Elevation: 2,086 ft (overall) 3,137 ft (total)
Time: 2:39 (Summit) 4:28 (Parking) 5:24 (Total - Stashed Bicycle)
Trails: Lambert Ridge Trail, Ranger Trail, Skiway Trail (Dorchester Road AT section)
For today's hike, I wanted to do something I haven't done before and focus again on redlining. I decided to hike Smarts Mountain as I haven't done it before, and since there are multiple ways to climb to the summit, I could use those when I hike it with other family members who will want to do so for their 52 With a View list. It also helped that I haven't done much hiking on the trails in the Hanover area, so I had lots of options to choose from. I picked today's route also based on the fact that I could use a different trail to come down than I did to go up. Since I knew that this hike was short enough it wouldn't take all day, I also added on a section of the AT known as the Skiway Trail which is right across the road from the parking lot. I stashed my mountain bike where this would come out on the way to the trail head so that I could ride it back to the truck instead of needing to walk the road or trail back to my truck.
The trail starts off from the entrance side of the parking lot with a nice steady climb with good footing to get you warmed up. There are a few show flatter sections mixed in that let you get a brief break from the climbs. The climbs however are not really steep, just steady to keep you going uphill. As you get further up the ridge, the trail starts to follow some exposed sections of rock which make for good grippy terrain with all the leaves on the ground while I was hiking. During this section you also get a couple views to the south and east.
Early section of the Lambert Ridge Trail
The trail following exposed rock
After the section of exposed rock, the trail goes back into the thicker trees more and follows pretty much right up the spine of the ridge. With the winds today, it made things feel much cooler as there wasn't much to block the wind from coming over the ridge and where you are hiking. Because of the wind though, I did have a cool encounter where a hawk that was trying to avoid the wind came buzzing right past me as it followed the trail exactly through the trees going down the mountain. It is the closest I have been to a hawk in the wild and I wonder if it really realized I was there.
The trail following along the top of the ridge has the benefit of one view point that provides a nice look at the summit ahead, although it does appear to be a bit further than you would think it would. As the ridge becomes a little bit less defined, the trail drops down some and enters back into a mostly hardwood area of forest. As it heads more to the east, the trail does soon again satart to gain more elevation and enter back into the softwoods that were more present on the ridge.
A view to the summit from the trail
As the trail climbs up the summit cone, it becomes steeper and maintains this for a while until right near the top. There is still pretty good footing with natural terrain, some well placed rock steps, and of course the metal rungs that are attached directly into the rock that this trail is partially known for. There is a section of mostly smooth exposed rock that the trail goes up that could easily be very slippery if it was to become damp. To help hikers out here and prevent them from going off trail around this, there is a small set of wooden stairs (not quite a ladder) that lead to a section of bent metal rebar drilled right into the rock. The metal rungs could be used like a ladder with both hands and feet if you want, but I found it pretty easy to just use them like steps and stay standing up.
After this the trail works up the summit cone by following the side of the hill for a while, dropping off to your right. As it gets closer to the summit though, things level back out mostly and it becomes easy walking again. When I got to the summit, there were a few other people around and I could see at least one person up in the fire tower. Since the cabin of the tower is pretty small, I figured I would wait my turn by going over to the other ranger cabin to check that out. Doing so also gave me a nice place out of the wind to adjust my layers.
Wooden stairs just before metal rungs to help hikers up the rocks
Metal rungs in the rock
Old ranger cabin at the summit
After fully checking out the cabin, I headed back the short distance to the base of the tower. The other hiker up there was on his way down, so I would be able to go up and have plenty of room to check out the views and take pictures. The stairs up the tower are steep like most towers, but the railings a nice and secure on both sides. With the winds today, it was nice to have something to hang on to in order to feel a bit safer. The door into the cabin is unlocked, so you can enter easily, but it also was a bit heavy and didn't want to stay up without you holding it, which makes entrance and exit a bit trickier in the wind.
Fire tower at the summit
I spent a good amount of time in the tower taking pictures and looking around. The views today were great and it was nice to be able to see in all directions. It was clear enough out that you could make out snow on some of the bigger mountains further up into the Whites like on franconia Ridge and the Presidential Range.
Looking out from the fire tower
The Presidential Range with snow in the distance
View northeast from the fire tower
To descend the mountain, I started back the way I came up, but now headed down the Ranger Trail. This trail didn't seem too steep, but looking at my GPS data, the elevation profile makes it look steeper than it felt. Footing on this trail was good while descending the first half with just a short section that was a bit rocky making for more careful foot placement. Getting further down the trail, it does have one stream crossing that was easy to do on rocks today. At this crossing is an old garage looking structure that I suspect had to do with the rangers that use to use the cabin and fire tower at the summit. From this building to the trail head is basically old woods roads and could have easily been driven with a small truck or ATV type vehicle. It could have then been parked in the building before the rangers hiked up, which would have saved them time and effort.
Coming down the Ranger Trail
Stream crossing on the Ranger Trail
After this building and stream crossing, the trail follows and old woods road and is quite smooth and wide. There was just a bit of mud in a couple places, but I was able to cruise right along through here and make very good time.
Lower sections of the Ranger Trail mostly look like this
Once I got back to the parking lot, I stopped at my truck and adjusted some of my gear for the next section of trail. I wasn't going to need extra gear for the higher elevation and winds, and could put a bit more fluid back into the bladder in my pack. The winds had died down, and I was back down lower in the trees. There wouldn't be much elevation change either, so I shouldn't work up much of a sweat while hiking.
I crossed the road and easily found the trail I was going to hike down. It was easy to follow as you would expect from the AT. The trail starts with some uphill gain and then a small brook crossing. After this it stays up on the hill for a while before very gradually going downhill. Going this direction, the trail losses more elevation that it gains. It was an enjoyable hike going out this way and I didn't run into anyone else through here. I didn't expect too as it is well past the thru hiker season. Where the trail comes back out to the road, I found an out of sight area to stash my mountain bike so that I could ride back to my truck. This is the second time this fall I have done this, and while it is much quicker than walking back, I am finding I have been too long without much bike riding and the hills definately user different muscles than walking through the woods does.
AT trail marker while doing some extra hiking
Google Earth representation of the hike - clockwise loop with extra
Bike ride back to truck not shown
Bike ride back to truck not shown
All in all today was a very pleasant hike and I look forward to coming back from other directions with my daughters for their hiking of the list as well.
For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE
