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
