(Almost) Halfway Through the NH48: The Kinsmans

View of the day: Franconia Ridge from North Kinsman lookout

The day started out as many early departures to the Whites do. The clouds above were showing the last warm hues of the sunrise. The first rays of sunlight were just hitting the tips of the trees as I merged onto I-93N headed for the mountains. The interstate, which was bustling with end-of-the-work-week traffic the night before, was now sparsely dotted here and there by a few other cars along the way, an early precursor to the solitude I looked forward to on the trail up to my next two 4000-footers (#'s 22 and 23 overall for me): North and South Kinsman.

For this hike, I chose to take what is described as the "scenic" route by many up to the Kinsmans, the oh-so-well-named Kinsman Mountain Trail off of NH-116 in Easton. Heading south on NH-116, the parking area can be easily missed, but the best way to know you're there is when you pass the Tamarack Tennis Camp. The parking area is almost immediately on your left after you pass a very small pond, also on your left, at the camp. A short gravel road led into a much larger parking area than I expected, with easily enough room for about 10 cars at the main area, and probably 15-20 overall including the edges of the gravel road.

For being the lesser-used route to the summit, I was surprised there were already 7-8 cars in the lot when I arrived. This had me worried that my hike up wouldn't be as singular as I had hoped, but in the entire 3.7 miles up to the ridge I only passed one small group of hikers the whole time.

Old sugar house about 0.6 mi. in on the Kinsman Mountain Trail

Roughly the first 1.5 miles climbed at a easy to moderate grade, starting off as an unjulating trail in open forest that led to an easy, sometimes sandy woods road walk that passed a neat sugar house on my way to entering the bounds of the White Mountain National Forest at 1.1 mi. From there, it was off the woods road and onto the usual exposed roots and rocks of the White Mountains leading up to some beautiful brook crossings between 1.5 and 2.1 miles in.

A few small cascades from a brook crossing

After 1.5 miles the trail's pitch steepened, but nothing that had my legs screaming at me. Plus, crossing several brooks along the way made it an enjoyable climb. At 2.1 miles in I reached the junction with the short side trail to Bald Peak. It is well worth the extra 0.4-mile round-trip to get a good early visit on your way up to the ridge. It's also a good place to take a breath and get ready for the trek to get even steeper.

Nice view from Bald Peak

From the junction with the side trail to Bald Peak the Kinsman Mountain trail started on a flat grade that quickly progressed into what felt like a long trudge up to the ridge. It was in this 1.6 miles to the junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail that I could really feel the ascent working its dubious deeds on my legs. With it also being a particularly toasty day even in the mountains I had to take several more stops than usual to take a swing of water and catch a breath to keep going up.

Once at the ridge, just when I wanted the climb to level out, it got to a semi-crazy level of steep. The 0.4 miles to the summit of North Kinsman was a steeper-than-steep, "gauntlet of scrambles" as I wrote in my trail notepad. As I looked at each little section I climbed up, I had to chuckle and simply say "Well that'll be fun on the way down."

Panoramic standing views from South Kinsman

The lookout on North Kinsman was crowded when I first arrived, so I decided to head on, nab the South Kinsman summit, and hope for smaller crowds to take in the view on the way back. From the north to south summit it was a steep drop to a wooded col, followed by slow, steady, moderately difficult rocky climb to the south summit. I stayed there eat some lunch and take in the semi-awesome standing views, before I headed back to the North Kinsman lookout.

Hazy mountains fading into the horizon as seen from North Kinsman

The North Kinsman lookout had thinned out when I arrived back on the summit, so I sat down and took in the highlight of the day: the fantastic view of the Franconia Ridge and hazy blue mountains fading into the horizon. With only another couple with my there for a good while, I let the rolling clouds and jagged summits paint a wonderful backdrop for a peaceful rest. I was glad I was able to enjoy this view after a tough but enjoyable day of hiking. The climb was probably just on the difficult enough side that the Kinsmans will be a one-and-done set for me, but if so, I was treated to some beautiful views for the effort.

