Mt. Wolf (3,478 ft) 10-4-25

Distance: 13.1 mi.
Elevation: 2,660 ft (overall) 4,011 ft (total)
Time: 3:01 (Gordon Pond) 3:17 (Kinsman Ridge Trail) 4:24 (Mt. Wolf) 7:01 (Dilly Trail View) 7:36 (Total)
Trails: Gordon Pond Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Dilly Trail (abandoned)

NOTE: The lower section of the Gordon Pond Trail has now been decomissioned, so this write up isn't as relevant as it was at the time. Please be careful if you are going to try and hike this section of trail as it is now not maintained or an official trail.

With some discussion about whether the Gordon Pond Trail is going to be closed on the lower end due in part to no place to park for it, I wanted to try and get a hike of it done while it was still open. I would rather check of a trail for redlining by actually hiking it rather than by having it close and no longer needing too. The original parking area for this trail was blocked off by the owner after people using it to swim in the river left too much trash around it. The trail also starts by basically walking up someone's driveway and right past their garage, so it is just a bit of an odd start to a trail. For my hike, I parked further down the road (east) at a pull off with ample room. I then walked up the side of the road to the driveway where the trail starts. With some intel from another redliner, I knew where I needed to go through the yard so that I could go through quickly without needing to wander around looking for the trail.

Once into the woods and on the trail, you find that it follows a dirt road through the woods that appears to still be used by someone who has maple trees tapped in this area for making maple syrup. This makes for easy walking until you get to the powerlines. The trail use to go straight after going under the powerlines, but now that there are more houses built on the road, it has been relocated and it now goes up the powerlines for a distance following an access road/path. There is a sign that makes it clear where you need to turn right to go back into the woods. This leads you back down so that you lose all of the elevation that you just gained. You will then turn left at another sign and continue on the original path of the trail.

The trail starts on a woods road that is still used

Turn back into the woods after going up the powerlines around some houses

At this point the trail follows and old railroad grade, so it makes for pretty easy walking and an easy start of the day. There were a couple wet spots of downed trees/branches to get around, but this was all good easy walking until reaching the powerlines again. Once I popped out onto the powerlines I turned right and followed the access road (snowmobile trail) until the bridge just a bit up the trail. I checked the map on my phone here (because it was acting up) and saw that I had gone past the trail. So I turned around and went back to where the trail comes out onto the powerlines again. Well, it turns out that the trail actually crosses here, but the vegetation was so grown up I didn't see that. There is a blue painted blaze on a tree on the other side of the powerlines, but the very narrow path leading to it didn't get my attention enough to see it. I pushed through the bushes, and was back on track into the trees again.

Following an old railroad bed

Less than obvious the trail actually crosses under the powerlines here

After getting back into the woods, the trail goes straight for a little bit until a sharp right turn that is marked by a plastic arrow sign commonly used for snowmobile trails. At this turn, the trail crosses a stream that was easy on this day with low water and plenty of rocks to step on. The trail then turns back to the left and follows what is an old woods road. This section of trail was wider than trails normally are and had a steady incline that kept you gaining elevation without being to difficult. This section was quite enjoyable and was a pleasant mix of green and yellow leaves as the foliage change hadn't fully taken affect yet in this area.

Stream crossing

Steady climbing on an old woods road

After plenty of easy hiking and climbing, the trail comes to the upper crossing of Gordon Pond Brook. While easy today with very little water, this crossing looks like it would be the trickiest part of the trail with spring melt or after hard rain. It isn't very wide, and the rocks slope down to the narrow path the water takes before sloping back up on the other side. This could be tricky (or slippery) with limited other ways around it. This brook crossing was interesting though because all of the exposed rock up stream from it makes it look like lots of water has come down through here at some time and it looks like it would have really been ripping through when it was.

Looking upstream at the upper crossing of Gordon Pond Brook

After the crossing, the trail still follows an old woods road as it gets closer uphill to Gordon Falls. The trail works past a small cascade in the brook on your left that I initially thought to be Gordon Falls, but after hiking further up, I believe Gordon Falls to actually be up where the trail crosses the brook as the trail levels out. At this upper section of falls where the trail crosses, there were some interesting old artifacts slowly being buried by leaves and dirt. The water crossing today was very easy, but if it were spring time or after a heavy rain, this could be trickier. The rocks where you cross are wide and flat so water probably wouldn't be super deep when running high, but the surface of the rock has lots of moss on it and it angles down stream, so it could be slippery with that water running over it.

