Cannon via Hi-Cannon and Lonesome Lake Loop (White Mountain National Forest)

Cannon via Hi-Cannon and Lonesome Lake Loop (White Mountain National Forest)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loopty Loop

Distance: 6.77 miles

Elevation: 2,418 feet

Time: 6 hours, 13 minutes (4 hours, 25 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge 2025; New Hampshire 4000 Footers; Terrifying 25

The Hike 

I am SO back... temporarily! After a quiet November, I soft-launched my reentry to the outdoors with the Ethan Pond hike. I was up at Jay Peak the past two days for my first ski days of the season (and to celebrate Emma's birthday), and now it was time to drive partway home to Cannon to hike and finish out Sarah's 48! We stayed at the Stateside Hotel for Emma's birthday, so it was nice to be leaving from Jay. I was up at 6:00am (Sarah was in charge of logistics... I would have started earlier...) and on the road just before 6:30am. I caught a shooting start driving down VT-242 and stopped for breakfast at my favorite Maplefields in Orleans before continuing down. Roads were thankfully in good shape minus 242, which was expected. 

I was about 18 minutes ahead of schedule, which did me good since the parking lot was unplowed and... I got stuck. I made it about 40 feet into the lot before my car wouldn't go any further because I tried to turn. My tires managed to scoop out the top layer of snow and revealed a THICK layer of boilerplace ice, which was... a bummer! There was an older couple at the trailhead watching me and passively offered me help, which I declined. I did wiggle my car back some by using normal wiggling techniques, including floor mats, but it just got stuck again (and almost skidded into a tree). I called Sarah and Alec and told them "soooo I'm having a bad time! I'm stuck in the parking lot!" - apparently the call dropped right after I said "bad time!" - which is a little funny. They pulled in and parked at the PLOWED trailhead down by the Pemi Trail before coming to my rescue. Sarah drove while Alec and I pushed, and we eventually got it out. It really was quite the workout BEFORE a hike!

Sarah drove my car to the plowed lot, I got suited up, and we were only 37 minutes behind schedule, which really isn't too bad! Thankfully, it was a beautiful morning with low winds and overcast skies - all the surrounding peaks were open! Sarah packed her Veuve Cliquot into her backpack, and we were off!

[9:07am - Start of Hike]

We FINALLY got started at 9:07am with a nice walk from the car to the trailhead proper. Spikes were on from the get-go and we took some photos with the boilerplate ice I had dug my tired into - I'm grateful to have friends that 1) will help me get out of a dumb situation and also 2) be in a good enough mood to make jokes about it!

[9:13am - Lonesome Lake Trail]

The Lonesome Lake Trail proper started near the end of the parking lot I failed to park in, marked with a trail sign, a sign from Cannon Mountain Ski Area saying "we won't save you!," and an iron ranger accepting donations. The trail immedaitely crossed the scenic Pemigewasset River on a snowy footbridge and then wiggled through the Lafayette Place Campground, easily gaining a little bit of elevation.

[9:17am - Lonesome Lake Trail/AMC Hut Sign]

After crossing a few rows of campsites we passed the sign for the AMC Lonesome Lake Hut, which is now open on a caretaker basis. I do want to do another winter hut stay - the one in Carter Notch was one of my favorite hikes to date! From the sign, the snowy Lonesome Lake Trail continued to climb at easy grades, eventually crossing a bridge over a freezing creek and landing at the junction with the Hi-Cannon Trail!

[9:29am - Hi-Cannon Trail]

To our delight, the Hi-Cannon Trail was well-broken out with a firm monorail (and about a foot of unconsolidated snow on either side. It started off with a nice meander through the woods before increasing in grade to the steepness that I "fondly" remember. It was MUCH nicer doing this stretch in the snow - the loose gravel was brutal in the summer! The other perk of hiking in the winter are the tree views over to Franconia Ridge - we particularly loved seeing the white slides scarring the mountains, including shining rock.

[10:09am - Hi Cannon Trail/Dodge Cut-Off]

We had a quick standing break at the Dodge Cut-Off junction, but I was down to my base layers and needed to keep moving to stay warm (especially since I knew we'd be climbing again shortly). We hiked through a winter wonderland with early-stage marshmallow trees that sometimes made the trail a little more narrow than we wanted. We also spent some time discussing the difference between rocks and stones (we LOVE a nonsensical question to power us through climbs) - we landed on that stones are somehow crafted by humans while rocks are nature's creations.

I started to get excited when the trail began to level out, which meant we'd be getting some views! The first peek-a-view was over to Mt. Liberty, which was looking incredibly moody in the wintry light. Just a bit further down the trail I did a classic "WOAH," followed by similar "WOAH"s from Sarah and Alec, respectively. We had a great view of the snow-capped Franconia Ridge, from Mt. Lafayette to Little Haystack, which really just looked incredible.

Soon after the views, the trail turned a corner and began to climb again, eventually bringing us to the terrifying ladders! They were not terrifying in the slighest over the summer, and even with the snow, they were still not that bad. I can imagine they'd get a little dicey with another foot or two, but in these conditions, it was totally fine. 

We enjoyed another view to the ridge from the top of the ladders as the Hi-Cannon Trail skirted the edge of some cliffs, providing additional views down south through Franconia Notch and to Lonesome Lake below.

Eventually, the trail began to climb again, this time at easier grades, as the temperature became noticeably colder. There were tree views to the Kinsmans as we skirted up some ledges that were not nearly as difficult as I anticipated, and we eventually landed at the height-of-land on the trail, which was just a beautiful winter wonderland. From here, the trail descended slightly to the Kinsman Ridge Trail.

[11:22am - Kinsman Ridge Trail]

We did another quick break at the Kinsman Ridge Trail - we were close now! The older couple from the parking lot were also taking a break at this junciton - I don't think they recognized me. The rest of the climb was a DELIGHT. Easy grades, lots of snow, and frosty trees. Plus, nearly endless snowshoe hare tracks! It really was so beautiful - we were all elated.

[11:34am - Rim Trail]

The beautiful forest led us to the White Mountain National Forest sign: "This marks the line between national forest and state park lands. The area in back of this sign is the White Mountain National Forest 724,333 acres. A multiple use area for the enjoyment of the people, protection and management of timber, water, wildlife." We followed the Rim Trail with Sarah in the lead to the top! I went to get my mittens since my hands were cold, but I realized I accidentally left them at home... sad!

[11:40am - Cannon Mountain Summit]

We made it! Sarah finished her 4000 Footers! It was fun to be there on her day, especially after she was there on mine! We first stopped at the actual summit underneath the observation tower, which had a neat coating of rime ice. Sarah took off her pack and made sure to give the top a "boop!" We exchanged congratulations, got some photos, and then threw our packs back on for Veuve Cliquot up top!

The stairs on the tower were pretty snowed-over, but took to spikes well. I forgot how insane the views from the top were! 360 degrees! The Kinsmans, Vermont (no 4000 Footers because of visibility), Willoughby Gap, The Percys, and of course, the Franconia Ridge. Sarah took out her sign for some more photos, we popped the champagne, took even more photos, and then RAN back down underneath the tower to enjoy our break out of the wind - it was COLD up top!

Our break wasn't too long due to the cold (18ish degrees with a slight breeze), but we enjoyed slacks and champagne. We had to drink the champagne a little faster than we would have liked, but it was still delicious! Sarah and I joked that we only have champagne on mountains (which also isn't really a joke...) since we've now had it at the Alpine Cabin at Black Mountain in Jackson, on Mt. Moriah, and now Cannon! We told Alec to get working on his 48 so we can have more! The folks from the parking lot eventually also made it to the top and shared their congratulations with Sarah before we packed it up and headed down on the Short Trail toward the Tram building.

[12:13pm - Short Trail]

We passed a skier hiking up on the Short Trail as we descended through more stunning woods to the top of the ski area. We were pretty sure it was going to be open, but we were ELATED to see the Cafe 4080' was open! We dropped our packs outside and RAN inside to warm up and get some provisions.

[12:20pm - Cafe 4080']

The Cafe was a DREAM. Both the food line and bar were open, and it was WARM. Plus, it was fun to be around skiers. I got a warm cinnamon roll and a hard cider, Alec and Sarah each got a bowl of chili, a hot chocolate, and they shared a warm cinnamon roll. Life was WONDERFUL again. We spent a nice chunk of time here alternating between yapping and staring into the void - we all started to get a little sleepy, and that is when we decided it was time to pack it up and head back out into the cold!

[1:08pm - Rim Trail]

It wasn't super clear where the Rim Trail picked up once we left the Tram building, but it was just to the left of the Short Trail sign, blocked by a blowdown. We carefully skirted around the blowdown and then continued on the wonderful trail. 

[1:11pm - Rim Trail & Kinsman Ridge Trail]

Shortly after, the Rim Trail joined the Kinsman Ridge Trail and opneed up some mroe wonderful views towards Franconia Ridge. The tippy top of Lafayette was now in the clouds, and flurries were beginning to fall like a snowglobe. The trees were absolutely caked in snow, and we could see down to Lafayette Place, including both the parking lot I failed to park in, and the parking lot where we did park! We soon dipped back into the woods, made it to the WMNF sign, and continued on the Kinsman Ridge Trail.

[1:17pm - Kinsman Ridge Trail]

The flurries were falling more steadily once back on the Kinsman Ridge Trail, which continued to be a freaking delight and visually stunning. Alec got a ahead for a bit while Sarah and I gabbed about who knows what. The two glasses of champagne and hard cider were definitely feeling good at this point!

[1:25pm - Kinsman Ridge Trail/Hi-Cannon Trail]

We continued on past the Hi-Cannon Trail junction and started our descent do the first col between Cannon and the Cannon Balls. The woods were STILL beautiful and thankfully the trail was still well-traveled and packed down. I stopped for a quick potty break, and between the etherial "you" and I, I love winter becuase I can pee right on the side of the trail and cover it up without question. Eventually, though, I heard Alec and Sarah go "oh." This marked the STEEP section.

The Kinsman Ridge Trail absolutely plummeted down, which in fairness, is what it's known for doing! We took a while in this stretch, which was not long, but we wanted to be safe. We crossed paths with two teenage-looking boys who were carrying snowshoes and said "we didn't think we'd need spikes on this one!" - which was confusing. Why bring snowshoes but not spikes? Who knows! I assume they made it out safely since I did not see anything on the Search and Rescue pages. 

We caught some views from the trail, which signaled that the steep stretch was almost over. It was Sarah's time to blast off ahead of us while Alec and I enjoyed the again beautiful woods. 

[1:51pm - Lonesome Lake Trail]

We were equally thrilled and relieved when we made it to the Lonesome Lake Trail junction. The flurries had increased to what I would call "snowing," so I asked Sarah to get my sunglasses out of my pack, only to find that I also didn't bring those! I have no idea where they could be... Strange that both my sunglasses and mittens are missing from the Ethan Pond hike? Hopefully I'll find them again! 

The Lonesome Lake Trail continued through beautiful woods at easy grades before descending again, but never getting nearly as steep as before. The steepest stretch was down what appeared to be a drainage of some sort, but it was mostly snow-covered sans a few open, wet spots. The trail soon bottomed out and followed a series of mostly-covered boardwalks with an occasional view back to Cannon through the trees.

[2:22pm - Around-Lonesome-Lake Trail]

The flats led us to the Around-Lonesome-Lake Trail and the lake proper. We could have turned left for a shorter way out, but I wanted to hit the hut and walk across the dam (and get the views), so we turned right. The trail led us through an absolutely beautiful snow-covered wetland that required a little bit of brain power to make sure we were stepping on the boardwalks and not into the pond inflows. Behind us was a great view to Cannon and the lake was on the left. This stretch was simply delightful!

We eventually began to catch some views over to the mostly-hidden Franconia Ridge on the far side of the lake. 

[2:34pm - Fishin' Jimmy Trail & Lonesome Lake Hut]

[2:42pm - Cascade Brook Trail]

We went back and forth about visiting the hut, and the fact that the sun was going to be setting soon was enough to keep us away from the main building, but we did do a quick bathroom break. We heard the caretaker splitting wood as we walked back down to the lake, and I reminisced about the time I was panic-sending sub plans from the dock on the lake a couple autumns ago!

We admired the view to Cannon from the dam and I tried to recreate a photo I got a little over a year ago of the lake before we continued onto the Cascade Brook Trail, which featured long boardwalks (the nice kind, not the rotting plank kind) that we walked along until we were back at the Lonesome Lake Trail.

[2:48pm - Lonesome Lake Trail]

The Lonesome Lake Trail rose gently for a short bit before starting the mile-long, gradual descent. The snow was back to flurries at this point, and we were cruising! We kept asking Sarah how it felt to be done and she was just so happy and proud! We did hit the delusional part of the hike where we were just splattering out anything that came to mind, which made conversations comical and nonsensical. 

[3:11pm - Lonesome Lake Trail/Hi-Cannon Trail]

[3:17pm - Lonesome Lake Trail/AMC Hut Sign]

We were thrilled to see the Hi-Cannon Trail sign, and even more thrilled to reach the AMC Hut sign! I picked up a forgotten car mat that I left in the unplowed lot, and soon we were back at our cars!

[3:23pm - End of Hike]

We exchanged a ground of cheers and hugs, changed our clothes, and then it was time for the pilgrimage back to Boston! I had a lovely cheese steak from the Common Man at the Hooksett Rest Area, and to my delight, was in bed nice and early! What a FANTASTIC weekend, and I'm feeling sad that I won't be able to get up there again until after Christmas!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Lafayette Place

- Start hike following signs to Lonesome Lake Trail.

- At trail sign, continue onto Lonesome Lake Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Hi-Cannon Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Kinsman Ridge Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Rim Trail.

- Summit Cannon Mountain.

- From summit, continue onto Short Trail.

- From tram building, continue onto Rim Trail (Kinsman Ridge Trail joins later).

- From jct., turn left onto Kinsman Ridge Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Lonesome Lake Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Around-Lonesome-Lake Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Fishin' Jimmy Trail to hut.

- Turn around at hut.

- Continue onto Fishin' Jimmy Trail, then Cascade Brook Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Lonesome Lake Trail.

- Return to car.

Photo Album

Willey, Field, and Ethan Pond Loop (White Mountain National Forest)

Willey, Field, and Ethan Pond Loop (White Mountain National Forest)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 15.51 miles

Elevation: 4,006 feet

Time: 10 hours, 38 minutes (9 hours, 8 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge 2025; Terrifying 25; New Hampshire Appalachian Trail

The Hike 

FINALLY time to get back into the Whites! It had been a long November of basically zero hikes, so I was itching to get back outside. After a wonderfully calm and quiet Thanksgiving, I woke up at 3:00am the next morning, scooped Sarah up (she was not pleased with the time, but we have LIMITED daylight this time of year), and we made our way up north! Neither of us had a good night's rest, so we were both feeling some kind of way. We got snacks at Hooksett and got breakfast at the Lincoln McDonalds right when they opened at 5:00am. There were some clouds overhead on the drive, but not nearly as much as we anticipated. We eventually made our way into Crawford Notch and down to the Willey House Site, where we parked the car and began to suit up. It was in the upper 20s with surprisingly no wind (the Higher Summits Forecast warned of ground blizzards, but thankfully it was quiety in the notch.

[6:07am - Kendron Flume Trail]

Our hike started on the Kendron Flume Trail in full layers and headlamps, but with some light already in the sky. Sunrise was slated for 6:59am - I always forget how early the first light is. The early stretch of trail was nice and easy to follow, and we quickly passed a sign for the Willey Boulders, which we decided to save for the end. The trailbed soon became very leafy and we passed a neat fallen limb with some fungus on it that looked like needle ice, but it was more or less hairy? We poked it with our poles and giggled. 

[6:24am - Kendron Flume Trail/Westside Trail]

We passed the junction for the Westside Trail at a bend in the trail, which was a little difficult to follow at times due to the leaves. The sky was now a very dark shade of blue, and soon we began to hike parallel and below the railroad tracks. We saw a neat and spooky tunnel that I can only guess is for drainage, and soon turned to cross the tracks!

[6:29am - Kendron Flume Trail/Railroad Crossing]

There was a nice view to Mt. Willard from the railroad tracks with cloudy skies overhead and just a pinch of horizon down where the sun was rising - it was neat! Across the tracks, the trail steeply climbed up to more switchbacking and leafy grade. It was getting brighter now, the trail was getting a bit more rugged, and there were a few patches of snow and ice along the trail - we didn't need spikes yet, though. We caught some early pink colors through the trees, and later we came to the namesake Kendron Flume!

[6:55am - Kendron Flume Trail/Kendron Flume]

The flume was really neat. A narrow band of water cascading down from above followed by a drop off with a view out to the shoulder of Mt. Webster. The rest of the scarred Mt. Webster was visible through the trees, and some higher-up vantage points were now illuminated in a magnificent orange glow. The crossing of the brook was relatively easy and just a little icy. We spent just a little bit of time here admiring everything before continuing on. 

The Kendron Flume Trail felt steeper and more rugged after Kendron Flume, with one slab that was iced over and had to be navigated around. Near the slab, the trail followed another slabby brook that was very scenic to look at. We trudged along, now in just our base layers, up until the grade began to ease near the terminus of the trail.

[7:22am - Ethan Pond Trail]

We could have put spikes on at the Ethan Pond Trail, but grades were easy to moderate and the trail was not slippery, so we waited just a bit longer, even though it was covered in 1-3" of snow now. We hopped across a little stream, and soon came up to the Willey Range Trail junction! I would also like to point out, I was absolutely killing it in the game of Fart Baseball (I was winning a little too solidly, and not having had used the bathroom earlier in the day made me quite worried). 

[7:34am - Willey Range Trail]

We took a very short break at the Willey Range Trail junction to swap out layers, water bottles, and put our spikes on. The snow was now deeper, but the trail was still a little bony. It started off slightly flat before recrossing the Kendron Brook and then the CLIMBING began - and boy did it begin! The first bit of climbing was with decent footing, which quickly deteriorated to a deeply eroded trailbed with a few iced-over logs to hold everything in place.

This was followed by some more stable log stairs that were equally as icy. Our blood was pumping, but we were just happy to be outside on such a surprisingly beautiful day!

About ten minutes later, we came to the first of the famed "terrifying" ladders. The first one was comically decimated - only the top rung remained. Thankfully, it was not steep enough at all to warrant a ladder. 

The next three ladders were steeper and a bit scarier to me. They had just a few missing rungs, but required icy transfers between each of them which had me spooked, but it was completely fine!

The ladder climbing continued for a bit with occasional peek-a-views through the trees to nearby mountains - notably of the Montalban Ridge and Carrigain. 

The Willey Range Trail leveled out briefly and traversed a blowdown patch with restricted views over to Carrigain with the Sandwich Range looming behind. The sun had been trying to show itself throughout the morning, but clouds had moved in and it began to flurry like a snowglobe!

Following the blowdown patch, the trail continued to climb with a few scrambles that would have been easy in summer conditions, but required a little bit of care with the snow and ice. We got another peek-a-view towards the Montalban Ridge and further peaks before a final push (that I may have pushed too hard for, again), to a fantastic view just before the summit!

[8:59am - Willey Range Trail/Viewpoint & Break]

This view was just what Sarah and I needed after a long, tough climb. We could see down into Crawford Notch, including US-302 and the railroad. Stairs, Resolution, and Crawford were all standing proudly at the bottom of the notch while the steep wall of Mt. Webster commanded the lefthand view. We could see over to Wildcat Ski Area and Mt. Chocorua, all with stunning sun rays. On the far left were the Presidentials, which were mostly in the clouds (besides Jackson, Pierce, and most of Eisenhower). We stopped here for about 20 minutes to have a snack, hydrate, and go "WOW!" The flurries continued while we were here, too.

[9:20am - Willey Range Trail/Mt. Willey Summit]

The walk from the viewpoint ot the summit was just a few yards - we were happy to hit the top finally! We noticed seemingly endless snowhsoe hare tracks all around the summit area, too. I've never seen one in it's winter colors - only in its three-season coat! We briefly enjoyed the standing view from the other side of the summit, but we had also found the wind, and it was COLD. We threw some layers back on and got back into the trees onto the wonderful stretch of trail between Mt. Willey and Mt. Field. 

The trail was now packed down and truly a delight to walk on. We crossed a blowdown patch that offered views over to Mt. Field and hit a few PUDs on our trip, and it was genuinely lovely. We also saw our first person du jour at this point - a solo hiker hiking from Field to Willey.

Somewhere after the Willey-Field col, we made two friends - two gray jays! They clearly wanted some snacks, but Sarah and I are both against feeding them. They did not agree with us, though, and truly followed us all the way up to the summit. We named them Helena and Greg, and it was honestly so fun to have them with us (even if they only wanted our food). We acted like they were our guides and ensuring we made it to the top safely! Naturally, I took well over a hundred photos of our new friends - they were WILDLY comfortable with us!

We caught a view over to the backside of Bond and Bondcliff, continued to chit-chat with Greg and Helena, and hit a few steeper sections of trail before making it up to the summit of Mt. Field!

[10:15am - Willey Range Trail/Mt. Field Summit]

There was a duo on Mt. Field also giggling at the gray jays, but they soon departed. Sarah and I did just a quick break at the top for a small snack, water, and some photos. We also enjoyed the few views the peak offers - notable down to the Omni Mt. Washington Resort, Mt. Tom, and the Twins. 

The initial descent on the Willey Range Trail had nice views to the Twins and soon entered a stunning, birch-filled winter wonderland - I remember LOVING this stretch of woods when I hiked these peaks for the first time. 

[10:22am - Willey Range Trail/Avalon Trail]

We soon hit the junction with the Avalon Trail, which we joked about "just running down for the view," but that joke quickly fled when I remembered how steep it was! We continued our descent through these lovely woods with a delightful footbed... for the first 10 minutes. The back half of this walk was rough with exposed rocks, frozen drainages, and icy postholes. 

[10:48am - A-Z Trail]

Thankfully, we soon hit the A-Z Trail. I emotionally wanted to hit Mt. Tom, but did not want to do the almost one-mile round trip when we still had MUCH hiking left to do. Sarah simply had no interest in going up Mt. Tom, so we had a quick snack again (I had a cookie!), saw our next duo of hikers, which turned out to be the last hikers we'd see for the rest of the hike!

