Mt. Paugus (3,100 ft) 12-16-23

Distance: 8.81 mi. (9.88 with road walk)
Elevation: 1,908 ft (overall) 3,000 ft (total)
Time: 3:11 (Mt. Paugus) 5:14 (Big Rock Cave) 6:25 (Road) 6:55 (Parking Lot)
Trails: Old Mast Rd, Lawrence Trail, Old Paugus Trail, Big Rock Cave Trail, Cabin Traiol, Road Walk

It is nearing the end of the year and I needed to get in another hike with some redlining since I didn't do as much as I wanted so far. With all the trails that are in the area around the Ferncroft Trailhead, I decided to pick a route around there that would get me a peak while using all new to me trails. I hadn't been to Mt. Paugus before, and there were lots of options I could use for trails with maybe a bit of road walking at the end.

I started off from the parking lot using the Old Mast Rd. This trail has a gradual incline when it wasn't just flat and the trail is pretty wide, while only narrowing up towards the upper end of it. Being mostly in the hardwoods, the trail had the extra benefit of plenty of sun with no leaves on the trees this time of year. I didn't run into any snow until the upper portion of the trail, and it was never that deep when it was on the trail.

Easy going still on Old Mast Rd

At the upper junction, I turned right onto the Lawrence Trail. Along the ridge now, there was steady snow on the ground. It wasn't very deep and was also pretty hard from melting and refreezing, so I wasn't really sinking in. I don't think it was until after the Whittin Brook Trail that I put on my microspikes. I probably should have done so earlier, but I was trying to hold off. Once I slipped while coming downhill and took a bit of a spill, I decided I should just put them on finally. Of course, it wasn't too long before I was back on south facing slopes in the sunny hardwoods and the snow disappeared, so I took them back off.

Steady snow once up to the Lawrence Trail

Back to no snow on the southern slopes

Once the Lawrence Trail got back into the softwoods and started climbing again, the snow returned to the trail and stayed until after the summit. I put my spikes back on as soon as the snow was steady again so as to avoid another fall and to make the steady climb of the trail easier. As the trail gets close to the summit, it levels out a lot. Spikes could have come off again here, but it was easier to just leave them on.

Snow again nearing the summit

The trail doesn't actually go over the summit of Mt. Paugus, but does come to a high spot with some open cliffs nearby and that is all that is required if you are hiking the NH 52 With a View list. There is a sign post at this high point as the trail going down the other side has a different name. There is also a small sign on the post that points in the direction of the views. I am sure the herdpath is easier to follow in summer where you can see the wear in the dirt and plants to lead you along, but even covered in snow I was able to walk out to the ledges just fine with no other tracks in the snow.

The ledges make for some nice views mostly to the west. The rocks were just a bit icey, so I didn't wander around too much not wanting to risk slipping and not being able to stop. The only odd thing I found was that is almost seemed like there was a phone or something that was making noises somewhere in the area even though there was no one else around. I'm not sure if a bird managed to mimic the sound of if my mind was just playing tricks on me, but it sure seemed odd to randomly hear this noise for a few seconds on multiple occasions. After quite some time here, plenty of pictures, and some lunch I was headed down the Old Paugus Trail.

High point on the trail, go right for the view

Mt. Paugus view

Looking over at Mt. Passaconaway

Panoramic view from Mt. Paugus

The guide book mentions one possibly tricky turn to find on the descent in this direction, and with snow on the ground and no other tracks, I found that to be the case. I went past the turn in the trail, turned back and retraced my steps without seeing it, then went back most of the way to the summit to try again incase I missed something I would see the second time. I still wasn't having much luck the second time around and was wondering if I should turn around and just head back down the way I came up. I finally found where the trail heads down over some open rock and into the thicker trees just before making a steep icey descent into the spruce. I was glad to find the trail, but the climb down this section was a bit tricky.

A hard to descend steep icy section

After this, the trail was pretty easy to follow. Eventually it starts to follow a path that resembles what you would expect of a small brook that forms when there is a lot of rain or snow melt. I wondered at times if I veered off the trail, but occasional brush trimmings let me know I was still on the trail. Once you come out to a small view point, the trail is back to being easy to follow. At this viewpoint I was ready to remove my spikes, but there was just enough ice on the short steep descent after it to keep them on for another couple minutes. After that though, I took them back off.

