Mt. Nancy and Mt. Carrigain Loop (White Mountain National Forest)
Hike Type: Loop
Distance: 20.21 miles
Elevation: 5,774 feet
My Time: 11 hours, 24 minutes (9 hours, 38 minutes moving)
Book Time: 12 hours, 59 minutes
Parking: Parking for many cars at Sawyer River Road winter parking lot.
Hiking Challenges: Terrifying 25, New England 100 Highest, 52 Hike Challenge 2026
Hiking Challenges: Terrifying 25, New England 100 Highest, 52 Hike Challenge 2026
The Hike
It's the first sick day of the school year! I am overcoming my breakup and overcoming sciatica, so what better way to celebrate(?) than a ~20 mile hike?! I was up at 3:00am and out at 3:20am, and not feeling great with a little night's sleep after band and (naturally) being sick! Today will for sure be interesting after the breakup, sciatica, mysterious sickness, weird chest pain/lump, and an overall wickedly stressful Q1 of the 31st year. To add insult to injury, I realized when I was about an hour away from home that I forgot my shoes...
I made it to Hooksett at 4:30am for breakfast and it was chilly out! I did some searching and saw that if I detour to the Littleton Walmart, I'll make it the moment they open, and there I could hopefully get some shoes for the day, even if the quaility will be piss-poor. I got back in the car and continued northward. This was my first time driving on I-93 since I got my CRV back, so it was nice to not have to avoid tolls, at least!
I unfortunately ran out of farts by the time I was passing Plymouth, and had to really practice intentional, deep breathing to make it to the Lincoln Dunks for a true christening. I said my good morning to the Dunkin employees and made my final drive through Franconia Notch and landed at the Littleton Walmart right as it opened at 6:00am. It was 29 degrees! I managed to find a pair of Ozart Trail shoes in a size 13 (I am a 13W, so this will be interesting). They were listed for $60, but rang up for $42, so at least that was a win!
I left Walmart at 6:14am and continued my drive, which thankfully was stunning. The view of the Presidentials was incredible as I was leaving Littleton, and I was delighted that it was a clear morning. The foliage began to show it's color as the sun began to rise - these sights were keeping me going! My tummy was NOT feeling great, though.
I made it onto US-302 and was awestricken at the cotton-candy clouds behind a snow-capped Mt. Washington - my first time seeing a White Mountain since the spring thaw! The colors in Crawford Notch were beautiful and just a little past peak. I christened the bathroom at the Crawford Path trailhead on Mt. Clinton Road as the sun began to hit the tops of the Willey Range.
I FINALLY made it to the Sawyer River Road winter trailhead at 7:02am. I was only 40 minutes later than planned, which was pretty considering my tummy and shoe problems! There were two other cars at the trailhead with a third arriving as I suited up for my big adventure.
My DREAM for this hike is to make a long route with 302 -> Nancy Pond Trail -> Mt. Nancy -> Nancy Pond Trail -> Carrigain Notch Trail -> Desolation Trail -> Signal Ridge Trail -> Sawyer River Road. I was aware that I have been going THROUGH it emotionally and physically recently, so that might not fully materialize. Thankfully, I had multiple bail-outs. I could just out-and-back Nancy or Norcross Ponds, I could out-and-back Mt. Nancy, or I could make a still big but MUCH easier loop following the Nancy Pond Trail and exiting via Carrigain Notch, skipping Mt. Carrigain. Rule was I would listen to my body! I suited up, and away I went!
[7:12am - US-302]
My hike started with someone telling me "the trail is this way!," but I earned my respect when I told him my intended itinerary - he was very kind. I turned left onto US-302 to start my road walk. The colors were great! The temperature was in the low 30s, and I was in my first ensemble of shorts-over-leggings and gloves of the season! The road walk was actually a decent warm up. I did feel a little twinge in my buttock becuase of how quickly I was walking uphill, but I slowed down and immediately got better.
The little bit of uphill walking was enough to get me to shed my Nano Puff - I wanted to make it to the Nancy Pond Trail to shed any layers, but I wasn't going to make it without sweating. There were occasional views on the right down to the Conway Scenic Railway, which I probably could have followed in lieu of the road, but this was safer (arguably) and easier.
The road gradually descended to the trailhead, which was right before a yellow "No Passing Zone" sign.
[7:36am - Nancy Pond Trail]
I entered the woods onto the Nancy Pond Trail, which nearly immediately forked. The trail stayed right on an old road grade which was covered in leaves. A few minutes later, I arrived at a trail kiosk, and I stopped for some chores. My fleece came off, poles came out, and I marked my territory on a nearby tree. I feared I would not be able to trust a fart on this hike for some time. The kiosk had the usual WMNF map of the area, along with a smaller map of the Nancy Brook Research Natural Area and a sign saying the Nancy Pond Trail is now open.