The A-Z Trail was clearly less-traveled in this direction, but still easy enough to follow with the few inches of snow. It descended relatively easily before crossing a snowmobile trail, which led to the first water crossing, which turned out to be a long, semi-dreadful stretch of comically wet and only partially-frozen trail. We thought we'd be cruising through this stretch of trail, but boy, were we wrong! On the plus side, I was winning fart baseball by a landslide... If that's even a plus? The trail varied from frozen ground to lovely snow to thin ice to deep water to boardwalks to stream crossings... it was rough! Thankfully, it was at least a little pretty.

Eventually, we crossed a second snowmobile trail and began to descend again with a few more stream crossings, but overall a much higher quality of life. The snow flurries continued throughout the whole A-Z Trail, sometimes getting a little heavier than a snowglobe, but always beautiful. The trail began to get wet again with more boardwalks, and after who knows how long, we came up to the edge of a beaver pond, which was our signal that we were almost to salvation!

[12:37pm - Zealand Trail]

[12:42pm - Zealand Trail/Zealand Hut FPA]

We were THRILLED to finally make it to the Zealand Trail! The A-Z Trail wasn't hard grade-wise, but footing-wise, it was rough and slow. Sarah gave the Zealand Trail sign a big hug, but we decided we would get a little further down before taking a break.

From here, the Zealand Trail crossed a bridge with snowy views towards some landmass, entered the Forest Protection Area surrounding the Zealand Hut, and paralleled another pond, where we could hear Zealand Falls ROARING on the other side. 

[12:46pm - Ethan Pond Trail]

[12:55pm - Ethan Pond Trail/Departs FPA]

On the far side of the pond, the Zealand Trail turned right to climb up to Zealand Hut and the Ethan Pond Trail continued on the railroad grade ahead. We were DELIGHTED to be on railroad grade after the A-Z Trail! We took a quick break here for another snack and for a potty break. 

Along the delightful Ethan Pond Trail, the snow was beginning to pick up - enough to the point where I had to put my sunglasses (we LOVE PitVipers) on to keep the snow out of my eyes - I just wish I didn't have my dark shades with me - I have a pair of lighter ones that would have been perfect for overcast snow. We soon departed the FPA and were back to fully enjoying life and our hike!

[1:22pm - Ethan Pond Trail/Talus Field]

After almost a half hour of delight, we entered the talus field near Zealand Notch and Whitewall Mountain. I had seen this area on Facebook and YouTube, but never in person before. It was stunning - especially with the snow falling! Footing was still wonderful as we were on the railroad grade, and the views were really neat and unique. We could see up to either Zealand or Hale (I think Hale?) on the far right across the notch and there were dramatic cliffs overhead up on Whitewall Mountain. I'm curious how many people climb up this talus field to summit Whitewall?

[1:27pm - Ethan Pond Trail/Zeacliff Trail]

It was fun seeing the Pemigewasset Wilderness sign at the junction with the Zeacliff Trail - a trail that I simply must venture some day now. The views continued ahead toward some unnamed mountains (to my knowledge) before eventually reentering the woods, which to no surprise, were still lovely. Life was good again!

[1:41pm - Ethan Pond Trail/Thoreau Falls FPA]

[1:46pm - Ethan Pond Trail/Thoreau Falls Trail]

We thought about visiting Thoreau Falls when we entered the Thoreau Falls Forest Protection Area, but we were starting to feel tired and still had a good number of miles left (and fleeting daylight!), so we continued on past the FPA and junction.

[1:52pm - Ethan Pond Trail/Bridge]

[1:53pm - Ethan Pond Trail/Departs FPA]

We did come to a wonderful bridge over the North Fork East Branch of the Pemigewasset River (ridiculous name), which was a deep red from the tannins in the water (I assume). We took a few photos, exchanged a few "wow"s, and continued on the still-delightful railroad grade, existing the Forest Protection Area, and later landing at the Shoal Pond Trail junction.

[2:00pm - Ethan Pond Trail/Shoal Pond Trail]

I had a wonderful moment of forgetfulness at the Shoal Pond Trail junction. I had been saving a Celsius as a little reward/boost for later in the hike, and when we got on the Ethan Pond Trail I told myself (and Sarah) that I would open it at the Shoal Pond junction. I was a bit tired at this point, so I fully forgot, and I GASPED with excitement when Sarah reminded me. I took my pack off, and immediately forgot what I was looking for - Sarah reminded me, and again, I GASPED with excitement! We giggled, I went to grab it, and yet again forgot what I was doing, got reminded, and GASPED with excitemenet. Sometimes, it really is a joy to be a little dumb!

The Ethan Pond Trail got a little less wonderful after the Shoal Pond Trail junction, but it was still easy peasy. The trail came up to a beautiful stretch of the river that had wide, cascading slabs into what looked like a deep pool (Sarah mentally pinned it for a possible swimming spot when the weather is nice again). 

Slowly, the trail began to... deteriorate. Footing became similar to that of the A-Z Trail - rocky, wet, kind of frozen, but also kind of not frozen. Sometimes there was thick, stable ice that was perfect for spikes, and other times you'd look at the ice and fall into a mud pit. It was rough. It was slow. When we weren't rock hopping, we were navigating a series of partially burried, partially rotting bog boardwalks, never knowing which step would plummet us into a stream. It was BRUTAL. We were also into double-digit miles at this point, which had us TIRED. The two miles, although flat, took us a solid hour, and we EARNED those miles. My Celsius reward ended up being a challenge - trying to navigate the contstant rock hopping with a can in-hand wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be! We lamented, complained, and went silent on a rotating basis, and only felt a bit of exictement and joy when we finally made it to the Ethan Pond Campsite Forest Protection Area - thank GOODNESS.

[3:02pm - Ethan Pond Trail/Ethan Pond Campsite FPA]

[3:10pm - Ethan Pond Trail/Ethan Pond Campsite Spur]

We caught a few glimpses of the cliffs off of Mt. Willey through the trees - it was still snowing, but a bit less now (which was appreciated). Sarah and I were both on the same page that we wanted to 1) see Ethan Pond and 2) get the heck out of these woods - the only break we planned to take was a quick pee and to shove a little bit of food down our throats. 

We followed the Ethan Pond Campsite Spur down to the Ethan Pond viewpoint, which in fairness was beautiful, but we quickly turned it around to take care of our chores (plus it was COLD at the pond) and blast off to the car! We were slowly becoming aware of the setting sun...

[3:27pm - Ethan Pond Trail/Departs FPA]

We were delighted to be on a nicer trail again (the bad stretch was Shoal Pond Trail to Ethan Pond Campsite Spur - I wonder if it's always like that or if we just got "lucky") and even more delighted be to leaving the FPA. We were both on "go" mode at this point as I continued to rack up fart baseball points (that being said, Sarah had joined the game by this point!). 

[3:49pm - Ethan Pond Trail/Willey Range Trail]

[3:58pm - Kendron Flume Trail]

Adding to our delight, time felt to be moving faster again as we crossed the Willey Range Trail junction and were soon back on the Kendron Flume Trail! We were zooming down, only slowing down at that one icy slab we climbed up earlier. From there, I started to blast off ahead of Sarah because I have a hard time fighting gravity on tired legs. 

[4:12pm - Kendron Flume Trail/Kendron Flume]

We rendez-vous'd at the Kendron Flume, which was now beautifully dusted in snow, as flurries were still falling, slightly clouding the view toward Mt. Webster. The trail was a little hard to follow in the next stretch with the fresh coating of snow, but I only missed one (1) switchback and got fully off-trail one (1) other time. Sarah was grateful that I was the one to make the mistakes so she didn't have to!

[4:30pm - Kendron Flume Trail/Railroad Crossing]

I got ahead again, trying to move quickly to avoid needing my headlamp, but I accepted defeat at the railroad crossing. I also desperately had to pee. I waited again for Sarah, and she exasperatedly told me "you know you can keep going!" - I told her "I know! I need to pee and I need you to get my headlamp out of my pack!" She was also disappointed we'd need headlamps, but it was DEFINITELY time! She got ahead this time as I took a scenic bathroom break off of the railroad bridge, and then I basically chased her back to the car.

[4:38pm - Kendron Flume Trail/Westside Trail]

I knew I was close at the Westside Trail junction, and I soon caught up with Sarah as we passed the sign for the Willey Boulders, which we agreed we'd visit another day (ideally in daylight). We carefully shimmied down the final descent back to the parking lot and RAN to the car - it was COLD in the notch!

[4:45pm - End of Hike]

We did a QUICK change at the car. It was snowing and dark out! I felt the need to rush out of there because I had friends coming over that night and I was simply far away from home and had no service to tell them - thankfully all was fine! We carefully drove up back through Crawford Notch, around US-3, and down through Franconia Notch, all with plenty of snow falling. Roads improved once we got through the notch, and we ordered pickup from the Common Man Roadside in Plymouth for dinner, which was excellent! The rest of the drive was easy-peasy, albeit a little sleepy. It was SO nice to be back up in the Whites!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Willey House Site.

- Start hike on Kendron Flume Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Ethan Pond Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Willey Range Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto A-Z Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Zealand Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Ethan Pond Trail.

- After many miles, turn left onto Kendron Flume Trail.

- Return to car.

Photo Album

Bellevue Pond, Wright's Tower, and Others Loop (Middlesex Fells Reservation)

Bellevue Pond, Wright's Tower, and Others Loop (Middlesex Fells Reservation)

Hike Type: Tracing Loop

Distance: 4.04 miles

Elevation: 427 feet

Time: 1 hour, 23 minutes (1 hour, 18 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: Middlesex Fells Reservation Tracing, 52 Hike Challenge 2025

The Hike 

A tell-tale sign that it's officially the "dark times" (i.e., after daylight savings time) is that I'm hiking in the Middlesex Fells again! My only goal was to see the view from Wright's Tower and meander on trails that I think I haven't hit before. It was 49 degrees, windy, and mostly cloudy, but overall pretty pleasant. I started my hike from Bellevue Pond, per usual, and hit St. Denis Road and the spur path off of it to get started. It was nice and quiet in the woods.

I was here in between school getting out and parent-teacher conferences - I didn't realize how badly I needed this time in the woods! I had really lost the after-school hiking this year (which happens every year, in fairness) due to dating, marching band, and overall exhaustion. Bellevue Pond was essentially a marsh, which I'm guessing is due to overall low water levels plus summer? I passed a bunch of massive squirrels and one well-behaved off-leash dog as I climbed to Wright's Tower, which per usual had just a wonderful view. 

I ended up doing my best to connect unblazed paths that I thought I still needed - only tough part was that there were MANY criss-crossing unmapped paths I had to navigate around, too. I did my best to stay on-track with moderate success!

Once back at Bellevue Pond, I went back up to the tower and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. The clouds parted just enough for the sun to shine through, and it made my body feel very happy. I really needed this!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Bellevue Pond.

- Start hike on Quarry Road.

- At D6-5 turn right onto St. Denis Road.

- At terminus, turn around.

- At unsigned jct., turn left onto spur.

- At South Border Road, turn around.

- At St. Denis Road, turn left.

- At D6-5, turn right onto Quarry Road.

- Near Wright's Tower Road, hike short trails there and then climb to Wright's Tower.