For probably another half mile or so, there was small patches of very thin ice along the trail. It was just enough to be slippery or make you go slow, but not really enough that you wanted to put spikes back on. After a couple slips and one fall onto my knee, I decided to put the spikes back on for a while and deal with the hassle of walking on them when there wasn't either snow or ice on the ground. This was the right decision as I was able to keep crusing along after this without needing to slow down repeatedly in bad sections.

Just enough ice to cause you to slip and fall

A cool rock face next to the trail

I hiked down to cross the Whittin Brook Trail and corresponding brook. After the crossing, the trail climbs uphill again as it goes over Mt. Mexico near the summit. On the way up, the trail goes past Big Rock Cave. Since I hadn't done a lot of research about this, I wasn't sure how big it would actually be. There is a pretty good size glacial erratic next to the trail that has an overhang on the lower side and I was wondering if this was supposed to be the rock and cave. If it was, I was pretty dissapointed. I took a few quick pictures, and headed up the trail again. Soon after this, I would find out that the big rock and cave were MUCH bigger than the one I had recently past. The rock was the size of a house, and the cave looked big enough to stand up in. I'll be bringing my kids back here sometime in the future.

Big Rock Cave

After passing Big Rock Cave, it wasn't too much longer before the trail leads you up and over Mt. Mexico (not quite at the summit though). From here on out it was smooth hiking to the junction with the Cabin Trail. And a short 0.3 miles later, the Cabin Trail leads you to a driveway that you can then follow back down to Route 113A. I had originally planned to hike back to the Ferncroft Parking lot using the Gordon Path if I could find the driveway where it started from. I wasn't able to tell while walking by which driveway it would have been not being on it before, so I just decided to walk the road back to the parking lot. I had a nice casual walk from here on out on the flat road while there wasn't any traffic.

Smooth sailing over Mt. Mexico

All in all this turned out to be a pretty nice hike. I liked the loop and doing trails I hadn't been on before. Climbing back up from Whitten Brook was a bit tiresome to my legs with how little hiking I have been doing latetly. I also am not sure how much I like the Old Paugus Trail. I suspect that if I were to do it without the snow and ice making it slippery and harder to follow it would change my mind some. It wasn't a bad trail, just not as enjoyable as I was expecting. In the end, I think I ended up with about 8 miles of new redlining as well.

Google Earth representation of the hike - clockwise loop

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

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Mt. Morgan (2,213 ft) & Mt. Percival (2,200 ft) 10-15-23

Distance: 6.8 mi.
Elevation: 1,353 ft (overall) 1,960 ft (total)
Time: (with an 5 and 9 year old setting the pace) 3:31 (Ladders) 4:06 (Mt. Morgan) 4:55 (Mt. Percival) 5:40 (Bottom of the caves) 7:31 (Total)
Trails: Mt. Percival Trail, Morse Trail, Mt. Morgan Trail, Crawford-Ridgepole Trail, Mt. Percival Trail

The plan for today's family hike would be a clockwise loop of Mt. Morgan and Mt. Percival. We would go up the ladders and down through the caves as both of our daughters wanted to explore both of these sections when I let them pick which hike we would be doing today. To start the hike we drove past the parking lot for the Mt. Morgan Trail since it looked pretty full and instead parked at the lot for the Mt. Percival Trail which had only a couple cars in it today. My plan was to use the Morse Trail to connect the two sides of the hikeno matter which parking lot we started at, so we just picked the easier one to park in.

We made our way out from the parking lot using the wide flat trail until we hit the junctions with the Morse Trail. This trail was easy to follow and didn't gain or lose any real elevation. Once we hit the Mt. Morgan Trail, I quickly hiked to the parking lot and back just to cover the entire trail for redlining purposes while everyone else had a snack. This was very quick as you can almost see the end from the Morse Trail. We then headed up the Mt. Morgan Trail which starts off pretty wide and gentle. You gradually gain elevation which short climbs mixed in with flatter sections as well. The closer you get to the top of the trail and the Crawford-Ridgepole trail, the steeper it will get though.

