Mt. Flagg & Mt. Shaw via Camp Merrowvista (Ossipee Range)

Mt. Flagg & Mt. Shaw via Camp Merrowvista (Ossipee Range)

Distance: 6.99 miles
Elevation: 2,402 feet

Time: 4 hours, 41 minutes (4 hours, 4 minutes moving)
Hike Type: Out-and-Back
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge; Ossipee 10

The Hike

Last day of the three day weekend and time for REDEMPTION! My 3:45am alarm went off and I was out the door at 4:00am to head back to Camp Merrowvista to actually get to the summit of Mt. Flagg (and maybe Mt. Shaw?). It was misting/raining in Boston, but the forecast was partly cloudy for the Ossipees. My drive was realtively easy with a quick christening at the NH Visitor Center on I-95 and the Circle K in Ossipee. I grabbed a couple of breakfast sandwiches from Ossipee as the sun was beginning to rise.

The sky slowly began to lighten on the final stretch of my drive, landing me back at Camp Merrowvista at 6:30am. The welcome sign to the camp said "Welcome Hikers - Park at Farmhouse," which was nice to see (it still felt like I wasn't supposed to be there, though!). Skies were dark and gloomy, and it clearly had rained overnight/into the morning. All of the peaks were in the clouds which was... a bummer! I told myself I'd decide if I'm going to add Mt. Shaw when I hit the summit of Mt. Flagg based on how brutal the hike up was. 

[6:37am - Start of Hike on Class VI Road]

My hike started on the class VI road heading toward the Mt. Flagg trail. It was on the warmer side of chilly out, at 50 degrees and windy. I really have hiked in all four seasons the past week (Wednesday was summer, Saturday was winter, yesterday was spring, and today we're back in fall)! 

[6:42am - Mt. Flagg Trail]

My puffy came off once in the woods and my fleece soon after, as typical. I know the advice is to "be bold and start cold," but I find it so much easier to "deal with it later." Skies overhead were varying from light to dark grey with loud wind overhead. I made it past the junction with the green blazed trail and rose steadily to the Dave Green Trail junction.

[6:51am - Mt. Flagg Trail & Dave Green Trail jct.]

Just past the junction I saw another trail that I didn't notice on my last visit - a trail blazed in a salmon-pink. It's not on AllTrails or the Trail Bandit map - I wonder where it could go? Maybe to the brook? Or a different way to loop back to the camp? A mystery for sure!

The climb from Dave Green to the Canaan Mountain Trail junction is a doozy - steep and generally unrelenting with rough footing (and very leafy). Up above, the sky was starting to show some hints of blue, but the hints were alternated with a DARK grey. 

[7:13am - Mt. Flagg Trail & Canaan Mountain Trail jct.]

After the Canaan Mountain Trail junction was the boulder field, which I took slower than last time, which did my legs good. Someone on Facebook described this stretch of trail more treacherous than trails in the Whites, which I think is a bit of an exaggeration. Sure, its more technical than the well-manicured trails of the Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area, but its very manageable if you watch your footing. 

Higher up, where the beautiful slabs begin, I noticed that I was officially ascending into a cloud... oh well! One thing I am good at is hiking in clouds! The scenery of the trail and woods was still beautiful, and nice to see in this different light. The howling winds added a bonus layer of spook, too. I did get one view toward Lake Ossipee, just below the cloud ceiling.

The cloud ceiling was about 50 feet below the view ledges, so I had a fantastic view of a whole lot of nothing! Thankfully, I had already been here, and now I needed to find my way to the actual summit. I located the painted rock that points to Mt. Shaw, which is where the Gorilla Trail officially begins, blazed in yellow with a red center.

[7:48am - Gorilla Trail]

The Gorilla Trail initially scrambles off of the ledges into a beautiful, mossy forest. The footpath was narrow, but it was easy to follow. The sun even made its first appearance (still very cloudy, though). I was feeling good, and even though Mt. Shaw was in the clouds, I decided to continue on, knowing that the Gorilla Trail is seldom-used and has been labeled as tough to follow.

[7:54am - Mt. Flagg Summit]

The summit was marked with a cairn and a partial view (of clouds). I did get one partial view through teh clouds, but didn't wait around for long. The descent of the summit was the most challenging part of the Gorilla Trail - very overgrown (like, trees in the way overgrown), mossy, and bouldery (and slippery!). I slipped a few times on this descent, but never fell! I took it nice and slow and eventually made it down to the first col between the two peaks.