- At Wright's Tower, follow Skyline Trail toward D6-1.

- At D6-1, turn right onto Quarry Road.

- At D5-7, turn left onto trail.

- At D5-6, turn right onto Skyline Trail.

- Before C5-21, turn left onto trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Red Cross Path.

- At C5-25, turn right onto trail.

- At C5-17, turn left onto Cross-Fells Path.

- At C5-16, turn left onto Skyline Trail.

- At C5-24, turn right onto trail.

- At C5-23, continue on trail.

- At C5-22, turn left onto road.

- At C6-1, turn right onto trail.

- At South Border Road, follow trail on left, accidentally following a northern unmapped trail.

- At Middle Road, continue onto trail to Bellevue Pond.

- At Bellevue Pond, turn left.

- At C6-9, continue around Bellevue Pond.

- At D6-3, turn right onto Quarry Road.

- Before D6-5, turn left to climb to Wright's Tower.

- Enjoy the sunset.

- Descend via Skyline Trail to D6-2.

- At D6-2, turn left onto Quarry Road.

- At D6-3, turn right onto road.

- At C6-9, turn left onto road to car.

Middlesex Fells Reservation Map

Photo Album

Bluebird Hill, Stone Arch, and Russell Bird Sanctuary (Westford Conservation Trust)

Bluebird Hill, Stone Arch, and Russell Bird Sanctuary (Westford Conservation Trust)

Hike Type: ---o- Loop

Distance: 1.55 miles

Elevation: 79 feet

Time: 31 minutes
Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike 

Okay now my actual probably last pre-band hike! I didn't have enough time for the usual Burns Hill Loop because it was Band O'Ween, but I knew there was a trail network near the school I hadn't checked out, so I drove over there and basically free-wandered! I entered the woods and came up to an open hill with a trail - turns out to be Bluebird Hill. I noticed vents along the hill, so I was thinking it used to be a dump, and the Westford Conservation Trust website includes this funny annecdote: 

"On your right, you will pass the old, capped dump, which residents used to call “Mt. Trashmore,” but at which a resident has erected a sign naming it “Bluebird Hill.” This caring individual has erected bluebird nesting boxes on the dump’s vent pipes and also around the edge of the hill. The birds have taken up residence and one can now observe vibrant bluebird pairs perching on the hill’s grass and weed stems. Also look for red fox hunting mice on the hill."

After descending "Mt. Trashmore," I turned right to rejoin the original path, which looked like an old road grade or pipe line, turns out to be an old rail bed. It was really lovely! The sun was shining through the trees with vast wetlands on the left and woods on the right. This hike already had more views than my Burns Hill Loop, but with that comes many more people (in fairness, I saw maybe 12 max, but still!). 

I came up to the Stone Arch bridge, which had a series of sketchy wooden stairs down to the base of it which offered a lovely view along the Stony Brook and beneath the bridge. From here, I turned around and then took the Bird Sanctuary trail, which was narrower and beautiful. It looped around a mini-peninsula that jutted into the wetlands, with lovely views through the trees. 

My return trip was quick and easy, passing some more people. I caught up to some slow walkers, so instead of following the Rail Trail back to the car, I went back up and over Bluebird Hill and just barely snuck in front of them. It was a lovely, easy, short hike!

Step-by-Step

- Start hike at Russell Bird Sanctuary parking area.

- At jct., turn right to climb over Bluebird Hill.

- At terminus, turn right onto Rail Trail.

- At Stone Arch Bridge, follow stairs down.

- Enjoy view, turn around and retrace steps.

- At jct., turn right onto Bird Sanctuary Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Rail Trail.

- At jct., turn left to climb over Bluebird Hill.

- At terminus, turn left and return to car.

Stone Arch Trail Map

Photo Album

Burns Hill Loop (2x) (Westford Conservation Trust)

Burns Hill Loop (2x) (Westford Conservation Trust)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 2.41 miles

Elevation: 354 feet

Time: 46 minutes
Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike 

Plot twist - Tuesday was NOT my last pre-band hike! It should have been, but I needed to decompress after a stressful Friday before the football game that night. It was an almost-chilly 58 degrees out. The access trail was covered in deer tracks through the needles and the gently falling yellow foliage was delightfully peaceful. I didn't spook any deer in my usual spot but there were at least a million grey squirrels to make up for it. On the back side of the loop, two GIANT limbs fell off of a nearby tree about 50 feet away from me which spooked me. I blasted off for a second lap with minimal thoughts, and was soon back at the car and making my way over to the high school for an evening of band! and football, I guess...

Step-by-Step

- Start hike at Burns Hill trailhead.

- Cross power cut, turn right at loop split.

- Follow loop two times with optional visit to Heron Roostery.

- When complete, return via power cut.

Burns Hill Map

Photo Album

Burns Hill Loop (2x) (Westford Conservation Trust)

Burns Hill Loop (2x) (Westford Conservation Trust)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 2.39 miles

Elevation: 351 feet

Time: 45 minutes
Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike 

Possibly my last pre-band hike! This was another quick and easy double-loop of the Burns Hill Conservation Area within the Westford Conservation Trust land. It was a beautiful 65 degrees out with a breeze. The foliage was looking really excellent, with super bright yellows all overhead. The entry spur of the lollipop loop smelled of delicious pines, and once on the loop, I spooked a few deer in the same spot that I have twice before now. There were little foot holes in the leaves where the deer ran away! I made my way up Burns Hill, and followed the trail through the mixed forest. After the final low spot, the forest transitions to fully hardwoods, all of which were full of golden leaves - it was really spectacular. I took my second lap with little brain activity, and then made my way over to the high school for some band!

Step-by-Step

- Start hike at Burns Hill trailhead.

- Cross power cut, turn right at loop split.

- Follow loop two times with optional visit to Heron Roostery.

- When complete, return via power cut.

Burns Hill Map

Photo Album

Mt. Monadnock via White Arrow, Smith Summit, Great Pasture, Mossy Brook, Cart Path (Monadnock State Park)

Mt. Monadnock via White Arrow, Smith Summit, Great Pasture, Mossy Brook, Cart Path (Monadnock State Park)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 5.18 miles

Elevation: 1,693 feet

Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes (2 hours, 16 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: Monadnock Redliner (2x)

The Hike

Still running on the high from last week's NH48 and 52WAV grand finale, I wanted to finish one more hiking challenge this weekend - my second round of hiking all the trails on Monadnock! I only needed Mossy Brook and Cart Path, but I added on the summit and Monte Rosa for funsies. I woke up at 5:00am and got slightly delayed on my departure due to a mouse sitting (and pooping) in the middle of my kitchen. I was able to trap it under a large tupperwear and placed the laundry detergent on top to keep it sealed - thankfully Ray dealt with the disposal. I stopped at the Leominster Cumberland Farms for breakfast and definitely overate, oops! I was at the Old Toll Road trailhead just after 7:00am and joined five other cars. My tummy was in a mood and I only was able to lightly christen, so this was going to be interesting! It was a cool 47 degrees out with clear skies and a bright, orange sunrise through the trees from the trailhead. My pack was feeling comically lighter than last week's with half as much water and no champagne!

[7:15am - Old Toll Road]

I decided to keep the beginning of the hike low-brain and followed the Old Toll Road up. The foliage along the road was a mix of greens and yellows, but with a decently bare canopy overhead - definitely a strange foliage season with the drought! I was feeling comfortable with my long sleeve wool shirt from Backcountry, shorts, and liner gloves. I was moving quickly, though, just to keep comfortable. 

[7:26am - Old Toll Road/Parker Trail]

[7:35am - Old Toll Road/Cart Path]

Just after the junction with the Parker Trail, a little mouse scurried across the trail (which was fitting considering how I started my day...) along with many, MANY chipmunks. Next was the junction with the Cart Path, which started the lollipop portion of this loollipop loop. When the Old Toll Road turns sharply right and becomes my dream home's driveway, the White Arrow Trail continues ahead.

[7:37am - White Arrow Trail]

[7:38am - White Arrow Trail/Old Halfway House Site]

The trail's grade does not really increase once on the White Arrow Trail (initially), but it becomes very rocky. I crossed paths with my first person of the day (he was running down the trail), and then arrived at the Halfway House Site, which had a nice view out to the lowlands and also to a high crag of Mt. Monadnock, which was drenched in sunlight.

[7:40am - White Arrow Trail/Royce Trail]

[7:41am - White Arrow Trail/Fairy Spring Trail]

The trail was flat for a slight moment after the Halfway House Site, passing the Royce and Fairy Spring junctions, and then the real climb began! The White Arrow Trail climbed a nice section of steps followed by a moderate climb in the foods that led to another short walking break. Person #2 crossed paths with me here and offered up a "Howdy!" There was another steady moderate section after the walking break and I could hear people having conversation through the woods on the Side Foot Trail. I was moving quickly, enough to get my heart rate up, but not enough to full knock me down - feeling good! 

The red squirrels started to wake up and simultaneously lose their minds around 7:50am, my big breakfast was NOT feeling great in my tummy, and the White Arrow Trail began to steepen and climb up to the junction with the Amphitheatre Trail - the trail was a little wet in this area.

[7:56am - White Arrow Trail/Amphitheatre Trail]

The steepness levels out again after crossing with the Amphitheatre Trail into a lovely little grove that I remember from one of my early Monadnock hikes of still having ice in April (I now know how normal that is). The White Arrow Trail climbs out of the grove and then leaves the tree line, leading to the summit on a rough, scrambly, and beautiful trail. There were hazy morning views to Gap Mountain and beyond, and once higher up, the sun felt absolutely divine. It was a bit windy, but I felt good as long as I kept moving.

I got a little off-trail a couple of time, as my vision was impaired due to the sun shining directly into my eyes. Near the final scramble, I caught up to two guys who were hiking with jeans and walking sticks (like, the actual stick kind). I passed them after the scramble, and made it to the shockingly empty summit!

[8:13am - Mt. Monadnock Summit]

I planned to "hit and quit" the summit - one because I was cold, but also because I was stressing about the mouse situation at home. I tested out my new cheap-o anemometer from Amazon, and it read the wind at 15-20mph and 50 degrees, which all added up! It was really beautiful up top, even as the wind tried to make me do a pirouette when it hit my bag. 

[8:18am - Smith Summit Trail]

From the summit, I found my way to the Smith Summit Trail (medium difficult to find at first glance - between the White Arrow and M/D) and started my scrambly descent. This trail reminds me of an advanced game of connect the dots - it's not easy to follow in the slightest, but there will always be another dot to connect to, you just have to find it! 

Eventually, the Smith Summit Trail leaves the open, expansive views and dipps into the trees, which was a welcome reprieve from the wind. 

[8:33am - Smith Summit Trail/Amphitheatre Trail]

[8:37am - Smith Summit Trail/The Tooth]

A little while after dipping back into the trees, the trail opens up again in a slabby area and passes the junction with the Amphitheatre Trail. This leads to the rock formation known as The Tooth, and I continued to follow the Smith Summit Trail all the way to Monte Rosa, which had a little steep push at the end to the famed weathervane.

[8:40am - Monte Rosa]

I took just a few photos of the view out, the view up to Mt. Monadnock, and the weathervane on Monte Rosa before working my way over to the Great Pasture Trail, which was not easy to find without GPS (and a good guess).

[8:44am - Great Pasture Trail]

The Great Pasture Trail follows a series of slabs at first, marked by just a few carins, and then has its trail sign further down, which was very weathered and hard to see/read. There were great views up to the summit from the slabs, so I wasn't complaining! 

The trail follows a few cairns down and eventually turns left into the woods and plummets down. Thankfully, while the Great Pasture Trail is only blazed in one direction, it was the direction in which I was traveling, so I was always able to find the next yellow rectanglular blaze. The trail soon bottomed out in a beautiful mossy area, which to my understanding is where the Mossy Brook begins.

[8:51am - Mossy Brook Trail]

The Mossy Brook Trail is an absolute delight with just a few sections of possibly slippery footing. It very gradually descends alongside the Mossy Brook in question on the right, and then it crosses over the trickling waters and follows, now on the left. I did feel some... lower abdominal pressure in this area, but thank goodness it soon passed. The yellow rectangular blazing continued on this trail, and before I knew it, the trail turned left and became the Cart Path. 

[9:03am - Cart Path]

[9:12am - Cart Path/Royce Trail]

[9:13am - Cart Path/Old Halfway House Trail]

The character of the trail immediatley changed once on Cart Path. Softwoods changed to hardwoods and the lush, green forest was now open with leaves on the ground and ferns dusted around. It meandered throughout the woods, crossing an old stone wall, and eventually passing the Royce and Old Halfway House Trails before ending at the Old Toll Road.

[9:14am - Old Toll Road]

[9:23am - Old Toll Road/Parker Trail]

I mentally cruised down the Old Toll Road at this point, and was surprised and delighted to not be swimming upstream (I imagined that on a beautiful Sunday, this would be a super busy area - apparently not!). I passed the Parker junction and continued on down, soon arriving back to the porta potties for some unfinished business, and then back to my car for a quick change and a drive to Walmart...

[9:35am - End of Hike]

While my drive home was relatively painless, I was STRESSED about the mouse. I picked up a ton of steel wool and poison from Walmart (in addition to my weekly groceries), and we spent the rest of the day mouse-proofing out kitchen. It's been a few days at the time I am writing this, and so far, so good!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Old Halfway House trailhead.

- Start hike on Old Toll Road.

- At terminus, continue onto White Arrow Trail.

- At summit, descend via Smith Summit Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Great Pasture Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Mossy Brook Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Cart Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Old Toll Road.

Map of Monadnock State Park

Photo Album

Shelburne Moriah & Mt. Moriah via Shelburne & Stony Brook Trails (White Mountain National Forest)

Shelburne Moriah & Mt. Moriah via Shelburne & Stony Brook Trails (White Mountain National Forest)

Hike Type: Traverse

Distance: 13.70 miles

Elevation: 3,773 feet

Time: 10 hours, 54 minutes (7 hours, 58 minutes)
Hiking Challenges: New Hampshire 4000 Footers; 52 With-a-View; Operation Alaska Benchmark Challenge; 52 Hike Challenge 2025

The Hike 

It was the big day! My grand finale hike for my 52 With-a-View and my New Hampshire 48! The plan was a traverse from the Shelburne Trail to Stony Brook Trail, hitting Shelburne Moriah and Mt. Moriah on the way. Sarah and Emma were both going to join me, and Gen wanted to come but couldn't make it work sadly. My 2:45am alarm went off and I was on my way to pick up Sarah at 3:05am (it would have been 3:00am, but I couldn't find my house keys... turns out I left them in the deadbolt from the night before... oops!). I picked Sarah up, we had a quick pit stop at Hooksett, and then we continued to make out way up to the Dunkin Donuts in Gorham to meet Emma for some breakfast.

I hoped to get some hot chocolate packet at the Cumberland Farms, but they didn't have any - oh well. We dropped Emma's car at the Stony Brook Trailhead and then the three of us took my car to the Shelburne Trailhead. The beginning of the road was rough with one enormous pothole, but it then turned to dirt and was completely fine for the last mile to the trailhead, which had room for maybe five cars max. We spent more time than usual getting packed up, as Emma had to strap baguettes to her pack, Sarah had to make room for her fondue fixings, and I had to carefully fit a bottle of Veuve Cliquot and some plastic champagne flutes into mine! It was a chilly 30 degrees, but it felt nice and made us feel like ski season was right around the corner!

[7:10am - Start of Hike on Shelburne Trail]

We got started on the trail proper at 7:10am. The Shelburne Trail follows the continuation of the trailhead road (FR 95) and climbs at very easy grades with good and grassy footing. Much of the vegetation was covered in a beautiful, sparkling frost. We could tell that we were past peak foliage, but there was still some color to be enjoyed. Slowly, the sun began to kiss the tops of the trees, which was borderline magical. The trail also doubled as what I can only describe as a moose super highway - with piles of poop every 10 feet at a maximum. My shin splints were still present from yesterday's big loop over the Osceolas, but thankfully they weren't overly restricting. 

Shelburne Trail came to a junction with another road - maybe a snowmobile corridoor? There was a sign indication to continue straight on the road. After the sign, the trail was a little more grown-in, but still fine. Soon after, the Shelburne Trail left the road we were following at a signed arrow and began to climb more moderately, but never too steeply. The trailbed was mostly covered in leaves, but thankfully footing was generally good so there weren't any hidden obstacles. We saw our first two people of the day once on this stretch - two hikers in blaze orange happily hiking. They asked if we saw any wildlife, and we told them just a lot of poop! They said the same - no moose today!

The trail began to parallel the East Brook, which was down the bank on the right. Footing was occasionally slanted, but remained not-too-bad. There was a semi-confusing crossing in a really pretty area. The water was running low but the rocks, moss, and leaves were really stunning!

We continued to climb moderately, with a few steeper pushes until the sun was shining on us through the trees. We passed the only old yellow blaze we'd see on the trail, and eventually made it to the second crossing of the east branch of the East Brook, which was more of just a mossy rock hop with the low water levels. The trees were almost fully barren of their leaves, which made for nice autumnal tree views. 

The third crossing was further up and naturally even less pronounced than the second, and the fourth was basically just the trail meandering through a wet area near the height-of-land, passing one really neat boulder on the way!

[9:20am - Shelburne Trail/Kenduskeag Trail]

The Shelburne Trail leveled out in this area and meandered to the height-of-land, where the Kenduskeag Trail began and just about 50 feet down trail, the Wild River Wilderness also began. Naturally, we had to walk into the wilderness area for a second just to say we did! We backtracked the 50 feet to the junction and had our first break of the day. I had a slice of soggy pulled pork pizza and some honey roasted pistachios while the three of us yapped about who knows what - it honestly felt like we were in an episode of Adventure Archives, just sitting and chatting - it was lovely! It was fun to hike with both Emma and Sarah, too. It's rare that I hike with more than one person!

[9:39am - Kenduskeag Trail]

We got started on the Kenduskeag Trail, which had a very different character than the Shelburne Trail - notably it was now a rugged footpath versus an old logging road. We got a little chilled when were sitting, but soon warmed up again! The trail was moderate and soon climbed into denser forest where it remained rugged, spooky, and mossy. It reminded Sarah and I of the Mahoosuc area, but less ridiculous - best of both worlds!

[9:57am - Kenduskeag Trail/First View]

After some hiking, a side path scrambles up to the first of MANY views! We had a wonderful view of Shelburne Moriah with the Carters looming behind. Futher to the left were the Baldfaces, and the Wild River Valley in the forground. Really lovely! Somewhere around here Emma loudly goes "oh NO." Sarah and I paused and calmly asked "WHAT?!" Emma then tells us that she realized she left her keys in my car, meaning we were hiking towards a locked car with no keys... We weren't going to all turn around, and I wasn't going to ask Emma to turn around, so we quickly accepted fate and continued on, with MANY jokes to come over the next many hours!

Back in the woods, the Kenduskeag Trail undulated through the mossy, rugged woods - it was really pretty. The trail continued to narrow to basically a one foot-wide path, as it remained for the bulk of the hike. Soon, a ladder led us to a more open bit of trail that quickly led to another spectacular view (the guidebook labels this as the first of two knolls, the first view was the second). We rounded the corner through scrubby bushes to reveal more views into the Wild River Valley and over to the round hump of Shelburne Moriah, which still looked rudely far away. 

We dipped back into the woods before re-emerging out in the open on a nice series of boardwalks, still along the first knoll. We enjoyed views of the surrounding bog/meadows with a few views out through the trees. The moon was still up, providing a little extra pizzazz!

The trail steeply descended from the first knoll before starting a similarly steep climb up to the summit plateau of Shelburne Moriah. This was the first time all day our hearts were really pumping. Somewhere near rounding the shoulder, I stepped on a slick/muddy rock and slide a solid four feet down, landing in a "paint me like one of your french girls" pose (I was fine). Eventually, the Kenduskeag Trail rounded the shoulder to reveal some wonderful views followed by some extensive boardwalks through a pretty grown-in trail. 

[10:55am - Kenduskeag Trail/Shelburne Moriah Summit]

A few more steps and we were at the summit cairn of Shelburne Moriah! My 52 With-a-View was officially complete! The view was truly spectacular. Middle Moriah and Mt. Moriah were in the foreground, naturally, and the northern Presidentials, from Washington to Madison, were towering behind. TO the right were the Carters and Carter Dome standing tall. To the left, we could see the Pilot/Pliny Ranges. On thr far right were the New Hampshire Mahoosucs, and to the far left were Baldfaces and Wild River Wilderness. 

We took plenty of photos here, some with my homemade sign, and I got a little bit of attention by a group of really kind and friendly hikers. As much as I love attention from the Facebook groups, I struggle to accept it in person! Thankfully, we got to share Emma's snaffu with the keys which took the attention off of me. We shared stores of our hikes and they continued to give congratulations. One of the hikers taught us how to say "Kenduskeag" - and all I remember it was NOT how I was saying it, but I couldn't begin to remember what she said. 

We sat and snacked for a solid half hour, enjoying each other's company, our snacks, and of course, the view! Eventually though, it was time to continue on. We had about 2.7 miles to Mt. Moriah from here, and we were looking forward to our fondue and champagne!

[11:32am - Kenduskeag Trail]

Back on the Kenduskeag Trail, we said goodbye to our new friends and started out beautiful descent, which started along ledges and descend to a long series of right woods, boardwalks, bogs, and views. Some of the drops were steep, and one of them was so perfectly horrible that I... You know the act of swiping a credit card? That happened to me, but instead of a credit card it was a spruce branch (with needles) and the credit card reader was my eye. It HURT. Did not feel good! I took a second to really bask in the pain, but then just kept moving along, because we were over five miles into the hike - there was nothing to do about it here! Sarah, who is incredibly caring, kept checking in, and it felt quite badly, but again there was nothing to do about it! Slowly, my right eye's vision got less blurry and the pain began to subside, so that's good!

Thankfully, the hiking was wonderful! There were plenty of tight car-wash stretches, but Emma continued to point out that we were getting free exfoliation. Some of the bod/mud pits were impressively deep - we got poles almost all the way down! Thankfully nobody fell in. The route was mostly easy to follow, with either a clear footpath, boardwalks, cairns, or faded, painted arrows on the ground. From the lowest open spot, we had a great view back to Shelburne Moriah and forward to Middle Moriah and Mt. Moriah.

