Sentinel Mountain & Mt. Flagg Ledges via Camp Merrowvista (Ossipee Range)
Hike Type: Inner Loop
Distance: 5.87 miles
Elevation: 1,959 feet
Time: 3 hours, 36 minutes (3 hours, 13 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge; Ossipee 10
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge; Ossipee 10
The Hike
'Twas the day after the 2024 presidential election and, thankfully, I preemptively put in for a sick day (primarily because my voice still hadn't fully recovered from marching band championships and my Wednesday classes have been ahead for the past few weeks, but I figured I would need some "me time" after the election, regardless of outcome, too). I stayed up late watching the election coverage, building some Legos (as a form of self-care), and mindfully sipping on tequila, and when my 4:00am alarm went off there was still not a winner, but Donald Trump was close with 267 electoral votes. I took a deep breath, assembled my pack, and made it out the door at 4:20am.
My drive was a combination of hungry and sleepy with some alarming stomach cramps on US-1 in Saugus. I almost made it to the NH Welcome Center rest stop, but unfortunately I had to jump off I-95 and christen a Dunkin Donuts. Not to worry, though, I had to stop again just a few minutes later at the rest stop, and then I finally made it all the way to the Circle K in Ossipee before a third, final, and most violent christening. It was here, during the aformentioned violent christening, that I learned that the election had been called for Donald Trump. A lot of emotions followed, mostly of sadness - for me, my friends, and my kids.
ANYWAY, the last 20 minutes of my drive were lovely. It was a super warm November morning with a stunning morning glow. The final bit of my drive on Canaan Road was stunning, with a great view of my mountains for the day. It felt a little weird driving into Camp Merrowvista, but there were no signs deterring me. It was unclear where to park, but I parked in the lot at the height-of-land on the road adjacent to the white building. It definitely felt like I wasn't supposed to be there, but a man in a golf cart drove by and gave me a wave, so I guess all was good?! I was a bit anxious for this hike, as I had read the trail would be tough to follow at times. Temperatures were in the low 50s with a constand breeze and bountiful sunshine. It was humid, so everything was a bit damp, but overall a rare, lovely November morning!
[7:10am - Start of Hike]
[7:14am - Mt. Flagg Trail]
My hike started by follow the continuation of the road past the whtie building onto a signed Class VI road (signs were pointing to "archery"). The road continues past cabins named after mountains in New Hampshire, and eventually turns right. At this turn, the Mt. Flagg Trail, blazed in yellow, continues straight into the woods, past a sign for "Mt. Flagg & The Ledge," and then over two bridges. The trail climbs after the bridges with leafy/acorn-y footing, which was a little dicey but not too rough. Another trail turns right, blazed in a seafoam green, and the Mt. Flagg Trail turns left on a road grade.
[7:24am - Dave Green Trail]
The Dave Green Trail was less-defined than the Mt. Flagg Trail and wound through a sea of young birches in a forest covered in fallen leaves. The trail nears a mostly dried-up drainage with a much darker, mixed forest on the other side. It was kind of neat to see how logging has impacted the woods here (i.e., the stark lines between forest types). The trail later easily crossed the dried-up drainage and continued through the mixed forest.
There wasn't much of a discernable footbed due to the leaves, but there were frequent blazes, which were much appreciated. Higher up, some trees had blue paint on them, which I assume marked property lines. Some stretches of trail appeared to be recently brushed (or luckyily wind-blown), and then the trail zig-zagged onto a short stretch of old logging road.
Soon enough, the Dave Green Trail came to The Ledge, which was appropraitely named and absolutely beautiful. There were sunny views toward Black Snout, Big and Little Balls (lol), the Belknap Range behind Lake Winnipesaukee, and Dan Hole Pond down below, brightly reflecting the morning sunlight. The breeze felt super warm, which was equally lovely but also unsetting (#globalwarming). The slabs were slippery but easily navigable.
The Dave Green Trail continued on the flat slippery slabs up and over the ridge line, ultimately landing at the trail's terminus at the North Star Shelter. I noticed the Canaan Mountain Trail continued on the left, but no sign for the Sentinel Connector Trail, and that was because I blew right past it. I backtracked slightly to the top of the best view, and the Sentinel Connector Trail faintly continues along the bare ledge with some faded orange blazes.
[7:57am - Sentinel Connector Trail]
The Sentinel Connector Trail immediately appeared to be less-traveled and requried some care to follow. It continued along the slabs before turning into the woods, where the footbed nearly disappeared. Thankfully, it was also frequently blazed, so I mostly played a game of connect the dots.
The trail descents through a very leafy forest, usually easily but sometimes moderately and once steeply. No rocks were safe in this stretch, as they were all damp and slippery. I saw my first grouse of the day in this nook and could make out a tree view of Sentinel Mountain up ahead.
[8:16am - Sentinel Mountain Summit]
There were some neat views from the top - my favorite being the taller peaks of the Ossipee Range in and out of the clouds. I didn't spend much time up here, mostly because I started getting a plethora of election-related texts and I simply did not want to think about it, so down I went! The return to the shelter was quick and mostly easy with only one leaf-hole I sunk my foot into.
[8:34am - Sentinel Connector Trail]
[8:37am - Canaan Mountain Trail]
Now on the red Canaan Mountain Trail, it was less-traveled than Mt. Flagg or Dave Green, but better defined than Sentinel Connector. The blazes were frequent still, which was nice! The frequency of the blazing was almost comical there were so many. Footing was overall better than the Sentinel Connector Trail, too.
The Canaan Mountain Trail comes up to the same blue paint as before, still assumedly marking property lines. The trail meanders up and down and at one point, I fell into an impressively deep leaf hole and smashed my knee - ouch! There was a duck-under blowdown that led to a mossy, coniferous stretch, which was equally beautiful and spooky.
At a signed sharp turn, the footing improves and eventually leads to another shelter and the terminus of the trail - yay!
[9:06am - Mt. Flagg Trail]
Now, back on the yellow-blazed Mt. Flagg Trail, I was back in Leaf City, USA, and climbing. Overall, quality of life was improved, but footing still proved challenging becuase of the leaves. The trail hit a rocky area, which made things even more exciting! I wasn't minding the tricky footing, though, as it kept my brain busy.
Eventually, the Mt. Flagg Trail hit the spine of the ridge, which was beautiful. Very similar to the Kittatinny Ridge in New Jersey. The walking break was welcomed and the scenery was lovely. Low-flying clouds, spongey mosses, and piney trees galore! This stretch featured a lot of large, flat slabs, stacked on each other like stairs that were really far apart.
[9:41am - Ledges of Mt. Flagg]
Climbing resumed, providing a few views back toward Ossipee Lake, and soon enough (after a couple slippery steep slabs), I was at the top (or so I thought...)! "Mt. Shaw" with an arrow was painted on a rock, which assumed that this was the summit. There was an old, rusted bucket, and some nice views all around. It was 64 degrees, mostly sunny, with winds from 15-20mph. I enjoyed that last bit of trail a lot, and took some time to just sit. Thankfully, I didn't have service up there, so I couldn't doom scroll even if I tried!
[9:53am - Mt. Flagg Trail]
After some void-staring, I started my way back down. I carefully made it down the slippery ledges unsscathed and fell into a few more leaf holes in the rocky stretch, but nothing as hard as my first fall. The Mt. Flagg Trail became steeper and rougher after the shelter/Canaan Mountain Trail junction, but there were less leaves! This stretch was followed by two steeper spots on a wide logging road trail covered in acorns and leaves, which kept things interesting for sure.
[10:43am - End of Mt. Flagg Trail]
[10:47am - End of Hike]
Another grouse welcomed me to a gentler slope, followed by a chipmunk with the most stereotypically stuffed cheeks. This led to the junction with Dave Green, then the junction with the seafoam green-blazed trail, and soon enough I was back on the Class VI road at Camp Merrowvista! There were an unfortunate amount of people at the main camp area (near my car), but they were all friendly and just doing their job (which looked like a fall cleanup day).
I worked my way home, excitedly messaged the person who runs the Ossipee 10 patch challenge (his first response was "Sorry I am just so overwhelmed with the election," followed by actual submitting instructions) and then I realized... I never actually summitted Mt. Flagg! Ugh. This disappointment was fitting for the day, but darn!! The hike wasn't "one for the books" or one that I particuarly want to do again, but I guess I have to! I'll likely take Mt. Flagg Trail to the summit and then Gorilla to Mt. Shaw just to mix things up, or if I get a buddy maybe a point-to-point hike, descending either Mt. Shaw Trail or somewhere into the Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area. At least I crossed Sentinel off the list!
Step-by-Step
- Park at the white main building at Camp Merrowvista.
- Follow signs toward Archery and the Class VI road.
- As the road turns right, continue into woods on the Mt. Shaw Trail (yellow blazes).
- At second jct., turn right onto Dave Green Trail (white blazes).
- At next jct., turn right onto Sentinel Connector Trail (orange blazes).
- At Sentinel Mountain, turn around.
- At terminus, turn right onto Dave Green Trail (white blazes).
- At terminus, turn left onto Canaan Mtn. Trail (red blazes).
- At terminus, turn right onto Mt. Shaw Trail (yellow blazes).
- Think you summit Mt. Flagg at the ledges, turn around, and follow Mt. Shaw Trail back to car.
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