Below is the breakdown of my hike:

• Start at Kinsman Mountain Trailhead - 8:00 a.m.
• Entered White Mountain National Forest bounds - 8:35 a.m. (35 min., 1.1 mi.)
• Junction with Bald Peak side trail - 9:18 a.m. (43 min., 2.1 mi.)
• Bald Peak Summit - 9:24 a.m. (6 min., 2.3 mi.)
• Junction with Kinsman Ridge Trail - 10:38 a.m. (1 hr. 12 min., 4.1 mi.)
• North Kinsman summit - 11:00 a.m. (22 min., 4.5 mi.)
• South Kinsman summit - 11:35 a.m. (35 min., 5.4 mi.)

And the return route:

• Left South Kinsman summit - 11:59 a.m.
• North Kinsman lookout - 12:35 p.m. (36 min., 0.9 mi.)
• Left North Kinsman lookout - 12:57 p.m. 
• Junction with Mount Kinsman Trail - 1:12 p.m. (15 min., 1.3 mi.)
• Junction with Bald Peak side trail - 2:05 p.m. (53 min., 2.9 mi.)
• Left WMNF bounds - 2:57 p.m. (52 min., 3.9 mi.)
• Back at Kinsman Mountain Trailhead - 3:15 p.m. (18 min., 5.0 mi.)

Hedgehog Mountain Forest: A Gem in Western NH

Greetings from one of the lookouts along the Hedgehog Ridge Trail

I'm always happy to be surprised by a hike in a good way, and Hedgehog Mountain Forest achieved that for me this past weekend. With the NASCAR race going on up in Loudon, I knew I-93 would be a nightmare to navigate on Sunday, so I went searching online for somewhere to hike that I hadn't been to yet in western New Hampshire. In my looking around, I came upon the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests' website, which led me to searching around their reservation map and stumbling upon the Hedgehog Mountain Forest. Not to be confused with the much more famous Hedgehog Mountain off the Kancamagus Highway in the Whites, this small forest is located in Deering, NH about 50 min. - 1 hr. outside of Manchester. Once I saw that the trail up to the top led to a ridge with a couple viewpoints I was sold, and off my pup and I went.

The parking area (coordinates: 43°05'10.3"N 71°53'18.1"W) is located off a sometimes rough dirt road that is still passable for most cars up to it. There was space for about 5-6 cars, but we found it empty upon our Sunday afternoon arrival. From there, the path into the forest was well marked to get us onto the main trail. The entire trail up to and including the ridge was well-blazed and identified the whole way, except for a clear sign pointing us to the Hedgehog summit. We actually ended up missing it and just going straight onto the Hedgehog Ridge Trail when we reached the top.

Curvy creek bridge

The start of the hike was an easy, mostly dry amble in the forest past some stone walls and over a small creek with a wonderfully shaped bridge for us to tread across. From there the trail really picked up in rockiness and steepness, getting to a pretty good pitch at points. With it only being 0.8 miles to the ridge top, the roughly 400 feet of elevation gain was crammed into a short, sometimes rough ascent.

Peek-a-boo mountain views at the start of the ridge

As we started on the Hedgehog Ridge Trail (well marked with a large sign), we came upon what I thought were the first viewpoints shown on the map, but learned later just happened to be views at the start. If we had continued straight another hundred feet or so instead of turning left onto the ridge, we would have seen the viewpoints of the Hedgehog summit. Oh well, there's always another chance to hike it!

The ridge was not a smooth flat traverse. Instead it seemed to undulate up and over three "ridges" to get to our second and final view of the hike, dipping into shaded cols between steep rises back onto each successive ridge. However, after this slightly rough up and down, we were treated to a great view from the second lookout about 2.0 miles from the start of the hike. A small mountain chain and huge puffy clouds stretched out before to create a wonderful vista.

2nd Lookout Panorama

As I said at the start, I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty on this hike. The second lookout was also covered in blueberry bushes! Since it a such a lesser known area, you're sure to find some solitude here. My pup and I only saw 2 other people during our entire trek, and we didn't come upon them until we were almost back to our car. The SPNHF has a great trail map online that you can view here to plan your excursion. It's a nice trail with just enough of a challenge and great views mixed together to make for a solid hiking destination.