The poster read: "Thanks to partners National Forest Foundation, Appalachian Mountain Club and Camp Pasquaney, Nancy Pond Trail has been restored and reopened. Other post-storm resoration projects as part of teh National Forest Foundation's Treasured Landscapes campaign are ongoing."
The QR code no longer scans, but I was able to find this from their website: "The NFF recently expanded its efforts in the region by hiring Mount Washington Valley-native Austen Bernier as a community engagement coordinator on the White Mountains. In the past six years, the NFF and local partners have restored the Flume Brook Trail, Greeley Ponds Trail, Nancy Pond Trail, Avalon Trail, 19 Mile Brook Trail, Livermore Rd, Davis Path, the Lost Pond Trail, and rebuilt the second bridge (from the bottom) on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail."
I am guessing that the trail closed after Hurricane Irene in 2011, but I can't seem to find much information about it.
From the kiosk, the Nancy Brook Trail narrowed, following a few, faded yellow blazes and one spider web that hit me square in the face. The trail wiggled around until it joined a brook for an easy, eroded crossing with a large washout looking backwards after crossing.
The trail had a junction with a woods road just after - I stayed straight to continue. There was another junction just afer again - I stayed left.
[7:55am - Nancy Pond Trail/Deaprts FPA]
Afterwards, the Nancy Pond Trail departed a forest protection area and the sun decided to join the hike! It was just such a beautiful day out. The treetops looked especially beautiful, as much of the understory was green with hints of yellow.
[8:00am - Nancy Pond Trail/WMNF]
A few minutes later the Nancy Pond Trail easily climbed to enter the White Mountain National Forest at a pile of painted-red rocks and a survey sign. There was a trail on the right that read "to inn" on a faded, wooden sign and blue blazes (I would later learn this trail goes to the Notchland Inn). I stopped here for some water and then continued onward!
Nancy Brook was now down below on the right, and I was feeling good! In the theme of processing my breakup through hiking, I found myself thinking about how the rose colored glasses around the relationship were starting to fade. The first week after the breakup was really REALLY hard becasue I was romanticizing all of the good, great, happy moments and what could have been, but as I work through this I'm remembering the hard parts and the moments where I went "are we actually a match?," which I think is a decent spot to be in. On a plus side, my brother is planning to propose soon, which is FINALLY a glimmer of hope and joy in my future!
The Nancy Pond Trail crossed a dry, rocky drainage that was pretty eroded but totally stunning. I littered the trail with my snot rockets as I continued on and the trail came to the edge of an impressive, daunting washout with a nice view. Tragically, my SD card was full (unsurprising considering I haven't emptied it in a couple years...), so I had to stop for a few minutes and learn how to delete photos from my camera with a bunch of buttons no longer working... I reminded myself that my goal was to be slow today anyway, so this was actually helpful, I guess!
The trail leveled out to meet the brook before climbing up alongside it - it was beautiful. There were later some trailside views of the scenic, cascading brook and right as my watch pinged 3.0 miles I crossed the Nancy Brook in a rocky, washed out area. I moved very slowly over the easy crossing due to the mistrust in my Walmart shoes, which were feeling pretty okay minus the small toe box for my wide feet.
[8:33am - Nancy Pond Trail/Nancy Brook Research Natural Area]
The trail was a little confusing on the other side - there were some blazes and a newer route that rejoined the original route a minute after. It took some careful looking, but overall was totally fine. Once on the old route, I officially entered the Nancy Brook Research Natural Area!
The USFS website details the Nancy Brook Research Natural Area as:
"The Nancy Brook Research Natural Area features an outstanding stand of old-growth red spruce (Picea rubens) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and is one of the largest tracts of virgin forest in the Northeast. The area also includes the summits of three mountains: 3926-foot (1197 m) Mt. Nancy, 3725-foot (1135 m) Mt. Bemis, and 3300-foot (1006 m) Duck Pond Mountain. The globally rare species, mountain avens (Geum peckii), grows on the wet rocks of the Nancy Brook Cascade. The state-threatened sedge (Carex wiegandii) occurs in an acidic fen east of Nancy Pond. The rare northern three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus) is found in old-growth stands within the RNA."
More information on the area, including that it was established in 1991, can be found here.
I worked my way over a couple of easy blowdowns as the trail ascended with the Nancy Brook now on the left, veering away from the brook, before leveling out and crossing a few trickling cascades. I then passed some giant artifacts and an old foundation, which belonged to the Lucy Mill, which was created to help clean up the devistation following the famous Hurricane of 1938 (damn!).
