Skiing Jay Peak (Day 44)

Skiing Jay Peak

Friday, April 24th, 2026

Runs: 17

Distance: 14.73 miles

Elevation: 16,696 feet

Max Speed: 35.2 mph

Avg. Speed: 13.1 mph

Moving Time: 1 hour, 7 minutes, 9 seconds

Total Time: 5 hours, 52 minutes, 17 seconds

Emma and I had a stupidly wonderful time at Pattie Gonia last night and were ampted up for Linnea's birthday of skiing in Hannah Montana outfits (and wigs, of course!). For the first time in history, Emma was out the door well before me so she could get a bike ride in. Linnea, Andrew, and her parents got a condo on the Grammy Jay for a few nights and invited us to stay with them! I got there around 9:15am. Sarah was there too, as she spent last night! Linnea's mom was making breakfast, and the vibes (and decorations) were immaculate!

Emma landed around 9:45am and we all started to get ready - the wigs were really something! As someone who has never had long-long hair, I firmly decided I would never be growing mine out - my god. We took bunches and bunches of photos and walked out onto the Grammy Jay to start our day!

Snow Report

FRIDAY APRIL 24 AT 8:23 AM

Prime Time Spring

Spring Hours:

Lower Mountain - 9a to 5p

Upper Mountain - 9:30a to 5p

8 of 9 Lifts to start the day.

This one's all about the weekend.

Today brings a mix of clouds and sun with temps around 40 and a light northwest breeze. It'll be a firmer start, softening a bit as the day goes on, a good setup lap for what's coming.

The mountain is still skiing top to bottom, Tramside to Stateside, with coverage holding where it matters most after a strong week from both Mother Nature and Mountain Ops.

And then it lines up.

Saturday and Sunday are shaping up to be exactly what you want this time of year, mostly sunny, light winds, and temps climbing into the 50s. Cool nights, soft afternoons, and a clean spring corn cycle. About as good as it gets for late April.

The Annual Tailgate Party is also happening in the Stateside lot tomorrow, and the timing couldn't get any better.

Looking ahead, we've got all lifts spinning through Sunday (minus the Stateside Carpet), and this weekend will be the final laps for the Tram and Tramside Carpet. After that, things get a bit more weather-dependent midweek, with the Village Double taking a short break before coming back for the weekend. We'r enot done yet, we're planning to keep lifts spinning deep into May.

Late April at Jay. Still very much in play.

Runs 1-4

Run 1: Lower Grammy Jay

[0.15 miles; 1:02; 72 feet; 13.6 mph max; 8.7 mph avg]

Run 2: Village Chair - Queen's Highway

[0.48 miles; 1:31; 318 feet; 28.2 mph max; 19.1 mph avg]

Run 3: Tram - Vermonter - Montrealer - Northway - Purgatory - Angel's Wiggle - Paradise Meadows

[1.41 miles; 5:09; 1,821 feet; 35.2 mph max; 16.5 mph avg]

There was a comical miscommunication between Emma and Patrol Sarah (Emma thought Sarah was working, Sarah was apalled to see that we were at Jay without her), so Sarah ended up coming a bit late and without a wig! Our first run of the day, if you could call it that, was down the lower quarter of the Grammy Jay, which was... exciting? Very narrow in most spots, and came to a screeching hault before the village chair! We all popped our skis off to get on the chair, but Linnea was adamant about duck-walking to it (very funny). 

Run #2 was down Queen's Highway - the sun felt WONDERFUL and the snow was behaving! Three of us were Hannah's, Sarah was Lily, and Andrew was Rico. There was no line for the Tram, so we hopped right on! At the top, we got a patroller to take our family photo (with a few "oh my god's") and then we had truly a delightful time down Vermonter to Purgatory to the Wiggle and Meadows. Spring skiing was skiing good! The vibe was good and silly, and we were just having a wonderful time. Down at base, we all did a bathroom lap, said hi to a few patrollers who weren't sure what they were looking at, and headed up to the Bonnie for some more fun!

Runs 4-6

Run 4: Bonaventure Quad - Goat Run - Lower River Quai - Interstate

[1.25 miles; 4:53; 1,581 feet; 33.2 mph max; 15.3 mph avg]

Run 5: Tram - Northway - Paradise Meadows

[1.90 miles; 8:50; 1,834 feet; 29.8 mph max; 12.9 mph avg]

Run 6: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Northway - Hell's Crossing - Angel's Wiggle - Paradise Meadows

[1.12 miles; 6:29; 1,165 feet; 29.2 mph max; 10.3 mph avg]

We collected Patrol Sarah for our run up the Bonnie, which was admittedly a little chilly, stuck a Hannah Montana sticker on the chair, and skied down Goat Run to Lower Quai. Goat Run had significantly better coverage due to comically recent snowmaking, but it was also partially a sheet of ice. The price we pay! Lower Quai was a dream, as always. I somehow got a PR on Interstate, which is just a little bit funny. No line for the Tram again, and now that we had Patrol Sarah, we needed a new family photo!

We got back on the Tram, took some more photos up top, and had a tee-hee all the way down run of Northway to the Meadows. The new cut was in wonderful shape, which was a treat!

We had a short walk over to the Jet, where we stuck a wild sticker of a Hannah Montana-themed cigarette carton on a chair and got our classic family photo with the Vermonter behind us. We were all ready for a snack and another drink, so we skied down Montrealer to Hell's back to Stateside. We had our rice balls outside, but the clouds had officially rolled in, pushing us inside to enjoy our drinks. Linnea got to add a Hannah Montana sticker to the bus in the Bullwheel, and all was wonderful!

Runs 7-9

Run 7: Jet Triple - Haynes

[0.72 miles; 4:39; 1,211 feet; 24.3 mph max; 9.2 mph avg]

Run 8: Jet Triple - The Jet

[0.69 miles; 3:05; 1,158 feet; 31.9 mph max; 13.5 mph avg]

Run 9: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Angel's Wiggle - Paradise Meadows

[1.17 miles; 4:34; 1,171 feet; 28.1 mph max; 15.4 mph avg]

We briefly split up for a few laps - Linnea, Sarah, and Andrew went back to the condo to get some layers (it was fairly chilly out), and Emma, Patrol Sarah, and I went up to the Jet for some laps there. Run #7 was down Haynes, which was truly wonderful. It was ungroomed with a few choke points, but the bumps helped warm us up, which we needed! Run #8 was down the Jet, which was in WONDERFUL spring shape. Either corn or carvable rotting glacier, and it was all wonderful. I had to pee after this, but Emma was clear that if I went inside to pee she would lose steam, so I went off in the woods, which resulted in an insane photo taken by Emma of me doing my business. Run #9 was down Montrealer to the Wiggle and Meadows, and we met the rest of the crew back there!

Runs 10-14

Run 10: Bonaventure Quad - Goat Run - Green Mountain Boys - Harmony Lane

[1.26 miles; 5:24; 1,539 feet; 28.7 mph max; 14.0 mph avg]

Run 11: Tramside Carpet

Run 12: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Chalet Meadows

[0.55 miles; 2:32; 305 feet; 26.6 mph max; 13.0 mph avg]

Run 13: Taxi Quad - Boulevard

[0.48 miles; 3:25; 390 feet; 26.0 mph max; 8.5 mph avg]

Run 14: Jet Triple - The Jet

[0.65 miles; 3:13; 1,161 feet; 24.8 mph max; 12.2 mph avg]

Energy was starting to run a little low, but per usual we kept yes-and-ing each other into more skiing! Run #10 was up the Bonnie and down Goat to Green Mountain Boys, which was also in wonderful spring shape. Harmony Lane was in... variable condition. The final runout had some actually impressive mini jumps where the water bars were.

Run #11 was up and down our Tramside Carpet, where Linnea triggered the emergency stop by having her poles down (I told Emma there's no sign!). We rode the Metro next for a chill run down Perry Merril and Chalet Meadows, and hit what was going to be a two-more-skip-the-last for most the crew with a Taxi Quad/Boulevard bombing just after. However, Sarah wanted to hit the Jet again, and I wanted to, and Emma and Patrol Sarah then wanted to, and then Andrew and Linnea wanted to... too. Yay! We walked over to the Jet, took the triple up, and truly had the best run of the day down. In the hour or so between our last run it softened up spectacularly. I might use the phrase "like a DREAM" a lot, but this WAS. Andrew sent a 270 off a bump which was fun to see in his jorts, and we all giggled on down.

Runs 15-17

Run 15: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Northway - Paradise Meadows

[1.09 miles; 4:32; 1,178 feet; 25.8 mph max; 14.5 mph avg]

Run 16: Bonaventure Quad - Goat Run - Boulevard

[1.17 miles; 4:26; 1,319 feet; 28.9 mph max; 15.9 mph avg]

Run 17: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway - Grammy Jay

[0.61 miles; 3:23; 472 feet; 26.7 mph max; 10.8 mph avg]

Now things were actually wrapping up. Sarah and I were still going strong, but the rest of the crew was all done. We all got back on the Jet and skied Montrealer together. Sarah and I went down Northway to the Meadows to the Bonnie while Emma, Linnea, and Andrew went to the Taxi while Patrol Sarah went back to the patrol room.

Sarah and I did all of Goat Run to the Boulevard (I ALMOST got my PR! The snow was sticky at the end!) before hitting the Taxi for our final ride of the day. We ended on Queen's Highway, which was a choppy disaster to the Grammy Jay, which was legally closed (and for good reason). We had to come to a few screeching haults for mud patches and some silly duck walking. In all seriousness, the "Grammy Jay Headwall" was 100% the most technical skiing I had to do all day. It was a one-liner with sharp turns and dirt and rocks to dodge. We hopped off back at the condo, and got to our apres!

The rest of the night truly was such a delight. We yapped a ton, Linnea's mom made dinner, and we played Yahtzee and Golf (card game) until bedtime. Such a wonderful night celebrating Linnea and skiing with friends! The next morning Sarah and I were up early for hiking (seperately), had a delightful, crisp morning walk across Raccoon Run in the golden sun to get our cars, and were on the road before anyone beside Linnea's mom was awake.

Definitely starting to get a little emotional about the end of the season! The only definite day I have left is Jay's closing day, which is currently slated for May 9th! I currently have no plans to ski next weekend, which would be my first weekend in 2026 without skiing!

Map of Jay Peak (2025-2026, Updated)

Mt. Rowe & Gunstock via Bypass, Rowe's Revenge, Overlook (Belknap Range)

Mt. Rowe & Gunstock via Bypass, Rowe's Revenge, Overlook (Belknap Range)

Hike Type: Figure-8 Loop

Distance: 8.53 miles

Elevation: 2,228 feet

Time: 3 hours, 7 minutes
Parking: Park at main parking area at Gunstock Mountain Resort.

Hiking Challenges: Belknap Range Redliner; Belknap Range Grid

The Hike 

I was hoping to go hiking with Christien yesterday (the day after Lafayette), but New England weather said "you can, but you'll be soaking wet and cold," so we opted for a day home. Now it's Thursday of break, and I was heading back up to Jay Peak to celebrate Linnea's 30th birthday (Hannah Montana themed, naturally). Emma and I were going to see Pattie Gonia at the Higher Ground tonight, so I decided I'd leave at a moderately reasonable hour and get a hike in in the Belknaps on my way up!

My drive was relatively sleepy but I did the best I could! Thankfully, the weather was back to lovely with sunny skies, minimal clouds, and temperatures in the 50s. It felt weird to park at Gunstock Mountain Ski Area, especially post-season when the only folks there appeared to be doing spring maintenance, but it was all valid! My boots were still wet from Tuesday's hike up Mt. Lafayette, so I threw on the hiking shoes (Merrell Moab 3s) that I hadn't worn since last fall - apparently I have a big hole in one that I forgot about... Anyway, I got started just after 10:00am!

"GUNSTOCK MOUNTAIN RESORT

Formerly Belknap Mountains Recreation Area

Gunstock Mountain Resort opened in 1937 as the Belknap Mountains Recreation Area. It was the largest WPA project in New Hampshire, putting many men back to work and believed to be the largest four-season recreation area in the East. It featured one of teh first fully developed ski trail systems in the country, the first chairlift in the Northeast and a unique group of four graduated ski jumps; the longest was used for Olympic tryouts in 1938. The Main Lodge was the costliest WPA-funded building project built in the state. In the summer, the resort hosted national motorcycle competitions.

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places"

From Historical Marker in the parking lot.

I started my hike by walking the road around the pond, which had a duo of wood ducks swimming around. My true hike began across from the treetop course on the Ridge Trail, which doubled/tripled/quadrupled as the uphill ski route, cell tower access road, and the mountain coaster access road (oh, five-tupled, it is also the Belknap Range Trail).

The Ridge Trail crossed underneath the mountain coaster, which was cool, and started a gravelly climb up to Mt. Rowe. I took off my fleece now that I was climbing and turned left a fork near the top of the coaster (it was clearly signed). Just after, there was a smaller sign indicating the Road Bypass Trail was ahead on the left - my first goal du jour!

The Bypass Trail looked recently brushed and was quite lovely, especially compared to the gravel access road. It was nicer to be in the woods even if I had a heavier pack with moderate grades. The Bypass Trail soon crossed the access road and continued a truly lovely meander through the woods. 

I had a nice walking break through a denser forest and passed a small sign indicating the former Fletcher Hale Ski Trail, which was mostly grown in with young trees - still looked like a fun glade! With a rough Google search, it seems the Fletcher Hale Ski Trail was a part of the abandoned Alpine Ridge Ski Area, but still medium-used today? Definitely curious!

The Bypass Trail climbed through some steeper switchbacks, eventually revealing the cell tower through the trees. There was an older sign pointing to a view through the trees, but after a brief walk I did not see anything.

The trail came to a junction soon after with Rowe's Revenge, which I think is an old ski trail for Alpine Ridge, but now a mountain bike trail for Gunstock? The signage and online information is minimal. Just further down, there was a sign saying 'TRAIL MAINTAINED BY GUNSTOCK XC NO SNOWMOBILES" - so maybe it's part of Gunstock, but not on the cross country ski map? A mystery!

There was an unsigned spur to a view that was simply beautiful! I think was the signed view from the Bypass Trail that I missed. A handwritten sign said "FORMER WARMING HUT, ALPINE RIDGE SKI AREA." The view was to Lake Winnipesaukee and the Ossipees. 

