Fumbling Around In The Woods: Mt. Israel (2,630 ft) 10-16-22

Distance: 9.68 mi.
Elevation: 1,730 ft (overall) 2,185 ft (total)
Time: (with an 8 year old setting the pace) 2:03 (View) 2:43 (Summit) 5:29 (Sandwich Notch Rd) 7:02 (Beede Falls) 7:12 (Total)
Trails: Wentworth Trail, Mead Trail, Guinea Pond Trail, Sandwich Notch Rd, Bearcamp River Trail

Wanting to hike somewhere new and get onto some trails I haven't done before, I picked Mt. Israel with my daughter. The weather for today was going to be sunny, but a little bit on the cooler and breezier side so I didn't want to go to a higher peak as my daughter doesn't have as much good cold weather gear as I do. The plan was to go up and down the Wentworth Trail, but with the option to go down the Mead Trail and loop back around if my daughter was willing to. This would give me even more new trails if she was feeling up to it.

The trail up is a nice hike without any real steep or overly difficult sections. There are a couple rocky bits, but the trail stays mostly smooth until the summit. The trail does come up to a false summit with a good view before you duck back into the trees for just a bit more. Just before the summit you will pass the intersection where the Mead Trail heads down to your left. At the summit, there is a nice view that is mostly to the north, but through/over the trees does include some to the east and west.

At the summit we spent plenty of time resting, snacking, and enjoying the view. After we were done I showed my daughter the map and explained our options and what we could do. I gave her the option to pick which way we would head down and she picked the longer way making a loop down the Mead Trail and out to Sandwich Notch Road and then back to the truck after stopping at Beede Falls.

Coming down the Mead Trail you can tell it is significantly less traveled. Today the trail was also a bit damp in places, but not enough to have running water coming down it. Due to the time of year, the trail also had a layer of leaves covering things that could hid more mud or obstacles. With the leaves on the ground and less traffic, there were a couple places along this trail that might have a chance to lose it just a bit, but if you pay attention you should be fine. We both enjoyed the hike coming down this way with less people and new things to look at.

Once on the Guinea Pond Trail it would be mostly flat back to the truck and should be smooth sailing. We did encounter a need to use the "High Water Bypass" that I didn't need to use the last time I was here. A snowmobile bridge that is in the trail that the bypass goes around appeared to be surrounded by water which means the rest of the trail would be under quite a bit. After the bypass came back to the main trail, there was also more standing water. We were warned about this by hikers heading up while we came down. For the most part we were able to walk on the high ground next to the trail, but in a few places we needed to cross deeper areas on sticks and logs others had placed over them. Not all of these were solid/stable and my daughter was very glad I happened to have my treking poles with me today and we could take them out through here.

After the water on the trail, it was actually quick hiking. We got to the road in what seemed like good time. We quickly headed up the road which unfortunately had a bit more uphill climbing that I was expecting to start. It took a while to walk the length of the road, but we took a couple breaks to rest. The surface of the road is harder than the trail, so if nothing else your feet hurt more on the road than the trail. My daughter was also getting a bit tired. We also goofed off a bit in an area with a small cascade and some very large boulders next to the road. We'll have to come back again to explore it more.

Finally we hit the last downhill slope and arrived at the short walk to Beede Falls. We spent a bit of time at the falls which was mostly me taking a few pictures while my daughter found rocks to throw into the pool at the falls. Once we were done, the hike back to the truck seemed to go very quick and we both enjoyed the softer surface of the trail again. In the end, the day went well and we both had a great time. We checked off another peak for both of us and I got in some new trails for redlining. And like always, my daughter was excited to stop somewhere to get food after our hike.