Mountainwandering.blogspot.com details: “After the 1938 hurricane knocked down thousands of trees in the Nancy Brook valley, the Lucy family of Conway undertook a major salvage logging job. One of the most visible remnants of the mill site located here is this old brick furnace beside the trail. The '38 hurricane also shut down the Nancy Pond Trail, which had just been cut by the AMC. It wasn't reopened until 1960 by crews from Camp Pasquaney on Newfound Lake. The Pasquaney crews still maintain this trail.”
The trail neared the brook again before making a sharp right turn onto a relocated stretch of trail, which seemed to mark the start of a more intentional climb. The trail was more difficult to follow now, as it was a narrow, winding footpath covered in leaves. It zigged and zagged up a moderate-to-steep grade and my ears kept popping, but I think that was likely a sick thing and not so much an elevation thing. Later, the trail wiggled up some wooden steps and I managed to smack myself in the face with my pole trying to pick my nose - this was not shaping up to be an overly glamorous hike.
I worked my way through a neat bouldery area before making a slight descent back towards the brook - I could begin to make out the walls of the drainage through the trees. I descended down a short, steep pitch that required careful footing because of leaves, sciatica, and my cheap shoes, before hitting a low point near the brook again.
I began to rise again on what felt like an old railroad bed/logging road as the trail began to open up before crossing a brook - I could see cascades ahead! The abundance of leaves made the crossing a little tricky only because it was unclear what was land and what was a trap.
[9:07am - Nancy Pond Trail/Lower Nancy Cascade]
I soon arrived at the Lower Nancy Cascade, and WOW. It was STUPID pretty. The cascade was wonderfully tall and splayed out the lower it got. The rocks the water cascaded over were dotted with yellow leaves, and the water fell into a beautiful pool. There were abundant rocks to climb over to get slightly differing views, which were fun to explore. The skies were now overcast, but it didn't matter becuase I was just awestruck by these falls! I didn't want to leave!
But I was still in the beginning of my journey. The trail turned away from the Lower Cadcade and climbed steeply to another switchback, where tree views to the Giant Stairs began to appear. After the next switchback, Mt. Resolution was added to the list, and I caught a little peekaview to Stairs. The following switchbacks were slightly steeper with slightly better tree views, but overall pretty featureless. This stretch on Strava is called "building character," which made me giggle after the hike. After another switchback I could begin to see Mt. Crawford and something along the Wildcat/Carter Range. The climb eventually mellowed out under grey skies as I approached the Upper Cascades.
[9:28am - Nancy Pond Trail/Upper Nancy Cascade]
A scratchy side path led to a truly wonderful view of Stairs and Resolution, with possible Kearsarge behind (don't quote me on that one). The brook was significantly smaller up here. To the left was the Nancy Brook, now gently cascading, and on the right was a significant drop off that showcased the view. The trail should calm down, which I was excited for! This also marked, if I complete the dream hike, the first of three steep climbs being complete! The climb really wasn't too bad, which was good on my ego!
I followed the much gentler Nancy Brook on a wonderfully easy trail with comically poor footing - I read somewhere that this section has the most roots per capita of any trail in the whites, which I can agree with! I hit the first of MANY boards and had one crossing that required just a little bit of brain because I didn't trust me shoes. I made my way over a wet area with rotting boards and some stone steps to a boggy area. I was blown away at just how quiet it got once I hiked away from the brook. I passed some red berries and one DEEP pocket of mud.
Eventually, a little scratchy side path of left lead to a little view of a boddy area. Back on the trail, I could start to see what I think was Mt. Anderson through the trees. There were a couple of short pushed uphill, and just after the second push I was at the famed Nancy Pond!
[9:56am - Nancy Pond Trail/Nancy Pond]
Nancy Pond was delightfully still and serence. The trail was along the pond's shoreline, but there was a buffer of some flora blocking any views right away. The boardwalks here were extensive, and I could tell it was for good measure. After a couple minutes I maneuvered a squishy side path to a great view of the pond with Mt. Anderson (I believe) reflected in the still waters. The sun was even starting to come back out! Unfortunately, this made me think of the marching band show we're working on this fall ("Chasing Sunshine"), so my head was suddenly filled with marching band music.
After the viewpoint, the Nancy Pond Trail left Nancy Pond and entered the mossy woods. The boards were still abundant and necessary as there were some DEEP mud pits (and I still had post-traumatic stress from No Ketchum Pond). It was so beautiful out here and the sun felt just wonderful.
[10:08am - Nancy Pond Trail/Pemigewasset Wilderness]
The trail rose slightly to enter the Pemigewasset Wilderness and the Nancy Pond Forest Protection Area before passing a boggy pond (Little Norcross Pond) with a view towards Mt. Anderson. Any other potential view spurs were flooded, though, I would guess because of beavers. Oh, turns out the trail is also flooded! I said hello to some grey jays as I worked around the flooded section on a herd path, but then I realized this whole stretch of trail was flooded (we're talking inches of water over the boards). Thankfully, the woods were super easy to walk through.
