Sandwich Dome (3,993 ft) 8-22-20

Distance: 13.2 mi.
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

Sandwich Dome (3,993 ft) & Jennings Peak (3,460 ft) 10-11-13

Distance: 7.70 mi.
Elevation: 2,582 ft. (overall) 2,838 ft. (total)
Time: 3:10 (Sandwich Dome) 3:49 (Jennings Peak) 5:29 (total)
Trails: Sandwich Mtn Trail, Jennings Peak Spur, Drakes Brook Trail

When I originally planned for today off, the forecast was sunny and I hoped to get the end of the foliage. As the day came closer though, clouds kept coming into the forecast. While it was overcast and the sun only came out a couple times, there was still nice views, And even though the foliage was past peak (and pretty dull), it still turned into a nice fall hike.

The trail starts pretty easy with an immediate brook crossing. The water was low and there were both rocks and logs to cross. I choose the logs and on about the second step, my shoelace caught on what once was a branch. I'm glad I use waterproof hiking boots as I had to partially submerge the foot to keep from losing my balance. Once untangled, I was off again. Things start up gently then at a more moderate pace. Footing was good and the fallen leaves didn't create a problem. While the trail isn't eroded, it was cleaned off of leaves from what you can tell was water running down it. The trail also goes through some varied sections of forest and has a nice section of exposed rock to walk on. Here you will also find two large glacial erratics next to the trail with nothing else around.

Brook crossing

Large rocks along the trail

After some ups and level patches, the trail gets to the steepest and probably rockiest section just before Noon Peak. This harder section is soon rewarded with an open viewpoint to the east. Views here were nice, but they showed little foliage color lefts other than dull shades of yellow.

Nice view of the Tripyramids

After this spot, the trail stays pretty gentle with no real steep or hard spots on the way to the upper junction of the Drakes Brook Trail. One pass over an open rock area also provides a nice look at Jennings Peak ahead. I bypassed the Jennings Peak Spur on the way up with plans to tag it on the way down. Past this section, there are some trees that have blown down and were either step overs or unders. Nothing bad, but the damage through here shows the wind can get bad at times. The final climb up to Sandwich Dome is pretty steady and not too difficult.

Jennings Peak ahead

Sandwich Dome summit

View from Sandwich Dome

Jennings Peak from Sandwich Dome

As good as the foliage got

Downed trees to work under

I had the summit to myself today and was able to enjoy the quiet and the views nicely. I wandered on the paths at the summit a bit to find only limited views to the south. The other views were nice enough though. Eventually I headed back down the gentle trail to the Jennings Peak Spur. This trail is short with a quick steep section near the top. It comes out to the high point with open views back towards Sandwich Dome. I took another break here and just looked around. There is an interesting looking little peak a bit further out along Acteon Ridge.

Looking back at Sandwich Dome

Soon it was time to head down using the Drakes Brook Trail so that I wouldn't have to back track as much and so I could see more scenery. Part way down into the switchbacks, I thought I heard something behind me. Having not seen another person so far today, it didn't make sense that I would have missed someone at the summits and they would be coming down behind me. So I just figured it was normal noises in the woods. Well, eventually when I turned around, I saw a dog behind me. I knew there must be someone else out after all. They had done a loop up the Sandwich Mtn Trail and headed down Drakes Brook Trail without hitting the summits. Eventually while I took a picture down along the brook, she caught up to me and we hiked together and chatted for a bit. After a nice casual stroll down an old logging road that is the trail, we got to the brook crossing. It stopped to take pictures while she continued on with her dog. It was now just a short walk out on a XC ski trail.

View west from Jennings Peak with an interesting semi open peak nearby

Following the old logging road

While the view and foliage weren't as good as I had originally hoped for today, it still turned out to be a great day with a nice casual fall hike and few others on the trail. It's hard to complain about that.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE