A Taxing Day in the Ossipees

Hello from the Summit of Big Ball Mountain

Today's hike was a bit on the rough side. It was one of those rare days when I was actually happy to say goodbye to the trails and call this trek a one and done. The trek up to Big Ball & Black Snout (and what should have continued on to Mt. Shaw) started with promise and vigor, but was quickly compressed to a two summit hike with steep climbs, faded trails, and overgrown shrubs knocking down my initial gusto.

My dog and I ventured up to the Ossipee Mountains this morning to take in some views over Lake Winnipesaukee. We'd only been up there once before to hike Mt. Roberts late in the season last fall. I knew going in that our route was a bit on the lesser-used side and a bit steep, but figured our usual stamina would pull us through.

Things started off fine from the Fields Brook parking area. From what I read online, it told me to look out for the parking area right after I got over the bridge that passed over Fields Brook. That was no lie, as it was literally right on my left hand side coming south down NH-171 the second the bridge ended! From the parking area, the "trail" was more so the main logging road leading into the woods until 0.4 miles in where the first blazes came into view. At this junction, Fields Brook was on our left, the Mt. Shaw Trail in the middle (blazed red), and the Tate Mountain Trail was on our right (blazed green/red/green). We chose the lesser used route and started up the Tate Mountain Trail. It started much the same as the logging/ATV road we left. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that even though I had read this trail got much less use, it was actually well blazed, especially at a every major intersection where it was apparent a wrong turn would have sent us down a very wrong path.

The Interesting Green/Red/Green Blaze of the Tate Mountain Trail

There was a well marked diversion off the wide ATV/logging road marked by two small cairns and a blazed log that took us onto what I had expected the Tate Mountain trail to be: single-tracked and overgrown in places. Up to the junction with the Banana Trail and the summit of Big Ball Mountain, the overgrowth was actually sparse, but the climb was unrelenting and got me and my pup's blood pumping early.

The view from the summit of Big Ball Mountain was the highlight of the trip. Lake Winnipesaukee stretched out before us, with the ski trails on Gunstock clearly evident amidst the rest of the Belknap Range all set against a wonderful backdrop of rich blue sky and clouds galore. If I had this hike to do over, knowing how the rest of it went, we would have turned around here, as this view wasn't topped the rest of the way. Ah, hindsight. How you elude us until the time has come and gone...

View of Lake Winnipesaukee and the Belknap Range from Big Ball Mountain summit

From Big Ball my pup and I soldiered on, quickly coming to a wonderful view of Black Snout framed by the trees around us and the clouds above us. The drop off the Big Ball summit and continuing on the Banana Trail was like a drop into a jungle of deep overgrowth with the trail getting a bit obscure in spots. For most of the trek up to Black Snout, the Banana Trail was a very thin single track, with overgrowth smacking me everywhere from my ankles to my face. The trail blazes were faded in spots, making for some tough route finding, and after navigating around a fallen tree to rejoin the trail, the climb was on a level that surpassed some of the 4000 footers I've hiked. The final ascent to Black Snout was the most overgrown section of trail, with thick grasses and shrubs obscuring the entire ground beneath us. I surprised after trekking up this last push to only find three ticks on my dog when we got home.

The Most Enjoyable Part of the Trek to Black Snout: The View From Afar

The view from Black Snout was nothing to write home about. Although higher up than Big Ball, it was a little obscured by some of the trees in the immediate area. Looking at my dogs panting face hiding in whatever shade he could find, I knew we were going to skip Mt. Shaw to go ahead and start walking back down. We took the Mt. Shaw Trail back down, and were met with a steep, slippery descent that was the demise of my trekking poles. My pup appreciated crossing Fields Brook several times on the way down, but the extremely uneven footing (even by New Hampshire standards) made it a rough, wobbly walk down for both of us.

As I said before, if I had it to do over, I would have taken the Big Ball summit view as a win and turned around. However, not every hike is a perfect day. You live and learn.

Here are the time breakdowns from the hike:

• Start at Fields Brook parking area - 9:30 a.m.
• Junction with the Tate Mountain Trail - 9:39 a.m. (9 min., 0.4 mi.)
• Junction with the Banana Trail - 10:25 a.m. (46 min., 1.2 mi.)
• First summit on Big Ball Mountain - 10:30 a.m.
• Second summit on Big Ball Mountain - 10:50 a.m.
• Left Big Ball Mountain summit - 11:05 a.m.
• Black Snout summit - 11:55 a.m. (50 min., 1.3 mi.)
• Left Black Snout summit - 12:10 p.m.
• Junction with the Mount Shaw Trail - 12:25 p.m. (15 min., 0.4 mi.)
• Return to junction with Tate Mountain Trail - 1:24 p.m. (59 min., 2 mi.)
• Back at Fields Brook parking area - 1:33 p.m. (9 min., 0.4 mi.)

A useful online map for planning hikes in the Ossipee Range can be found here.