[8:06am - Gorilla Trail enters Lakes Region Conservation Trust]

The Gorilla Trail enters the Lakes Region Conservation Trust in the first col and then goes over a hump to a second. From here, the trail traversed a tricky bouldery stretch with a few PUDS. There wasn't always a clear footbed, but there was frequent blazing, even though it was mostly faded. While researching for this hike, I found the following history (on AllTrails, so we can take it with a grain of salt):

"I was a member of the Merrowvista group that blazed the Gorilla Trail in 1971. A group of 15 year-old-kids, dubbed "Gorilla Village" by our two counselors because we had a few real hulking dudes in our group. I spent 10 summers at Merrowvista, first as a camper, then as a staffer, and knew these trails quite well. Last visited in 2018. The Flagg summit is a lot more overgrown than when I was a kid, because then it was still pretty bare from a 1954 fire. Much of the lower part of the trail to Flagg is the fire road from that year." Paul Menser, November 20th, 2023 on AllTrails

The boulders eventually led into a cloud which was... fine. The woods were definitely spooky! Wind was still howling up high, but it was pretty tame in the trees. The trees themselves were mostly birch, and I was delighted to discover that the leaves hardly covered the trail - overall it was in much better condition than I anticipated!

There was a really lovely stretch of relatively flat trail after the boulders, and I even stumbled upon a pile of old moose poop. This hike had been pretty devoid of wildlife, so I was thrilled with this llittle bit of excrement!

Eventually, the Gorilla Trail began to climb more moderately, but thankfully never too steeply. The path became a bit more obscure once the climbing resumed, but as long as I took it slow, followed the logical pathway, and always double-checked for blazes, I was fine. There were some intense gusts of wind, and just when things got quiet... FLAP FLAP FLAP! A grouse genuinely scared the living daylights out of me. Horrid creatures. I also noticed a few little poops on a few rocks that had a white "cap" - which apparently are also from the grouses!

Continuing to climb, the trail got a bit more challenging to follow as the trail hit a few meadowy stretches (and another pile of moose poop). Some of the bushes were whipping my shins with impressive might. 

After the meadow, the Gorilla Trail climbs to a narrow ridge where the trail is even more challenging to follow, but overall it stays on the ridgecrest. The wind was blowing hard and water droplets were pelting me in the face. Thankfully, the ridge leads to the summit of Mt. Shaw!

[8:58am - Mt. Shaw Summit]

...which was still in a cloud. I guess I expected it at this point... I took a seat for some food and hydration and stared into the void for a while. In reflection, the Gorilla Trail was in much better shape than I had anticipated! I actually enjoyed the trip, and was not dreading the return. Visually, it was a stunning trail. 

It was super windy all around me, but the viewpoint was well-sheltered. It was 43 degrees out now, and just when I was packing up the clouds parted for truly no more than three seconds. I THREW my Nalgene out of excitement to grab my camera, but the view closed up before I had a chance. I INCHED away back toward the trail, hoping a view would open up again. I think if I stayed for another 20 minutes, I would have had an excellent view, but it was a school night, and I needed to start me return trip. With my tail between my legs, I got back to the Gorilla Trail.

[9:17am - Gorilla Trail]

Immediately, I noticed there was much less fog on my return trip. I got off-trail a few times on the initial descent through the aformentioned tricky areas, but I was able to get back on on my own accord (i.e., not needing to use my phone for GPS). As the trail descended, the sky began to open up to a big, beautiful blue. Oh well!

The forest had an insanely different vibe now that the sun was proudly shining. Even though I was lamenting not getting that amazing view from Mt. Shaw, I was still happy to be in the woods. From the walking break area, there was an incredibly rude tree view of Mt. Shaw, completely cloud-less, though.

I traversed over the bouldery PUDS, which were much dryer and easier now, eventually landing in the coniferous cols, existing the Lakes Region Conservation Trust.

[10:08am - Gorilla Trail exits Lakes Region Conservation Trust]

The climb back up to Flagg was still a bit slippery and dicey, but much easier than the descent. I quickly made my way back up to the summit, excited to hopefully get a view this time! I was a little too excited, though, becuase I went too fast and fully gassed out my lungs... oops.

