 |
| A hazy morning view of Manchester from North Uncanoonuc |
This past Sunday I had the crazy (at least for me) idea of driving and hiking one mountain in the morning, going home, grabbing lunch, and then driving and hiking another one in the afternoon. So I did it. You only live once, and I am in New Hampshire. Live free or die, right?
The day started off with the shorter of the two trips, a quick 30 minute drive from Manchester to Goffstown to hike up the non-tower filled summit of the Uncanoonucs, North Uncanoonuc. I figured it would be a nice quick start to the day just to get the legs going. My dog and I set off from the parking area just across the street from the "Class 6 Trail." In the winter this trail is better known for snowmobiling, but on this cool August morning it was nice easy amble in the woods.
Once we got on the Red Dot Trail up to the summit, things got steep quickly. What started as an easy stroll soon turned into an full-on cardio workout. The Red Dot Trail was steep on a level that would put a few 4000-footer trails to shame. Talk about getting the lungs going! That trail would be a great one to train on to build up the stamina for the longer, steeper climbs the Whites have to offer. My dog and I were both panting once we reached the summit, still just a mere 22 minutes from the time we started.
The view I enjoyed the most was of the neighboring summit of South Uncanoonuc with its small community of communication towers and all of Manchester stretching out below it. We didn't linger long on the summit, and then took the wider and less steep Blue Trail back down to where it met the Class 6 Trail for our walk back to the car. In all, it was a 1.5 mi. hike we completed in just under an hour, a good start to our day of adventures. If you ever want to check out the trails on the Uncanoonucs, a great trail map can be found at goffstowntrails.com. For the afternoon, it was on to the Whites!
 |
| Panoramic view from Pemigewasset summit |
Mt. Pemigewasset was our destination for the afternoon, with my wife coming along to join me and our pup. We arrived at the Flume Visitor Center parking area around 2:30 to find it just as I figured it would be: crowded. With such a beautiful day it was too be expected. We were still lucky enough to find an actual parking spot and then set off up the bike path to the Mt. Pemigewasset Trail.
In terms of trail features, there's not much to write home about on this one. However, I do highly recommend this as a great moderate family hike. I think it's a great trail for getting your kids further into hiking if they've enjoyed some smaller, shorter trips to summits. The elevation gain is moderate and there is a large glacial erractic along the way as you near the top that is cool spot to talk about the history of how the Whites were carved into what we see today.
For how many people we passed on our way up, I was happy to see the summit wasn't too crowded when we got up there. We settled down on one of the smaller cliffs jutting off the main summit to enjoy the sprawling views to the South for a little while. The huge array of clouds above the mountains made for a fantastic view. Both times I've been up Mt. Pemigewasset I've loved it. It's a mountain I'm surprised I've only gone up twice, but I know there will be more trips in the future.
Our time breakdown from the hike is below:
- Start at Flume Visitor Center parking lot - 2:30 p.m.
- Mt. Pemigewasset Summit - 3:24 p.m. (54 min., 1.6 mi.)
- Left Summit - 4:15 p.m.
- Back at Car - 5:02 p.m. (47 min., 1.6 mi.)
No comments:
Post a Comment