After pushing through some trees I eventually returned to dry trail on slightly higher land, and this brought me right to the edge of Norcross Pond, and WOW.
[10:18am - Nancy Pond Trail/Norcross Pond Break]
Norcross Pond was nothing short of spectacular. The serene, isolated pond is bordered by Mts. Anderson and Nancy with an absolutely stunning view over to the Twin Range on the far side. The pond seems to drop off the face of the earth! The water was tannin died and dressed in the reflection of Mt. Anderson. I found a seat along the old trail that has been flooded by beavers for some food and just to gawk. There were two beaver lodges, sitting on opposite sides of the pond. I had a breakfast sandwich, changed my nalgene, and couldn't get over at how stunning it was here. This might be one of my new favorite spots in the Whites??
[10:28am - Nancy Pond Trail]
My day was still FAR from over, so I packed it up after 10ish minutes and had my sights set on the Mt. Nancy herd path. Also, I got chilly during my break. I followed the Nancy Pond Trail, which followed the side of the pond, sometimes closely and sometimes further in the woods on relocations, passing almost directly over one of the beaver lodges with a wonderful view of Mt. Anderson. I found myself somewhat obsessing over the trailless peaks in this area. There were a few crazy squirrels today, but there was one in particular in this section that I thought might explode!
The Nancy Pond Trail turned off of an old, flooded section again near the end of the pond, and I couldn't get over how spectacular the viewpoint was. Near the far end of the pond, nearest the descent into the Pemi, the pond becomes more shallow and rocky, and then the trail came to a incredibly clear junction with the herd path for Mt. Nancy - time for an adventure!
[10:40am - Mt. Nancy Herd Path]
I wasn't too sure what to expect from this climb, other than everyone says it's a super clear path and basically a trail. I followed an old road, turning right into the woods, passing an old sign that I imagine marked a camping area, and then the path rounded to the left and narrowed, easily rising along the contour. It really felt like this used to be a trail?
I carefully hopped over a spooky no-fall small stream, which had some tree views over to Anderson and some other mountains I couldn't identify at the moment. The path eventually came to a slide with some really cool views - particularly of the Pemigewasset Wilderness and Vose Spur popping up over Mt. Anderson. Oh, and the back side of Flume and Liberty! Oh! And Lincoln and Lafayette split by Bondcliff between the two! That was a really cool view. It was heightened by the autumnal yellows dotting the landscape, too.
The herd path turned right here to climb steeply uphill along the path of the slide, and then it joined the slide near the top. The next round of clouds had rolled in as I really started sweating again. After a short slippery spot, the path turned right to travel away from the slide.
There was a brief moment of delightful walking - this must be an old logging road. The trail then turned left and started THE climb. It was calf-steep and leafy - VERY steep! I managed to rip my leggins working my way over a blowdown, and I could catch occasional tree views down to the ponds from higher up. I made my way up one baby scramble and then entered a beautiful, steep forest with low undergrowth. It was low until it started to grow, and then I was fighting through a comically tight car wash for a while. I wrote: "really wonderful tree view back to Carrigain as I'm actively passing away."
The carwash continued as I slowly stomped my way up - I had to be careful to not stab my eyeball (again). Eventually, the path turns and the grade starts to moderate and then fully eases as it approaches the summit area!
Once the path leveled out, the footbed was still tight. I went up and over a false summit and noticed a good number of criss-crossing footpaths in the area, but all except for the one to the summit were blocked by sticks and what not.
[11:16am - Mt. Nancy Summit]
I was shocked and delight to find a view once I reached the summit! There was a stick-sign for the summit and a nice view towards a snow-capped Mt. Washington. The Montalban Ridge, Wildcat-Carters, and Baldfaces were all in view with their foliage still holding on. It was delightfully, shocking stunning!
I didn't stay for long after a few pictures becuase, as a theme, I had a LOT of hike left in my day! The flat part of the herd path felt wonderful on my legs, and then we got to the car wash, which was actually a little easier on the descent since my eyes were not constantly being threatened. The forest was beautiful and loved seeing the tree views to Carrigain as I plummeted into oblivion. I noticed a little baby cramp forming at the steep leafy part, so I made it a point to remember to chug some water later on.
I heard a loud BOOM once I got to the slide, but I have no idea what it could have been? I started to fantasize that the world ended but I didn't know becuase I'm playing in the mountains. Maybe a tree falling or a rock falling? Truly no idea. Once I got past the slide I was cruising on down, and shocking ran into my first person of the day (7.09 miles, 4 hours and 30 minutes) in this last stretch. It was a guy and his dog, and we were equally surprised to see each other.