Five Miles to Amazing: Mt. Garfield

The panoramic majesty of the Garfield summit view

What a hike. I don't know if I can really say more, but I'll try...

The reward at the end of my 5-mile trek to the summit of Mt. Garfield still takes my breath away. The trail up to the summit was nothing too spectacular to write home about, but that summit view was something else. It was as if all of the White Mountain National Forest was sprawling out before me, and it basically was!

I brought my dog along for his 5th 4000-foot summit, and we started our journey at the most popular trailhead for Mt. Garfield, the aptly named Garfield Trail. It was a 4.8 mile hike up this trail to the final 0.2 miles on the Garfield Ridge Trail/Appalachian Trail for the quick, steep ascent to the summit.

From one of the beautiful brook crossings around 1 mile in on the Garfield Trail

The climb up the Garfield Trail is a slow, steady elevation gain that is much different from the treks I was used to up my previous 4000-footers. Never during the whole 4.8-mile trail did I feel I was really digging in and making a steep ascent. Most of the trail was just a steady pace through differing forests as the elevation got higher and higher. There were no real views along the way until some partial ones popped through the trees around 4 miles in. The most memorable part of the Garfield Trail were the lovely brook crossings around a mile in. In the span of 0.2 miles, we had 4 delightful water crossings, with the little cascades rushing by providing a wonderful soundtrack to the early portion of our hike.

The Garfield Ridge Trail: Where Things Got Steep

The toughest part of the hike was the final 0.2 miles to the summit on the Garfield Ridge Trail. As the books described, it was certainly a steep ascent, gaining nearly 400 ft. of elevation in that short distance. It made from some major strain on the knees up and down, and my dog having to make a few small jumps here and there that I'm sure didn't feel good on his knees either. However, as I described at the beginning, this momentary strain was worth the remarkable reward at the summit.

Owl's Head and the Franconia Ridge from just below the Garfield Summit

With Mt. Garfield being up in the northwest corner of the White Mountains, virtually all of the big mountains of New Hampshire sprawled out before us in a panorama that was tough to beat. I was blown away by how many ridges I could see and summits I could identify. I loved how the sprawling blue peaks fading into the distance reminded me of the Smokies from my time living in East Tennessee.

Smoky summit views

After this hike, I can't believe this mountain isn't mentioned more with the likes of hiking the Presidentials or the Franconia Ridge here in New Hampshire. Sure, it doesn't come with the epic ridge walks above treeline, but the view from the summit certainly rivals its bigger counterparts. Moreover, i's slow and easy elevation gain makes it the easiest 4000-footer I've tackled so far, and much easier than the Presidential or Franconia summits. As long as you're good with the long mileage, I highly recommend it as one the first 4000-footers to tackle when you want to start tackling all 48.

It was one heck of a bang-for-your-buck hike, and one I will definitely be going back to. My wife and I have already talked about returning in the fall if the weather is in our favor. Garfield, you won me over!

Here are the timing breakdowns from this hike:

• Start at trailhead for Garfield Trail - 8:26 a.m.
• Brook crossings along Garfield Trail - 8:52 a.m. (26 min., 1.0 mi.)
• Junction with Garfield Ridge Trail/AT - 10:58 a.m. (2 hr. 6 min., 3.8 mi.)
• Mt. Garfield Summit - 11:12 a.m. (14 min., 0.2 mi.)
• Left Garfield Summit - 11:58 a.m
• Junction with Garfield Trail - 12:06 a.m. (8 min., 0.2 mi.)
• Brook crossings along Garfield Trail - 1:55 p.m. (1 hr. 49 min., 3.8 mi.)
• Return to trailhead - 2:15 p.m. (20 min., 1.0 mi.)

Mt. Liberty (and Flume) for the 4th of July

A gorgeous view expanding behind me on Mt. Liberty's summit

Fitting, right? I'd been itching to hike my first 4000 footers of the summer and heck, why not Liberty on the 4th of July? The forecast called for mostly clear skies all the way to the top and perfect temps, so I set off to Franconia Notch to wrap up the last 2 peaks along the ridge I hadn't yet done from the ol' list.

