Over Memorial Day Weekend I car camped in central New Hampshire and took day hikes over three peaks I needed for the New England Fifty Finest list.
Saturday 23 May: Cardigan (and Firescrew)
After only getting a little lost I found the AMC Cardigan Lodge and started up the mountain. The first part is fairly gentle as the trail splits a couple times. I went left onto Holt Trail and had intended to go left again onto Clark Trail, but when I got to the intersection I saw a sign saying that Holt Trail was one of the most difficult in New England, so I continued on that. I'm glad I did. It wasn't spectacularly difficult, but it had some rock scrambling and ledges and views.
The summit area of Cardigan, which is above the treeline, was very windy. I had to worry about my hat blowing off. It was also chilly enough to put on my jacket. The sky was clear, though, and there were views all around. The only other people there were a family of four and the curmudgeonly tower keeper. After hanging around for a while, I looked for Mowgli's Trail. I didn't see its start, but I saw some cairns in that direction and while walking the ledges towards them came across some blazes. This trail leads through a wooded col to Firescrew, which is mostly exposed rock. I met a large group there, and several more on the way down Manning Trail, and when I could see Cardigan from Manning Trail it was crawling with people, so it seems I just beat the crowds. I took Manning Trail down from Firescrew to the lodge. As soon as I dropped back below the treeline I took off my jacket.
It was a very nice hike on a very nice day.
Sunday 24 May: Smarts
For Smarts I went up the Appalachian Trail and down the Smarts Mountain Ranger Trail. (Note: The ATC map makes it seem that the Ranger Trail splits off of the AT a little ways after the trailhead. In actuality, it starts right at the trailhead, from the opposite side of the parking area.)
When I arrived at the trailhead I realized I was starting right where I'd stopped the last time I'd hiked on the AT in the Hanover area, a year and a half ago. The AT up to Smarts goes up to and along Lambert Ridge, where there's some ledges and views. It gets fairly steep after it starts climbing after the ridge, past the other intersection with the Range Trail, and up to the tentsite. Soon after that there's the summit, with a fire tower. Unfortunately, the tower was closed for repairs. I spent much of my time there with a New Hampshire woman named Michelle whom I'd met at the trailhead. While we were there several southbound hikers showed up.
After a while Michelle and I headed back down to the trailhead, but split at the Ranger Trail intersection, as she was continuing down the AT and I wanted to check out the Ranger Trail. Unfortunately, because of this I missed meeting three friends of mine from the Conn. Section of the GMC who were headed up the AT at that time. They had recognized my car at the trailhead and were hoping to see me, but we passed each other on parallel trails. I found about this after I got home.
The Ranger Trail goes down quickly and then starts following a brook. At one point it passes a big shed, and after that is a wide easy trail. I met a few people on this trail, including a guy who thought he was still on the AT.
Monday 25 May: Belknap (and Gunstock)
The road to the Belknap trailhead is an adventure in itself. It's a steep winding dirt road, which deposits you less than a mile from, and about 800 feet below, the summit. I got to the summit in little time, and climbed the fire tower to just below the cabin for the views. It was a little hazy that day compared to the other days, but I could still see a lot, most notably Lake Winnipesaukee.
Since it was such a short hike up I decided to explore the area a bit. The Belknap Range has a web of trails covering it, but they're all (as far as I saw) well blazed and well marked. (Although some of them are blazed green, which is not a good color for blazing a forest trail.)
First I went over to Gunstock Mountain, which is at the top of a ski resort. There were several buildings there (including an unlocked bathroom), and a top of a ski lift building. While I was eating lunch on the porch of a closed up restaurant, the ski lift started operating. This was a mystery to me until a maintenance worker arrived on one of the lift chairs.
After Gunstock I went back to Belknap and returned to my car the long way, down the Boulder (blue) Trail to the Round Pond / Piper Link (green) Trail. The Boulder Trail goes down quite a ways, sometimes very steeply, but there are a lot of ledges from which you can see Lake W. and the eastern peaks of the range. After it hits the green trail (a couple of hundred feet lower than my car) it's mostly an easy walk around the mountain. At the end it rises steeply for a short bit, and then there's a brief time on the orange trail until going down on the white trail (which was a surprise to me due to misreading the contours on the map) to the road. On the road (which is technically still part of the white trail) it's a short climb to the parking area.
There's a lot more to the Belknap area than what I explored, and it seems to be all very well maintained and marked. I don't know if I'll ever be back, but if for some reason I find myself in that part of New Hampshire I'd be happy to check out more of it.
Almost There
These three peaks (Cardigan, Smarts, and Belknap) were numbers 44-46 for me in the New England Fifty Finest list. This closes out the State of New Hampshire. I have three left in Maine and one in Vermont.
Here are the pictures for Saturday (Cardigan).
Here are the pictures for Sunday (Smarts).
Here are the pictures for Monday (Belknap).
--
Cumulus
NE111 in my 50s: 115/115 (67/67, 46/46, 2/2)
NE111 in my 60s: 13/115 (11/67, 2/46, 0/2)
NEFF: 46/50; Cat35: 35/39; WNH4K: 36/48; NEHH 81/100
LT NB 2009
"I don't much care where [I get to] --" said Alice, "-- so long as I get somewhere," ...
