wonderful breeze was blowing and offset the oppressive humidity considerably. At .5 miles to the summit, the trail steepens and I ambled up slowly wishing at times that I had longer legs (my new pet peeve). Again, despite the steepness, as I felt so much better, I really enjoyed this section. The woods were so very quiet and very beautiful. The last 10 minutes or so prior to summiting were somewhat anxious ones as I scurried as fast as I could to make the Noon deadline!! I could feel my sweat glands perspire once again but this time, it wasn’t an annoying feeling but more of an adrenaline rush!! As I approached the summit, I noticed clothes, socks laying around and I knew that my companions had made it and in a few steps, I walked up and saw our handsome flag, standing upright and strong while Madhatter and Boo beamed with satisfaction! I glanced at my watch and noted, 11:59am!! One whole minute before Noon!! Woo hoo!! This was surely a great day to behold for many reasons!! We then proceeded to photograph Old Glory with our respective cameras to include taking a few of us along with the flag! As Mtnmama would have said at this point, “God bless America!” (Later that eve, I’d hear her say this a few times).
During the period that we were at the summit, in roughly two hours, we saw folks come and go and I got to photograph a few people that visited with us and joined us in paying respect to the memory of the victims of 9/11. Most appeared to be very happy to be there with us and appeared warmed by the concept of this event.
Also, during this 2-hour period, we shared with folks cookies and brownies, compliments of Boo and had occasion to visit a few nearby outlooks. Unfortunately, the weather was such that haze obstructed our getting clear views of even the nearby peaks and despite using binoculars, we could not make out any other flag displays. Still, we knew in our hearts that they were out there flying just as proudly as ours was on Mt. Passaconaway!!
Our descent was uneventful and for variety’s sake, Madhatter suggested we return via the Walden and East Loop Trails. It’s noteworthy to mention that the Walden Trail, at least the higher section that we traversed on, had a number of ledges that afforded us additional views, though still pretty hazy ones at best. We made very good time descending in just slightly over two hours.
Later that evening, I continued on to the Woodstock KOA campground for the post FOT48 event festivities while Madhatter and Boo headed home to another engagement. I think I speak for the three of us when I say that we had a very gratifying experience during this FOT48 hike on Mt. Passaconaway!!
Please see my pictures link below to include a very interesting testament of what the wind is capable of at higher elevations
(see the last picture of Silentcal who summited Mt. Jefferson). http://hikeramiga.phanfare.com/album/409186#imageID=26102813
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