I worked my way back to Rowe's Revenge, which was mostly flat and beautiful. I passed a junction for the "Alpine Slide Trail" by another big concrete footing, which created more questions for me. Rowe's Revenge followed a stone wall on the left with seasonal tree views to the lake and warm sun shining down. Eventually, it turned a corner and began to descend more steeply with gravelley footing, but nothing ever too horrible. 

Lower down, I did see an official Gunstock Mountain sign for Rowe's Revenge with a black diamond, but that was truly it for "official" looking signs. There were a few rusty artifacts of times past in the woods. Rowe's Revenge eventually dumped out at a large parking/maintenance area with a few trucks and old busses and large piles of dirt. I think this was the former base area for Alpine Ridge Ski Area? It's hard to find much information, but I'm so curious!

My initial plan was to out-and-back Rowe's Revenge, but I crossed paths with a guy hiking down from the Alpine Slide Trail, which I remembered met with Rowe's Revenge up top, so I decided to go for it!

To no surprise, the climb up started moderately steep and simply did not relent. Everytime there was a junction, it was well signed with the handwirtten signs. I wonder how official these trails area? Someone is for sure keeping them maintained? The trail got steep steep for a bit and then another trail branched off left to the "FORMER Alpine Ridge Double Chair Mid Station," which was cool to see. 

The Alpine Slide Trail climbed steeply again with occasional artifacts off-trail and occasional bolts sticking out of the ground on-trail. The climb was brutal, but much better than the road walk I was considering. The trail had a hairpin turn at a neat cliff wall and then finally flattened out with lots of artifacts, possible the high point of the slide? I passed the view spur to the warming hut site and noticed the footings for the old chairlift! I was really glad I took this side quest - I never even knew about the old ski area until this!

Finally getting back on the Bypass Trail, after my adventure, I continued my climb up Mt. Rowe. The Bypass trail skirted around the fenced-off cell tower complex in the woods and rose gently to the summit, which was marked by a hand-written sign and a cairn. 

Just after the summit was the beginning of a stretch of wonderful views of the Ossipes, Lake Winnipesaukee, Gunstock Mountain, and Belknap Mountain. I crossed paths with a few people here, including a mountain biker truly fighting for his life and another hiker with their dog. Along the first view, there were two fenced-in items of machinery that read:

"EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory Station

This station is part of a network of over 875 stations installed across the western United States to study movement of the Earth's crust. The receiver and antenna are used to track signals from satellites that are part of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Data recorded here are used to calculate the position of this antenna to within a few millimeters (1/8"). Because the antenna is attached to the earth, the change in its position records movement of this plate which makes up part of the Earth's crust.

EarthScope project scientists are studing: * How and where the Earth's crust changes shape, * where and when earthquakes occur, * ho wmagma moves in the Earth and erupts in volcanoes, * how to reduce hazards from earthquakes and volanoes."

Funny enough, the photo also only pictures the western united states - no mention of New Hampshire at all!

The Ridge Trail descended back into the woods and then I took another smaller detour onto the Mt. Rower Trail and then North Spur Trail. The North Spur Trail was clearly less-used than anything else I had been on, but still a nice, descending walk. This brought me to the Benjamin Weeks Trail, which climbed back up to join the Ridge Trail. I had a fever dream of also hiking the trails up Mt. Rower from the Gilford Elementary School side, but I still had a lot of hiking to do and I wanted to get a nap in before the show tonight - onward!

The Benjamin Weeks Trail terminated near a ski trail with a sign indicating 1.1 miles to the summit of Gunstock Mountain! The Ridge Trail continued to parallel the ski trail with occasional switchbacks in steeper spots - the ski trail still had some larger disconnected snow patches. After the junction with Marge's Trail, the Ridge Trail began to steepen and get rougher, wiggling up the ridge and eventually hugging the back side of Gunstock Mountain.

It was colder, shadier, and windier on the back side of Gunstock with some cool iciles uphill. I came to a surprise wonderful view to Moosilauke, Franconia Notch, and the Sandwich Range with a little bit of South Presidentials - I was in awe!

Soon after was the Ledges-Iron Mine Trail and a cute little bird that was posing for me - a red-breasted nuthatch according to Seek! Things started to pick up afterwards. I soon hit the Bypass Trail, the Gunstock Mountain Trail, the viewpoint (not as good as the one between Marges and Ledges), and then just a little wiggle to the summit - Yay! There were a few people doing work at the top, so I took a quick photo and started my descent down. 

The woods along the Brook Trail are always super pretty and I almost always lose the trail because of some unmarked glades (I think). There was a slight breeze, but I was back to being very comfortable. The trail got muddier once on the Saddle Trail, but thankfully it was short-lived. I later turned left onto the orange-blazed Overlook Trail, which marked a long 3.2 mile walk back to the car!

The Overlook Trail was clearly less-used than the other trails I had hiked today, with a footway of mostly just leaves. It started by descending on leaves and zig-zagging across a dry drainage that turned into a trickle as I descended further. I veered away from this drainage and crossed another lightly flowing stream and admired extremely obstructed tree views to the lake. There were some logging road cuts a bit further down again, and the trail later paralleled a larger section of logged forest. 

I passed by a little cascade off of a tiny ledge and then climbed up a little before turning a corner and hitting the overlook that I assume this trail is named after - it was lovely! Scrubby understory with views to the northern slopes of the Belknap Mountains. I had a nice flat walk around this area as the trail mellowed for a while. All good things do have to come to an end, sadly, and the trail then dipped back into the woods and descended a bit more ruggedly, meandering down to cross a lovely brook.

The hike got a little confusing in this lower section, which was entirely on wide dirt and gravel roads (a part of the cross-coutnry skiing network). The orange blazes continued, thankfully, because it was a bit confusing. I followed the Oak Trail and eventually the Maple Trail, which is where the Round Pond Trail joined in on the fun. There were tree views to nearby hills on this basically flat walk. There was one medium-steep descent near the Maple Birch Cutoff, but then it flattened again. After one final slightly confusing intersection, I followed the orange and red blazes back to the parking lot, which was full of gusty wind and a sense of satisfaction! I only have one more hike to close out the Rowe side of the Belknaps, which comically has an enormous amount of trails. Now, time to get back to Vermont!

Step-by-Step

- Park at main parking area at Gunstock Mountain Resort.

- Walk along pond clockwise, then continue on road.

- At mountain coaster, turn left onto Ridge Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Ridge Trail Road Bypass.

- At jct., turn right on Rowe's Revenge.

- At terminus, turn right onto Alpine Slide Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Rowe's Revenge.

- At jct., turn right onto Ridge Trail Road Bypass.

- At terminus/summit of Mt. Rowe, turn right onto Ridge Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Mt. Rowe Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto North Spur Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Benjamin Weeks Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Ridge Trail.

- Follow Ridge Trail to summit of Gunstock Mountain.

- Start to descend via Brook Trail.

- At jct., continue straight/right on Saddle Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Overlook Trail.

- Follow Overlook Trail to road and car.

Belknap Range Map (2023)

Photo Album

Mt. Lafayette via Greenleaf, Old Bridle Path, Bike Path (White Mountain National Forest)

Mt. Lafayette via Greenleaf, Old Bridle Path, Bike Path (White Mountain National Forest)

Hike Type: Reverse Lollipop Loop

Distance: 9.83 miles

Elevation: 3,681 feet

Time: 6 hours, 28 minutes (5 hours, 31 minutes moving)
Parking: Park at Cannon Tram parking lot.

Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike 

LAFAYETTE (cue the rest of the lyrics from Hamilton). The forecast basically begged for us to climb a big mountain, so we had to oblige! Sarah and I met at the Burlington Mall at 4:30 to head on up the Whites. We had a sleepy, but not as sleepy as it could have been, drive up to Hooksett for breakfast and we both PANICKED. They changed the layout! They're currently expanding the general store on the northbound service plaza to match that of the southbound, so they moved the hot food to the new section, which really threw us off. Thankfully, we're warriors and persevered through the challenge and got our food safely. Thankfully, the sun is rising earlier and earlier this time of year, so we were soon in daylight and making our way up. Skies were crystal clear and the peaks of Franconia Notch were dusted in snow!

It was in the 20s, which felt cold after the warm weather we'd been having, but it was still nothing to worry about. We did both start in FULL layers becuase we're babies, though. We parked in the Cannon Tram parking lot, got suited up quickly to not get too cold, and started our adventure!

[7:13am - Start of Hike]

Our plan was to do either an out-and-back via Greenleaf, reverse lollipop via Greenleaf, Old Bridle, and the Bike Path, or get crazy and do a big loop with Falling Waters (which we quickly vetoed when we remembered how much... water... there is on Falling Waters. We followed signs for the Greenleaf Trail from the parking area and soon entered the woods just off the on-ramp for I-93.

[7:16am - Greenleaf Trail]

There was a light coating of 1-2" of snow on the Greenleaf Trail, with only one other set of footprints, which made for some choice footing. Nothing was overly slippery, but we did have to take our time just in case. We passed a few good looking rocks and some nice seasonal tree views out toward the Profile on Cannon Mountain.

After 15ish minutes our layers started to come off as the gentle hike started to gain a little bit of elevation. We did have one small stream crossing that was absolutely coating in icicles, which was really pretty to see!

The Greenleaf Trail began to climb more steadily with an occasional zig-zag through increasingly coniferous forest. Unfortunately, Sarah is shorter than I am, so even though she led for much of the climb, I still caught a good amout of snowy branches!

[8:25am - Greenleaf Trail/Eagle Pass]

After a more rugged section of trail, things calmed down and flattened out as the Greenleaf Trail entered Eagle Pass, which I remembered reading about in the White Mountain Guide, but I was prepared for how cool it was going to be! We had high cliffs on on the left with some unique views out to what I think is the ridge near the Skookumchuck Trail ahead. The only bummer was that the snow was SKETCHY here. Very narrow monorail was covered by drifted fresh snow, so every step required some good poking with poles to make sure it was on stable ground.

The trail dipped slightly from here, which was even sketchier, and then started a long, slow ascent. up to the Greenleaf Hut. The temperature felt much colder up here, but the tree views on the left were absolutely lovely! Sarah and I kept it relatively solo in this stretch, as one of us would stop and the other could continue on to keep warm and so on. The climb was never overly steep, but it just kept on climbing with careful footing so it felt slowwwwww.

Salvation briefly came when we got high enough to have the sun on it, which felt absolutely delightful. 

I passed a friendly bird and did the thing I do where I begin to take on speed when I can feel I'm close to a view, so naturally I gassed myself out. I continued hiking into the sunlight and then I saw the Forest Protection Area sign!

[9:28am - Greenleaf Trail/Greenleaf Hut Forest Protection Area]

I screamed for Sarah in joy! We loosely decided that going down this way would be unadvisable. We did cross paths with two younger French Canadian guys who spent the night in the scrub and said the sunrise and sunsets were beautiful, but they were having a not-so-great time descending, so we were probably going to opt for the reverse lollipop loop option.

The trail calmed down after the sign and we caught a few tree views to the Alpine Zone near the sign for Sunset Rock. The spur path was unbroken, and there were a couple blowdowns to deal with so I decided I'd wait for another day. Just after the spur we made it to the sun-drenched hut with a spectacular view up towards Lafayette!

[9:42am - Greenleaf Trail/Greenleaf Hut]

We took a nice 15-ish minute break at the hut and in the sun. We spent time yapping and staring into the void while stuffing our faces with food. The one food I saved for the top was a cookie, though! We couldn't beleive how beautifully witneresque the mountain was looking from here (and from the woods, in fairness) - it was such a wonderful day! We could just barely make out a duo climbing up in the Alpine Zone from the hut, which was also fun to see. Eventually, we gathered ourselves and started our final climb up!

[10:04am - Greenleaf Trail]

The Greenleaf Trail descended from the hut to cross the outflow of the Eagle Lakes on a wonderful, wide bridge, and then begins to climb again, first in the trees, but then soon out in the open with wonderful views across the ntoch toward the Kinsmans, Lonesome Lake, and the top of Cannon. 

Lincoln and Little Haystack are revealed next on the right, with Moosilauke making an appearance behind the Kinsmans. The trail continued back into the woods before reaching the Alpine Zone.

[10:20am - Greenleaf Trail/Alpine Zone]

The trail had a narrow, but stable monorail in the trees, but it was for sure a welcomed change when we finally broke out into the trees and we had a similar snowy trailbed to that of midwinter. The rest of our climb involved hiking 10-15 feet, turning around, going WOW, and then repeating that process. The view towards the Kinsmans Ridge and the Greenleaf Hut was just spectacular, and we could make out all five Vermont high peaks, plus Jay!

The cairns higher up were blasted with rime ice, which looked just incredible with the blue-sky backdrop. I eventually got into my groove and got a bit ahead of Sarah with my classic case of summit fever. We rounded a false summit and continued the climb. I think when it comes to hiking above treeline, I am actually pro-false summit. I have learned to always assume there's more to climb, so I never really feel disappointed whe nI reach one, and it actually gives me a little micro-goal as I suffer my way up.

We were greeted by a faint cloud-bow, which I assume was made as the sun shined through the ice crystals in the sky. We could make up the false peaks of North Lafayette along the Garfield Ridge and I loved connecting the dots along ridge the Greenleaf Trail ascends. We could make out Eagle Pass and noticed that Artist Bluff/Bald Mountain seem to be a part of this same land mass, sans a bit of glacial carving. The slopes on Cannon looked deceivingly inviting (it was just dust on grass), and to my absolute joy, I soon saw the sign at the summit!

[10:58am - Mt. Lafayette Summit]

I was ahead of Sarah by a few minutes to the summit, so I waited to boop the sign and just looked around for a bit. It was CHILLY up top! I dropped my stuff in a corner of the old foundations and simply gawked at the views twoards the Bonds and the Presidentials - it was such a spectacularly clear and beautiful day! The summit sign was caked in a couple of inches of rime ice, which made things even cooler.

Sarah soon joined in on the "oh. my. god"'s, and we then parked for some food. Naturally, I took about a million photos in all directions, enjoyed a DELICIOUS Common Man S'mores cookie, but to my dismay, we were running out of time. The ascent took longer than planned due to the trail conditions. Originally, I was hoping to turn around at 11am, but I also hate rushing Sarah off of a summit (she's historically much better at enjoying summit time than I am). I presented the conundrum to her - we both decided there was no use in going down Greenleaf, since the only tracks were ours and the Canadians, but there were still six-ish miles back to the car via Old Bridle and the Bike Path, and her ankle does not allow her to safely speed down a mountain, so I proposed that I blast off to grab the car and meet her at the Old Bridle Path trailhead. The conversation felt a little tense, but we both agreed it was the best way to get back in time. 