Having had a nightmarish experience on the North Tripyramid Slide Trail last summer where I learned just how much I don't like the idea of slipping and careening to my doom, I stayed far away from the Flume Slide Trail on this trip, instead opting to take the Liberty Springs Trail up and back down. I arrived at the hiker parking area just north of the Flume Visitor Center around 7:30 a.m. and was quite shocked by how few cars were there. I guess more people chose staying home and grilling than setting out and grinding their legs up to the beauties of the White Mountains. In the end, I didn't hate the rare solitude all the way up and onto the ridge. I even got Flume to myself for a little bit!

Annnnnyway, the start on the Whitehouse Trail to the bike path and then onto the Liberty Springs Trail (part of the Appalachian Trail, always a bonus!) was an easy warmup with little elevation gain. The trail was still pretty soggy in a several spots from the weekends heavy rains, with the deep, dark, squishy mud resembling smashed chocolate cake in the middle of the trail.

Quite the nice entrance onto the Appalachian Trail

After meeting up with the bike path, it was quick walk to meet up with the Appalachian Trail. The bridge over the Pemigewasset River felt like a grand entrance onto a short section of one of America's most famous trails (so grand I had to stop and take that photo of it). I'm so used to just soldiering on deep in the woods that when I come upon a small moment like this, I like to pause and take it in for a second. Man made beauty fitting seamlessly into nature's beauty is a wonderful thing to see.

After joining up with the Liberty Spring Trail on the other side of the bridge, it started out with the same characteristics as the Whitehouse Trail: easy elevation gain and lots of mud to walk in and around. It wasn't until just after the major brook crossing (the brook was roaring from the rains, so the rock hop was slightly more precarious) that the trail really started to climb. What had started out as mud, mud, and more mud finally gave way to boulders, boulders, and believe me plenty more boulders. The ascent from that point up to the Franconia Ridge was steady, steep, and unforgiving. There were a couple very sparse flatter stretches to catch a break. However, having read up on the trail beforehand, I was prepared and quite frankly looking forward to the challenging climb. Telling myself that I wanted to round the next corner and see another giant rock staircase (which was usually the case) was motivation to just keep burning my quads to the top.

Major brook crossing

The usual view on the slightly steep ascent to the ridge

After finally passing the Liberty Spring Tentsite and getting up on the Franconia Ridge, I knew the views weren't far away. Once on the ridge, it was a quick 0.3 miles to get up to the summit of Liberty where I was met with the amazing 360-degree views of the White Mountains I had been hoping for. I would try and explain what it's like on top of the ridge lines in the mountains, but (prepare for the cliché) there simply aren't words for it. The feeling and the view up there is just something magical. Part looking down at what the heck you just climbed up to get there and part looking out at so many mountains all around you adds up to a special time on the ridge.

Random action shot just below the Liberty summit

Looking at Flume Mtn. from Liberty

From Liberty it was on to Mt. Flume, which lies 1.25 miles further down the Franconia Ridge. The drop off the back of Liberty's summit was the steepest part of the day, which made for a fun quick climb back up on my return trip. After dipping down into the col between the two, the climb up Flume was another steep climb, this time with smaller rocks on slick reddish dirt that resembled hiking up scree rock on a slide trail...minus the whole fearing for your life part.

Gorgeous view to the South and West from Flume

Flume had another great view, and brought me up to 20 out of the NH48, but Liberty took the cake for me on this trip. It was a summit I was sad to leave. Plus, the trek up the Liberty Spring Trail was an enjoyable challenge that made the reward of the views up top that much sweeter. Liberty Spring is a trail I definitely think I'll do again some day. I've now been up on the Franconia Ridge twice, and both times I've wished I could have stayed much longer than I did. Some of the best views in New Hampshire await up there, and I hope to get back soon.

Below are the time breakdowns from this amazing trip:

• Start at hiker parking area for Whitehouse Trail - 7:37 a.m.
• Junction with bike path - 7:57 a.m. (20 min., 0.6 mi.)
• Junction with Liberty Spring Trail/AT - 8:03 a.m. (5 min., 0.2 mi.)
• Junction with Flume Slide Trail - 8:22 a.m. (19 min., 0.6 mi.)
• Liberty Spring Tentsite - 9:46 a.m. (1 hr. 24 min., 2 mi.)
• Junction with Franconia Ridge Trail - 10:01 a.m. (15 min., 0.3 mi.)
• Mt. Liberty Summit - 10:15 a.m. (14 min., 0.3 mi.)