[11:46am - Norcross Pond Outflow Break]
Once I was back down, I pulled over to check out the views from the Norcross Pond Outflow, chug some water, and have a snack. I also took a pee, and my pee was YELLOW, which explained the baby cramp. The views from the pond continued to be absolutely ridiculous and I couldn't stop gawking at how simply VAST the Pemi is. I also figured out how to switch the route on AllTrails during this break (I had the original route just up Mt. Nancy so I could check the GPS if I got off the herd path, but now I wanted to add the loop over Desolation - it took a while, but I figured it out!).
[11:58am - Nancy Pond Trail]
Once I was back on the trail, I crossed the Norcross Pond Outflow with some more stupid views, managed around some wet trail, and then began my descent on what felt a lovely old road. I watched the tree views to Nancy's long ridge as I WONDERFULLY descended along this road, which was just a joy to hike. There were occasional dips and rises due to drainages, but literally the entire trail was a DREAM.
I noticed very few old yellow blazes and my feet were feeling the narrow toe box on the downhill, but the trail was so lovely I didn't even care! The road condition slightly deteriorated after a mile+, but it was still wonderful and easy and just a delight. This back side of the trail did wonders for my spirit, I was feeling great!
Further down, I noticed a piped spring on the left and a bear sized poop full of animal hair? Maybe a bear got a squirrel or something? Or a giant coyote? Who knows! The Nancy Pond Trail eventually lowered to cross Norcross Brook, which was nice and easy.
I turned and followed an old rail grade through a blowdown area, following the Norcross Brook. The trail was wonderfully flat for a bit before beginning to descend again. Have I mentioned how much I loved this trail? I did catch a horrific tree view of the far-away behomoth that is Mt. Carrigain that hurt my feelings, but Nancy continued to deliver. The next crossing was of Anderson Brook, which was also easy peasy. There was an abundance of weird bugs flying around, but they were uninterested in me.
[12:42pm - Nancy Pond Trail/Logging Camp Clearing]
The trail then passed the Camp 19 clearing - I followed a mystery herd path to a small tent area with a fire ring (unclear if legal or not). The trail was nice and ferny after this point, and it was just so beautiful. Carrigain continued to TOWER above through the trees on the left, but I chose to not be upset. I actually was delighted, because I passed a bucket! I love the old logging artifacts in the Pemi, even if they're just a rusted bucket.
I hiked over some ancient bog bridges with moose prints on either sides - this was my first moose evidence of the day. I crosed the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River (easily, again) and began to VERY lightly gain elevation - like the Lincoln Woods kind of lightly. The woods momentarily became dark and spooky, reminiscent of the old road coming down from Redington (but flat). My final crossing was of Notch Brook, which was, like the others, wonderfully easy (which was surprising because all of them had the "may be difficult at high water" warnings), and then I was at the Carrigain Notch Trail! Carrigain was still laughing at me through the trees. I could not believe how wonderful the hike down from Norcross Pond was, wow!
[1:00pm - Carrigain Notch Trail]
I was delighted to see that I only had a 0.8 mile walk to the Desolation Trail from here - I was feeling good so I was going to go for it! I finished my second Nalgene and went into this leg of the journey knowing that it was going to kick my butt. The Carrigain Notch Trail was full of deep maple leaves and the trail very easily gained a few feet of elevation. I passed a snake! My first non-bird non-insect wildlife of the day! It made me jump at least 30 feet into the air. My toenails were not feeling great, but I was in too deep to bail now!
At one section, I smelled a very weird smell... kind of like clorox? I have no idea what would create that smell, especially so far from civilization. I passed a scenic, open, ferny area and realized it was only 1:10pm! It truly felt so much later, but in fairness, I had been up for over 10 hours! By the time I reached the Desolation trailhead, I had made my way over ~20 blowdowns, but they were all easy step-over ones.
[1:17pm - Desolation Trail Break]
I took my penultimate break at the Desolation trailhead. Those last few miles FLEW by! I stopped for another sandwich and to chug some water. I don't think I did a great job with calories, but oh well. I spent some time sitting at brook, which was a part of the Carrigain Branch, and got back into my "breakup processing" mind - specifically, I was back to feeling guilty about not trying harder, not being easier, not giving it another chance, etc. Not great feelings, but at least I was in a stunning area! And as another plus, at the end of my break I peed again, and I was back to a clear, copious pale yellow!
[1:28pm - Desolation Trail]
Okay, here we go! I had no idea what to expect with this one (that's a complete lie - I just didn't know if it was going to be as brutal as expected or not - we'll see!). The trail started as a continuation of the lovely trails of before, passing some old metal embedded into a tree (an old communication cable to the old fire lookout? I feel like that should come from the Signal Ridge side?). I then followed some stepping stones over a muddy stretch before beginning the scenic, moderate climb.