[11:22am - Greenleaf Trail]

My descent on the upper Greenleaf Trail was fast, and I spent a lot of time in my own head. I had not-the-best-night™ last night and was already in my own head about that, and now I was feeling bad about stressing Sarah out on our hike. I went through waves of being VERY mean to myself in my head to slightly more rational thoughts - the most rational was I needed to be more transparent and communicative about hikes when I have firm turn around times so we can plan for that so she doesn't end the hike feeling disappointed. It wasn't a great time, I'd say this first part of my hike was borderline a bad time, but it did make things go faster, at least!

[11:39am - Greenleaf Trail/Greenleaf Hut Forest Protection Area]

I continued back into the non-alpine zone and popped out for some last views across the Notch and to the Hut before crossing the Eagle Lakes outflow and climbing back up to the hut. I THINK I caught a photo of Sarah hiking down from the hut, but it's hard to tell with the distance. I crossed paths with 6-10 others making their way up on my way down, and I would soon cross paths with a bunch more slowly making their ways up!

[11:47am - Greenleaf Trail/Greenleaf Hut/Old Bridle Path]

[11:53am - Old Bridle Path/Old Bridle Path Forest Protection Area]

The upper strech of the Old Bridle Path had spectacular views of the ridge on the left, with many pull-offs to enjoy them, but also was a moderate nightmare to naviage with every possible trail condition. Hard packed monorail, rotting monorail, puddles of slush, puddles of mud, running water, and glare ice. Not to mention the spicy scrambles were indeed spicy! The upper stretch was slow, but the views helped.

There were a few realtively brutal eroded stretches, too. I think I added and removed my spikes four of five times before finally hitting the friendlier grade down low. Once I was on the friendlier grade, my spikes stayed on for a while and I was truly able to blast off. The new stretches of trail are an absolute DREAM. There were only a few old, eroded stretches left, and they weren't even that bad.

Eventually, my spikes came off for good as I hit the final bit of trail, which was more of a river. In fairness, I thought most of the hike would be like this, so I was fine doing an extended rock hop!

[12:54pm - Old Bridle Path/Falling Waters Trail jct.]

The Old Bridle Path dried out in the final stretch and soon joined Falling Waters Trail for a super easy jaunt to the trailhead! My hike was not over yet, though - I still had a power hike along the Bike Path to get the car (my secret goal was to make it back before Sarah).

[12:57pm - Old Bridle Path-Falling Waters Trailhead/Franconia Notch Bike Path]

The official mileage back to the car was 2.5 miles (I think it ended up being closer to three). My spikes were off and I was officially in power hiking mode. I went under I-93 to the Lafayette Campground and crossed a bridge over the Pemi, which had a nice view to Cannon Cliffs and up to Lincoln. The road alternated between dry concrete to 3" of snow, but I never needed my spikes. The only bummer was that a lot of the path was uphill, and I was tired!

It was neat to walk the bike path. One of the pull-offs that I had never been to had a rock climber registration box and a great view of the craggy landmass that connects to Eagle Pass. The Bike Path crossed under I-93 again opposite of Profile Lake and provided a nice view of Cannon's profile. I crossed under I-93 again near a beaver pond for the final push past the Old Man Historic Site parking and eventually made it back to Sarah's car!

[1:38pm - End of Hike]

Back at the car, I kept all my nasty clothes on, threw my sit pad down on her driver's seat and drove south on I-93, turned around at the Flume Gorge exit, and then drove back north to the Old Bridle trailhead. I was there for maybe three minutes before she landed - perfect timing! We both had a round of apologies for each other - we both were having bad brain days - but thankfully we're able to talk through things well. The drive home was pretty painless with a chicken cutlet sandwich from Hooksett, and soon we were right back to yapping about what our next adventure would be!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Cannon Tram parking lot.

- Follow signs for Greenleaf Trail.

- Start hike on Greenleaf Trail.

- Follow Greenleaf Trail to the summit of Mt. Lafayette.

- At summit, turn around.

- At Greenleaf Hut, turn left onto Old Bridle Path.

- At terminus, cross parking lot and turn right onto Franconia Notch Bike Path.

- Follow Franconia Notch Bike Path back to Cannon Tram Parking.

Photo Album

Skyline Traverse Eastbound (Blue Hills Reservation)

Skyline Traverse Eastbound (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Traverse

Distance: 8.51 miles

Elevation: 1,841 feet

Time: 4 hours, 14 minutes (3 hours, 53 minutes moving)
Parking: Drop Car #1 at Shea Memorial Rink in Quincy. Drive Car #2 and park at cul-de-sac at the end of Royall Street in Canton on side of road.

Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills; Great Blue Hill Summits

The Hike 

Reunited with Sarah for a Skyline Traverse! I hadn't gotten a new patch in a while, nor have I done a traverse of the Skyline Trail in years, so it was time! We agreed to meet in Quincy at 7:30am and get started with our hike at 8:00am. It was nice and exciting to be getting a bigger hike in so close to home. I had plans around 1:00pm, so I was hoping to be back in time for that, we'll see!

[7:56am - Start of Hike]

We started on the access path toward the actual start of the Skyline Trail at 7:56am. It was a nice morning with blue skies, warm sun, a cooler temperatures in the high 40s/low 50s. At the terminus of the access path, we turned left onto the Skyline Trail, pretending that we weren't actually on the trail yet. I never understand why they have the trail start in such an awkward-to-get-to place. We hopped along the murky streams and litter-covered rocks, eventually OFFICIALLY starting our traverse!

[8:01am - Skyline Trail]

We hit the abandoned highway interchange, officially beginning our traverse! We retraced our steps and continued onward, missing the spur to Royall Street that I needed (oh well), crossing Green Street, climbing up and down Little Blue Hill, crossing paths with an... interesting fellow, and carefully crossing MA-138.

[8:26am - Skyline Trail/MA-138]

Thankfully the crossing wasn't too horrible. The steep climb up Great Blue Hill had both of us huffing and puffing, but thankfully the sunny views helped push us along higher up! We could clearly make out Mt. Wachusett from the view, which was a fun little treat, and we loved seeing the early springtime buds on the trees. 

We did take a side-path to the true summit to "boop" the plaque, and then we continued to the Eliot Tower, which gave us a wonderful view of Boston.

Our hike continued down Great Blue Hill, up and over Wolcott Hill, and then up and to the viewpoint on Hemenway Hill, which was just beautiful. It was nice to be on super-familiar trail, but more fun to be continuing on afterwards! We descended Hemenway and went up and over Hancock before making our way to Hillside Street.

[9:34am - Skyline Trail/Hillside Street]

The Hillside Street crossing was nice and easy and the walk up the Bugbee merge was lovely. We dipped off back fully into the woods and started our surprisingly heart-pounding climb up Tucker Hill (I always forget how rugged this side is, too). We scrambled down Tucker Hill, talking about what big hike we want to do next (maybe Lafayette tomorrow??), and then went up and over North Boyce before a final push up Buck Hill for a sit and snack. It was SO NICE out, but still a little chilly with a breeze. 