[10:16am - Mt. Flagg Summit]

I was delighted to get views back to Mt. Shaw and up to the White Mountains from the summit. The views are by no means panoramic, but they were nice nonetheless, and unique! I had never seen Mt. Chocorua from this angle before, which made it look more like a single Tripyramid, rather than the mountain the Grinch lives on. There was also a highly impressive view to Carrigain Notch, which looked incredibly dramatic. From the top, I continued on back to the ledges.

[10:24am - Mt. Flagg Trail]

Winds were going strong on the ledges, reading at 15-20 mph. The sun was shining brightly, which kind of felt like an reward for finishing the Ossipee 10 (and hitting a bonus peak!). My descent was slow and steady with a few sketchy slips, but mostly becuase I was excited to be all done. Once I slowed down I was completely fine. This bit of trail was so pretty in the sun!

[10:50am - Mt. Flagg Trail & Canaan Mountain Trail jct.]

I made it to the shelter at the Canaan Mountain Trail junction and started the steepest part of my descent - SLOW and steady, especially in the spots with thick leaf cover. I also passed a very hair poop. I think it was a coyote?

[11:07am - Mt. Flagg Trail & Dave Green Trail jct.]

At the junction with the Dave Green Trail, I noticed that the "WELCOME" sign had another sign beind it, it read:

"Trails Closed. Due to improper use and damage to the property's natural resources all trails are closed until further notice. All public access onto this land is by writter landowner's permission ONLY."

I think this posting was in reference to the famous Ossipee Mountains drama regarding the Trail Bandit. A great write-up of this can be found on https://www.franklinsites.com/hikephotos/Ossipee/. 

The hike from here to the car was quick and easy, taking just over 10 minutes.

[11:14am - Class VI Road]

[11:18am - End of Hike]

There were a few other cars in the parking area when I wrapped up and I saw one person working, but besides that it was a completely human-free day! The only other bit of excitement left was driving through two brush fires on I-95 in Massachusetts near Topsfield (I think). Ossipee 10 = Complete!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Camp Merrowvista.

- Follow Class VI road to trailhead.

- Enter woods on yellow-blazed Mt. Flagg Trail.

- Follow Mt. Flagg Trail to Mt. Flagg's eastern ledges.

- At ledges, continue onto yellow/red-blazed Gorilla Trail.

- Summit Mt. Flag, continue on Gorilla Trail.

- Summit Mt. Shaw, retrace steps back to car.

"Gorilla Trail" from A. M. C. White Mountain Guide, 20th Ed. (1972)

         This trail leads from Mt. Shaw to Camp Merrowvista, located about 1/2 m. NE (beyond) the sharp R turn in the road mentioned in the beginning of the Thunderbird Trail description. The section from Mt. Shaw to Mt. Canaan is blazed with orange and green surveyers paint, frequently in the shape of a gorilla. Beyond, the blazes (1971) are less distinct, but the trail is well-used. It is suggested for the descend because of the confusion of trails near Camp Merrowvista.

        The trail leaves the carriage turn-around on the summit and descends generally to the SE. Soon it heads more to the E. It is a rough trail, passing through the burn of 1953. There are fine views as it passes over Gorilla Mtn., near the summit of which a short side trail L leads to Gorilla Leap. There are also fine views from the ledges of Canaan Mtn. Descending from the latter, it passes a trail L to Bean Pond, and soon leaves the burn. Some distance beyond it passes a shelter L and picked up a wood road. It passes a large pile of slash lumber R. As the wood road approaches Bodge Brook, a trail crosses it at a sign "Vesper Trail." Turn R, descend to and cross the stone bridge, and continue straight (uphill) along another wood road, soon passing through Camp Merrowvista. Continue straight 1/2 m. to the bottom of the Thunderbird Trail. 

"Gorilla Trail" from AMC White Mountain Guide, 23rd Ed. (1983)

        This trail runs about 4.5 mi. from the summit of Mt. Shaw to Camp Merrowvista. The trail starts east of the old carriage road turnaround on the summit of Mt. Shaw and follows the ridge eastward. It is well blazed but rather rough in places, with many boulders. The trail ends at Camp Merrowvista, which is located about 2.3 mi. from NH Rte. 171, 0.5 mi. beyond the start of the Thunderbird Trail. 