Brook crossing at Gordon Falls

From the falls to the pond was nice easy walking as the terrain mostly levels out through here and there isn't really any climbing. It's just a plesant walk through the woods and along a small brook. You just need to pay attention for where the path to the pond breaks off to the right from the trail so that you don't walk right past it. The pond was a very pleasnt area and you can tell many people have spent the night in the area along the shore. It also provided a nice view up to Mt. Wolf, which makes it appear closer than the hike along the trail actually felt.

Mostly level from Gordon Falls to Gordon Pond

Gordon Pond with Mt. Wolf behind it

From the pond, it's a pretty easy and short walk to the junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail. Just turning left here would have still made for a nice loop for the day, but I wanted to add in the out and back to Mt. Wolf from this side. This peak is a delisted peak from the NH 52 With a View list, but it can still be counted to the list since it was on it at one point. By hiking it from this side, I could get the trails on the other side by coming up from Reel Brook while hiking the Kinsmans or something similar. The Kinsman Ridge Trail is also the Appalachian Trail, so it was easy to follow and well marked.

Since the Kinsman Ridge Trail sees so much more traffic, the trail was now much rockier than the earlier sections I hiked today. The trail here does a mix of climbing and short level sections. It steadily works its way up to the ridge that connects a shorter subpeak and the summit of Mt. Wolf. It was starting to become pretty warm by this point of the day, so this section of trail was a bit slower going for me than I would have hoped. Before too long though, I was up on the ridge and it was an easy walk over to the spur trail that leads up to the small summit of Mt. Wolf.

Rocky section of Kinsman Ridge Trail with leaning trees

At the spur to the summit of Mt. Wolf

The summit of Mt. Wolf is a small opening in the trees. There was a group of 3 other hikers when I got there, and I was glad that they were almost done since there was so little space. Once they left, I had the summit to myself, but it was still hard no to be up against tree branches. With how limited the view has become from the summit, I can see why the peak has been taken off the NH 52 With a View list. The only really view is in the direction of Franconia Ridge, and you can't even see all of that above the trees without moving around. By looking through breaks in the branches, you could make out a few other summits like Cannon Mountain.

The small summit area of Mt. Wolf

The limited view from Mt. Wolf

If you are tall enough, you can see Franconia Ridge

After a while at the summit, I turned around and headed back towards the junction with the Gordon Pond Trail. This was very straight forward since I had just come through here. Unfortunately, after the junction, the trail had to climb uphill some more before finally descending down into Kinsman Notch. It starts with some steady climbing, before having a couple small ups and downs along the ridge the trail follows. With how warm the day was getting, this was taking a bit of a toll on me and I was slowing down through here.

Exposed rock section of trail coming back down to the junction

Some climbing up after the junction

On a downhill section before reaching the abandoned Dilly Trail, I finally took a nice 15 minute break in a shaded area with some soft ground to lay down on. I wish I had a spray bottle of water or something to cool myself off quicker, but laying on the cooler ground helped enough. After my break, I made my way to the now abandoned Dilly Trail Spur. This trail use to go all the way down to Route 112, but a forest fire did enough damage that the lower section was closed. Later on, the upper section was closed as well and the sign was removed. I knew what to look for to find the trail, but I didn't realize that it had been fully closed, so I didn't actually need to hike it at all today. Since I didn't know that until after, I made my way down the trail to the limited view point that is quickly growing back in. The trail was mostly easy to follow, but it is also clear it hasn't been maintained for a while. So I made my way slowly back uphill to the Kinsman Ridge Trail.

The abandoned Dilly Trail

Very limited view from the Dilly Spur

From the Dilly Spur Trail, it is all downhill until you hit Route 112 in Kinsman Notch. The trail gets pretty steep through here and it a little bit rocky. After as much climbing as I had done today, I took my time on my tired legs to make sure I didn't have any issues. I feel bad for the northbound AT hikers that have to climb this section, but then again the Whites aren't that easy on them at any point. I kept making my way downhill until I was finally at the crossing of Route 112. There is a nice parking lot here, and I had stashed my bicycle here earlier in the day on my way to my starting point. I took a bit of a break on a rock next to the parking area before finally hopping onto my bike. It was a long steady downhill ride all the way back to my truck. You can get some pretty good speed coming down the steeper sections of the road, but the road is in pretty good shape so I didn't worry much about that. It took me just 12 minutes to ride the nearly 5 miles back to my truck.