From the final view, we continued to descend into the woods with a few rambling ups, eventually hitting the junction with the Rattle River Trail just past the col between Shelburne and Middle Moriahs in a very pretty area (with more boardwalks - a theme of this hike!). 

[12:30pm - Kenduskeag Trail/Rattle River Trail]

From the Rattle River Trail junction, the Kenduskeag Trail was blazed in white, as it was now part of the Appalachian Trail. Interestingly enough, the first white blaze said "Beth ->" - we wondered, who is Beth? Maybe she's waiting to welcome us at the summit? Also at this point of the hike, I was winning in fart baseball by a truly increidbly lead. 

The Kenduskeag Trail climbed briefly and contoured around Middle Moriah Mountain, which was my favorite stretch of wooded trail. Extensive, flat boardwalks in beautiful, mossy woods. Truly wonderful! We all had such a lovely time. We saw one (1) moose print in this section, too!

Eventually, the Kenduskeag Trail descended to the col between Middle Moriah and Mt. Moriah and began to climb up - the final push! We caught one RUDE view of Mt. Moriah's summit cone (more like a loaf) through a blowdown area, but we took the following steep climb slowly and found it to be manageable, with some tree views back to Shelburne Moriah, which looked equally small and far away from this vantage point.

We hiked just a bit further down the trail and there it was - the Carter-Moriah Trail! One final push before I finish my New Hampshire 48! I was equal parts excited, anxious, and sentimental, but also a little cranky that I could hear so many voices... oh well! 

[1:31pm - Carter-Moriah Trail]

The Carter-Moriah Trail had a two-tiered scramble up to the summit "loaf." I went first and passed a duo who asked "is she carrying baguettes?" to which I happily said "hell yeah!" Once on the loaf's plateau, we noticed a side path to a ledge that had a truly wonderful view Middle and Shelburne Moriahs alongside the Mahoosucs and beyond. 

[1:35pm - Mt. Moriah Summit Spur]

We hopped back onto the Carter-Moriah Trail and then followed the Mt. Moriah Summit spur, which was short and ledgy and led to the top! The top had wonderful standing views in all directions, but also people in all directions. There were two USGS discs, at least one bolt, two gray jays, and MANY people. I whispered to Emma "I hate it when people sit directly on the summit" and Sarah loudly said "oh, so we're feeding the Gray Jays?" With that, we smiled, gave the top a "boop," and turned around to backtrack to that ledge from before. 

[1:39pm - Off-Trail View]

To preserve our overall joyful demeanors and to have some more space for our big celebration! Once we got on the ledge, we took packs off and got right to work! Before anything happened, a gray jay flew up, looked directly at me, and I swear called me a name (via "chirp") before flying away! Step one was to get the fondue cooking, which Sarah masterfully did in her JetBoil (she started by preparing a concoction of white wine, lemon juice, and garlic, bringing it to a simmer, and then slowly adding one pound (!) of shredded swiss and gruyerre cheese - it was AMAZING). Once that was going, it was time to pop the champagne! Miraculously, the champagne was NOT over-shaken from the hike. We had zero spillage! People said "you got to spray it!" - absolutely not. If I had prosecco maybe, but this bottle was too expensive to waste a drop! Once the fondue was hot and the champagne was poured, we sliced up the apples and ripped up (literally) the bread, and started our feast! Naturally some food items fell on the rocks, but we practice leave no trace, so eating "rock cheese," "rock bread," and "rock apples" became a running bit throughout. 

This break was delightfully long. We shared lots of giggles, teehees, stories, and mindless yaps. Occasionally, the gray jays would swoop down and attempt to join the party, but Sarah was on "wave the trekking pole at them" duty, which did keep them away. We love those birds, but they're too used to humans feeding them! One did swoop up and land on Emma's head for a second, which was one of the funnier moments of the day! We took a bunch of silly photos, naturally got photos with the sign I made, and looked at our options for getting back to my car... It looked like there WERE Ubers available from Stony Brook through Gorham, so we had some hope. We flirted with going down Carter-Moriah to get closer to Gorham, but it was suposed to be a rougher descent, and for Sarah's reattached ankle we opted to go forward as planned (plus we would learn it was MUCH prettier!). 

At 2:50 we said it was time to start packing things up. I still noticed a sensation in my eye, but the pain was mostly gone (thank goodness). We DEVOURED basically everything - the only items remaining were one baguette and one apple (and the champagne bottle that I will be saving). Our packs were lighter, our hip belts were tighter, and we decided to pop up to the summit one more time before starting the great return (to a locked car). 

[3:06pm - Mt. Moriah Summit]

The summit was packed with a new group of people sitting right on the summit disc. The view was wonderful, especially towards the Carters and Northern Presidentials, but there was simply not enough room to really enjoy it. We did get our summit selfie with my sign, but not before I dropped my phone and watched it slide into oblivion (oblivion was actually just an ~8ish foot cliff that was a ~10 foot bushwhack around the trail, it looked like a MUCH more dramatic fall than it was). 

[3:12pm - Carter-Moriah Trail]

From the summit we spur, we backtracked on the Carter-Moriah Trail, down the double scramble, and then we were off! Thankfully, we had two long-ish stories to share between the three of us, so time felt to go quickly! The trek started by going up and down on Mt. Moriah's ridge for a while with more boardwalks and slabs (and views!). The car shuttle was on the mind, but I wasn't letting myself think about it too much. The hiking in this upper stretch was truly delightful - we even saw a glider!

Eventually, the trail did begin to descend at more moderate grades, alternating between wooded stretches and slabs. The views though - just amazing! The Carters and Northern Presis were still the most prominent, but the Wild River Valley was standing strong with the Baldfaces out in the distance. There was one ridge off Moriah in particular that looked super slabby and fun to climb - I was sad to see there's no trails there. 

Again, the trail became steeper on the slabby descent. We were lucky to do this on a dry day, as the slabs had great traction, but I'm not sure if I would want to descend this way on a wet day. The views felt endless in the best way, with one final view being back up the shoulder we just descended.

[4:15pm - Carter-Moriah Trail/Moriah Brook Trail]

[4:16pm - Stony Brook Trail]

After that final view, we dipped into the woods and hiked just for a couple minutes before hitting the junction with the Moriah Brook Trail, and just a few yards later the Stony Brook Trail! We did a short standing break here to get our means about it before starting our final descent! The short stretch from Moriah Brook to Stony Brook was very pretty with more boardwalks - kind of like the stretch around Middle Moriah. We joked about hitting North Carter just for funsies, but we all quickly called each other's bluffs. 

The Stony Brook Trail started by traversing the flat col and then steeply descending with rough, rocky footing, which was a little more difficult with the fallen leaves. Overall, it wasn't a brutal descent, though. The upper stretches were a bit steep, but the steepest sections didn't last for long. There were also some eroded sections, but similarly, they didn't last for too long. We spent this time talking about college and playing "where are they now?" There were nice autumnal tree views back to Moriah, which was beginning to glow in a beautiful afternoon light.

The trail description basically breaks the Stony Brook Trail into four chunks: (1) Carter Moriah to a "small brook under a mossy ledge," (2) the "small brook under a mossy ledge" to "crossing a branch of the Stony Brook," (3) "crossing a branch of the stony brook" to "turning left on an old logging road," and (4) "turning left onto an old logging road" to the trailhead. We passed a neat mossy, leaf-covered rock that would probably double as a nice cascade when there's water about (chunk #1 = complete!) and continued hiking down the footpath that had much friendlier footing. 

Chunk #2 felt longer on the brain. We played leap frog with some of the folks that were at the summit on our second visit and we stopped for a minute so I could photograph a very friendly red squirrel - it was actually so cute! 

We felt the temperature drop significantly as we neared the Stony Brook, which started Chunk #3. The Stony Brook was not flowing very fast, naturally, but it looked beautiful as it was littered with leaves. After crossing, the trail was absolutely lovely but it did become a bit rocky again. Thankfully, the rocky stretch didn't last for long. 

The final chunk was indicated by a blue arrow pointing to a turn and another crossing (easy peasy). Two more people from the previous hiking party passed us around this area, I guess the faster friends left them behind (to be clear, they were hiking solo, about 10 minutes apart). I get it when Sarah and I split up near the end, but we're both well-equipped and strong hikers (I only blast off becuase my legs get tired of fighting gravity). These folks were in semi-designer athleisure clothing - I wouldn't have left them alone... ANYWAY...

I did start to speed up in the last chunk - I was ready to be all done (and moreso ready to figure out a solution to this car issue). Also also, it was starting to get dark out, and I simply did not want to get caught in the dark, even if I was well-prepared. We were now hiking on the right of the Stony Brook, and there were private residences to the left, one that had bright lights illuminating the Stony Brook (I want that house). Eventually to my absolute delight, we hit the Forest Protection Area sign at 5:59pm, crossed a bridge over a flume-like stream at 6:01pm, hit the final footbridge at 6:03pm, and were back at the Stony Brook Trailhead at 6:04pm... with Emma's locked car! On the plus side, I had now OFFICIALLY completed the 52 With-a-View and the New Hampshire 48 4,000-Footers! I would also like to add that I won fart baseball with 13 points... they each had zero. I have no idea how I didn't soil myself.

[6:05pm - End of Hike]

Now is when the fun really began! Sarah was on Uber duty, I was on Lyft duty, and Emma was on "anything else" duty. Both rideshare apps proved unhelpful (not overly surprised), but Emma did get in contact with a few trail shuttle service folks. We eventually got into contact with one who was available, but he lived in Littleton and would charge $95 cash, to which we politely declined (a few texted back with jokes about people forgetting their keys, which was very funny). Eventually, Sarah, being the brave and powerful woman she is, talked to the group that was passing us sequentially on the descent, and they offered her a ride to the trail! She grabbed my keys and was off! Emma and I watched her location INTENSELY - they turned about to be lovely people. They even offered to drive her all the way to the car, but Sarah didn't want them to have to deal with the rough pavement. They did give her their number so she could text when she got to the car safe, which was super kind. She got the car, and drove back to us, and after almost 1.5 hours of down time, we were rescued! By now, it was pitch black out and chilly. The stars looked incredible, though. 

[7:30pm - Sarah Returns with Car]

DINNER TIME. We wanted to go to Big Day Brewing right in Gorham, but the wait would have been ~25 minutes, and we were already delayed by 90 minutes. We ended up saying our goodbyes to Emma and Sarah and I had our sights set on the Woodstock Inn and Brewery, which was a great choice for three reasons: 1) it was an hour from Gorham, which meant an hour closer to home, 2) the food is GOOD there, and 3) the bartender was super nice and gave us a free can of coffee when he learned we were driving back to Boston after dinner. We sat upstairs and there was live music downstairs, which was the perfect distance away for Sarah and I to still enjoy the music without being over stimulated. 

The rest of the drive home was... not the best. Sarah did a good job keeping me company and stimulated, but boy was I TIRED. We stopped at the Common Man in Plymouth for snacks and drinks, and then another stop in Hooksett just to stretch our legs. We eventually got to Sarah's apartment around midnight, and then I had a final push back to Boston for a 12:30am landing! 

Even with the car snaffu, the credit card eyeball situation, and the LATE return, this was honestly a perfect day to celebrate my big finishes. I wish Gen could have been there, but I'm happy both Emma and Sarah were able to join. It was the perfect balance of serious and silly, and I loved every bit of it!

Now time to hit the 1,000 other hiking challenges I have my sights set on...

Step-by-Step

- Drop car at Stony Brook Trailhead.

- Drive to Shelburne Trailhead (north).

- Start hike on Shelburne Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Kenduskeag Trail.

- Summit Shelburne Moriah. 

- Continue on Kenduskeag Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Carter-Moriah Trail.

- Scramble up and soon turn left to summit Mt. Moriah.

- Retrace steps back down scramble, turn right on Carter-Moriah Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Stony Brook Trail.

- Follow Stony Brook Trail to car.

Facebook Post in "NH 52 With a View"

Shelburne Moriah for #52! Technically #61 - I wanted to hit all the new/delisted peaks before "officially" (in my mind) finishing. I made this hike a traverse with Mt. Moriah, which was my #48, too! It was an absolutely perfect day of hiking, celebration, and silliness! The Shelburne Trail seemed like a moose super highway (we did not see any) and even though it felt little-traveled, it was very easy to follow. Kenduskeag Trail to Shelburne Moriah was a delight with views and many boardwalks, even if it was a little scratchy at times. The view from Shelburne Moriah was spectacular and we shared the summit with some awesome hikers. The rest of Kenduskeag was similar - beautiful, interesting, and scratchy (I took a branch to the eye which was unpleasant). The stretch of Carter-Moriah Trail along Middle Moriah was an absolute delight, with more extensive boardwalks through mossy woods. The scramble up to Mt. Moriah was fun and although the summit area was packed, we landed on an off-trail ledge to enjoy a great view back to Shelburne Moriah and to celebrate the big finish with champagne and fondue! The rest of Carter-Moriah Trail down to Stony Brook was stunning with views (wouldn't want to do it while wet), and Stony Brook was a great way to descend. We had one snaffu at the end, when we found ourselves trapped with the wrong set of car keys, but thankfully some kind hikers shuttled my friend over back to the ME border to get the other car! We had our final celebration at the Woodstock Inn & Brewery on the way back home. Such a perfect day!

Facebook Post in "Hike the 4000 Footers of NH!" and "The 4000-Footer Club - Hiking and Climbing in NH"

Mt. Moriah for #48! I paired this hike with Shelburne Moriah, which was my final peak to finish the 52 With-a-View! It was an absolutely perfect day of hiking, celebration, and silliness! We took the Shelburne Trail, which was basically a moose super highway (without any moose) and even though it felt little-traveled, it was very easy to follow. Kenduskeag Trail to Shelburne Moriah was a delight with views and many boardwalks, even if it was a little scratchy at times. The view from Shelburne Moriah was spectacular and we shared the summit with some awesome hikers. The rest of Kenduskeag was similar - beautiful, interesting, and scratchy (I took a branch to the eye which was unpleasant). The stretch of Carter-Moriah Trail along Middle Moriah was an absolute delight, with more extensive boardwalks through mossy woods. The scramble up to Mt. Moriah was fun and although the summit area was packed, we landed on an off-trail ledge to enjoy a great view back to Shelburne Moriah and to celebrate the big finish with champagne and fondue! The rest of Carter-Moriah Trail down to Stony Brook was stunning with views (wouldn't want to do it while wet), and Stony Brook was a great way to descend. We had one snaffu at the end, when we found ourselves trapped with the wrong set of car keys, but thankfully some kind hikers shuttled my friend over back to the ME border to get the other car! We had our final celebration at the Woodstock Inn & Brewery on the way back home. Such a perfect day!

Photo Album

Mt. Osceola Loop via Tripoli Rd, Goodrich Rock, & Greeley Ponds (White Mountain National Forest)

Mt. Osceola Loop via Tripoli Rd, Goodrich Rock, & Greeley Ponds (White Mountain National Forest)

Hike Type: Loop

Distance: 15.36 miles

Elevation: 4,032 feet

Time: 7 hours, 26 minutes (6 hours, 27 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge 2025; Terrifying 25, NH Rocks that Rock, Operation Alaska Benchmark Challenge

The Hike 

'Twas the day before my 48/52 Grand Finale and all thoughtout the house... I was not, because I was pregaming it with a longer hike. I was up at 3:00am and out at 3:20am with my sights set on the Osceolas via what one could argue is the least convenient route! It was chilly and clear out in Boston when I left, which was lovely. I got my breakfast sandwich from Hooksett at 4:25am and made it to the Mt. Osceola Trail trailhead at 5:40am. It was in the upper 20s, which felt wonderful, and the skies were still clear. I christened the trailhead bathrooms right on time, and I miraculously had $5 to pay the day use fee! Everything was slightly frosted and glittering in the light of my headlamp - time to start the journey!

[5:52am - Start of Hike on Tripoli Road]

I purposefully started the hike in the dark, as I knew I had an almost 3-mile road walk along Tripoli Road. The plus side of going toward Livermore was that it was almost entirely downhill! There was a slight rise from the Osceola parking lot, but that was it! It alternated between dirt and pavement for much of it's length, slowly trending towards pavement nearer Livermore. I was in my fleece, nano puff, and gloves for much of the downhill walk. I could occasionally make out the silhouettes of Mt. Osceola through the trees - that is, when my foggy breath wasn't clouding my headlamp's vision. 

The sky had it's first light on my walk and slowly began to illuminate the world around me (key word: slowly). A truck passed me slowly on a rough stretch of road, followed by another car in the opposite direction. Around the one mile mark, there was a steeper stretch of road that eventually joined a stream that was paralleling the road. Tripoli Road crossed the stream on a bridge and I later caught a cool early morning tree view to North Tripyramid. The road eventually turned, revealing Middle and South Tripyramids before sending them behind the trees. I finally started to warm up after 30 minutes of walking as the sky began to lighten and the colors remaining on the trees began to show themselves. 

I was able to turn off my headlamp around 6:30am, even though it was still a little dark outside. It was so pretty and peaceful out. I could make out East Osceola through the trees now as my body temperature alternated between warm and cold, and later I would catch the awful scent of the Livermore bathrooms. The forest critters began to wake up around 6:40am as I started to see signage for the Waterville Valley trails. Soon after, I turned left off of Tripoli Road, crossed the brook on a bridge, and landed at the Livermore trailhead! The bathrooms smelled horribly, and I added to the stench with a second christening. There were three frosty cars in the parking lot, and now it was officially time to be in the woods!

[6:45am - Livermore Trailhead]

[6:51am - Livermore Trail]

[6:56am - Livermore Trail/Enters for Protection Area]

I was wearing my waterproof mid-height boots, which were still pretty new. At Livermore, I loosened up the ankles of them for comfort, as I was still figuring out how to best tie them and break them in. I had a bit of rage coming into this weekend from my boss, but I was trying my hardest to not think about it. I got yelled at by my first squirrel du jour at 6:52am, and I enjoyed all of the frost at the Depot Camp before crossing the bridge and turning onto the Greeley Ponds Trail.

[6:59am - Greeley Ponds Trail]

This turn signaled a delightful ramble for the next few hours. The Greeley Ponds Trail followed another road that was wide and tree-lined, now with conifers for the time being. According to the guidebook, this stretch of trail was severely damaged after Tropical Storm Irene, so there were a good amount of relocations, but all relocations were simple to follow and continued the road grade. I was surprised to see a large group of hikers in one of the closed sections, presumably eating their breakfast. They were the first and only people I would see for a LONG time! 

I was loving the cold air as I followed the road which gained elevation at easy grades, similar to Lincoln Woods. Eventually, about a mile from the Osceola Trailhead, I took my Nano Puff off and continued my walk. The trail joined the Mad River, which looked particularly beautiful with the remaining foliage. There were a few short spurs to nice views from the river, which was also running low, just before the Goodrich Rock Junction.

[7:21am - Goodrich Rock Trail]

Finally time to gain some elevation (before losing it again)! I took my fleece off once I turned onto the Goodrich Rock Trail - an elective Terrifying 25 trail. The trail was narrower, but still plenty wide (about a sidewalk's width) and began to climb moderately to a few cool boulders in a drainage. At the boulders, the trail turned left and meandered into the woods for a bit. The woods here smelled wonderfully fragrant - similar to the floral smell I noticed going up Flume Slide a couple weeks ago. 

The sun was beginning to shine through the trees as the trail began to climb again. There were small boulders throughout the woods - I thougth these were the "Davis Boulders" - but not yet! Soon after, I made my way to the true boulders, and they were so fun! The Goodrich Rock Trail wiggled through a wide crack in a broken rock and then scrambled through a mini cave (which was fully bypassable). 

Afterwards, the trail continued on a flatter rugged ramble before scrambling down to the base of Goodrich Rock, only to climb up around the far side, which led right to the "terrifying" ladder. The ladder itself wasn't that horrible, but the wood was very smooth and the ladder was just a little shaky. 

[7:50am - Goodrich Rock]

The top of Goodrich Rock was a perfect spot for a break! I got a nice view of Sandwich Dome and Jennings Peak with a peek to Waterville Valley Ski Area and a framed view of Mt. Tecumseh. I took a sit and enjoyed a breakfast sandwich from Hooksett for a few minutes. I originally planned to also take a detour to the Timber Camp Trail, but I was getting my sights set on the Osceolas and wanted to get there sooner, so I was flirting with leaving that trail for another day. I sat up top just long enough so that I got chilly again, and then I was on my way back!

[8:02am - Goodrich Rock Trail]

The return to Greeley Ponds Trail was quick and easy, and felt remarkably faster and shorter than the climb up (which does make sense, in all fairness). I cannot recommend this side trip enough! It was a perfect way to warm up, have some fun scrambling, and to get some views in before I tackled the main peaks of the day.

[8:21am - Greeley Ponds Trail]

Now I was back on the wonderful Greeley Ponds Trail, continuing to slowly climb my way to Mad River Notch. It was chilly back along the river in the shade, and eventually the trail began to climb more... moderately, but still very easily. Eventually, I was high above the river and the sun was lighting up the trees - it was so wonderfully bright and golden - I love fall! I was also grateful for the autumnal tree views - there was truly nothing impressive to see, but it was just nice to have something to look at. I remembered that this stretch of trail is technically a relocation and used to be part of the Timber Camp Trail (implying the Timber Camp Trail used to be much longer), and I officially decided to skip the side trip when I reached the junction.

[8:37am - Greeley Ponds Trail/Timber Camp Trail]

From the Timber Camp Trail junction, the trail began to descend - the change of gears felt nice on the legs. I could occasionally make out a wildly impressive cliff on East Osceola through the trees. The trail hit a switchback and then began to descend perpendicular to the contour, providing a top-of-the-trees view to a shoulder of Mt. Kancamagus. I passed some sort of artifact, I assume a logging remnant, and then I crossed the Mad River on a sparkly, frosty bridge.

[8:47am - Greeley Ponds Trail/Kancamagus Brook Ski Trail]

After the bridge, the Kancamagus Brook Ski Trail turned right as the Greeley Ponds Trail began to climb up and over another hump - another relocation. The trail was still plenty wide, but noticably narrower now. It was also cold again because I was back in the shade! There were better tree views to the East Osceola cliffs on this side of the river, and the trail soon began to descend and zig-zag back down to the original trailbed. 

