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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Moose Mountain Redlining 5-25-25

Distance: 9.96 mi.
Elevation: 1,354 ft (overall) 2,587 ft (total)
Time: 2:03 (Three Mile Rd) 3:19 (South Peak) 3:42 (Shelter) 4:18 (South Peak) 5:05 (Total)
Trails: Hanover Center Trail, Moose Mountain Trail, Fred Harris Trail, Nat Thompson Trail, Moose Mountain Shelter Loop

Another day of redlining in the Hanover area, starting where I left off with my last hike. To eliminate needing to rehike almost all of the route to get back to my truck, I made use of my bike to peddle my way from one parking area to another to start the hike. I parked in the small pull-off on Three Mile Road where the Hanover Center Trail and Moose Mountain Trail meet. From there, I rode my bike down Three Mile Rd to Ruddsboro Road. I then went right until Etna Road, where I quickly hit Partridge Road to save some distance and elevation over to Trescott Road. From there it is a short ride to the trailhead, where I locked my bike up off in the trees.

The early sections of today's hike were very gentle with no big ups or downs along the way. The trail passed through varied different sections of forest that were all lush and green with the newly opened leaves on the trees and plants. This part of the hike was very enjoyable and almost seemed like it was over too quick, as I was soon coming to the road crossing of Etna Road.

Hanover Center Trail following a stone wall

A sea of green

Bridge crossing just before Etna Road

After crossing Etna Road, the trail suddenly enters into a section of softwoods which seemed to have a thick enough canopy that it blocked some of the light and made the trail darker. After a little while, it ended just as quick as it started with a sudden transition back to hardwoods. After entering back into the hardwoods, the trail soon comes to an old field that appears to be growing back in with trees and plants. The trail through here started quite muddy, and there wasn't much way around it without getting wet from the grass next to the trail. I did my best and was glad things dried out some, but not completely, as the trail got higher into the field. After this, the trail was a bit more of a mix of softwoods and hardwoods, with it being more in the hardwoods with lots of green leaves all around. Soon enough, I was at my truck where I adjusted my footwear before crossing the road the head up Moose Mountain.

Going through a darker section of forest

This field was muddy, but also nice

I started up the Moose Mountain Trail, which has a little bit of ups and downs through here before it drops to a bridged stream crossing. Not far up the trail from here, the Fred Harris Trail crosses the AT. For redlining, you need to take a left here and take it to the Nat Thompson Trail, where you turn right and go past the Dartmouth Class of 66 Lodge. The lodge was a good place for a short break and some pictures. It seemed like it might start raining here, but it didn't really materialize.

Bridged stream crossing

Dartmouth College's Class of 66 Lodge

The Nat Thompson Trail goes past the left side of the lodge and starts climbing up what appears to be an old woods road. The steepest section of this trail is early on, and soon enough it levels out some (but not completely) while still following the woods road through a few small muddy sections. Eventually, the trail becomes just a path in the woods and brings you up to the Moose Mountain Trail (AT), just before actually reaching the south peak.

Before going to the south peak, I wanted to head out to the Moose Mountain Shelter, and Loop Trail. It was just starting to rain lightly, and I figured the view would be better after the rain stopped and the clouds could go away some. The trail drops in elevation to the crossing of an old section of Wolfeboro Road. It then gains elevation slowly before reaching the southern junction of the Moose Mountain Shelter Loop. I hung out at the shelter for a little while enjoying the small view and having some lunch.

The AT heading away from the south peak summit area

Moose Mountain Shelter

View from the shelter

When leaving the shelter, I continued up to the northern end of the loop before heading back towards the south peak using the Moose Mountain Trail (AT). I did this so that I would know for sure where I needed to stop when I come in from the other direction to redline the rest of the Moose Mountain Trail. From here, I kept things at a casual pace to get back up to the south summit. I had plenty of time and didn't feel like rushing though a nice section of forest. Once I reached the south peak, I took another long break to enjoy the view and take some pictures. I wanted to try and find some of the plane wreckage from a crash that happened here years ago. I wasn't able to find enough info before this hike to narrow down how close to the actual summit the crash happened, but there are a few small pieces of the plane that can be found scattered around.