Steap rocky descent into Kinsman Notch

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

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Flat Mountain Pond Redlining 10-12-24

Distance: 11.4 mi.
Elevation: 1,296 ft (overall) 3,150 ft (total)
Time: 2:34 (Pond) 3:11 (Shelter) 5:22 (Total)
Trails: Flat Mountain Pond Trail

Good weather, Columbus Day weekend, and beautiful foliage meant that lots of hikers would be out on all of the popular trails and peaks that provide good views. Wanting to avoid crowds, but still get out for a nice hike with some foliage and other sights along the trail, I picked something a litte bit off the beaten path that would get me some more redlining miles. I had thought about doing this loop of the Flat Mountain Pond Trail for a while, so I grabbed my hiking gear and put my bike in the back of my truck. Before starting the hike, I stashed my bike in the woods at the western end of my hike at the trail head on Bennett St. I then drove to the other end of the loop and parked at the trail head on Whiteface Intervale Rd.

Going in this direction, the trail starts off very easy by following a gated woods road that is nice and flat while following along next to the Whiteface River. Part way up the trail is a swamp on the left that provides a nice view of both Flat Mountain and Sandwhich Dome behind it. A little further up the road, the trail turns off to the right at a signed intersection. Here the trail becomes closer to the width of an ATV as it goes into the thicker trees. Another turn in the trail comes up soon where another sign indicates the right turn onto a path that is now the width of a traditional hiking trail.

Early section of trail

View from the swamp

After this junction, the trail starts to gain some elevation, but stays pretty gentle and easy to hike. Eventually the trail starts to follow along the wide of a drop off to the right which leads down to the ravine that the Whiteface River runs through. After a while of this, the trail starts to work down the hillside towards a crossing of the river. This sidehill section gradually goes downhill before a switchback near the bottom. At this switchback, the path appears to go straight, but that path slowly goes away without any real end. I pulled a downed piece of a tree up to block this off to make the right hand turn back for the switchback more noticeable. I missed it initially, but it was more obvious on the way back to the trail after this path ended. Hopefully by putting this section of tree across the path, other hikers will not make the same mistake I did. After this switchback, the trail goes down to the flat next to the river, before coming to a crossing where there once was a bridge, but now only the abutments remain.

Following along the edge of the drop to the river

River crossing where the bridge no longer remains

After crossing the river, the trail mostly follows the east bank using an old logging road. At one point of this section after entering the wilderness area, the trail was partially blocked by debris (branches and brush), making it seem like you were intended to go around it. I didn't see a defined path, and being a wilderness area, there was no sign to say if this was the case. I decided to just walk around it and continue on, where I found a section that was washed out, but still able to be used with care. Above this, there was what looked like a defined path heading off to the side of the trail coming downhill from the other direction. So perhaps, there is a new path leading around this washout, it just isn't well enough defined yet.

Continuing up the trail further, there are a couple sections which are getting close to the river that could get washed out in the future. There are also a couple small streams that enter into the river from your right that you will need to cross. On the day I was hiking, they were not an issue and the trail was pretty straight forward to follow across them and once on the other side. After a few of these small tributaries, the trail crosses back over the Whiteface River, back to the western side of it. Being higher up, the water was lower and the river was narrower, so it was pretty easy to cross. Right after crossing, the trail turns to the right and continues upstream some more. After a little while, the trail seems to follow a small brook bed that was dry while I hiked it, but there was a turn off from that to the right that I must of missed initially. The brook bed was starting to not look correct and the foot path was less defined. I looked around a bit before turning back, and luckily, I had only missed the turn by a short distance and I was soon back on trail.

Walking through the trees with leaves changing colors

Crossing back over the Whiteface River

As the trail gets closer to the pond, the grade levels out some, which makes for easier hiking. Once the trail does reach the pond, you are presented with a nice view across the upper half of the pond. The trail starting around the pond is smooth and easy, but as it works its way around, it does get harder. There isn't much flat area next to the water, so it follows along more of the sidehill with a narrower path that occasionally has to go over or around larger rocks. As it reaches the western side, the trail gets a little further from the water, and becomes more like a normal white mountains hiking trail, before working back towards the shore where the shelter is a short path away from the main trail.

