Random Redlining 8-24-25

SECTION 1

Distance: 3.98 mi.
Elevation: 393 ft (overall) 551 ft (total)
Time: 0:47 (Peaked Hill Pond) 1:24 (Total)
Trails: Peaked Hill Pond Trail

Today I had to meet my parents in the white mountains area to get one of our daughters back from an extended visit with them. So since I had to head to the mountains anyways, I got an early start and did some redlining hikes that were short out and back, or loop hikes, that didn't really link with anything else. I had a number of them planned out, so that I could keep hiking until the time of day I was meeting my family. That way I could fit in as many short sections as possible.

The first hike that I did was the Peaked Hill Pond Trail that leads up to Peaked Hill Pond. This out and back is on the southern end of the whites in Thorton, so it made for a good start of the day being the closest to home. The parking for this hike is on the side of a dirt road, shortly before the actual end of it, and can be accessed from route 3. While this is a hiking trail, it is mostly following an old woods access road that is also used as a snowmobile trail in winter. For the most part, it is very wide, smooth, and easy to follow. It only gets narrow when you take the trail off to the side of the road that actually leads down to the pond.

The trail starts at the end of the road, shortly after the wider parking area, where there is a gate across the road. The trail heads left and uphill after the gate, where it follows the right side of a washed out section of the road. Just before halfway up the trail, there is a split where a sign shows the trail going right on a path that is narrower than the road has been. This is the actual trail, but if you were to go left, you would still end up in the same place as it is just the road going out into an opening in the trees before linking back with the trail shortly after. I used the trail on the way up, and the road on the way down, and it doesn't make any real difference in distance or time. The tall grass on the road section would be more likely to have ticks in the summer though, so it might be smarter to stick with the trail.

The trail conitnues to follow the road as it goes slightly uphill as it gets closer to the pond. The guide book mentions that the trail goes through two openings before it splits off to the side and goes down to the shoreline. The first of those openings is only about the size of a normal house footprint, while the second one is about the size of the yard that would be around the house. I was expecting the first one to be bigger, and pretty much went through it without realizing that was what the description was talking about. After these openings, the trail takes a right hand turn where there is a sign indicating so. It gets narrower like a normal trail would in the whites, and quickly leads down to the shoreline of the pond after it bears to the right some. This pond was a very pleasant spot, and would warrent another visit in the future. It could be very relaxing here and would make for a nice destination when you don't have a full day available to hike. For the hike back out, I just followed the same route in reverse back to my truck.

The trail starting left up the hill

The trail goes right here, but the left will work too

Coming into the second opening

The trail heading right, down to the pond

Peaked Hill Pond

Easy walking back down to my truck

Google Earth representation of section 1

SECTION 2

Distance: 1.85 mi.
Elevation: 0 ft (overall) 266 ft (total)
Time: 0:18 (Ammonoosuc Lake View) 0:35 (Red Bench) 0:56 (Total)
Trails: Stewardship Trail, Around-the-Lake Trail, Red Bench Trail

My second section of trails today would be starting from the Highland Center at the top of Crawford Notch. After parking on the side of 302 with all the other hikers of the day, I worked my way over the Higland Center parking lot and started working around the right to get to the start of the Stweardship Trail. This short little trail starts just down to the side of the entry road near the entrance for the front desk of the building, where there is a large sign. It drops down into the trees quickly, but then turns left and stays mostly flat until it connects back up with the Around-the-Lake Trail. It really is just a short quick section of trail that would be good for young kids staying at the Highland Center.

I took a right at the intersection down the wide and smooth Around-the-Lake Trail. At the split in the trail where it goes both ways around the pond, I took a right. The dam at the outlet of the pond has seen better days and has collapsed some, which includes the footbridge over it. When I was here, the trail over the dam was closed and marked as such with a sign that let you know a loop could not be completed. Other hikers can make their own choices, but I decided to hike over the dam carefully myself, rather than loop around to the other side of the dam. It required some careful footing, so keep that in mind if you are there while it is still damaged and you are deciding to go over or not.

After the dam, the trail goes through a pleasant section of woods just up the embankment from the shore of the pond. Before reaching the other end of the pond, there is a short path that leads down to the shoreline where you can get up close to the water. There is a bit of a view here over towards Mt. Jackson and Mt. Webster. After getting back up to the main trail, I continued along until the start of the Red Bench Trail. This trail was the roughest of the 3 in this section, but still not hard. It does have a short climb up to the railroad tracks though. Make sure to be careful when crossing the tracks and always looking for anything coming. And if it is, make sure the stay back a safe distance. After crossing the tracks, it is a pretty short distance to the end of the trail where there is a red bench (who would have guessed from the trail name) that overlooks a small opening in the trees where you can see a short section of the railroad tracks. I'll be honest in that the bench isn't super comfortable, is a bit high (partially due to dirt being worn away under it), and doesn't really have a view. This trail gives the feeling of someone who likes trains wanted a place a bit out of the way to try and watch them go by. I wouldn't come back out here unless I was with someone who really wanted to.

After a couple quick pictures, I turned around and headed back to the pond and the rest of the Around-the-Lake Trail. The trail continues along the steep embankment that leads from the train tracks down to the shore of the pond. There is a small reforestation area near that pond that is signed to keep people out and from using the paths to the edge of the water (the trail will get you to the shore just fine without using these paths) so that the plants can have a chance to grow back. After getting back to the split in the trail, it was again easy walking on the wide path that leads back to an area of the Highland Center's driveway that appears to only see use from maintenance vehicles. While there are signs, this end of the trail might take a bit of looking to find if you aren't familiar with it.

Start of the Stewardship Trail

Hiking the Stewardship Trail

The wide flat Around-the-Lake Trail

Ammonoosuc Lake from the dam at the outlet

The broken dam at the outlet of Ammonoosuc Lake

A nice section of trail above the lake

View from the shore of Ammonoosuc Lake

The Red Bench

The view from the red bench

Angled bridge along the Red Bench Trail

Where the Around-the-Lake Trail comes out of the woods (or goes into depending on direction)

Google Earth representation of section 2

SECTION 3

Distance: 0.57 mi.
Elevation: 0 ft (overall) 14 ft (total)
Time: 0:07 (Pond) 0:18 (Total)
Trails: Wildlife Pond Path

The last section that I would have time for today was the Wildlife Pond Path that can be found off of Zealand Road, almost exactly across from the trail parking for the Sugarloafs. The hardest part of this hike, was actually figuring out where this path goes into the woods. It starts at a gate across from the parking area that has a small wooden sign next to it that says "Wildlife Pond".

To start this hike, you follow the road past the gate until you see a wooden sign that says "Wildlife Pond" where a path heads off to the right of the road. There were some tall ferns to walk through here with a noticeable, but thin path leading past them. The trail follows an obvious path after that, but the brush on the sides is a bit close at times, making it narrower. Closer to the pond where the ground gets more muddy and wet, there are bog bridges to follow. A couple of these were a bit loose, and the plants are encroaching on them from the sides. Near the end of the bog bridges, the tree branches were really closing in on the trail and you had to push your way through them. If this trail is to stay open, it needs some brushing done so that people can actually follow it and use it.

Once you push through the bushes, you are at the end of the path with the water on your right. The water isn't actually a pond, but a setback side path of the river that works out into the trees. There is a decent view of Middle Sugarloaf from the area along the side of the water. While I didn't actually see any wildlife on this path, there were signs of it. I saw both deer and moose tracks, and also some scat from other smaller animals. To get back to the truck, it was just following the same route back after pushing through the branches to get onto the bog bridges.

Gated road on Zealand Road where the trail starts

Trail sign at the gate

Where the trail turns right off of the gated road

Easy to follow, but narrow in spots

Plants encroaching on the boardwalk

View from the edge of the water

I needed to push through some branches today on this path

Moose and deer tracks in the mud next to the path

Google Earth representation of section 2

OVERALL

Distance: 6.4 mi.
Elevation: 393 ft (overall) 831 ft (total)
Time: 2:38

It was nice to get some of these shorter sections of trail done so that I wouldn't have to make a trip later just to do them. And since I was driving to the mountains anyways, it was good to save a trip as well since it can take me 2 hours to start to get into the heart of the white mountains from my house.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

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Speckled Mountain Loop 7-19-25

Distance: 17.0 mi.
Elevation: 1,444 ft (overall) 3,926 ft (total)
Time: 2:10 (Speckled Mtn) 6:34 (Clearing at low end of Miles Notch) 9:19 (Rte 113)
Trails: Spruce Hill Trail, Bickford Brook Trail, Red Rock Trail, Miles Notch Trail, Haystack Notch Trail

With the Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness being a 3+ hour drive from my house, I haven't actually knocked off any miles on the tab of the redlining spreadsheet. In order to make a nice dent in this region that is farther away from my house, I worked up today's route in order to make a nice big loop and really get some miles done. Being by myself like normal, today's loop would require a bit of road walking at the end, but hopefully that wouldn't be too bad at the end of the day.

I parked at the small lot on route 113 that is the access for the East Royce Trail (heading west) and Spruce Hill Trail (heading east). The Spruce Hill Trail is easy to follow, and starts off pretty mellow with some sidehilling as you start to climb. This made for a nice little warmup to get the day going. It didn't seem to take too long before the trail enters into the wilderness, trail markers and signs get smaller or just plaing go away, but things were still easy to follow and there were no real obstacles most of the day. As I steadily gained elevation without climbing anything steep, the sun started to come through the trees (I hade gotten an early start after all). The trail goes past the unmarked summit of Spruce Hill, which is just to the left of the trail if you follow the small herd path. While I didn't need to go over to the high spot, I figured I would do it while in the area in case for some reason later on I wish I had. And being as I was redlining, I felt like tagging as much stuff as I easily could while going by today.

Steady climbing through a beautiful forest

After Spruce Hill, the trail drops just a bit in elevation before coming to the Bickford Brook Trail where I took a left to keep climbing towards Speckled Mountain. As the trail goes around the northern side of Ames Mountain, it crosses an interesting section that is a steep sidehill section of trail, but with a nice area for the trail to go across. This makes for an interesting looking section, but without any drop offs that would make you nervous while hiking past them. After this section, you pass the upper end of the Blueberry Ridge Trail where you keep left and have a short half mile to the summit of Speckled Mountain following a gradual incline up the ridgeline. There will a small open area on the trail shortly before the actual summit.

An interesting steep sidehill with a nice trail cutout

The summit of Speckled Mountain

View from Speckled Mountain

While the summit of Speckled Mountain was great and very much worth the trip, I couldn't spend all day up there with how many more miles I still had to hike. The summit here was the only place I saw other hikers all day during my entire loop. I was glad these other two hikers were there though, because they didn't help show me which direction the trail left the summit from. It was completely obvious which way I needed to go with the mix of open rocks and scattered trees around. Once on the start of it though, it was again easy to follow. The climb down from the summit, was probably the steepest section of the day. It did have solid footing though, so it wasn't difficult to go down.

Once down this climb into the saddle between Speckled Mountain and Durgin Mountain, the remainder of the ridge is mostly gentley ups and downs over/around all of the smaller peaks. Durgin Mountain was a mix of some open rock heading through the trees which meant some warm sunny spots, and lots of blueberries along the trail today. They made for some nice snacks while I was hiking along.

The trail followed near the top of the ridge all morning

At least there was blueberries to eat today

The scattered open areas of trail made for some nice periodic views along the hike, but with how sunny it was today and with very little wind, it made for some warm hiking. At least in the trees, there was shade to help keep cool. If there had just been a nice breeze today, this section would have been more enjoyable. Near the summit of Butters Mountain, I found a nice spot along the trail that was a bit like a bench to sit on for a short break. I was getting warm, so I took my shirt off for a bit to help dry it and myself while fueling up with a little bit of food.

Bewteen Butters Mountain and Red Rock Mountain, there was a small interesting notch that they trail passes through. It almost had the feel of an old woods road passing over the ridge, but there wasn't good enough terrain on the northern side for this to be the case. There was an interesting old US Forest Service marker attached to a tree here. Along the climb up out of this small notch were some small views back to the west and the direction I had come from. It was interesting looking back and seeing Speckled Mountain and realizing just how far I had come along the ridge. While the ridge was the harder terrain of the day, it still meant I wasn't even quite half way through now.

A view back towards Speckled Mountain from along the trail

Open trail going over some bare rock near Red Rock Mountain

The drop down off of Red Rock Mountain into Miles Notch was a nice break with mostly downhill. There was unfortunately, a small climb up at the very end of the Red Rock Trail just before hitting the Miles Notch Trail. I was getting warm and a bit tired, so this short uphill was slower going for me than it should have been. Coming down the Miles Notch Trail, conditions progressively got better and easier which meant I was able to pick the pace back up again. By the end of the trail, you are basically following a woods road which was nice and wide and smooth. The only tracks I was seeing through here that were fresh, were a set of moose tracks.

Red Rock Trail dropping down to Miles Notch

Wide easy trail nearing the low end of the hike

The worst part of this section of the hike was the lower end of the Miles Notch Trail. The old woods road that you are following comes out into an area that was logged, so I was back to being in the hot sun with no breeze. Being so open as well, the vegetation has grown a lot through here, and at times it was between waist and chest high. This makes the trail/road harder to follow since there isn't much traffic through here. If you pay attention though, you can stay on the road, which eventually bears a little to the right and through more of the middle of the opening. I was feeling a bit cautious through here knowing the berries were rippening and a bear could easily be just out of site in all of the tall bushes.

The sun through here was really getting to me and I just wanted to be back in the shade. When I got to the junction with the Haystack Notch Trail, I really debated if I wanted to continue down to the parking area near here. I wasn't quite sure what the real distance was since my two maps were contradicting each other a bit. With one map showing still 0.3 miles (0.6 total), I decided to save the effort and come back later to get that section. In the end I should have just done it because it was actually closer to 0.1 miles. I just wanted to be back in the shade, so I started up the Haystack Notch Trail which follows along the side of the logged off area. The trail was pretty straight forward through here though, and it was easy to follow and get back into the woods and out of the sun.

Through the open, the "trail" was chest deep bushes following the logging path

A couple signs indicating Miles Notch and Haystack Notch Trails

The trail follows the edge of the logged area

Once back into the woods, I felt a little better being in the shade. Knowing this trail follows near the river and also crosses it, I started looking for a good spot to rest next to the water and filter some water as well for the rest of the hike. So at an easy crossing, I setup for lunch on the other side and took a nice long break here. I cooled off with splashing water on myself and just had a nice rest. The trail would be pretty gentle from here on out back to route 113, but it is still about 5 more miles to go.

This brook made for a great rest area in the shade near cool water

After leaving my rest spot on the rivebank, I kept heading west on the Haystack Notch Trail. Luckily the trail isn't steep, but even the small incline of it was more than I wanted to deal with right now. The trail stays pretty gentle until after it enters into the Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness, where it gradually gets a little steeper as it heads up to the height of land in Haystack Notch. Being in a wildnerness area, the trail also becomes less used and less well marked. I was still able to follow it at all times, but it was a bit tricky at times to make sure I was staying on it and not missing and turns or curves in the trail.

Entering back into the wilderness zone heading into Haystack Notch

The wilderness section of Haystack Notch is lightly traveled in sections

As I was climbing up to the height of land in the notch, the heat of the day and the lack of wind were really getting to me. I was slowing right down, and finally decided I needed a nice break. I found a rock that was comfortable to sit and lean against, hoping it might somehow have a little bit cooler temperature than the air around it. I also made use of a small squirt bottle that I brought with me today and had filled with water. I kept spraying my head, face, arms, and legs so that they could slowly cool down and make me feel better. I did this for probably a good 20 minutes before I was finally feeling better.

My rest spot wasn't far from the height of land, so pretty soon after starting back up, I was headed downhill all the way back to the road. I was able to pick up the pace again through here. The trail was easier to follow on this side of the notch, and after coming back out of the wilderness area, it got even easier. I took advantage of every time the trail was near or crossed any sort of brook and splashed water all over my face and head each time. It was still warm, but this was helping me feel better.

The trail going next to a brook as I get closer to the road

As I neared the road, I really wasn't looking forward to the gradual uphill walk back to my truck. I had thought about stashing a bike here, but I knew that I wouldn't really want to pedal uphill either, and might end up just walking with a bike as well. As I got within sight of the road, I saw there was a pickup pulled over on the side of the road and I started thinking maybe I could get a ride. So I walked fast enough that I could get there before they drove off, only to find that there was no one in the truck. So I just started walking up the road hoping maybe I could hitch a ride. The first vehicle I head was a motorcycle, so that wasn't even worth trying. Next a car went by, but didn't stop, and I thought to myself "darn it" and kept walking. A couple minutes later though, as my legs were cramping up, the car came back from the other direction. They had been in their own little world when driving by, then thought to themselves that "only someone redlining would be walking through here", so as a fellow redliner, they turned around to see if they could help. I couldn't be happier to have a ride back to my truck as this point, and thanked them very much for helping me at the end of my hike. I had probably only walked about .25 of the roughly 1.6 miles back to my truck when I was able to get into their car.

I wasn't liking the idea of the long uphill road walk at this point

All things considered, this hike ended up going ok. I could have used some cooler temperatures or a little bit of wind, but I made it all work with some discomfort and tired legs. Had I known it was going to end up being as warm as it was though, I probably would have changed things up a little bit. I was camping up in the area for the whole weekend trying to get other trails done as well (which I didn't due to rain and being tired), so I would have turned this into a two day hike. I would have driven to the parking area near the junction of the Miles Notch Trail and Haystack Notch Trail, and stashed my tent, sleeping pad, and quilt there. I would have started in the same spot, then hiked to my stashed gear and setup camp for the evening in the opening of the logged off area (water was nearby). I could have hiked slower in the warm temps and taken more breaks. Then the next morning, I would have hiked out through Haystack Notch with all of my gear and done the walk back up the road to my truck. Carrying the extra gear through the second day wouldn't have been too bad with rested legs and would have saved me the time of needing to drive back to the parking area near where I would have spent the night.