Photo Album

Sentinel Mountain & Mt. Flagg Ledges via Camp Merrowvista (Ossipee Range)

Sentinel Mountain & Mt. Flagg Ledges via Camp Merrowvista (Ossipee Range)

Hike Type: Inner Loop

Distance: 5.87 miles

Elevation: 1,959 feet

Time: 3 hours, 36 minutes (3 hours, 13 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge; Ossipee 10

The Hike

'Twas the day after the 2024 presidential election and, thankfully, I preemptively put in for a sick day (primarily because my voice still hadn't fully recovered from marching band championships and my Wednesday classes have been ahead for the past few weeks, but I figured I would need some "me time" after the election, regardless of outcome, too). I stayed up late watching the election coverage, building some Legos (as a form of self-care), and mindfully sipping on tequila, and when my 4:00am alarm went off there was still not a winner, but Donald Trump was close with 267 electoral votes. I took a deep breath, assembled my pack, and made it out the door at 4:20am.

My drive was a combination of hungry and sleepy with some alarming stomach cramps on US-1 in Saugus. I almost made it to the NH Welcome Center rest stop, but unfortunately I had to jump off I-95 and christen a Dunkin Donuts. Not to worry, though, I had to stop again just a few minutes later at the rest stop, and then I finally made it all the way to the Circle K in Ossipee before a third, final, and most violent christening. It was here, during the aformentioned violent christening, that I learned that the election had been called for Donald Trump. A lot of emotions followed, mostly of sadness - for me, my friends, and my kids. 

ANYWAY, the last 20 minutes of my drive were lovely. It was a super warm November morning with a stunning morning glow. The final bit of my drive on Canaan Road was stunning, with a great view of my mountains for the day. It felt a little weird driving into Camp Merrowvista, but there were no signs deterring me. It was unclear where to park, but I parked in the lot at the height-of-land on the road adjacent to the white building. It definitely felt like I wasn't supposed to be there, but a man in a golf cart drove by and gave me a wave, so I guess all was good?! I was a bit anxious for this hike, as I had read the trail would be tough to follow at times. Temperatures were in the low 50s with a constand breeze and bountiful sunshine. It was humid, so everything was a bit damp, but overall a rare, lovely November morning! 

[7:10am - Start of Hike]

[7:14am - Mt. Flagg Trail]

My hike started by follow the continuation of the road past the whtie building onto a signed Class VI road (signs were pointing to "archery"). The road continues past cabins named after mountains in New Hampshire, and eventually turns right. At this turn, the Mt. Flagg Trail, blazed in yellow, continues straight into the woods, past a sign for "Mt. Flagg & The Ledge," and then over two bridges. The trail climbs after the bridges with leafy/acorn-y footing, which was a little dicey but not too rough. Another trail turns right, blazed in a seafoam green, and the Mt. Flagg Trail turns left on a road grade.

The red squirrels began to wake up around 7:20am as the trail gained, switching between easy and moderate grades. Eventually, the Mt. Flagg Trail led to a junction with the white-blazed Dave Green Trail toward The Ledge. There was a sign here welcoming the public to private land, and I stopped here for a moment to re-tie my shoe before starting a more moderate climb up toward The Ledge.

[7:24am - Dave Green Trail]

The Dave Green Trail was less-defined than the Mt. Flagg Trail and wound through a sea of young birches in a forest covered in fallen leaves. The trail nears a mostly dried-up drainage with a much darker, mixed forest on the other side. It was kind of neat to see how logging has impacted the woods here (i.e., the stark lines between forest types). The trail later easily crossed the dried-up drainage and continued through the mixed forest.

There wasn't much of a discernable footbed due to the leaves, but there were frequent blazes, which were much appreciated. Higher up, some trees had blue paint on them, which I assume marked property lines. Some stretches of trail appeared to be recently brushed (or luckyily wind-blown), and then the trail zig-zagged onto a short stretch of old logging road.

[7:53am - The Ledge on Dave Green Trail]

Soon enough, the Dave Green Trail came to The Ledge, which was appropraitely named and absolutely beautiful. There were sunny views toward Black Snout, Big and Little Balls (lol), the Belknap Range behind Lake Winnipesaukee, and Dan Hole Pond down below, brightly reflecting the morning sunlight. The breeze felt super warm, which was equally lovely but also unsetting (#globalwarming). The slabs were slippery but easily navigable. 

