WeRmudfun
New member
With the days getting shorter, we decided to take the pup up Mt Whiteface and Mt Passaconaway. Not that we don’t carry headlamps, but daylight is better. LOL We got to Ferncroft Parking area as the sun was raising, it was a great opening shot for the video. The forecast had called for temps in the mid 40’s at the base and 30 MPH winds at the summits with wind chills around 30 degrees. It never happened; we spent most of the day in just a long sleeve Techwick shirts.
We headed up the Blueberry Ledge Trail. It starts out rather mild, but the forest floor was covered with leaves that were still wet from the rains the day before, so we used caution. The trail wasn’t hard to follow, but we did have to help another hiker a couple of times who has lost the trail. The blazes could use a new coat of paint. The trail becomes interesting once you hit the upper ledges. I remember the first time we hiked Mt Whiteface; I got a little unnerved on those ledges. This time I was fine, but the pup was certainly out of her comfort zone. There are some very steep areas to conquer. Right after basically walking out onto the top of a cliff, you are faced with another challenge of scaling up a steep incline. The ledge has holes in it from where the steps used to be attached, that’s right USED to be! If you stick to the left you can work your way up, but the steps would have been a great help. Those first two areas are probably the worst of it, but there is a lot more climbing to do before you reach the top. The reward is there will be views that present themselves. Once on top there is the Louis Tainter Memorial, it looks like it has been moved. There is also the Elevation Marker, but it is wrong. From what I read it was put in before they realized the summit was actually .3 miles down the Rollins Trail. If you need Whiteface then you need to go down the Rollins Trail to the cairn on the right side. We ran into a couple hikers that hiked Whiteface last week then found out about the true summit and were back out to hike it again. If you do the Whireface/Passaconaway loop, don’t worry you’ll walk right by the cairn.
The Rollins Trail is pretty much uneventful; for the most part you are in the trees with limited views of the bowl. Conditions of the trail were standing water and muddy, some place it was unavoidable. We got to the trail junction with the Dicey’s Mill Trail and took a left heading up to Mt Passaconaway. It is just a short distance before hitting the junction with the Loop trail. The sign for the Loop Trail actually says Passaconaway Summit, so we took that the first time we hike these mountain. We learned from our last hike and stayed on the Dicey’s Mill Trail which just says Passaconaway Mountain. This trail is no picnic either, but it was better than what we remembered on the Loop Trail. There are some good UP’s before the summit and a lot of water on the trail. Just when you think you are there the trail turns and goes up again. You will finally come to the Mount Passaconaway sign with an arrow pointing to a trail on the right and next you know you’re there. There is just a little cairn marking the spot within the trees. By this time we were tired and hungry, so we stopped for lunch.
We took the Dicey’s Mill Trail all the way back down to the private residence. I had shut the GPS off, so I don’t have the exact point, but coming down the trail there is a large birch tree lying across a stream, use it to cross over. I’m only mentioning this because the trail is a little difficult to follow due to the faded blazes and the leaves covering everything. We were glad to finish with daylight left, because it might have been a challenger to stay on the trail in the dark with headlamps.
We posted the video if anyone is interested in seeing the hike or trail conditions, just click the link…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXOqQd849Nw&feature=c4-overview&list=UUvonD5mWIH03yQY3eosLwcQ
We headed up the Blueberry Ledge Trail. It starts out rather mild, but the forest floor was covered with leaves that were still wet from the rains the day before, so we used caution. The trail wasn’t hard to follow, but we did have to help another hiker a couple of times who has lost the trail. The blazes could use a new coat of paint. The trail becomes interesting once you hit the upper ledges. I remember the first time we hiked Mt Whiteface; I got a little unnerved on those ledges. This time I was fine, but the pup was certainly out of her comfort zone. There are some very steep areas to conquer. Right after basically walking out onto the top of a cliff, you are faced with another challenge of scaling up a steep incline. The ledge has holes in it from where the steps used to be attached, that’s right USED to be! If you stick to the left you can work your way up, but the steps would have been a great help. Those first two areas are probably the worst of it, but there is a lot more climbing to do before you reach the top. The reward is there will be views that present themselves. Once on top there is the Louis Tainter Memorial, it looks like it has been moved. There is also the Elevation Marker, but it is wrong. From what I read it was put in before they realized the summit was actually .3 miles down the Rollins Trail. If you need Whiteface then you need to go down the Rollins Trail to the cairn on the right side. We ran into a couple hikers that hiked Whiteface last week then found out about the true summit and were back out to hike it again. If you do the Whireface/Passaconaway loop, don’t worry you’ll walk right by the cairn.
The Rollins Trail is pretty much uneventful; for the most part you are in the trees with limited views of the bowl. Conditions of the trail were standing water and muddy, some place it was unavoidable. We got to the trail junction with the Dicey’s Mill Trail and took a left heading up to Mt Passaconaway. It is just a short distance before hitting the junction with the Loop trail. The sign for the Loop Trail actually says Passaconaway Summit, so we took that the first time we hike these mountain. We learned from our last hike and stayed on the Dicey’s Mill Trail which just says Passaconaway Mountain. This trail is no picnic either, but it was better than what we remembered on the Loop Trail. There are some good UP’s before the summit and a lot of water on the trail. Just when you think you are there the trail turns and goes up again. You will finally come to the Mount Passaconaway sign with an arrow pointing to a trail on the right and next you know you’re there. There is just a little cairn marking the spot within the trees. By this time we were tired and hungry, so we stopped for lunch.
We took the Dicey’s Mill Trail all the way back down to the private residence. I had shut the GPS off, so I don’t have the exact point, but coming down the trail there is a large birch tree lying across a stream, use it to cross over. I’m only mentioning this because the trail is a little difficult to follow due to the faded blazes and the leaves covering everything. We were glad to finish with daylight left, because it might have been a challenger to stay on the trail in the dark with headlamps.
We posted the video if anyone is interested in seeing the hike or trail conditions, just click the link…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXOqQd849Nw&feature=c4-overview&list=UUvonD5mWIH03yQY3eosLwcQ
