Elevation: 2,539 ft (overall) 3,407 ft (total)
Time: 3:30 (Sandwich Dome) 7:06 (Road) 7:38 (Total)
Trails: Algonquin Trail, Black Mountain Pond Trail, Guinea Pond Trail, Sandwich Notch Road
Having finished the New England Hundred Highest last year, I have already hiked Sandwich Dome before. But today I wanted to revisit it using a different route so that I could work on some redlining and see some new trails and sights along the trails. I decided on accessing the mountain from Sandwich Notch Rd so that I could go up the Algonquin Trail and down the Black Mountain Pond Trail while being able to still walk easily back to my truck on the road. Hiking solo means I can't do a car spot with someone else very easily.
Sandwich Notch Road is narrow and a little rough in a couple spots, but a nice drive early in the morning when you don't see anyone else. The parking at the Algonquin Trail is big enough for 3-4 cars off the road at the trail sign and a few other small spots in the area next to the road so you don't block the roadway. Even though there was room in front of the sign, I picked a spot about 100 feet down the road. I don't mind the short walk and this way I would have 100 feet less to walk on the road at the end of the hike.
The Algonquin Trail starts off gradual with a smooth footbed, making for a nice walk and a good way to get warmed up for the rest of the hike. There is one brook crossing, but today it was pretty much bone dry with the drought we have been having this summer. After getting you warmed up, the trail makes a bit of a left turn and finally starts to gain elevation. Still at a good incline so as to not be too steep though. As the trail nears the turn by Black Mountain there are a couple sections where you get a break as the trail levels out for a bit.
An easy start to the day
After the trail passes by Black Mountain, there is a steep rocky scramble before you are rewarded with a couple nice views to the west from on or next to the trail. After this the trail keeps climbing and soon starts to work through some shorter trees and open sections of rock. I was a bit surprised by how much this section is similar to what you see when you near treeline on a bigger peak. This is where you will soon run into the intersection with the Black Mountain Pond Trail coming up from the right.
The first steep section of the day
Some nice views from along the trail
Looking down on Black Mountain Pond
Leaving the intersection, the trail becomes more mellow as it works up towards a subpeak of the mountain before going just to the side of it and back down some. Soon it goes back uphill gradually getting steeper as it nears the summit. You will come to a junction with the Sandwich Mountain Trail, at which you need to go to the right for a short distance before reaching the summit. The summit is a small open area with exposed rock and limited views over and through the trees. Today the lower level of the clouds were almost even with the summit, so the views were even more limited as you could only see parts of the nearby peaks through the clouds. The better views today were from the open spots along the trails.
The last climb before the summit
Views from the summit were hindered by the clouds
The small open summit
After a nice long break and some chatting with other hikers, it was time to turn around and head back down the mountain. The hike back down to the intersection with the Black Mountain Pond Trail was easy and went by quick. Once at the intersection it was time to head down a new trail and say goodbye to one of the hikers I had been playing leap frog with much of the day and had talked with quite a bit on the way back down to here.
A storm passing just south of the mountain
Shortly after starting down the Black Mountain Pond Trail it drops off steeply, steeper than I expected it to be. I guess I hadn't paid as much attention to the guide book as I thought. The trail wasn't too bad as long as you take your time and watch where you step. But if you are uncomfortable going down steep rocky trails or don't like coming up trails this steep, you might want to pick another route. The trail stays steep for quite a ways with some short breaks from it. It also goes next to some interesting and tall rock faces as well as over some very large boulders with some pretty deep drops between them. While steep, rocky, and challenging, it was also interesting and fun too.
Heading steeply down the mountain
The trail passing a cliff face
Shortly after the steep part of the trail ends, you will come to the upper portion of Black Mountain Pond. Little more than a big puddle with some swampy area around it, but it does feed down into the main pond. Just after this the trail passes part of the pond with a short path leading to the shoreline. The area around the pond has had lots of recent work done to eliminate many extra tent spots and allow revegetation to happen. Due to this, it is asked that you don't walk along the shore and try to stay on all trails around the pond. Signs clearly indicate where things are here and some rope is still in place to help keep you on trail and off sites you shouldn't be on.
Black Mountain Pond
From the pond out the trail is pretty gentle with good footing and no more steep or rocky sections. It would have been pretty smooth and fast sailing from here out, but I hadn't packed enough water and didn't bring anything I could have filtered water from the pond with. So I kept at a moderate pace as I still had a good distance to go without much to drink. Even though I didn't expect much water to be coming over it, I did make the short hike out the spur trail to Mary Cary Falls. I was redlining today anyways and didn't want to have to come back just for this section alone. The falls look like they could be quite interesting with lots of water coming over them, but today there wasn't a drop coming down and they were just a pile of rocks.
A dry Mary Cary Falls
The rest of the Black Mountain Pond Trail was a nice walk as it gently lost some elevation. It follows the brook for a while which today wasn't really flowing. It also crosses another brook just before the intersection with the Guinea Pond Trail that was flowing some. It was an easy brook to cross today with dry feet and made for a good place to splash some water on myself to help me cool down a bit. The Guinea Pond Trail was again smooth and good for fast walking. It stays mostly straight except for going around a large swamp. I does come out onto the powerlines briefly near the end before Sandwich Notch Road. Once at the end of the trail, it was a steady slog back to the truck along Sandwich Notch Road. All the while thinking about the big bottle of ice water I had waiting for me in a cooler in my truck.
The trail next to the dry brook
The last water crossing, quite easy today
Guinea Pond Trail
Google Earth representation of the hike
For all the pictures from the hike, just go to my gallery on SmugMug