The girls where the trail crosses a stone wall

A steeper section of the Mt. Morgan Trail

Once onto the Crawford-Ridgepole Trail, it is a nice hike with more sections of uphill and brief flats until you reach the junction where the trail splits to reach the summit. To the right is the easier route, and to the left is the harder route which will have you climb up some ladders, through a small cave/tunnel, then up some exposed rocks to the cliffs with great views just before the actual summit. With my daughters both wanting to climb the ladders, we went left. The ladders shouldn't be too hard for any adult unless you have issues with heights or steep drops. The actual manuevering on the ladders was only tricky for our daughters as they have shorter legs. There is one spot where you have to climb up and to the right to get onto the next ladder and their legs were just a bit short for that so I helped both of them in this spot.

The girls getting to the base of the ladders

Me helping the girls up the ladders

At the top of the ladders that trail goes through a short cave/tunnel and then pops out into an open area of rock. The trail does almost a 360 degree turn as you come out from the tunnel where you turn left and climb across a rock that helps make the tunnel under you. From here the trail follows up the exposed rocky area with some trees until you reach the opening at the top where you have great views out over the lake. We stayed here to rest and eat some lunch while we enjoyed the views. Just after you leave this spot, a short side path leads to the actual high spot of the mountain.

Where the cave at the top of the ladders emerges

Lunch with a view on Mt. Morgan cliffs

Liliana and Madison on the summit of Mt. Morgan

After leaving the summit of Mt. Morgan, the 0.8 mile hike over to Mt. Percival was pretty gentle and easy going with nice footing. There are some ups and downs between the peaks, but nothing too big. There is one final push up a steeper rocky section of trail just before the summit of Mt. Percival. My youngest daughter was starting to not have fun when we came to this section, but the reward of more views and another summit just beyond it cheered her back up.

View from Mt. Percival

All three girls at the summit

Once we were done resting and taking pictures at the summit, we headed down the trail to the right of the main view so that we could go down through the caves. We were all looking forward to seeing what they would be like. The trail is steep from the start and begins with a couple sections that are just a bit narrow or awkward to climb down without hitting your pack on rocks around you. Then you climb over some large rocks with gaps between them, so you need to keep watching your footing. Next you climb into the first part of the caves after climbing over a deep gap in the rocks. The trail then goes through a small opening in the cave leading into a lower large opening in the caves. I took my pack off to go through this opening, but I think both of our daughters were able to fit through fine with their packs on. After passing through the opening in the caves, you come out through a small hole in the rocks and back out into a completely open area again. This whole section went slow, but I was also going first myself so that I could see where the trail went and then find a good place to stand so that I could help out our daughters and my wife as needed over/down/around the obstacles. Once we were through, everyone agreed it was fun to come through the caves.

Melissa working her way through the caves

Madison emerging from the caves

Just after the caves is where the trail joins back up with the option that goes around the caves. We turned and headed down the trail which descended pretty well before getting more gradual. The trail was a mixture of smooth sections and rocks with the rocks winning out more of the time. There was also a spot where the trail crossed over a small boulder field of decent sized rocks where our oldest daughter had fun climbing from rock to rock to make her way across.

The girls traversing a boulder filled section of trail

As the trail gets lower, it becomes smoother and less steep. This would normall make for a nice section to cruise right along at, but our youngest daughter was getting a bit tired (she didn't drink enough during the day) and she kept tripping over small roots and rocks so we took a more leisurely pace through here. Eventually we made it back to the end of the trail and our waiting vehicle so that we could take off our hiking shoes and boots and get into something more comfortable while we went and got something to eat.

All in all this hike went pretty well and everyone enjoyed the ladders, the caves, and of course the views. This made for a nice family hike and others could certainly do the same. I would be more than happy to go back and do it again, and if I did, I would probably go the same direction unless I was going to go around the ladders as I think it would be easier going up the ladders than it would be coming down them. I think the caves could be done about the same in either direction though.