Flat Mountain Pond from the northeastern end

Flat Mountain Pond Shelter

Right near the shelter is this open section of shoreline

I thought the shelter at the pond was nice and located in a good spot mostly out of the wind, but near the shore. There are also a couple tent spots near it as well, which was nice. The first person I saw of the day was here at the shelter, and it was a worker from the forest service just checking in on things and making sure all was in order. She was very nice to talk to, and we discussed a lot of hiking related things while we watched the higher than normal winds blow the surface of the pond around, and even at times lift some of the water off of the surface and blow it through the air.

Descending south from the pond and shelter, the trail follows an old logging railroad bed, so it is nice and wide and a very gentle grade going downhill. With the trail like this, it is easy to keep a faster pace while hiking down. It does however make for a longer route as a train wouldn't have been able to go steeply downhill/uphill. This does mean there is one longer gradual switchback/loop out to the right coming down. The few brook crossings that there were through here were also very easy to get across.

The trail shortly after leaving the shelter and pond

A small stream crossing on the descent

On the lower half of the trail leading this direction, there were a couple spots where the old railroad tracks would have crossed small stream/ravines on a trestle which are no longer there. Because of this, there are a couple dips in the trail with a climb back out of the lower spots you will have to deal with, but overall, the trail stays easy and gentle. This loop today could have been shortened a little bit by taking the Bennett Street Trail down instead of staying on the Flat Mountain Pond Trail over to the Guinea Pond Trail junction, but I wanted to stay on just this trail so I could check off the entire trail for my redlining. I will need to come back anyways to grab the other sections, so I will do the Bennett Street Trail then.

After passing the junction with the Guinea Pond Trail, the Flat Mountain Pond Trail does drop steeper than it has been for the previous sections, but it doesn't get very difficult through here. Eventually it flattens back out again as well, and becomes an easy walk again. After joining back up with the bottom of the Bennett Street Trail, the trail follows and old road which is very wide and easy to walk as you are once again following along a river. Once I got to the trail head at the bottom, I went and grabbed my bike from where I stashed it in the woods, and road the relatively flat roads back to my truck. While this was an easy ride back that went quickly, it did remind me of how differently the two exercises use your legs muscles.

Mostly flat trail further down the mountain

Nearing the end of the hike on another old road

Google Earth representation of the hike. Blue is hiking, orange is biking

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

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Mt. Chocorua (3,500 ft) & Middle Sister (3,340 ft) 10-10-15

Distance: 10.1 mi.
Elevation: 2,749 ft (overall) 3,679 ft (total)
Time: 2:55 (Jim Liberty Cabin) 3:40 (Mt. Chocorua) 4:29 (Middle Sister) 6:34 (Total)
Trails: Piper Trail, Weetamoo Trail, Hammond Trail, Liberty Trail, Piper Trail, Middle Sister Trail, Carter Ledge Trail, Nickerson Ledge Trail, Piper Trail

Things started off a bit chilly this morning, but since it's already almost mid October, that isn't surprising. The trail is wide and very wasy to start, so I caught up to some other hikers pretty quickly. I hung back just a bit since I knew I would be taking another trail early on, and didn't suspect they would be doing the same.

If it weren't for the sign at the start of the Weetamoo Trail, I probably would have walked right past it. There isn't anything distinguishing about the start of this trail with the open woods at this part of the Piper Trail. The less defined treadway shows it isn't as heavily traveled. The trail stays pretty easy, still not gaining much elevation. Before long, it works it's way to the biggest brook crossing of today's hike. Even with some recent rain, the water level was pretty low and the crossing was easy with so many rocks above water.

Brook crossing

Pretty soon the trail starts into a long gradual swithcback. It turns to the left and works along the side hill where the trail has been dug in a bit. It then turns back to the right and follows the spine of a small ridge. After this interesting section, the trail veers a bit more to the right and starts to get a bit more rocky. The trail again turns left, and stays this way pretty much until the Hammond Trail. The trail passes by a large glacial erratic on the right side of the trail. I thought this might be Weetamoo Rock that was on my map, but there was no sign to say so. Soon after though, I found the real Weetamoo Rock... a much bigger erratic on the left side of the trail. Unfortunately, there are enough branches in the way that there wasn't a clear spot to photograph the entire rock from.