[10:32am - Skyline Trail/MA-28]

We got lucky with the timing of our MA-28 crossing and continued on into the woods, spotting an old orange blaze (which I love finding). We both took potty breaks in the flat stretch between the Pipe Line and Chickatawbut Hill - we were so joyful to be relatively alone in the woods - the perks of hiking on a Monday!

We steeply scrambled up Chickatawbut Hill, enjoying the view back towards Buck Hill, and then continued past Fenno, Kitchamakin, and enjoying the beautiful views of Boston and the ocean from Nahanton and the nicely laid stone steps all around.

We continued over the four and a half broken hills, admiring the beautiful forests in this area, alongside MANY Eastern Towhee birds and the old fenceposts. We were joined by a few hikers on the final broken hill, and easily descended to cross Chickatawbut Road.

[11:34am - Skyline Trail/Chickatawbut Road]

(EDIT: Writing this with time stamps, I'm really enjoying that we spent almost exactly an hour in each section of the park). Almost in the home stretch! We had a steep-but-short climb up Wampatuck Hill and enjoyed the partial views. We were both in-and-out of void time at this point of our hike, which wasn't a bad thing at all. We enjoyed the views into the little swampy pond after Wampatuck, and then had a STEEP, scrambly climb up to The Crags, which has one of my favorite unique views in the park.

We descended the Crags and went up and over the shoulder of Rattlesnake Hill, past Sullivan's Quarry, crossed Wampatuck Road, and had our final push across the St. Moritz Ponds and to Sarah's car! Yay! I was NOT making it to my 1:00pm plans, but we weren't TOO far off!

[12:10pm - End of Hike]

We got my car, got nice and changed, and locked in our plans to hike Mt. Lafayette tomorrow! We'd have a 4:00am departure time, meeting at the Burlington Mall to drop a car at 4:30 for the drive up. The weather was looking not-freezing, virtually wind-less, and CLOUD-FREE! Should be a great day!

Once home, I got showered, packed, and headed to Chrsitien's to see RAYE at the MGM Music Hall that night!

Step-by-Step

- Park at end of Royall Street and enter woods.

- At terminus of path, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- At terminus/pavement, turn around.

- Follow Skyline Trail to eastern terminus at Shea Memorial Rink in Quincy.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album

Skiing Jay Peak (Day 43)

Skiing Jay Peak

Saturday, April 18th, 2026

Runs: 14

Distance: 15.69 miles

Elevation: 18,371 feet

Max Speed: 31.7 mph

Avg. Speed: 12.9 mph

Moving Time: 1 hour, 18 minutes, 44 seconds

Total Time: 5 hours, 38 minutes, 48 seconds

One of my favorite days of the year - Ski Patrol Banquet! The theme was "Pirates, Winches, and Sea Creatures." Emma, Sarah, and I were going to be anglerfish, naturally. We were going to spend the night due to a heavily discounted room rate, so we all drove up to the mountain seperately. Last night, we worked on our costumes and I have Emma and Sarah their banquet "thank you for letting me ski for free and being my friends" gifts of gin and anglerfish t-shirts! Per usual, I made it to the mountain before either of them and had some solo time. I was sunny but a little chilly (read as: NOT COLD) and was shaping to be a STUNNING spring day! I made it to the mountain sometime around 9:15, slowly got ready, and was on the snow just before 10!

Snow Report

SATURDAY APRIL 18 AT 8:39AM

Bluebird Pond Skim

7/9 Lifts with the Tram and Stateside Carpet on hold.

Spring lift hours: Lower mountain: 9:00AM-5:00PM. Upper mountain: 9:30AM - 5:00PM.

Bluebird spring day and the pond is ready.

We're set up for Pond Skim today with sunshine, corn snow and a crowd of funky costumed performers ready to try making it across. The event starts at noon on Interstate, with awards at 3 in the Pump House. From there things roll right into the Pump House Beach party from 4 to 7 with live music from The High Breaks, plus games and giveaways.

Enjoy this lovely spring day while it lasts, because a cold front moves in tonight with rain turning to snow and temps up top dropping into the 20s. It seems April hasn't quite turned out the lights just yet. Lower mountain stays closer to freezing Sunday with intermittent snow and a few inches are possible into Monday morning. Next week looks colder than what we've been used to and it's looking like we'll end up with a couple of days of mixed precipitation. TK says it could just as well be all snow here next Tuesday night into Wednesday and Thursday.

Runs 1-4

Run 1: Bonaventure Quad - Goat Run - Queen's Highway

[1.58 miles; 5:52; 1,493 feet; 27.8 mph max; 16.2 mph avg]

Run 2: Flyer Express Quad - Goat Run - Green Mountain Boys - Harmony Lane

[1.52 miles; 6:28; 1,611 feet; 28.7 mph max; 14.1 mph avg]

Run 3: Flyer Express Quad - Goat Run - Lower River Quai - Interstate

[1.56 miles; 6:33; 1,539 feet; 29.0 mph max; 14.3 mph avg]

Run 4: Tram - Vermonter - Montrealer - Northway - Hell's Crossing - Angel's Wiggle - Paradise Meadows

[1.64 miles; 6:47; 1,785 feet; 27.2 mph max; 14.5 mph avg]

My plan of attack for the day was basically to ski anything that was still open! I started in my Outdoor Research microgrid fleece and ski pants and was wonderfully comfortable - I even took the earmuffs off of my helmet! I hopped onto the Bonnie to start my adventure. We're officially at the "nobody is here" part of the season which was a reward I have worked hard for! My first run was down Goat Run all the way, which was in halfway decent shape! The main choke point before the S-Turns was down to about one groomer's width, which made things interesting, but the bumps on the turns were already forming and super soft. From the top of the Taxi, I followed Queen's Highway all the way over to the Flyer.

I took the Flyer back to Goat and then all the way down Green Mountain Boys and Harmony Lane. Green Mountain Boys is fun in the spring! Since Racer and The Flash were closed for the season, Green Mountain Boys was upgraded to a black for it's whole route. Harmony Lane was definitely on it's last life, but I did get a PR on it!

Run #3 was up the Flyer and down Goat to Lower River Quai, which per usual was a dream and right down Interstate, past the pond skimming pond, and right into line for the Tram! I made it on without a wait (aside the wait for the physical Tram!). I shared the Tram with a few patrollers who I knew I'd be seeing later, which made me giggle. I skied down my beloved Vermonter to Northway and Hell's Crossing, but just the upper part because the lower half was closed for the season. Angel's Wiggle and Paradise Meadows were full of snow, but the little spur to the Jet was in rough/scary shape. Skiiable, but scary.

Runs 5-7

Run 5: Jet Triple - Haynes - Mont l'Entrepiede

[0.71 miles; 2:58; 1,073 feet; 25.7 mph max; 14.5 mph avg]

Run 6: Jet Triple - The Jet

[0.70 miles; 2:54; 1,073 feet]

Run 7: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Northway - Purgatory - Angel's Wiggle - Paradise Meadows

[1.11 miles; 4:13; 1,165 feet; 26.0 mph max; 15.8 mph avg]

I knew I wanted to ski both The Jet and Haynes, but The Jet was SWAMPED with people, so Haynes made the most sense! I was about to ride solo when a duo of snowboarders came up behind me and said "sir are you riding by yourself? well not anymore! get over here buddy!" Very kind of them... They said Haynes was super icy, but I only hit one hard spot - it was great! I did have a spectacular sommersault fall where I somehow ended up standing and skiing in the correct direction after... not sure how, but not complaining!