Madison taking a break at a brook crossing

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

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Middle Sister (3,340 ft) & Mt. Chocorua (3,500 ft) 10-1-23

Distance: 11.1 mi.
Elevation: 2,518 ft (overall) 3,320 ft (total)
Time: (with an 9 year old setting the pace) 3:35 (Jim Liberty Cabin) 5:01 (Middle Sister) 6:20 (Mt. Chocorua) 9:51 (Total)
Trails: Liberty Trail, West Side Trail, Piper Trail, Middle Sister Trail, Brook Trail

It was time to get out for another hike with my 9 year old daughter and I went for a hike from the NH 52 With a View list. This hike would get my daughter two more peaks checked off her list (I have already done them) and I picked a route that would get me some more redlining miles checked off. An added perk for my daughter would be the stop at Jim Liberty Cabin as she really like checking things like this out. For today's route I decided start from Paugus Road and come up from the southwest side of the mountain.

We started out going up the Liberty Trail which was nice and gradual to start and allowed us to get warmed up nicely before any real climbs. Today it had a section of very wet trail as enough water coming down it to turn the trail into a shallow brook basically. Before starting the real climb of the trail there was one small brook crossing that was easy to do using rocks to cross on. Both my daughter and I easily kept our feet dry while crossing. After the crossing, the trail starts to get steeper and eventually a bit rockier as well. The trail stays easy to follow and not super difficult. Near the end the trail did seem to narrow up a bit and could have used some brushing out. But that only lasted a while before we got to the intersection with the Hammond Trail.

First brook crossing

Now the Liberty Trail continues to the left from this intersection. So after a nice break and a snack, we continued up with our next planned stop being the Jim Liberty Cabin. After continuing up the trail some more, the terrain changes over to some sections of exposed rock. From small sections to large openings along the trail. Steadily we gained elevation while working our way to the cabin. It was taking longer than I remembered from last time, but we were stilling doing good and soon enough we reached the side path to the outhouse on the left side of the trail which meant we were almost there. Once to the cabin we took another nice break and sat inside out of the sun. My daughter enjoyed checking out the cabin and the area around it while also learning some of the history about it.

Jim Liberty Cabin

After leaving the cabin we continued up the Liberty Trail until the next junction. Here we took a left onto the West Side Trail instead of going up to Mt. Chocorua. The West Side Trail was another trail for me to redline, and I wanted to save the better peak for last. I didn't take any pictures along the West Side Trail, but it is mostly level and follows along the step hillside. It is narrow in places (could use some brushing at the time) and the terrain went steeply up on the right, and steeply down on the left. This trail was easy to follow and went by pretty quickly. I can see why this would be a good trail to use in order to avoid bad weather up on the summit of Chocorua as well.

From the next intersection, we headed straight for Middle Sister. It was getting a bit warm today and as the trail opened up more, my daughter was starting to get hot in the sun. We took a couple small breaks in some areas of shade, but continued moving at a steady pace to make it to the summit where we could sit in the shade around the old foundation while taking in the views and eating some lunch. This break for food and shade made my daughter's mood perk right back up.

Middle Sister summit

Welcome shade to eat lunch in

View from Middle Sister

After a nice long break and plenty of photos, we headed back the way we came towards the Piper Trail. There is some ups and downs in the trail along the ridge, but we were refreshed enough that they didn't bother us too much. Once back on the Liberty Trail and heading up the summit ridge of Mt. Chocorua, we were back into the open along the rocks that make up the ridge. To start with the trail is pretty easy to follow, but higher up there are a few places where it feels like a bit of a guessing game and you have to look around more in order to find the correct path. There could be a few more blazes or cairns through here for those not familiar with the mountain. In fact, while on the summit, I was actually yelling directions back down to a small group of hikers that couldn't find the path and were heading off trail way to early in too steep of an area to descend. The last push to the summit is steep, but can be kind of fun if you are prepared for it or like scrambles.

Nearing the summit of Mt. Chocorua

View from Mt. Chocorua

Liliana on Mt. Chocorua

My daughter and I had the summit to ourselves the entire time we were at the top. This was unexpected with how busy the mountain is, but it was also getting later in the day since we were going slower than I had expected us to. We spent a fair amount of time enjoying the view while I took pictures and pointed out things to my daughter about the surrounding area. Eventually though, we had to get headed back down so it wouldn't be too late when we got back to the truck. The descent of the Liberty Trail from the summit starts off pretty steep, so we took care to watch our footing. We followed this trail until we got to the junction with the Brook Trail. Here we turned right and went down the Brook Trail so that I could redline another trail while we were out today (plus I like loops rather than backtracking).