I hiked over a green catepillar and cautiously thought "this hasn't been too bad!" My right foot was hurting. Partially because of the boot, partially because I've been hiking for a minute now. A grouse spooked the LIFE out of me (per usual), and I was gifted a short walking break for my troubles.
At this point, the trail had just been a nice, moderate straight shot. It got breezier and higher up with obstructed tree views out to Vose Spur and the vast Pemi. I could also just make out Mt. Madison and Mt. Washington - it looked like the snow had melted in the sun.
I hit the one-mile mark of the trail right at 34 minutes, which was much faster than I expected (knowing the worst was still yet to come). I was hoping that I'd make it to the top in less than two hours from the start of the trail - seems possible? I passed a pile of lightly green bear poop (what on EARTH are bears doing up here?) as the trail started to get rougher before a very short reprieve filled with false hope. I passed a grey jay and could still see Vose Spur looking comically high above me through the trees - rude.
I noticed a really cool peek-a-view towards Crawford Notch (which I initially thought was Zealand Notch - I mistook Mt. Webster for Whitewall Mountain), and the high plateau of the Pemi around Ethan Pond was really cool to see from this side.
Right on cue per the guidebook, the old road eroded away right where it was supposed to and I started to climb straight on up. There were a few rock steps to help, but it was STEEP. My gloves went back on with this colder breeze. After a long climb seemingly straight uphill, the trail calmed from "stupid" to just "steep." I passed two people (12.4 miles, 7 hours 20 minutes)! They were super nice and asked if I came from the Nancy Pond Area - I got to tell them how wonderful it was up there and report that I sadly did not see any moose.
[2:43pm - Desolation Trail/Leaves FPA]
The steep climb continued through a slightly more open area before transitioning back to stupid. It was cute how the trail pretended to use switchbacks! Later, I noticed that I passed a sign that said I was leaving a Forest Protection Area, which was confusing...
[2:46pm - Desolation Trail/Enters FPA]
But after a few more minutes, I entered the Mt. Carrigain summit Forest Protection Area - there's hope after all! I comically wrote in my notes: "kind of calms once in FPA? no it doesn't." After some more steep climbing, there was a moment of a short walking break which did in fact bring happy tears to my eyes. I was borderline hysterical once I could see the tower through the trees a few minutes later!
The final push passed a little viewpoint into the Pemi and I managed to smash my head against a tree, which simply did NOT feel good. The view was great, but I was ready to be DONE. I pushed on up, slightly gassing myself out, and made it to the summit of Mt. Carrigain!
[3:04pm - Mt. Carrigain Summit]
To put it in my own words, "hell yeah." It felt super satisfying to connect the dots of this hike - I finally finished the unchartered territory! I first spent some time chilling at the base to allow my sweat to dry as it sounded cold and windy up on the tower. The sun felt absolutely amazing! I sat near one of the footings and enjoyed a wonderful view of the whole sandwich range.
The tower was a little spookier than I remembered! Thankfully, it's super stable. They really don't lie when they say you can see EVERYTHING. It was such a beautiful day, even if a bit cloudy and cold. I didn't stay up on the tower for too long, aside from taking 100s of photos, just becuase I didn't want to get too cold (there was STILL a lot of hiking left to do!).
I explored the area just past the summit in the woods - it looked like a herd path led down the side ridge - maybe towards Vose Spur? There was evidence of illegal camping in these woods, and also evidence of the old tower. There was springs from an old mattress and some random bars and other artifacts around the woods in here.
I went back to my perch to have my caffeine break - it was crazy that I had this mountain all to myself. I relieved myself again up here, and pale yellow, bay-bee! Naturally the second I got my wits about my self post-urination another human appeared, but thankfully he misised the main event. I packed it up after he landed, finished my third breakfast sandwich of the hike, finished my Celsius, and had some pistachios. I threw a protein bar into my pocket for safe keeping, and started my LONG journey back to the car. My goal was to keep a good enough pace to do it all without a lamp.
[3:33pm - Signal Ridge Trail]
Let the games begin! The initial descent was pretty steep, passing the tent sites on the right. My feet felt like they were getting blistered, which was a HUGE bummer. The wind was cold! I later passed the foundations and well of the old fire warden's cabin as the trail became prettier. I had my fleece and puff on just to get me over Signal Ridge, where I assumed it would be colder. The tiniest bit of uphill hiking to the ridge was enough to make me grumpy, but the view down into Carrigain Notch and over to Mt. Lowell soon after brought me right back to happy!
[3:44pm - Signal Ridge Trail/Signal Ridge]
The walk along Signal Ridge is nothing short of spectacular - I just wish it was closer to the car! I put my puff, fleece, and gloves away after taking 1,000 photos and descending back into the woods. My feet were absolutely HOWLING as I made the rough descent. I wrote in my notes: "welcome to rock city, bitch."