Weetamoo Trail

On the Hammond Trail, the terrain got a bit more interesting. There were a few narrower gaps to climb through and the trail started to go over flat exposed rock while staying in the trees. I've always liked sections like this. The summit cone was also starting to come in and out of sight now. It was still cloudy in all directions, but I was starting to see some clear sky off in the distance, giving me hope for sun and nice views before I was done. After a few ups and downs in the trail and one intersection, the trail goes right past the Jim Liberty cabin. The cabin is very close to the summit cone sticking up ahead of you. I expected it to be a bit further away. I stopped here for a short break out of the wind for a snack and to make sure I had dry layers on. With the cool temps and blowing winds, it was smarter to do that here than somewhere more exposed.

Jim Liberty Cabin

I continued past the cabin up the trail. The trail starts to get steeper here and more difficult. There was at least one spot where I needed my hands to help pull myself up. The trail also goes over a few open rock slabs that could be tricky or dangerous when wet or in winter. One of these open areas though seemed to have small sections broken or blasted out in order to make a more flat surface to walk across. After the intersection with the Bee Line Trail, the Liberty trail turns right and heads up towards the summit. It got steep here, but footing was good. At the intersection of the short spur that actually leads up to the summit, I didn't notice any blazes indicating which way it went. So I ended up basically just going straight and climbed up over the rocks to get there.

Section of rock made flatter for the trail

The summit was a nice open area with views all around, but unfortunately the clouds were still above us. To the west and north things had cleared up, but we were still in the shade. There were a number of others scattered around the summit, mostly trying to stay out of the wind, which was averaging 22 mph. While I had forgotten a pair of gloves and a hat for today, it seemed many other hikers forget anything with long legs or long sleeves. Quite a few hikers coming up were very under dressed and looked quite cold. It was only 31 degrees on the summit and the windchill made it feel like 21.

View from Mt. Chocorua

With all the people around, I didn't stay at the summit long. On the way down I was able to find the blazes for the spur trail. I even found one back at the bottom of it that I missed earlier. If you are at the start of it, it's a bit to the right as you look up the rocks. Continuing over towards Middle Sister was mostly straight forward, although there were a number of faded blazes on the rocks. These faded blazes along with people not seeming to realize where the Liberty Trail goes and where the summit spur is meant lots of hikers were just heading up over the rocks looking for the top. This meant many looking confused or trying more dangerous routes. It also meant more traffic walking over the vegetation around the summit which already has a hard enough time growing.

Once past the Piper Trail, I started seeing fewer hikers. This was fine with me. It was a quick climb up to the first sister where I saw a small mole. I tried to get a picture of him, but he ducked under some rocks before I could. I quickly headed to Middle Sister. The distance between the peaks is short and the trail is easy. I spent quick a bit of time at the summit of Middle Sister. There wasn't anyone else there until I was ready to leave, and the structures gave me something to explore. I was also patiently waiting for the clouds to clear above me. Eventually, the clouds did clear up enough that I was in the sun. It was nice to get the warmth, plus the better lighting for pictures.

Middle Sister summit view west

Middle Sister summit view north

Middle Sister summit stone foundation

I headed down the Middle Sister Trail until I reached the Carter Ledge Trail. From here, it got steep for a while. The trail goes down over many open areas of rocks. Some of which were still a bit wet and potentially slippery. I carefully made my way down these and was soon on a flat section of trail leading over Carter Ledge. The trail stays a safe distance from the actual ledge, but things are open enough that there are some nice views and it an interesting walk through the area.

Some nice patches of foliage

View from Carter Ledge Trail

After the ledges, the is steep for a short distance then gets easier. At a large rock in the trail, I followed a path to the left and soon couldn't tell where the trail went. After looking around for a while, I headed back up to a spot where I knew I was on the trail. Apparently the trail turns right at that rock instead of left. A small blaze or arrow would have been nice here. Once I was on the Nickerson Ledge Trail, it was fast and smooth hiking most of the way back to the car. The Nickerson Ledge Trail is mostly flat with a nice soft treadway. The Piper Trail is wide and pretty easy with only some rocks and multiple wood water bars. Once back to the car I saw how much the parking lot was overflowing. I was glad I got here early and stayed off the most popular trail.

All in all, I liked most of the mountain. The route I took today was very nice. I didn't like the crowds of seemingly inexperienced hikers out trying to look at foliage on the holiday weekend. They couldn't completely be blamed for their actions though as the trail above treeline needs some serious reblazing (or cairns for when there is snow). I was honestly disappointed about how poorly the trails were blazed considering how popular this mountain is.

Looking back during a quick stop at Chocorua Lake

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE