Passaconaway & Whiteface on 06/11/05

[MadRiver]

Quick question oh knowledgeable ones: I’m doing Passaconaway and Whiteface from Ferncroft on Saturday with a friend who needs them for his 48. Which direction is preferred, Whiteface to Passaconaway (clockwise) or the reverse? I did them separately, so I am not sure of the advantage of either way.

 

[Camper58]

MadRiver,

I believe the standard route is Whiteface first, then Rollins trail over to Dicey's Mill trail, etc, etc. The reason I assume is that it's better to ascend the ledges on Whiteface rather than descend. I did this hike a month or so ago and except for one really steep ledge, the rest were merely 50 yd long sloping rocks. I'm sure the loop can be done either way.
BTW, the Fercroft area is absolutely picturesque, have a great time!

 

[sapblatt]

Mad River -

Camper 58 has it right...I did this in April and if anything is wet or if you are tired you will be glad to have gone up the Blueberry Ledge Trail early in the day and not descending it later in the day. I did it with snow and ice and I have heard that it is pretty clear now. There is probably snow on the Rollins Trail but it will be nothing to be concerned about. The true summit of Whiteface is on the Rollins Trail after the Kate Sleeper Junction...before it begins descending. The veiws from the South Summit are incredible. dicey's Mill is a pretty easy going way to end the day on the way out.

Have a great time.

 

[Sticks]

Madriver,

I did this loop on Saturday 6-4. Went up Blueberry Ledge trail to Whiteface from there Rollins trail to junction of Dicey Mill to Passaconaway.
Trail is in good shape most of the way with several blow downs after Whiteface on toward Passaconaway.
I have never gone down (only up) the ledges on Whiteface but would imange they could be tricky especially when wet. Dicey Mill trail had some running water but not a big deal. Still had a few patches on snow and ice not a problem though.
From Ferncroft parking up Blueberry Ledge to Whiteface to Rollins to Dicey Mill to Pasaconaway back down rt 6 1/2 hours. Great hike with Awesome views.
Best wishes for your friends 48

Happy Trails

Sticks

 

[forty8]

Clockwise, definately.

 

[SteveHiker]

I'm the idiot that usually does things backwards. And I did this one backwards. Coming down Blueberry Ledge isn't that bad, but I wouldn't want to do it in the rain or if it was still icy.

I guess, I'm also the idiot that doesn't pay attention. When I met you guys on Webster recently, I thought you said you were doing this on the 10th, not the 11th. If I'd known I might not have made other plans. Ferncroft is one of my favorite areas.

 

[MadRiver]

Sorry for the confusion SteveHiker. I was originally planning on hiking the 10th, but change the date due to the weather forecast. As it turned out, Friday would have been a better day since we were hit with two different storm cells during our hike.

 

[Orphic Seth]

The true summit of Whiteface is on the Rollins Trail after the Kate Sleeper Junction...before it begins descending.

Hahaha, this is why I have to go back to Whiteface, man did I feel like an idiot when I got back to the car and re-read the description in the guide. However, as mentioned, man, Ferncroft is beautiful, Wonalancet, while small, is a great little mountain.

 

[MadRiver]

The true summit of Whiteface is on the Rollins Trail after the Kate Sleeper Junction...before it begins descending. The veiws from the South Summit are incredible. dicey's Mill is a pretty easy going way to end the day on the way out.

We never did "find" the actual summit, so we ended up hiking the entire Rollins Trail to the junction with Dicey's Mill Trail to make certain we crossed the summit. Besides, after the two rain storms, I wasn't all that keen on descending the Blueberry Ledges. It turned out to be a good day, albeit hot and wet.

p.s. A small cairn at the true summit wouldn't hurt!

 

[dms]

There used to be, about 20 years ago, a small sign on a tree, just as the trail turns to the right and descends toward the junction with the Sleeper Trail.