Elevation: 1388 feet
Time: 2 hours, 8 minutes
Hiking Challenges: 52 With a View, 52 Hike Challenge
The Hike
I was feeling a little tired and not-wanting-to-drive after yesterday's adventure to Morgan & Percival - but the weather was supposed to be immaculate and I had promised myself that I would take a day off mid-week to see the foliage and hit some peaks, so this was that day! My 3:45am alarm went off, had a long sleepy drive to Bear Notch Road, but immediately woke up when I saw a moose! It didn't hang around for me to take too many photos, but it was majestic as anything. I drove a few more miles and then turned into the fascinating trailhead for the Attitash Trail - massive potholes, a few spots for cars, but nothing extremely clear. It was only me, it was 45 degrees, so I suited up and went into the woods!
The trail starts by following above Louisville Brook, which makes for a beautiful beginning. There are a couple of small crossings, but nothing serious. The trail continues on and the brook becomes closer, eventually leading to some beautiful cascades. It looked as if some people shimmy down the ledge to get closer, but I was not feeling too adventurous. The trail, now in line with the brook, begins to get a bit wet, and then turns right to ascend for a short moment to the col between Bear Mtn. and Table Mtn.
After the short ascent, there is more easy woods walking. I saw a couple toads, admired the beautiful, changing leaves, and whispered "wow" to myself as the sun started to illuminate the top of the forest. There were extremely obstructed views of Bear Mtn. through the trees, which was being lit up with the golden hour sun. The next turn starts the challenging section of the trail.
The trail begins to climb more steeply, and there are some nice switchbacks to help with this process. The ground gets very gravelly with loose footing and one scramble, but then opens up to a slabby section where the views begin - wow! The fall colors were being lit up by the morning sun, it was breathtaking! There were three sections of views, each getting better (and higher) than the previous. Between the views were pebbly/rocky/slabby sections, but nothing too daunting. The main view was truly excellent with views from Passaconaway on the right all the way past Chocorua on the left.
I took the optional route to the true summit, because why not. I followed the Attitash Trail a little further down, which was noticeably more narrow now, and then turned left at an obvious spur path. This was a very claustrophobic section of trail, with hard branches jutting out in every direction. The red squirrels were not happy about my presence, either. There is one steep section on this spur path, and it leads to a large summit area, indicated by a tree with a green stripe painted on itself.
This started the beginning of the return trip, which went very fast. I had to go slower at the upper sections of slab and loose gravel, but really cruised down the rest of the trial. The woods were just beautiful with the morning sun, and I was so glad that I took the day and the time to come up. Back at the parking lot, there were two cars: one couple that was going hiking, and one leaf-peeping couple that had no idea what they were doing. They asked me about the hike and I told them the beginning was lovely but it does get tricky at the top, they walked into the woods, and no more than 5 minutes later were back out of the woods. I wish them the best! Now, it was time for me to drive over to the South Moat Mountain Trailhead, and practice my patience as I got stuck behind a Quebecquois tour bus...
Step-By-Step
Carefully follow Attitash Trail from parking lot to summit.
At height of trail past the main view, turn right for the summit spur path.
Hike to the summit and back.
Retrace steps back down Attitash Trail to car.
“Attitash Trail” from White Mountain Guide, 30th Ed. (2017)
This trail runs from Bear Notch Rd., 2.7 mi. south of its jct. with US 302 in Bartlett village, to Moat Mtn. Trail, 2.4 mi. west of West Side Rd. This trail is well trodden from Bear Notch Rd. to the ledges of Table Mtn., where you have good views from an area burned by a small forest fire in October 1984. Except for these ledges, the trail is in the woods all the way, and the section east of Table Mtn. is wild, rough, and very lightly used. This part of the trail has prolific vegetation, and hikers may encounter blowdowns and overgrown sections. Though it was well-cleared in 2016, this section is not recommended for inexperienced hikers. The trail is marked with yellow blazes of various ages, although not all sections are marked well.
Leaving the small parking area on the east side of Bear Notch Rd., the trail follows a logging road that crosses a major branch of Louisville Brook in about 120 yd. At 0.3 mi., the trail bears right on an older road. At 0.6 mi., the trail comes to the edge of Louisville Brook at a small, ledgy cascade and follows near the brook. In less than 0.1 mi., the trail crosses a branch of the brook then turns left (arrow) at a logging road fork and ascends moderately to the col between Bear Mtn. and Table Mtn. at 1.3 mi. The trail turns sharply left here and climbs more steeply; loose gravel on ledges makes for frequently slippery footing, particularly on the descent. Soon reaching the edge of the burned area, the trail crosses several ledges with excellent views to the south and southwest, with one fairly steep scramble. At 1.9 mi., the trail reaches its high point on Table Mtn. and passes somewhat south of the summit, with views available a short distance to the right from a large ledge at the edge of the south cliff.
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