Run #6 was down The Jet, which was in wonderful shape! I was definitely starting to heat up, though. I had to open my vents for Run #7, which was down Montrealer and Purgatory to the Wiggle and Meadows. Overall, a great set of runs! Now, Emma and Sarah were almost at the mountain, so I went into the lodge, changed into my anglerfish t-shirt and SHORTS, grabbed a Citizen's Cider Dirty Mayor, and sat outside in the sun while I waited for them. Many others were waiting too, it was a spring skiing DREAM!

Runs 8-9

Run 8: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Northway - Hell's Crossing - Angel's Wiggle - Paradise Meadows

[0.93 miles; 3:56; 1,083 feet; 26.0 mph max; 14.1 mph avg]

Run 9: Bonaventure Quad - Goat Run - Green Mountain Boys - Harmony Lane

[1.52 miles; 13:05; 1,499 feet; 31.7 mph max; 7.0 mph avg]

I found Emma and Sarah and we walked over to the Jet (it's officially walking season...) - to my delight they were also in their Anglerfish t-shirts! Emma also proudly debuted her discoball helmet and sparkly boots (I'm so jealous). We got our family photo on top of the Jet and skied down Montrealer to the Meadows before getting on the Bonnie for another lap down Goat and Green Mountain Boys. So much fun skiing! There were a few uphillers trying to navigate the bumps on Green Mountain Boys, which looked awful and borderline impossible, but both Emma and Sarah were thrilled to not be patrolling so it wasn't their problem. We took a break to grab a drink, get some free Dermatone samples at Tramside base, and start decorating for the banquet!

Runs 10-14

Run 10: Flyer Express Quad - Northway - Paradise Meadows

[1.50 miles; 6:49; 1,506 feet; 28.9 mph max; 13.2 mph avg]

Run 11: Jet Triple - U.N. - Lower Jet

[0.73 miles; 6:22; 1,102 feet; 30.9 mph max; 6.9 mph avg]

Run 12: Jet Triple - Haynes - Mont l'Entrepiede

[0.72 miles; 3:55; 1,112 feet; 23.4 mph max; 11.0 mph avg]

Run 13: Jet Triple - The Jet

[0.71 miles; 3:31; 1,165 feet; 28.4 mph max; 12.1 mph avg]

Run 14: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Angel's Wiggle - Paradise Meadows

[1.23 miles; 5:19; 1,165 feet; 25.9 mph max; 13.8 mph avg]

After a good hour of decorating, I wanted to get a few more runs in. Emma and Sarah had to grab something from Stateside Base before a few more patrol chores (and grabbing another drink), so I went solo for my next ones! Run #10 was up the flywer and down the Northway all the way - the new cut was skiing good! I carefully got back to the Jet, where patrol had opened U.N. The bumps were volxwagen-sized, which I did not ski well, but I made it! Lower down, more and more rocks began to appear and I fell a few more times only by poorly dodging the rocks. Oh well, at least I tried! I finished out the run on the Jet.

Run #12 was back down Haynes, which was even better after baking in the sun, and Run #13 was down the Jet, which was even better yet! I kept thinking I was done, but then I'd do a run and think "wow I want to do another one." 

I did decide to cally my two more skip the last because I wanted time to get ready before the banquet - so Run #14 brought me back down Montrealer. I hadn't skied the upper half of Angel's Wiggle yet, so that was my goal! Earlier, I saw there was an opening in the fence allowing (or at least not discouraging) folks to get to the Wiggle from the main Montrealer chute/headwall/whatever it is. Unfortunately, a bunch of bundled up netting was hiding behind the lip (it was NOT there before!) and I fully crashed into it. I had to take my skis off to get untangled, and got a nice bit of road rash - nice! The rest of my run was easy peasy and soon enough I was debooting at my car and driving over.

Our day was FAR from over, though! We all made it to the room around the same time and got tangled up in HOURS of arts and crafts trying to get our little anglerfish lights. Mine worked the best, since I hot-glued it to a hat. Emma and Sarah had a harder time, as we ended up just wrapping their hair with pipe clearner and crafting wire and hoping it would hold (spoiler: it did not hold). Either way, we had a great time! We pregammed with Bonne, Kim, and Kim's friend, and eventually made our way down to the banquet.

The dinner was wonderful and I alawys love the awards. The dancing definitely had peaks and valleys, but was such a fun time! We had one feelings time with Emma, but she got snapped out of it once she got dancing again. The after-party-"party" was just a bunch of us, drunk as skunks, hanging out in different permutations bouncing between rooms on the third floor of the Hotel Jay. Everyone's details are a little fuzzy, but it was very silly. I ended the night with two French Canadian patrollers who I hardly knew speaking French at each other...

The next morning shockingly was not as awful as it could have been! We got up and out by 10am and got brunch at the JVI along with at least a dozen other patrollers, comically. I wanted to go for a hangover hike on the way home, but it was cold and rainy and windy (Jay ended up getting 6" of snow, which is ridiculous). I am definitely starting to feel the end-of-season emotions, but I have at least two more weekends left! Next Friday is Linnea's 30th birthday at Jay, and of course closing day!

Map of Jay Peak (2025-2026, Updated)

North Uncanoonuc Double Loop (Goffstown Conservation Land)

North Uncanoonuc Double Loop (Goffstown Conservation Land)

Hike Type: -o-o- Loop

Distance: 3.47 miles

Elevation: 1,293 feet

Time: 1 hour, 22 minutes
Parking: "Uncanoonuc Trails Parking" on Google Maps. 300 Mountain Road, Goffstown, NH. 10ish spaces at junction with gated reservoir access road.

Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike 

Spring Break is here! Naturally, I got started with a slow drive up near Manchester and then I dipped off the highway for a hike before continuing up to Vermont. The drive to the trailhead was pretty brutal until I got off of the highway, but that's just the nature of driving north on a vacation Friday afternoon. I had the Uncanoonucs on my mind for a while now, mostly just due to Facebook posts and knowing they existed, and after hiking South Uncanoonuc last Friday, I had to hike it's twin! I didn't want to spend too much time delaying my arrival to Vermont, so I was aiming for speed and fitness over leisure this afternoon. The official map had fewer trails than AllTrails did, and I didn't have much of a plan, so we'd see what happens! It was a humid afternoon in the mid 60s that felt pretty lovely.

From the parking area, I turned right onto the road and soon after made a left into the woods. This trail was not on the official map, but there was a clear footbed and orange blazes in various stages of age. The trail climbed up the embankment and then turned to follow the contour. I followed the trail as it undulated around the contour line while battling my third case of hiccups of the day, which was WEIRD. There was clear evidence that mountain bikers had been on this trail. I meandered along, crossing a few dried drainages until the trail split. Straight ahead was a lesser-used continuation of the orange trail, and on the left was a steep climb up to the summit.

I turned left to start the pretty brutal climb up. The one positive was that the climb alternated steep pitches with brief walking breaks. The steeps felt steeper than the Incline Trail up South Uncanoonuc, but the Incline Trail lacked any breaks. I could hear trucks down below as I climbed up past some young trees that provided highly obstructed views. I crossed paths with a downhill hiker on another steep before the trail began to moderate - I was equally sweating and dying. The trail moderated, then turned to climb truly straight up, and then moderated again in a denser coniferous forest. There were tree views to Manchester, and eventually the trail turned again and eased into the summit area, which was grassy and moderately open.