Moose Mountain South Peak summit view

The descent back down the mountain was pretty straight forward with the trail having just a bit a mud in places high up, and some rocks along the way, which should be expected being the AT and how much traffic that sees. The trail gets a little steeper as it gets lower down, and it also kind of follows along in a sidehill manor for a bit. But, soon enough, I was back at the Fred Harris Trail, where I then retraced my steps back to my truck. Before putting on dry clothes and shoes, I drove over to the parking lot and picked up my bike from where I stashed it in the woods. Then I changed into dry clothes and went looking for some lunch on the drive back home.

Heading back down the Moose Mountain Trail (AT)

Google Earth representation of the hike

Today's hike was a very nice walk in the woods through some beautiful areas of trail. Nothing was overly hard, and while there wasn't much for views, even at the summit, it was an enjoyable day and I was glad to check off some more miles and trails for redlining.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

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Hanover, NH Redlining 4-19-25

SECTION 1

Distance: 1.74 mi.
Elevation: 518 ft (overall) 595 ft (total)
Time: 0:21 (AT) 0:37 (Trescott Spur) 1:04 (Total)
Trails: Oli's Eagle Trail, Velvet Rocks Trail

For today's hike, my plan was to redline all of the trails needed in the area surrounded by Route 120, East Wheelock Street, Trescott Road, Etna Road, and Greensboro Road. I am sure I could have done this from just one parking spot, but for something different and to break up the multiple out and backs, I decided to park in 3 different areas to do this, thus turning it into three sections of hiking. It probably didn't significantly change the mileage or elevation, but I went with the idea anyways. I picked this area to hike today because I hadn't been out at all in a while and I wanted something closer to home, and low enough in elevation to have no snow or much mud. Also, I spent a while going over maps and making notes last fall of where each trail from this area until the whites was on maps, and I wanted to take advantage of that effort.

The first section of hiking was the Oli's Eagle Trail that can be found off of Velvet Rocks Drive, with a small parking area and trail kiosk. This was a short trail that went through some varied terrain, but never got difficult. In order to eliminate some elevation gain later in the day, I also hiked south on the Velvet Rocks Trail to the height of land and junction with Trescott Spur. After reaching that, I headed back down retracing my steps. This simple out and back was a good way to get warmed up for the day and check off a full trail early.

Early section of Oli's Eagle Trail

Velvet Rocks Trail (AT)

Trescott Spur, where I turned around

Google Earth representation of section 1

SECTION 2

Distance: 5.18 mi.
Elevation: 396 ft (overall) 1,472 ft (total)
Time: 0:20 (AT) 1:00 (Shelter) 1:38 (Hanover) 2:53 (Trescott Spur) 3:08 (Trescott Rd)
Trails: Ledyard Link Trail, Velvet Rocks Shelter Loop Trail, East Wheelock St. Spur, Ledyard Spring Spur, Velvet Rocks Trail, Trescott Spur

This section was the longest and most wandering section of today's hiking. I parked in the small dirt lot at the intersection of East Wheelock Street, Trescott Road, and Grasse Road. Across the road from the parking area is the start of the Ledyard Link Trail, which is where I started for this chunk of hiking. I followed this gentle climb up to the spring (water for AT hikers) and then up to the Velvet Rocks Trail, where the northern end of the Velvet Rocks Shelter Loop meets it.

Ledyard Spring

Rocky cliff next to the trail

From the junction, I headed up the steep section of the Velvet Rocks Shelter Loop, trying to get the climbing done with earlier with fresher legs. After the steep climb up the small ridge, I then hung a right and headed back downhill along the East Wheelock Street Spur. While going down, I also did that out and back over to the spring I passed on the way up, just to make sure I got that trail as well. Once I hit East Wheelock Street, I turned right back around and headed back uphill to the shelter loop trail.