The closer I got to Mad River Notch, the larger East Osceola became - how am I supposed to climb that? The trail narrowed again down low and I had the pleasure of hiking across a few bridges (I guess this is the perk of the trail corridoor also being an XC Ski trail! The sun soon came back, warming me up, and the trail easily rose to another bridge and more tree views to East Osceola - I was feeling glad that I skipped Timber Camp, because this was great!

[9:02am - Greeley Ponds Ski Trail]

[9:07am - Lower Greeley Pond]

I excitedly entered the Greeley Ponds Scenic Area (at a forest protection area sign) and a junction with the Greeley Ponds Ski Trail, where the ski trail continued straight and the Greeley Ponds Trail turned left and crossed the Mad River. To make up for bailing on the Timber Camp Trail, I did decide to take the Greely Ponds Ski Trail to catch a view of the Lower Pond. The trail felt like a ski trail - horrible, wet footing and a little grown-in, but it was worth it! I crossed a nice bridge and came to an absolutely stunning view of the Lower Greeley Pond and East Osceola (plus a beautiful reflection). There was an illegal campsite just into the woods at the view - boo! I noticed my shins starting to feel splinted on the return trip, so I toyed with how I was tying the boot which may have helped a little?

 

[9:13am - Greeley Ponds Trail]

I easily crossed the Mad River, which was now in the sun, and the Greeley Ponds Trail was rocky and rooty now. There were a few side paths on the right that led to nice views of the ponds, mostly with Mt. Kancamagus towering above. One side path led to a little shady grove with some ice, which was fun! There was basically no foliage left, but it was still so gorgeous. 

I started to catch some spider webs to my face, but I was happy to have made it this far into the hike without any, so I accepted them. I admired some mallards munching on the grasses growing out of the Lower Pond, and the northern end of the Lower Pond was pretty marshy and grown-in.

I followed a guidebook suggestion on a side path along the Upper Greeley Pond and got a wonderful view of the cliffs and slide tracks on East Osceola. I was going to take a break here, but I noticed a comical amount of fresh moose poop, which didn't immediately deter me, but there was basically nowhere to safely put down my pack without landing in poop, so I went back to the Greeley Ponds Trail and found a nice sitting spot for my next break.

[9:40am - Break Along Upper Greeley Pond]

My break was delightful - I sat along the south shore of the Upper Pond. I had more nasty leftover pulled pork BBQ pizza that was 80% BBQ sauce, but the view was delightful. I threw on my windbreaker for the break and stayed just long enough to get cold again. I finally finished my first Nalgene at 3 hours, 58 minutes/9.28 miles, which felt like a problem, but thankfully my pee was mostly clear and I was not cramping!

[9:52am - Greeley Ponds Trail]

I had one last side-path stop at the northern end of the Upper Pond, which had a little beach area, and then I had a nice and easy hike from the Upper Pond to Mad River Notch, crossing the headwaters of the Mad River on a slightly sketchy log bridge and scooting around a neat boulder. After the boulder, there was a duck-under blowdown and then the Greeley Ponds Trail veered left while the Greeley Ponds XC Ski Trail veered right, and then it was the height-of-land! I did a quick potty break and dumped a TON of trail debris out of my boot here. It was time to actually climb!

[10:06am - Mt. Osceola Trail]

From the trail junction, I turned left onto the Mt. Osceola Trail. The sign comically said 1.5 miles to East Peak and 2.5 to the main peak, which felt crazy, as I'd been hiking all day and barely climbed anything! The Mt. Osceola quickly left the Greeley Ponds Scenic Area. The Notch proper was very pretty and open with the fallen leaves, and I preventatively took off the windbreaker. 

The climb started right away, transitioning quickly from east to moderate grades with rocky footing. My lungs were already feeling spicy due to the physical exertion in cold weather, but I kept telling myself "you're fine!" I could occasionally hear a loud car on the Kanc, but otherwise it was very quiet. The semi-open hardwood forest was really pretty, and it was transition to spooky once in the conifers. There was a walking break area that was spooky, rocky, mossy, wet, and really neat. I'm guessing the boulders that littered the woods fell from the towering cliffs above at some point in the past?

There were a solid amount of stone steps for a famously rough trail. I caught a few tree views to the cliffs above, and more boulders were near the trail. Sadly, the trail went around and not through the boulders. Not including the group I saw at the start of the Greeley Ponds Trail early this morning, I saw my first people of the day at 4 hours, 41 minutes/10.52 miles - nice!

The climb steepened again, but it wasn't overly ridiculous. I was a little nervous about the temperature paired with the amount that I was sweating, but that felt like a later problem. The trail began to deteroriate in terms of erosion, but it wasn't TOO awful. I crossed paths with another person as the trail yet again steepend and passed a neat slab just off-trail (no view). From here, the trail steeply climbed along a rockier and sketchier stretch, but I caught a little view to the Tripyramids from here, which was fun!

The steepness continued as I began to hear people down below. I hiked through a steep, wet, eroded area, then another with just a short reprive between the two, but then I arrived at the bottom of an old slide track that had a wonderful view of the Hancocks, Jefferson, Carrigain, Carter Dome, and Stairs Mountain, to just name a few. 

I scrambled up the slide track (not sketchy), passed some ice patches, and stomped on my first needle ice of the season!

The trail was back to being super steep, eventually leading to a "washed out gully," which was kind of like a mini-chimney - fun! The Mt. Osceola Trail gets MUCH easier from this point, rounding a shoulder and turning left. A spur to view on the right led to an absolutely sick view of East Osceola, Mt. Osceola, Moosilauke, the Kinsmans, the Franconia Ridge, Garfield, and Owl's Head, with more to see, too. Just amazing!

Now I was hiking along the spine of the ridge and it was simply lovely. For the sake of my body temperature, I planned to blast through East Osceola and do my last big break on the main peak. The final push to East Osceola was moderate with one annoying blowdown that was neither easy to go over or under. All of the wet spots were ice near the summit, but thankfully there weren't that many. I did throw my rock spikes in my pack, just in case. A side path on the left near the top led to a grown-in view, and there were many new and old blowdowns near the top (but not blocking the trail).

[11:18am - Mt. Osceola Trail/East Osceola Summit]

It was fun to be back on this viewless summit for the first time in over five years! I truly just got my photo and blasted off. It was nice and sunny up on the ridge, but the descent of the summit was chilly in the shade with some more ice. The descent was rough, but I was happy to be using different muscles again. There would be occasional peekaviews over to Waterville Valley - I was still surprised how early peak foliage was this year! Further down, I passed another on-trail excellent view over towards the Pemigewasset Wilderness, along with two more people. It was fun to see the full Pemi Loop cirque!

The woods were lovely as I descended to the col, and the climb from the col started dramatically with the famous chimney! I forgot how fun it was to climb it! It's all the fun of any steep scramble, but with excellent hand holds. It felt much bigger the first time I climbed it, though! I giggled that the trail blaze was simply an arrow that pointed straight up.

From the top of the chimney, I caught a nice view back to East Osceola and over to the Tripyramids. I dipped back into the trees, which smelled of wonderful pine needles with some needle ice on the ground. The trail transitioned from lovely to gravelley and eroded, which... was expected. The trail climbed more moderately as I reflected on this push almost killing me those five years ago - I wasn't feeling 100%, but I had already been hiking for 12 miles and over 6 hours, so I think I was doing fine!

I caught some more good views from the top of the steepest part of the climb and crossed paths with person #6. A walking break gave my legs a nice break as I traversed a height-of-land before slightly descending and seeing a RUDE view up to the main peak of Mt. Osceola. 

I knew I was getting close when I crossed paths with human #7 who was in cargo shorts, cotton hoodie, and no pack. There were a few more icy pushes along this final push, and soon I was up on the beautiful open summit! 

[11:55am - Mt. Osceoa Trail/Mt. Osceola Summit]

I've been saying this every time I've repeated a hike, basically - I love seeing these views with such a deeper knowledge and context of these mountains! The summit wasn't crowded, but there were at least 10 other people, including a couple families and one guy on a loud phone call. I found the USGS disc, took a few photos, and then stood there wondering if I wanted to stay or not. I opted to stay, which was objectively the right move - I had just gotten used to being alone! I had another bad slice of pizza as I enjoyed the view - specifically of the North Tripyramid slide, Chocorua and the Sisters, and Lake Winnipesaukee. 

[12:09pm - Mt. Osceola Trail]

I noticed that the families were starting to pack up, so I packed up faster to get ahead of them. There's lot of side/spur/herd paths around the summit, but the only one detailed in the guidebook is from the older fire tower footings (not the ones at the main view, the ones directly on the trail) - I turned right to catch a view of... basically nothing, it was almost entirely grown in. 

I continued my blast-off down the trail, which had some standing water and ice and slippery slabs. I gave up counting people on this descent, as there were MANY folks ascending (not a stupid amount, but definitely enough). I passed the herd path to Middle Osceola, which is very intriguing to me, but for a different day. I suffered through the seemingly endless slabs (I have rough memories of navigating them five years ago in my beat-up sketchers - I was doing better today!). I started to catch up to and pass many folks, some of which were French Canadian, and I crossed paths with a group of six college-aged kids that were very funny. They came up to a slab, all groaned, and one of the girls yelled "I DON'T EVEN LIKE HIKING. THANKS A LOT, WILL!" which made me giggle.

My brain turned off for a while as I continued my descent - every time I stopped to take a photo or write a note my body reminded me of how badly I needed to pee, but I was waiting for the pathroom at the trailhead. The grade mellowed out when my watch hit 15 miles on the dot, which would have been welcomed, but the trail was so rocky it was almost easier to be descending with gravity on my side!

[1:12pm - Mt. Osceola Trail/Enters Forest Protection Area]

The temperature felt delightful now that I was down low, and I knew hope was on the horizon once I entered the Forest Protection Area around the trailhead! The character of the woods changed, and suddenly, I was back!

[1:18pm - End of Hike]

After my hike, I used the bathroom and changed and enjoyed my last piece of sad pizza at the picnic table right at the trailhead. I was in flip flops, shorts, and a t-shirt, and only later realized it was a toasty 49 degrees out. I had a shockingly painless drive home and giggled at the SUCKERS driving north during rush hour for the long weekend (I was actually the sucker, as I'd be doing the drive at 3am tomorrow morning). My grand finale hike is tomorrow!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Mt. Osceola Trailhead ($5 Day Use Fee).

- Start hike by turning left onto Tripoli Road.

- At Livermore Trailhead, turn left onto Livermore Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Greeley Ponds Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Goodrich Rock Trail.

- At Goodrich Rock, turn around.

- At jct., turn left onto Greeley Ponds Trail.

- At Forest Protection Area, follow Ski Trail to Lower Greeley Pond.

- At Lower Greeley Pond, turn around.

- At jct, turn right onto Greeley Ponds Trail.

- Take spurs to views of pond.

- At Mad River Notch, turn left onto Mt. Osceola Trail.

- Summit East Osceola, continue on Mt. Osceola Trail.

- Summit Mt. Osceola, continue on Mt. Osceola Trail.

- Follow Mt. Osceola Trail back to car.

Photo Album