Google Earth represetation of the hike (clockwise loop)

Google Earth represetation of the hike (clockwise loop... with elevation profile)

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

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Mt. Cube (2,909 ft) 6-15-25

Distance: 7.94 mi.
Elevation: 1,603 ft (overall) 2,408 ft (total)
Time: (with a 5 and 11 year old setting the pace) 0:57 (Ledges) 3:39 (Summit) 5:24 (Shelter) 6:54 (Total)
Trails: Quinttown Road, Kodak Trail, Hexacuba Shelter Spur Path

This hike was a family hike with my wife and daughters so that we could all work on our 52 with a view list and I could add in some redlining as well. We parked at the gate on Quinttown Road, and then walked passed it up the road until the Appalachian Trail (AT) crosses it. At this intersection, the trail to the left up Mt. Cube is the Kodak Trail, and it leads all the way up to the summit. To the right, you would be able to go up the J Trail to Smarts Mountain.

Easy walking past the gate before the Kodak Trail (AT)

Start of the Kodak Trail from the road

Being part of the AT, the trail is very easy to follow, and starts off without much difficulty. There are a couple sections though as you climb to the Eastman Ledges where there are a number of rocks or roots to hike over than can make footing tricky. It took us a little under an hour to reach the ledges, which provide a nice view over to Smarts Mountain and out over the valley. If you wanted a short, but rewarding hike, this would be a good destination on its own.

View from Eastman Ledges

After passing the ledges, the trail continues uphill and works it way by some interesting rocky cliffs before coming to a height of land shortly after them. The trail then goes back downhill for a little bit without losing too much elevation. At the low point of this section, there is what was the biggest brook crossing of the route. But thanks to some well placed rocks, this small brook is easy to get over without getting your feet wet. The only other noteable brook of the day comes just after the Hexacuba Shelter Spur Path, which is even smaller, just not on as flat of a section of the mountain.

Biggest brook crossing of the day

Climbing up away from the brook, the trail stays at a good pace without any steep or overly difficult sections. After a little while, the trail starts to follow around the contour of the mountain more than going straight up it, making for a nice sidehill section. Through here you will start to see more random rocks in the trees next to the trail before the trail makes a right hand turn and heads up over a number of these rocks to avoid a steep section of the mountain on your left. After this climb, the trail is a mix of gentle sections with some short climbs in between. As you get closer to the summit, the trail opens up a little more and crosses over more exposed rock and not just dirt. The summit of the mountain has a nice open area with lots of places for people to spread out and rest. It is also right where the Cross Rivendell Trail meets up with the AT at a signed junction that will let you know you are there before you pass over it on the gentle section of trail.

The trail opening up before the summit

Nice open area at the summit

View to the south (including Smarts Mountain)

View to the west

My wife and daughters at the summit

For the descent back down the mountain, my youngest daughter took the lead with me while my oldest daughter hung back with my wife. After a nice rest and lunch, the good footing of the trail meant she was able to set a good pace and I actually had to slow her down a few times so we could all stay together.

My youngest leading the way on the descent

Muddy section of trail

Coming down a rocky section

On our way down we planned to stop and make our way up the spur path to the Hexacuba Shelter so that the kids could see what a shelter along the AT looks like, and also see one that is a six sided shape instead of just the traditional square/rectangle. This spur path would also count towards my redlining, so I didn't want to miss the chance to knock if off while in the area. The girls were moving a little slow climbing up the trail to the shelter after coming downhill for a while, but we made it pretty quickly and they enjoyed being able to check out the shelter and talk to the one thru hiker that was already there for the evening.

Hexacuba Shelter

The rest of the hike back down went very smoothly. After making our way back to Quinttown Road, we took our time hiking the rest of the way back to the vehicle so that we could check out all of the lupine that were growing on the side of the road. The girls loved trying to find the prettiest flowers and see all of the different colors and patterns that were on them. This made for a nice wind down from the hike as we got back to the vehicle and changed into more comfortable footwear/clothes for the drive back home.

Lupine back along Quintown Road

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

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