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
- Lewis Carroll
Saturday 23 May: Cardigan (and Firescrew)
After only getting a little lost I found the AMC Cardigan Lodge and started up the mountain. The first part is fairly gentle as the trail splits a couple times. I went left onto Holt Trail and had intended to go left again onto Clark Trail, but when I got to the intersection I saw a sign saying that Holt Trail was one of the most difficult in New England, so I continued on that. I'm glad I did. It wasn't spectacularly difficult, but it had some rock scrambling and ledges and views.
The summit area of Cardigan, which is above the treeline, was very windy. I had to worry about my hat blowing off. It was also chilly enough to put on my jacket. The sky was clear, though, and there were views all around. The only other people there were a family of four and the curmudgeonly tower keeper. After hanging around for a while, I looked for Mowgli's Trail. I didn't see its start, but I saw some cairns in that direction and while walking the ledges towards them came across some blazes. This trail leads through a wooded col to Firescrew, which is mostly exposed rock. I met a large group there, and several more on the way down Manning Trail, and when I could see Cardigan from Manning Trail it was crawling with people, so it seems I just beat the crowds. I took Manning Trail down from Firescrew to the lodge. As soon as I dropped back below the treeline I took off my jacket.
It was a very nice hike on a very nice day.
Sunday 24 May: Smarts
For Smarts I went up the Appalachian Trail and down the Smarts Mountain Ranger Trail. (Note: The ATC map makes it seem that the Ranger Trail splits off of the AT a little ways after the trailhead. In actuality, it starts right at the trailhead, from the opposite side of the parking area.)
When I arrived at the trailhead I realized I was starting right where I'd stopped the last time I'd hiked on the AT in the Hanover area, a year and a half ago. The AT up to Smarts goes up to and along Lambert Ridge, where there's some ledges and views. It gets fairly steep after it starts climbing after the ridge, past the other intersection with the Range Trail, and up to the tentsite. Soon after that there's the summit, with a fire tower. Unfortunately, the tower was closed for repairs. I spent much of my time there with a New Hampshire woman named Michelle whom I'd met at the trailhead. While we were there several southbound hikers showed up.
After a while Michelle and I headed back down to the trailhead, but split at the Ranger Trail intersection, as she was continuing down the AT and I wanted to check out the Ranger Trail. Unfortunately, because of this I missed meeting three friends of mine from the Conn. Section of the GMC who were headed up the AT at that time. They had recognized my car at the trailhead and were hoping to see me, but we passed each other on parallel trails. I found about this after I got home.
The Ranger Trail goes down quickly and then starts following a brook. At one point it passes a big shed, and after that is a wide easy trail. I met a few people on this trail, including a guy who thought he was still on the AT.
Monday 25 May: Belknap (and Gunstock)
The road to the Belknap trailhead is an adventure in itself. It's a steep winding dirt road, which deposits you less than a mile from, and about 800 feet below, the summit. I got to the summit in little time, and climbed the fire tower to just below the cabin for the views. It was a little hazy that day compared to the other days, but I could still see a lot, most notably Lake Winnipesaukee.
Since it was such a short hike up I decided to explore the area a bit. The Belknap Range has a web of trails covering it, but they're all (as far as I saw) well blazed and well marked. (Although some of them are blazed green, which is not a good color for blazing a forest trail.)
First I went over to Gunstock Mountain, which is at the top of a ski resort. There were several buildings there (including an unlocked bathroom), and a top of a ski lift building. While I was eating lunch on the porch of a closed up restaurant, the ski lift started operating. This was a mystery to me until a maintenance worker arrived on one of the lift chairs.
After Gunstock I went back to Belknap and returned to my car the long way, down the Boulder (blue) Trail to the Round Pond / Piper Link (green) Trail. The Boulder Trail goes down quite a ways, sometimes very steeply, but there are a lot of ledges from which you can see Lake W. and the eastern peaks of the range. After it hits the green trail (a couple of hundred feet lower than my car) it's mostly an easy walk around the mountain. At the end it rises steeply for a short bit, and then there's a brief time on the orange trail until going down on the white trail (which was a surprise to me due to misreading the contours on the map) to the road. On the road (which is technically still part of the white trail) it's a short climb to the parking area.
There's a lot more to the Belknap area than what I explored, and it seems to be all very well maintained and marked. I don't know if I'll ever be back, but if for some reason I find myself in that part of New Hampshire I'd be happy to check out more of it.
Almost There
These three peaks (Cardigan, Smarts, and Belknap) were numbers 44-46 for me in the New England Fifty Finest list. This closes out the State of New Hampshire. I have three left in Maine and one in Vermont.
Here are the pictures for Saturday (Cardigan).
Here are the pictures for Sunday (Smarts).
Here are the pictures for Monday (Belknap).
--
Cumulus
NE111 in my 50s: 115/115 (67/67, 46/46, 2/2)
NE111 in my 60s: 13/115 (11/67, 2/46, 0/2)
NEFF: 46/50; Cat35: 35/39; WNH4K: 36/48; NEHH 81/100
LT NB 2009
"I don't much care where [I get to] --" said Alice, "-- so long as I get somewhere," ...
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
- Lewis Carroll
