Smart's Brook trail is probably the least used trail up Sandwich Dome, which I think is a pity. In spite of a boring section low down, it has a lot to recommend it!
I hiked up it today, starting a bit after 9 AM. Fall is approaching; the temperature at the trailhead was 43 degrees! I was wearing a long sleeved polypro top and shorts and started out a bit chilly (but not enough to pull out my fleece).
The old logging road that the trail used to follow has been used recently (2 or 3 years ago I think) and looks it: wide, driveable and almost no growth in the road. This lasts about 1.5 miles, ending in a large clearing. Beyond that clearing it is a real trail, though for the next half mile or so (almost up to the Wilderness boundry) there are many cut areas.
For roughly the first 4 miles the trail follows Smarts Brook fairly closely, the WMG writes "The valley is wild and pleasant, and the trail is relatively easy". The footing is excellent most of the way.
After crossing Smart's Brook (about 3.7 miles from trailhead) the trail goes through an area with huge boulders, and the footing becomes more rocky. It then leaves the valley for the ridge. Most of the trail going to the ridge is a wide switchback with easy grades, but the first and last 100 vertical feet go straight up the fall line, the only two steep sections on the whole trip.
I met one hiker coming down (one more than I usually meet on that trail!!), he had parked his car at the Smart's Brook trailhead and had been dropped at the traditional Sandwich Mountain trailhead.
The section of the Sandwich Mountain Trail along the ridge is a bit rockier than Smart's Brook Trail, but still has very reasonable footing. I reached the summit in time for an early lunch on a gorgeous (almost) fall day.
Since I felt that I still had some fitness in me I only had half of my lunch, saving the second sanwich for Jenning's Peak. By the time I got there the sun was quite warm, and I had a very enjoyable second lunch on the summit ledge.
The trip down was easy, as the combination of moderate grades and good footing makes descent a pleasure! But the last 1.5 miles on the logging road were a drag, even Audrey would not enjoy it on skis (too flat, you have to work going "downhill").
I hiked up it today, starting a bit after 9 AM. Fall is approaching; the temperature at the trailhead was 43 degrees! I was wearing a long sleeved polypro top and shorts and started out a bit chilly (but not enough to pull out my fleece).
The old logging road that the trail used to follow has been used recently (2 or 3 years ago I think) and looks it: wide, driveable and almost no growth in the road. This lasts about 1.5 miles, ending in a large clearing. Beyond that clearing it is a real trail, though for the next half mile or so (almost up to the Wilderness boundry) there are many cut areas.
For roughly the first 4 miles the trail follows Smarts Brook fairly closely, the WMG writes "The valley is wild and pleasant, and the trail is relatively easy". The footing is excellent most of the way.
After crossing Smart's Brook (about 3.7 miles from trailhead) the trail goes through an area with huge boulders, and the footing becomes more rocky. It then leaves the valley for the ridge. Most of the trail going to the ridge is a wide switchback with easy grades, but the first and last 100 vertical feet go straight up the fall line, the only two steep sections on the whole trip.
I met one hiker coming down (one more than I usually meet on that trail!!), he had parked his car at the Smart's Brook trailhead and had been dropped at the traditional Sandwich Mountain trailhead.
The section of the Sandwich Mountain Trail along the ridge is a bit rockier than Smart's Brook Trail, but still has very reasonable footing. I reached the summit in time for an early lunch on a gorgeous (almost) fall day.
Since I felt that I still had some fitness in me I only had half of my lunch, saving the second sanwich for Jenning's Peak. By the time I got there the sun was quite warm, and I had a very enjoyable second lunch on the summit ledge.
The trip down was easy, as the combination of moderate grades and good footing makes descent a pleasure! But the last 1.5 miles on the logging road were a drag, even Audrey would not enjoy it on skis (too flat, you have to work going "downhill").