Back up near the top of the hill, I kept straight along the Velvet Rocks Shelter Loop past the one limited view of the day. After this, the trail goes gradually downhill, eventually passing the Adirondack style shelter. After some pictures at the shelter, I kept heading down to the lower junction with the Velvet Rocks Trail. Now it was time for another out and back, this time all the way down to downtown Hanover, where the trail comes up next to one of Dartmouth College's fields, and the back of a gas station. There were a couple rocky spots, but nothing overly steep or difficult. I took a break at a picnic table behind the gas station to readjust my shoes and get the debris that had gotten into them back out.

View from the shelter loop

Velvet Rocks Shelter

Heading down towards downtown Hanover

After my break, I headed back along the edge of the sports field and back into the woods. There was a bit of mud where the trail enters back into the trees, but some pieces of wood have been put down to help you keep your feet dry. It was a straight forward hike back up to the lower junction with the shelter loop trail since I already had been through here. Once at the junction, I headed right to stay on the Velvet Rocks Trail, avoiding the little bit of extra climbing of the loop trail. It didn't take too long to get back to the upper junction with the loop trail, where I then had to do more climbing to get up to where I had stopped during my first section of the day. This section of trail was a bit more like what you would find in the whites with some actual elevation gain, but still nothing too steep. It also went through some nice areas of forest, and I heard an owl making noise during the middle of the day.

Trail heading into the woods after following the edge of the sports field

On the climb to the Trescott Spur

Once reaching the highpoint of the trail where I left off earlier, I turned left to go down the Trescott Spur. The White Mountain Guide book mentions the trail sign possibly missing here, but it has been replaced. The sign is easier to notice coming from the north though, based on where it is hung and which direction it is facing. The upper section of this trail has lots of thick moss on either side, which signs tell hikers to try and stay off of. At the bottom of it, it goes through a section of trees that look like they had lots of wind damage at one point and had to be cleaned up. From the bottom of this trail, it was a short road walk back to my truck, but I planned it so that it was all downhill, and I took the time to have a snack while walking.

Coming down the mossy Trescott Spur

Google Earth representation of section 2

SECTION 3

Distance: 3.54 mi.
Elevation: 182 ft (overall) 570 ft (total)
Time: 0:56 (Oli's Eagle Trail) 1:58 (Total)
Trails: Velvet Rocks Trail

The last section of the day was an out and back along the Velvet Rocks Trail (AT) from a parking lot on Trescott Road. I didn't take as many pictures as normal through here as it was off and on light rain, and I only had to go as far as where the Oli's Eagle Trail junction that I hiked through in my first section of the day. The trail starts with a slight uphill, before heading downhill through some muddy and wet sections of trail. I had to pay attention more through here to keep my feet dry. Eventually, the trail gets to the low spot near a bog/swamp that has a bridge leading over the edge of it. While the bridge isn't exactly straight or level, it did seem plenty sturdy for hikers to be using.

Nice walking through a small switchback between large rocky areas

From the bog/swamp, the trail heads gradually uphill through some areas with interesting large rocks on either side of the trail. I was surprised today by some of these features, and also the signs of people using them from rock climbing. In fact, in this area there were two climbers packing up when I first hiked through. The hiking up to the junction I was at earlier today went smoothly and without any steep or rocky areas. Being the AT, it was very easy to follow, and I got lucky by seeing 2 deer just before I reached where I needed to turn around.

One the way back out, the rain seemed to have stopped, although it never rained hard enough for me to want a rain coat on. I also rain into an old co-worker from when I use to work back in this area. The only "hard" part of the walk back to my truck was the wet/muddy spots on the trail again. But being near the end of my hiking for the day, I wouldn't have had to worry much about getting my feet wet since I always have a spare change of clothes and shoes in my truck.

The bridge on the way back out

Google Earth representation of section 3

OVERALL

Distance: 10.46 mi.
Elevation: 1,096 ft (overall) 2,637 ft (total)
Time: 6:10

It was nice to get this spaghetti bowl of trails done all in one day so that I wouldn't have to come back again for just a small section of them. Some of the sections of trail were a little lack luster, but all in all it was an enjoyable day spent in the woods. now I can keep working my way closer to the whites from here.

Google Earth representation of the hike

Orange: Section 1, Red: Section 2, Yellow: Section 3

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

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Smarts Mountain (3,238 ft) 11-9-24

Distance: 9.76 mi.
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

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

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