From Liberty to Flume and back:

• Left Liberty Summit - 10:38 a.m.
• Flume Summit - 11:19 a.m. (41 min., 1.25 mi.)
• Left Flume Summit - 11:46 a.m.
• Back at Liberty Summit - 12:28 p.m. (42 min., 1.25 mi.)
• Back down at hiker parking area - 2:44 p.m. (2 hr. 16 min., 3.7 mi.)

I used Steven Smith and Mike Dickerman's insanely thorough guidebook of the 4000 footers to help me plan this trip. You can get a copy for yourself and support the Appalachian Mountain Club by doing so here.

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.

Greetings from the Wapack Trail

Blue skies and beautiful views on the North Pack Monadnock Summit

My dog and I's hike up to the summit of North Pack Monadnock was a little spur of the moment, as I hadn't originally planned to hike today. However, my furry friend was bouncing off the walls on Saturday, itching to get outside, so I figured a quick hike this morning would be just the trick. We set off for this northern most peak along the Wapack Trail just about an hour west of Manchester.

Starting at the northern terminus of the Wapack Trail, this hike was a 3.2 mile round trip, gaining 950 feet of elevation on the way up. I was worried about how damp the trail would be after all the rain we got yesterday, but I was happy to see there were only a few minor muddy spots. None of the small stream crossings along the way were running swiftly either, so it ended up being a "hike as usual" kind of day.

One of the many yellow triangle blazes along the "pine needle soup" trail

The first half of the hike was a gradual climb that felt like a leisurely walk in the woods. For most of the time the trail looked like a pine needle soup with rocks and roots bubbling up to its reddish surface. Yesterday's rains made all of these little obstacles a smidge slicker than they would be usually, so I took a few slippery side steps here and there. With every little stumble my dog would stop and look back at me as if to ask "Can't you navigate this path? It isn't that hard!"

After about halfway a few steep pitches popped up that really got my legs burning. The slick, smooth rock surfaces on the climbs made the ascents slightly more challenging, but nothing crazy or particularly hard to maneuver. On one of the climbs I almost stepped on a small milk snake, who quickly coiled his head back at me when my lime green hiking shoes got a little too close for comfort. I was able to side step him while he froze long enough to grab the picture below.

Milk Snake Along the Climb

The final push up to the summit was reminiscent of the gradual climb at the start, but with smooth rock in place of the pine needles. The blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds created a wonderful backdrop as I took a gander at the nearby summits of South Pack Monadnock and mighty Mount Monadnock further away (see below). On top of the view, the breeze on the summit made two things my dog and I were happy to see disappear for a brief moment: the bugs and the humidity.

View of Mount Monadnock from North Pack Monadnock Summit

We couldn't have asked for a much better day on this short section of the Wapack Trail. I know this trail doesn't get as much credit as bigger traverses around the area, and that the Pack Monadnock summits don't get as much love as Mount Monadnock proper, but I love this stretch of hiking in the southern part of the Granite State. It's great if you still want to get some rock scrambles in like the summit of Mount Monadnock without the arduous climb, and if you're just looking into the idea of doing a traverse, there are several stretches along this 21-mile trail to get your feet wet (Well, hopefully not too wet. Aim for some dry days to start). The Wapack Trail can give you that Goldilocks level of adventure that's just right for your hiking style.

Here are the hiking time breakdowns from my trek today:

• Start at Wapack Trail northern terminus trailhead - 9:41 a.m.
• Summit of North Pack Monadnock - 10:38 a.m. (57 min., 1.6 mi.)
• Leave summit of North Pack - 11:00 a.m.
• Return to northern terminus trailhead - 11:40 a.m. (1 hr 59 min., 3.2 mi.)

If you'd like to learn more about the Wapack Trail, I highly recommend you check out the Friends of the Wapack Trail website.