[VAULT] North & Middle Sugarloaf (White Mountain National Forest)

North & Middle Sugarloaf (White Mountain National Forest)

Hike Type: OuT-and-Back

Distance: 4.6 miles

Elevation: 1,159 feet

Time: Unknown.
Hiking Challenges: 52 With-a-View

The Hike

This was a fun one! Sara and I both had Yom Kippur off of school - even while now working in different school districts, so she (cautiously) agreed to come on a hike with me! I was looking over the 52 With-a-View list, and saw the stats and trip reports of North & Middle Sugarloafs (sugarloaves?) sounded like the perfect match! I got her outfitted in all of my extra gear, we got up a little early (she refused to do my usual level of early), stopped at The Basin for a quick walk, and made our way to the Sugarloaf Trail trailhead!

Right away, the hike was in beautiful, mossy woods with a few hints of fall foliage. A notable feature of this trail was the endless, massive boulders. Sara, being as tiny as a tater tot, loved it! The trail lever got too steep, and soon enough were were up at the T-junction, where Middle Sugarloaf was 0.4 miles to the left, and North Sugarloaf 0.3 miles to the right. I can't remember why, but we chose to do North Sugardloaf first. There was also a sign alerting mineral collectors that "suface disturbance for mineral collecting is PROHIBITED outside designated mineral collecting areas. The use of any hand tool constitutdes surface disturbance."

The trail to North Sugarloaf was open and spooky with some leftover morning fog, and it opened to a spectacular vista into the valley below! There were just slight hints of fall with a few low clouds lingering about. To the right was a view toward Middle and South Sugarloafs and (possibly) Mt. Hale. 

We backtracked to the junction and continued toward Middle Sugarloaf, which was nice and straightforward, and featured a wooden staircase at the end! The view south was absolutely stunning, and the summit ledges encouraged lots of exploring to catch different views - including the Presidential Range!

After the hike, Sara and I drove through Crawford Notch, stopped at the Highland Center, followed the Kanc back to Lincoln, and had a final stop at the Flume Gorge, which was absolutely incredible! Looking back at the photos while writing this, I definitely want to revisit some time. We ended our day in Meredith to get a delcious lunch on Lake Winnipesauke.

Step-By-Step

- Start hike on Sugarloaf Trail (parking area)

- At split, turn right to hike North Sugarloaf.

- After summit, backtrack, and continue to Middle Sugarloaf.

- After summit, backtrack to original split, turn right to descend to car.

Originally written and posted October 24th, 2024.