The Brook Trail starts off with a steep section leading further down into the trees. It wasn't too bad, but might have been easier to come up as I find my feet slip less ascending than descending. After this, the trail wasn't too bad at all, basically what you would expect of a trail in the whites. We kept making our way down the mountain as it gradually became more and more dark. The only real brook crossing on this route was an easy rock hop for bother of us. After hiking about another half mile down the trail, we decided it was time to get on our headlamps before we couldn't see to do so easily. We continued hiking into the dark as the trail gradually got easier and smoother which made for faster hiking. The last section of trail before the old woods road (leading to the parking lot) was very easy and we were able to cruise along at a nice pace while taking about what we could see in the dark. This is the first time my daughter has hiked in the dark with her headlamp and while she was a bit nervous to start, she enjoyed it once we were at it for a while and she got more use to it.

Coming down a steep section of trail

A milk snake we spotted on the trail

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

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Mt. Jefferson (5,712 ft) 9-9-23

Distance: 5.19 mi.
Elevation: 2,696 ft. (Overall) 2,829 ft. (Total)
Time: 3:05 (summit) 5:28 (total)
Trails: Caps Ridge Trail

This year for Flags on the 48 our group picked Mt. Jefferson, which we have done before 10 years ago. Just like last time, we planned to go up the Caps Ridge Trail as it is the shortest and most direct route to the summit. It has some steep and rocky sections, but means we have to carry the pole and other equipment a shorter distance. This year however, the weather was throwing us a big curve ball. The forecast called for cloudy skies early with thunderstorms and heavy rain likely for later in the day. Because of this, we planned to be at the trailhead for 6am and with boots on the trail shortly after that. Our plan was to fly the flag early, then be headed down the mountain before weather got real bad. Of course, mother nature didn't read the forecast and decided to do something completely different.

We were on the trail at roughly 6:15am with some damp conditions after the rain that came through the state early last night. With the combination of the cloudy skies and early start, it also wasn't very light out yet. We made good progress and were at the viewpoint at the potholes rocks approximately 1 mile up the trail by 7am. Ten years ago we had no view from this point, but today we at least had a little bit of a view. It was still cloudy, but the clouds were just above us and there was what looked like some clearing off in the distance to the west. This gave us some hope that it might clear up some instead of just being cloudy for the day.

Some clearing at the potholes

As we continued up we worked our way up into the clouds more and conditions stayed damp. This made some of the rocky scrambles trickier than normal. Adding in carrying a pole and trying to get a dog up some of these spots added to the challenge of today's hike. Once we were up to the junction with the Cornice Trail we were really in the clouds and it was starting to rain lightly. Before too much longer I was putting on my rain jacket and covering my pack. Through this section we all started to get a bit more spread out working at our own pace in the wet conditions. Once at the summit I put on my rain pants too and found a place to put my pack where it wouldn't get wet.

Finding a way up the steep rocks

Hiking into the clouds

We worked on getting the flag up as quick as we could with the wind and rain making things more difficult for us. We had the flag up well before 11am (with the goal of the event being from 12 to 2pm) and were all gathering out of the wind as much as possible. As the day continued on, the wind died down a little bit and the rain soon stopped. We started to see a glimspe of nearby peaks as well from time to time. As even more time passed, the clouds started to clear more around us and were starting to get better views. We could see the nearby peaks and undercast clouds in the surrounding valleys. Before it was time to pack up, it became apparent that the weather forecast was basically backwards and instead of rain coming later in the day, it happened early and then things cleared up nicely for the afternoon.

The flag is up

A brief view of Mt. Adams

Our flag at the summit

The view to the west over the clouds

Peaks to the north in the clear

After we picked up we hiked down at a nice casual pace with the weather being so nice. We were having fun telling stories and discussing the day while making sure we were careful hiking down over the steep or rocky sections of trail. We took another good break at the potholes before finishing out hike and getting into more comfortable clothes and dry footware. Most of us also went to the after party in Littleton as well to enjoy some food and find some of the Flags opn the 48 beer.

Hiking back down

Google Earth representation of the hike

Partial group photo taken by another hiker after we got the flag up

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

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