Elevation: 3,392 ft. (overall) 3,572 ft. (total)
Time: 4:04 (Summit) 6:36 (Total)
Trails: Signal Ridge Trail
With WMNF roads expected to start closing for winter soon, I made sure to hike Mt. Carrigain while Sawyer River Road was still open. The road isn't a hard "hike" in or out, it's just unneeded extra time and distance when it can easily be avoided.
The trail from the start had just a dusting of snow on it. The rerouted start of the Signal Ridge Trail was still a bit soft in places, but now nicely avoids the river crossing. The trail stays gradual along an old rail bed for quite some time with only short ascents thrown in. It's actually a pretty nice walk in the woods to get you warmed up.
The last time I hiked here, the intersection with the Carrigain Notch Trail hadn't been relocated yet. It didn't seem to take long for me to get here. There is now a tree down across what was the Signal Ridge Trail to help discourage hikers from using it. Wanting to see the new reroute, I headed past the old section of trail. There is one brook crossing, but it was easily managed on exposed rocks. Soon I was at the new intersection.
Start of the trail reroute
The new section of trail feels like it wanders a bit through the woods before meeting up with the old trail. The GPS didn't really show this, but it certainly felt like it wasn't as direct as it could be. The route was easy to follow though and not difficult.
Heading up the trail further, you soon start the real climb of the day. The trail isn't steep by White Mountain standards, but the climb is steady and goes on for quite a while. There are a few switchbacks on the way up that help out the hikers. For a short distance before the limited viewpoint, the trail does level out some while following the side hill. But then it starts the climb again before getting into some smaller switchbacks shortly before coming up onto Signal Ridge. While there was snow on the ground today for the hike, microspikes were all that were needed to keep you from slipping.
The climb before Signal Ridge
Once you pop up onto the ridge, the summit is in sight and you can see how close you are now. I've only been here when there was snow on the ground, but Signal Ridge is a pretty cool place. There are great views, the summit is just ahead, and the terrain is quite interesting with the steep and open drop on your right. Even with that drop though, the trail is just far enough away that you can stay safe.
The summit from Signal Ridge
The final push to the summit went well. A few other hikers were now catching up to me, including some hiking with dogs. There was now about 6-8 inches of snow on the ground, but footing was still good with my microspikes on. By the time I made it to the summit, there were now a few others there.
Knowing the wind was blowing pretty well, I changed out my wet layers for dry before climbing up the tower to take in the views and grab some pictures. While I was on the summit, the wind was averaging 16 mph and gusting to 19 mph. It was 19 degrees out and the windchill made it feel like 2 degrees. I made sure to have on a good pair of gloves and my balaclava. While I was on the summit, the clouds cleared up some, which made the views even better. Since we were just starting into winter weather for the season, you could see a snowline on the other peaks which showed where temperatures became cold enough for snow to gather. There was also quite a bit of rim ice that had formed along the tower and summit trees.
Rime Ice
The snowline visible on other summits
Summit view
Summit View
I went down the same route that I came up. There were more hikers headed up now than while I was ascending. This included a family with young kids that were definitely under prepared with poor footwear and gloves for all, plus a general lack of layers and gear for a hike at this time of year. Back down on the rerouted section of trail, I headed out the old section so that I could compare the two routes on the GPS later. The old route is definitely more direct, but the terrain has been washed out pretty bad in places. I can see the being a popular "shortcut" in winter though. The final walk out was easy and quick as I chatted with a fellow hiker about some of the various hikes we had each done.
Signal Ridge on the descent
For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE
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