Mt. Paugus via Kelley Trail (White Mountain National Forest)

Mt. Paugus via Kelley Trail (White Mountain National Forest)

Distance: 8.73 miles
Elevation: 2,510 feet

Time: 4 hours, 16 minutes (3 hours, 53 minutes moving)
Hike Type: Tootsie Roll Loop (step, loop, stem to summit - working on a better name!)
Hiking Challenges: 52 With-a-View

The Hike

Happy vacation! I made an impromptu decision last night to book a hotel room in Lincoln for a few nights and spend a few days in the mountains (I originally though I’d camp, but then I remembered how much I love beds and showers…). I started off my trip with an echocardiogram - fun! Afterwards, I had a nice, long drive to the Ferncroft trail head, with a couple stops at the disappointing NH welcome center off I-95 and a less disappointing Circle K in Ossipee (their chicken parm sandwich was embarrassingly delicious). I listened to Dear Evan Hansen and The Band’s Visit - my new driving project is to listen to every music that won “Best Musical” at the Tony Awards (Dear Evan Hansen was musically beautiful but a wild story, and I truly have no idea what The Band’s Visit was about, but the klezmer clarinet was amazing). The drive once off of NH-16 was absolutely beautiful, with views of Mt. Chocorua poking through trees. Eventually I made it to the mostly full Ferncroft parking area where it was 85 degrees and breezy with slowly rolling clouds. I put on my disgustingly crusty shoes from the sweat of my last two hikes, car door shut just after 1:00pm, and I was off!

…And then I was back to the car! I left my driving sunglasses on. I decided I’d just leave them on the hood and hope for the best. I walked through what had to be hundreds of White Admiral butterflies, and made it into the woods along Old Mast Road. I have been struggling with back and shoulder pain the past few hikes, so after finally remembering to look it up, I had my hip belt sitting higher, and it worked!

I decided to pivot away from my original Mt. Paugus plan, which was going to be a massive loop over Mt. Mexico, Mt. Paugus, Mt. Wonalancet, and Hibbard Mountain (which would have brought me through the Big Rock Caves and a delisted 52 With-A-View), because I wasn’t getting started until 1:00pm and did not want to be in a panic. Also, the 52 With-a-View guidebook really promotes the Kelley Trail and its unique Box Canyon. Old Mast Road continued past a junction with the Wonalancet Range Trail, crossed a stream on a large bridge, crossed a small stream on a smaller bridge, entered the White Mountain National Forest, and then the Kelley Trail split off on the right.

There was a HEAVENLY breeze at the beginning of this hike, but unfortunately it waned once deeper in the woods. There were a few bugs out and about, but nothing too bad. What was fascinating was how there were hundreds more of the White Admiral butterflies all about. They must have all hatched recently? They were pretty, at least!

Without the breeze, the trail was quite warm and humid. The Kelley Trail turned onto a grassy fire road and then back into the woods at a sign, joining some lovely, gentle cascades. Unfortunately, I paused to take photos of this lovely, gentle cascade and the mosquitos found me. Bug spray was immediately applied!

Around the 0.85 mile mark the trail began to feel more wild, with vegetation creeping in on the footbed. The Kelley Trail joined the stream again around the 1 mile mark on a narrow, gravelly trail. There were more nice cascades and even more annoying gnats - I put my visor on, sprayed with bug spray, and it either helped or created a placebo effect, but I was happy with the outcome!

The Kelley Trail steepened to climb above the brook and all I could think about was how neat the idea of an ancient glacial lake forming this drainage - its crazy! The trail continues into the Sandwich Range Wilderness around 1.5 miles and there was an occasional breeze that would bring me back to life just when I needed it most (this makes the hike sound very dramatic so far - it was not, it was actually very moderate).

The footbed became less clear once in the wilderness area, but thankfully the blue blazes continued. There were again more lovely cascades and more annoying bugs. The Kelley Trail began to cross the stream once easily, a second time with a beautiful water slide-like slab, and then it enters the fabled box canyon.

The box canyon was magnificent, to say the least. The entire mood of the trail changed and it suddenly felt like I had gone back in time. It was SUPER buggy in there but so visually wild, mossy, and beautiful. I took at least 500,000 photo (or at least it felt like it).

The Kelley Trail fully joined the brook bed and made a rugged climb out of the ravine. Thankfully, each climb was alternated with a calm walking break. This happened about three times before the trail leveled off in a beauty, fern-y forest followed by a beautiful, open hardwood forest, eventually leading to the terminus of the Kelley Trail at Paugus Pass.

Paugus Pass had a very remote feeling to it, with the Lawrence Trail leading left and right, and the Oliverian  Brook Trail leading straight. The wind was blowing and the combination of wind, leaves, and sunlight created almost a disco ball effect on the ground.

I turned right onto the Lawrence Trail from Paugus Pass, briefly ascended to a plateau, and crossed paths with the only people I saw outside of the parking lot (2.62 miles/1 hour 12 minutes in). Bugs were still present, sadly. At the height of land, the Cabin Trail terminates on the right where there is an open-ish canopy, and then the Lawrence Trail descends, crosses a stream, descends, crosses another stream, descends, and eventually (passes a woodpecker) bottoms out on a narrow trail on a steeply slanted hillside.

There was a really neat rock face/cliff/ledge area above the trail at the low point of the trail, which I would then learn is called “The Overhang.”

Now climbing again, the Lawrence Trail continues along with gravelly footing meandering around boulders. The good news is that it smelled like flowers! The bad news is that I smelled HORRIBLE.

The forest became darker and more dense as the trail began a long series of irregular switchbacks. There were MANY small stream crossings, likely more than usual for late June due to rain the past few days… I started counting but quickly lost count. There were definitely more than five! The switchbacks did allow the grade of the trail to be easy to moderate most of the time, with a few more challenging sections.

There was a small view after a short scramble toward Mt. Passaconaway, who looked absolutely massive!

There was another steep, rugged, wet section that led to another partial view toward Whiteface and Passaconaway through the trees. I continued on my slog, which at this point was feeling like time had slowed down. The whole upper mountain was impressively gravelly - I’m curious what causes this?

A penultimate steep section leads to a muddier area which was easy to rock/log hop. Eventually the trail dipped down slightly away from the edge of the mountain into some beautiful, muddy woods. There was another stream crossing that led to a final steeper section that reminded me of the upper stretch of trail up Mt. Abraham in Vermont - steep slab with good grip. This slab topped out at a view less ledge, and the Lawrence Trail continued a gentle meander (now) to the summit of the south knob of Mt. Paugus!

There isn’t a view from the open summit area, but turning right at the trail sign, and following a footpath past some broken boulders leads to an excellent view of Whiteface, Passaconaway, and the other nearby peaks. It was breezy with gusts only up to 10 mph, 74 degrees, and not another soul in sight! To the far left I could see the Ossipees, Lake Winnipesaukee, and some of the Belknaps. Moving right, the Red Hill complex was next, and then the surprisingly dramatic facade of Mt. Israel. On the right was the aforementioned 4000-footers with Mt. Wonalancet, Hibbard Mtn., The Overhang, and Square Ledge in front, and Sandwich Dome behind. Really spectacular! I sat here, had a snack, and enjoyed my time. Only humbling bit was when I realized that I had hiked all the way up here with an unclipped, open hiking pack… oh well!

I soon had to make the decision of do I stay and close my eyes, or start the return trip, and I decided to start the return trip so I could sooner get to the hotel, shower, and cuddle up into a hotel bed. I accidentally followed a herd path to what looks like a camping area and I’d guess the bushwhack to the true summit, but thankfully I caught the mistake early on and course-corrected.

I was honestly angry at how quick and easy the descent was! The climb beat me up, and I thought the return would be a slog. I know I should be grateful, but come on… In hindsight, I think the climb might have been so difficult because I was actually wearing my pack correctly this time, so the extra weight was on my legs.

Before I knew it, I safely descended through the extensive gravel and was down in the woods looking the The Overhang again. I was sad I had to go up again, but it wasn’t too bad. The final push got me winded, but it was overall fine. I saw some shriveled up lady slippers at the knob near the Cabin Trail junction, I got a bug in my eye, and was soon enough blasting through Paugus Pass to explore the final 0.3 miles of the Lawrence Trail!

Unfortunately, that meant more climbing. This was the inverse of the previous climb - started steeper but leveled out near the height of land. This stretch felt even less traveled with much overgrowth (but still a clear footbed). Soon enough I was at the terminus!

From the terminus I fantasized about maybe turning right to explore Square Ledge or going straight to see Wonalancet/Hibbard or even a second visit to Passaconaway, but I was all done! I turned left onto Old Mast Road and started my descent.

The upper reaches of Old Mast Road meandered gently through the woods, and I saw a little owl! It was no bigger than a Grey Jay and swooped from tree to tree, keeping an eye on me. When it finally flew away, I came upon one, two, THREE giant piles of moose poop - all appearing to have been dropped around the same time. I thought a lot about how thankful I was that there was no moose evidence on this hike, but now I was on ALERT.

I continued along the meander, using my poles a bit loudly, and then Old Mast Trail began a long, steady, almost straight descent. This was a boring trail that was EXCELLENT for a quick exit. It eventually left the wilderness, left the White Mountain National Forest, reentered the WMNF, left the WMNF, and reentered the WMNF. It crossed a fire road somewhere in there, too.

Wearing the hip belt correct did wonders for my back on this hike, but my skin around my belly button was starting to hurt… oh well. I continued along Old Mast Road, a bit wetter now, as a singular fly decided to torture me for at least 10 minutes. It wasn’t until I broke out into a light jog I finally lost it… Eventually, the Kelley Trail rejoins Old Mast Road, the trail leaves the White Mountain National Forest for a final time, and reenters the land of 1,000,000 butterflies!

Apparently this non-national forest land is conserved by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, which was fun to learn. Soon enough I was back at the parking lot, taking my pack off, and realizing that I, again, never clipped or closed my pack… Oh well.

Soon enough I was packed up and back on the road. A super healthy McDonald’s dinner led me right to the Days Inn in Lincoln, which I got to say, is much nicer than I thought it would be. The weather for the next couple of days keeps changing, but I will likely spent one day hitting the Tripyramids (not via the slides - I will not be doing those solo) and another on Carrigain! Friday is check-out day, and if the weather forecast holds (perfectly clear), it’ll be a day on Franconia Ridge!

Step-By-Step

- Park at Ferncroft Trailhead parking area.

- Start hike on Old Mast Rd/Kelley Trail.

- At terminus in Paugus Pass, turn right onto Lawrence Trail.

- Summit the south knob of Mt. Paugus, turn around.

- At Paugus Pass, continue straight.

- At terminus, turn left onto Old Mast Road.

- Follow Old Mast Road back to car.

"Kelley Trail" from White Mountain Guide, 31st Ed. (2022)

WODC This trail runs from the Ferncroft parking area (see Road Access, p. 399, for details) through an interesting ravine to a jct. with Lawrence and Oliverian Brook trails at Paugus Pass. The upper part of Kelley Trail, which is in the Sandwich Range Wilderness, is rough, with poor footing and numerous slippery rocks.

        For a short time during the retreat of the last continental glacier, this ravine was the outlet of glacial Lake Albany, which occupied the Albany Intervale, the broad valley to the north of the eastern Sandwich Range. Lake Albany was contained by an ice dam at the east end, and until enough ice had melted from the ice dam to allow the meltwater to pass out by the present route of Swift River, the water was forced through Paugus Pass and down this ravine in a torrential stream, which left evidence of significant carving by large and powerful waterfalls that the present small stream could not possibly have caused.