Along my zigzagging descent, I watched a woodpecker fail to latch onto a paper birch, I missed my beloved Nancy Pond Trail, and I feared that my Celsius did not do much for me in terms of boosting energy. I wrote: "this trail has so many turns and wiggles, yet it hurts my feet so much." I made my way onto the steady one mile stretch of misery, as described in the guidebook (they left out the word misery, though). I think even though I was cranky, I was still in better spirits this time versus last time?
I passed the tiniest view to Kearsarge, the Baldfaces, and Stairs Mountain, and then I hurt my own feelings looking at my watch. I did remember this mile taking a long time.
Breakup processing thought: It felt weird that I wasn't going to send him a text that said "alive!" after the hike, followed by a brief recap with photos and videos of the various views and water features afterward. The trail steepened, which sucks, and I thought I could hear whispers of US-302 in the FAR distance. I refused to take that as a sign of anything! I did like an obstructed tree view to Mt. Lowell, though.
Both of my feet were on fire from the wet socks and crappy shoes - the shoes simply did not breathe. I stopped at some point during the mile of hell to change my socks, and unfortunately it did make a noticeable difference. My next issue was that both of my legs started to cramp up when I stopped to change my socks - yikes. I made sure to drink some water after CAREFULLY maneuvering the wardrobe change. I brought four liters of water on this hike, two of them had Nuun and two were just water. I have no idea why I didn't just bring four, or even five with Nuun? I almost always bring four liters on 12 mile hikes, and I knew this one was going to be near 20? Come on, silly goose!
Right after I started moving again, the trail dropped down a ledgy section that kind of sucked, but thankfully it marked the end of the one-mile stretch of misery! Now I should have just one more mile of this dreadful trail until it becomes relatively smooth sailing.
As the trail descended, the primary color changed from the dark green of the coniferous forest to a lighter green deciduous forest, which I hoped meant I was making some progress? The trail eventually began to calm down, thank good, and provided me with just an ounce of hope, even if the footing still sucked. I maneuevered a weird, washed out/rocky stretch of trail before passing a moment of wonderful, flat, dirt-filled trail just after! I passed an artifact on the woods on the left in this section, and was overjoyed to be reuinted with flat dirt!
I went over one blow down and saw a cute squirrel carrying a nut. I could hear voices? I crossed a log bridge over a stream in an area that seemed mighty popular within the local beaver population, and I soon noticed I joined a rerouted stretch of trail as I climbed uphill. I could see a beaver pond far downhill. I guess those voices were people checking out the Beaver Pond? That, or I was hallucinating. Truly anything's possible at this point!
[5:12pm - Signal Ridge Trail/Carrigain Notch Trail]
The Signal Ridge descended off of the relocation, and Eureka! The junction with the Carrigain Notch Trail! It felt like I'd never make it! I was feeling relieved and absolutely loopy at this point. I began to follow Carrigain Brook as it calmly maneuvered its way out of the notch on the left with beaver ponds on the right. It seemed like I could have gotten some nice views from the beaver ponds if I gave it a roughly 25% try, but I simply had nothing extra to give at this point.
I made it to the crossing of Carrigain Brook where I remember having to manage a Code Brown last time I was up here, and comically this was the trickiest crossing of the day! The Signal Ridge was so wonderfully flat, following the Carrigain Brook on the right now. The brook eventaully left as the trail gained a middle amount of elevation. I was getting cranky, so I reluctantly ate my protein bar, which unfortunately did help me (only unfortunate becuase I hate it when the things we're supposed to do to make ourselves feel good are true!). My morale boosted, my headache was feeling better, and gnawing on the protein bar killed 0.6 miles of hiking, bringing me into my final mile of the Signal Ridge Trail, which was a wonderful feeling.
I later noticed there was a little (giant) eye hook in the ground with a big wire attached to it and what looked like a very old telephone pole on the ground - maybe that carried the signal that went to the ridge? The trail started to descend moderately again as I began to hear the Carrigain Brook... again. I descended into a wet area with some semi-functional corduroy, and then the Signal Ridge Trail transitioned into sopping wet with stepping stones (that were very necessary, some of the mud was DEEP).
The trail joined the brook and I found myself thinking "I swear there's one more relocation" and BAM! I turned right to follow a relocated stretch of trail up and away from the brook. Up hurt, but I knew this was the last one! To no surprise, the uphill was actually mundane and I was being dramatic, per usual. The trail zigged and zagged down to rejoin the original route and then I continued on.
I did have a guiding realization that would get me back to my car guaranteed: if I drive home via NH-16, I can get Taco Bell!!! Taco Bell will see me home safe. I passed some nice cascades and wading pools along the Carrigain Brook which were super pretty. I was TIRED. I also noticed a cool little micro-gorge.