In summation, this climb had 10 segments: steep, flat, steep, flat, steep, flat, moderate, steep, moderate, easy. I was pooped, but fulfilled!

The summit area was accessed by the White Dot Trail, which continued where the Orange Trail ended, and it was quite lovely, with two viewpoints over to South Uncanoonuc and a bit of Manchester if you wiggled around a bit. There was a memorial bench, a summit sign, but no disc that I could find.

From the summit sign, I began my descent down the Blue Trail, which followed the ridge and made for some pretty hiking. A cairn marked a path to a grown-in scenic view and the Blue Trail turned from a nice footpath to a washed-out road. I caught a view to what I think had to be Pack Monadnock? There was also an old sign for the Pink Trail from the view, which does not pop up on the current official map. 

The Blue Trail eventually turned off of the washed-out old road onto what felt like another old road, which was past the stages of washed-out and just plain slabby. It was dry, but footing was a little slippery from conifer needles. Further down, the trail rejoined the old road (or another old road...) in what felt like a snowmobile corridor (update from the future: I was right!). 

The Blue Trail ended at the Class VI Road Trail, which I followed left. This trail/road was wonderfully soft underfoot as it followed peoples' backyard property lines. I decided to follow it all the way down to Mountain Road just to the hike legally counted as a double summit, since I was now planning on heading back up due to the low mileage. 

After the junction with the Red Dot Trail, the Class VI Road Trail had a few green blazes, later passing a bunch of snowmobile signage as it descneded towards Mountain Road. Near the end, the actual trail left the road corridor and descended to the road. I took a swig of water, and turned around to climb back up! The climb on the Class VI Road Trail was easy to moderate, but I was moving fast so it got my heart pumping! I made a light goal at this point to finish the hike in under 1 hour, 30 minutes, but I wasn't too sure of the mileage for the White Dot Trail, so we'd see how it goes. Soon enough I was back at the Red Dot Trail junction!

I immediately noticed how well-signed the Red Dot Trail was, especially compared to the Orange Trail. The trail split a couple of times, but it was easy to follow (the other splits were on AllTrails). It was similarly as calf-steep as the Orange Trail, soon climbing up a neat little spine. Also, I was dying again. The forest changed higher up, providing a nice tree view to South Uncanoonuc, and I could hear gunshots in the distance (I'm guessing a nearby sportsmen's club, so I was in danger and didn't worry about it). Similarly again to Orange, the trail mellowed out near the top and I had a quick return to the summit on Blue! The sun felt HOT, but the air felt lovely. I could have dealt with lower humidity and more wind, but I'll take what I can get. 

Descending on the White Dot Trail, I enjoyed the upper forest. I passed a woman training her dog to be a wonderful hiking dog, which was nice to see. Further down, the trail began to descend more moderately over slippery rocks, and then it plummeted down, providing a little view at the top of the shoulder. I really enjoyed seeing the springtime reds starting to top the trees. I passed a few Boy Scout plackards with numbers on it - I think they were marking mileage (I saw 0.5, 0.2, etc.). This trail was honestly just as steep as the others, but this one would be quad steep on the climb versus calf steep. 

Futher down, I passed a neat little cave feature just before one final plummet. The White Dot Trail continue straight to the road, but I turned right onto the other fork of the Orange Trail, which was significaly less-traveled than the main trail, but stiill easy enough to follow. I did have to go up a little bit, but I persevered. 

My final return on the Orange Trail kept my heart rate up, in part becuase I was looking to do the hike in under 1 hour, 30 minutes, and also because of how the trail meandered up and down. My burning lungs thanked me when I saw the road, and to my delight, I was back at my car in 1 hour, and 22 minutes!

I quickly changed back at the car and had a nice, but long drive up to Emma and Sarah's. I grabbed a pizza from Stone's Throw and started doing crafts with the two of them for our Anglerfish costumes for the Ski Patrol Banquet tomorrow night!

Step-by-Step

- Park at trailhead.

- Hike northbound on Mountain Road.

- Turn left onto Orange Trail and enter woods.

- At terminus, continue left on White Dot Trail.

- Follow White Dot Trail over summit and continue.

- At jct., turn left onto Blue Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Class VI Road Trail.

- At Mountain Road, turn around.

- At jct., turn right onto Red Dot Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto White Dot Trail.

- Follow White Dot Trail over summit and descend.

- At jct., turn right onto Orange Trail connecting spur.

- Follow Orange Trail back to Mountain Road and car.

Uncannonuc Trails Map

Photo Album

Little Blue Hill Area (Blue Hills Reservation)

Little Blue Hill Area (Blue Hills Reservation)

Hike Type: Tracing Loop

Distance: 3.44 miles

Elevation: 292 feet

Time: 1 hours, 22 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Trail Trace the Blue Hills; Blue Hills Grid

The Hike 

After an extra sleepy drive, I was back at the Blue Hills with Sarah to hit the trails around Little Blue Hill! We were both super low on energy, so we decided to keep it easy, and she's a good sport about tagging along for my tracing hikes, even if they trend boring. We suited up at the park and ride on MA-138 with it's many... interesting characters, and turned onto MA-138 to get to the Skyline Trail!

We followed the Skyline Trail and made our best guess as to which of the many paths was the actual Cosmos Path... whichever one we chose had a boyscout-style fortification made out of limbs and sticks and a massive pile of poop... ANYWAY we continued onto the spur at 6877 and then worked our way over and up Little Blue Hill by the signed but unmapped path on the north side of the hill, which was actually quite lovely!

There was some graffiti on the summit of Little Blue Hill, but nothing overly insane. We continued along the mossy path down towards the Hemenway bench at 6880, and then hiked towards the Cosmos and K Paths for a long wander around the area. Naturally, we were daydreaming about future hikes during this stretch, which was not overly visually or physically stimulating.

We heard the TERRIFYING sound of a Donkey while on the far side of the Cosmos Path, and once on the K Path for a second time we heard an Eastern Towhee and a Red-shouldered Hawk (thank you, Merlin Bird ID), which was really cool! That gave us a little boost to make it up Skyline, back up most of Little Blue, and to finish out Moulton Path. We took Skyline back to the cars, past a few more interesting, but harmless characters, and then we were all done! For a short, easy hike, we were both exhausted! Thankfully, it's almost April break!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Park and Ride on MA-138.

- Turn right onto MA-138.

- At jct., turn right onto Skyline Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Cosmos Path.

- At 6877, hike spur to driveway.

- At terminus, turn around.

- At 6877, turn right onto Cosmos Path.

- At 6830, turn around.

- At jct., turn right onto unmapped path.

- Summit Little Blue Hill, continue to Moulton Path.

- At 6880, turn right onto Moulton Path.

- At 6830, turn left onto Cosmos Path.

- At jct., turn right and hike spur to Green Street.

- At Green Street, turn around.

- At jct., turn right onto Cosmos Path.

- At 6670, tun left onto K Path.

- At Royall Street, turn around.

- At 6850, turn left onto Cosmos Path.

- At 6670, turn right onto K Path.

- At 6895, turn left onto path.

- At jct., turn left.

- At 6880, turn left onto Moulton Path.

- At 6891, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Cosmos Path.

- Return to car.

Blue Hills Reservation Map

Photo Album