        Kelley Trail leaves the Ferncroft parking area (portable toilet; plowed in winter, see Road Access, p. 399, for details) on a gated gravel logging road (FR 337), coinciding with Old Mast Road, and soon bears left at a fork where Gordon Path follows the road that runs straight ahead. After passing the jct. with Wonalancet Range Trail on the left at 0.1 mi., the coinciding trails cross Spring Brook on a wooden bridge, and at 0.3 mi., Kelley Trail turns off Old Mast Road to the right and follows a woods road to a grassy logging road (FR 337) at 0.5 mi. Here, Kelley Trail turns right and descends along this road for 0.1 mi., then turns left, and ascends along a brook. Soon the trail begins to climb above the brook and then enters the Sandwich Range Wilderness; it returns to the brook at the top of a small cascade. Kelley Trail now crosses the brook (or its dry bed) three times, briefly runs in the brook bed, then climbs steeply out of a small box ravine - one of the remnants of the outflow of glacial Lake Albany - and ascends through a narrow cut to the trail jct. in Paugus Pass.

"Lawrence Trail" from White Mountain Guide, 31st Ed. (2022)

WODC This trail tuns from the 4-way jct. with Old Mast Road, Walden Trail, and Square Ledge Trail, 2.0 mi. from the Ferncroft parking area (via Old Mast Road), to the jct. with Old Paugus Trail on the south knob of Mt. Paugus. Extensive relocations made in 2006 and 2008 bypassed two very steep and rough sections, making this a moderate route to Mt. Paugus. This trail is entirely within the Sandwich Range Wilderness.

        Lawrence Trail leaves the 4-way jct. at the north end of Old Mast Road and descends east into Paugus Pass at 0.3 mi., where the trail is joined on the left (north) by Oliverian Brook Trail from the Kancamagus Highway and on the right (south) by Kelley Trail from Ferncroft. Lawrence Trail climbs to a knob at 0.6 mi., where Cabin Trail enters from the right. Lawrence Trail next descends to the southeast side of the ridge at the base of the Overhand, and at 0.9 mi., it continues ahead on a relocated gravelly footway where the old route turned left and uphill. The trail contours with good footing through dense hardwood growth well below the cliffs and then swings left and climbs by easy switchbacks to join the old route in a hollow at 1.4 mi.

        Here, Lawrence Trail bears right, crosses two small brooks, enters spruce forest, and soon turns right knot the first of several more relocated sections, ascending the steep slope by gravelly switchbacks and passing a restricted view of Mt. Whiteface. At 1.8 mi., the trail swings right at an easier grade, crosses a small brook at 2.0 mi., and continues to the ledgy south knob of Mt. Paugus, where Old Paugus Trail continues ahead. An excellent view to the west can be obtained by descending 50 yd. Southwest from the knob over the ledges, to the right of a group of broken boulders and along a path through a belt of scrub, to a large open ledge. Descending, Lawrence Trail leaves the northwest side of the ledge at the top of the knob; the trail sign is set back a few steps into the woods.

"Old Mast Road" from White Mountain Guide, 31st Ed. (2022)

        WODC This trail, which has easy to moderate grades and good footing throughout, runs from the Ferncroft parking area (see Road Access, p. 399, for details) to the jct. with Walden, Square Ledge, and Lawrence trails 0.3 mi. west of Paugus Pass. The original route was reputedly built for hauling out the tallest timbers to be used as masts on British navy ships. The upper part of Old Mast Road is in the Sandwich Range Wilderness.

        Leaving the parking area along with Kelley Trail on a gated gravel logging road (FR 337), Old Mast Road follows the left-hand road at the first fork, leading north, where Gordon Path follows the road that continues straight ahead. At 0.1 mi., Wonalancet Range Trail diverges left from the combined Old Mast Road and Kelley Trail, just before the bridge over Spring Brook, and at 0.3 mi., Kelley Trail diverges right. Soon Old Mast Road passes the WMNF boundary. At 0.9 mi., the trail crosses an overgrown logging road, soon enters another old road, and follows it for 0.1 mi. Old Mast Road continues to climb, enters the Sandwich Range Wilderness, and levels. It passes to the right of a small brook and ends at the multiple-trail jct.

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