[5:51pm - Signal Ridge Trail/Enters FPA]
I REALLY started to get excited when I entered the Forest Protection Area for Sawyer River Road - I'm going to be okay! I had to pee but wanted to make it to the parking lot more. I rollercoastered along a final reroute, pinged 18.0 miles, said out loud "where is the f***ing road" and then it materailized!
[5:56pm - Sawyer River Road]
I RAN to the woods to pee - I had to pee so bad I literally dropped my phone trying to... make it happen. Thankfully I was hydrated again! I started my road walk, which was thankfully downhill. The bridge over the brook at the parking lot had a "no snowmobiles" sign, so I guess they're still allowed to access the trailhead from the other side? The road was SUPER pretty in it's fall colors. I wished my feet felt better. It turns out that the busted Merrell's would still have been better than these. In fairness, I did not decide to leave them at home!
I officially finished my water on Sawyer River Road. I do think four was fine, but I should have had Nuun in all four. It was nice to not think about where I was walking. It was also nice that there's no service on the road, or else I likely would have been on the phone. It would have been nice to be at the car, though.
I passed the first of the old foundations on the left with Mt. Tremont (I think) on the right through the trees. There were a bunch of tall, skinny trees growing out of a rocky foundation just after on the left, and then a large, brick foundation was in the woods on the right. The brick one was pretty big and had a next door neighbhor just a minute further down. I noticed one more foundation on the right just before the actually maintained residence just after.
Later, I noticed a National Forest boundary sign off in the woods on the left, and then I passed a little grove on the right with a no camping, no fire sign. I wonder if it used to be allowed on the road? My feet were hurting.
[6:18pm - Sawyer River Road/Washout]
I got the 19.0 mile ping and a few minutes later I came up to the big washout that has had the road closed for a few years now. I noticed tire tracks, drainages cleared, and new signs, posts, and boulders? It looked like they narrowed the road to one lane here, maybe removed some earth on the uphill side, and mayeb stabalized the earth on the downhill side near the culvert? I don't really understand how it all works, but it seems in much better shape than last time (can confirm - I checked my old photos). I wonder if this is their "permanent" fix, a temporary fix for snowmobiles, or a temporary/permanent fix for the residents only?
Now that I was in the final leg of my hike, I felt comfortable saying that vibes coming down Carrigain were in fact better than last time. Not great, but definitely better. I'm sure a huge part of it is the adventure I took today, not hiking it as an out-and-back, and just being in remarkably better hiking shape. I double checked on the AllTrails map that I could definitely hit up Taco Bell on my way home, and then I passed the gravel/dirt/boulder field/meadow/pull out on the left with some machinery that they likely used for road work. The guidebook described an old logging road that connected to Signal Ridge further up - I wonder if this is part of that?
I passed the trailer for what I assume is the backhoe (or whatever machinery they used for the road) soon after and then the road split - the road continued straight/left and a old woods road turned right. I think the right split went to the trailhead, but I was sticking to the road. It was starting to get dark, but I was definitely going to make it!
My watch pinged 20.0 miles and just after I could see US-302! I think I would have needed a headlamp if I took the right fork, but the road was wide enough to keep me going no problem. I was back at the car!!!
[6:37pm - End of Hike]
Wow - WHAT a hike! I think this was my first standalone 20-miler in a VERY long time - since the Hale-Zealand-Bonds hike? I've had at least one other 20-mile day, but it was made up of different hikes. This was a beast of a hike and pretty spectacular. The Nancy Pond Trail is going on my list as an all-time favorite! I bet hiking it and making a loop with Carrigain Notch is mighty fine, too.
I changed my clothes and made my way to the holy land - Taco Bell. It took me a while to get my food, but it was worth it as always. At the Circle K just down the road I had to help a women pry open her gas cap cover, which was silly. I only felt a little bit of rage driving down NH-16 as some folks were driving under the speed limit.
I slowly made my way home, landing by 10:00pm. I wanted to hike again tomorrow, but I NEEDED to sleep. Tomorrow will be a day of rest and resetting my... everything.
Step-by-Step
- Start hike by turning left onto US-302 from Sawyer River Rd. parking area.
- At "No Passing" sign, turn left onto Nancy Pond Trail.
- Follow Nancy Pond Trail up past Nancy Cascades, Nancy Pond, and Norcross Pond.
- At the end of Norcorss Pond, turn right onto Mt. Nancy herd path.
- Summit Mt. Nancy, then return to Nancy Pond Trail.
- Descend along the Nancy Pond Trail.
- At terminus, turn right onto Carrigain Notch Trail.
- At jct., turn left onto Desolation Trail.
- Summit Mt. Carrigain.
- Descend via Signal Ridge Trail.
- At terminus, turn left onto Sawyer River Road, and walk two miles back to car.
Photo Album
