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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