The Dave Green Trail continued on the flat slippery slabs up and over the ridge line, ultimately landing at the trail's terminus at the North Star Shelter. I noticed the Canaan Mountain Trail continued on the left, but no sign for the Sentinel Connector Trail, and that was because I blew right past it. I backtracked slightly to the top of the best view, and the Sentinel Connector Trail faintly continues along the bare ledge with some faded orange blazes.

[7:57am - Sentinel Connector Trail]

The Sentinel Connector Trail immediately appeared to be less-traveled and requried some care to follow. It continued along the slabs before turning into the woods, where the footbed nearly disappeared. Thankfully, it was also frequently blazed, so I mostly played a game of connect the dots.

The trail descents through a very leafy forest, usually easily but sometimes moderately and once steeply. No rocks were safe in this stretch, as they were all damp and slippery. I saw my first grouse of the day in this nook and could make out a tree view of Sentinel Mountain up ahead. 

In the col there was a neat erratic that was held up similarly to Tripod Rock on Pyramid Mountain in New Jersey. The trail then steeply ascended up to the summit of Sentinel Mountain, with some slippery slabs near the top.

[8:16am - Sentinel Mountain Summit]

There were some neat views from the top - my favorite being the taller peaks of the Ossipee Range in and out of the clouds. I didn't spend much time up here, mostly because I started getting a plethora of election-related texts and I simply did not want to think about it, so down I went! The return to the shelter was quick and mostly easy with only one leaf-hole I sunk my foot into. 

[8:34am - Sentinel Connector Trail]

[8:37am - Canaan Mountain Trail]

Now on the red Canaan Mountain Trail, it was less-traveled than Mt. Flagg or Dave Green, but better defined than Sentinel Connector. The blazes were frequent still, which was nice! The frequency of the blazing was almost comical there were so many. Footing was overall better than the Sentinel Connector Trail, too. 

The Canaan Mountain Trail comes up to the same blue paint as before, still assumedly marking property lines. The trail meanders up and down and at one point, I fell into an impressively deep leaf hole and smashed my knee - ouch! There was a duck-under blowdown that led to a mossy, coniferous stretch, which was equally beautiful and spooky. 

At a signed sharp turn, the footing improves and eventually leads to another shelter and the terminus of the trail - yay!

[9:06am - Mt. Flagg Trail]

Now, back on the yellow-blazed Mt. Flagg Trail, I was back in Leaf City, USA, and climbing. Overall, quality of life was improved, but footing still proved challenging becuase of the leaves. The trail hit a rocky area, which made things even more exciting! I wasn't minding the tricky footing, though, as it kept my brain busy.

Eventually, the Mt. Flagg Trail hit the spine of the ridge, which was beautiful. Very similar to the Kittatinny Ridge in New Jersey. The walking break was welcomed and the scenery was lovely. Low-flying clouds, spongey mosses, and piney trees galore! This stretch featured a lot of large, flat slabs, stacked on each other like stairs that were really far apart.

[9:41am - Ledges of Mt. Flagg]

Climbing resumed, providing a few views back toward Ossipee Lake, and soon enough (after a couple slippery steep slabs), I was at the top (or so I thought...)! "Mt. Shaw" with an arrow was painted on a rock, which assumed that this was the summit. There was an old, rusted bucket, and some nice views all around. It was 64 degrees, mostly sunny, with winds from 15-20mph. I enjoyed that last bit of trail a lot, and took some time to just sit. Thankfully, I didn't have service up there, so I couldn't doom scroll even if I tried!

[9:53am - Mt. Flagg Trail]

After some void-staring, I started my way back down. I carefully made it down the slippery ledges unsscathed and fell into a few more leaf holes in the rocky stretch, but nothing as hard as my first fall. The Mt. Flagg Trail became steeper and rougher after the shelter/Canaan Mountain Trail junction, but there were less leaves! This stretch was followed by two steeper spots on a wide logging road trail covered in acorns and leaves, which kept things interesting for sure. 

[10:43am - End of Mt. Flagg Trail]

[10:47am - End of Hike]

Another grouse welcomed me to a gentler slope, followed by a chipmunk with the most stereotypically stuffed cheeks. This led to the junction with Dave Green, then the junction with the seafoam green-blazed trail, and soon enough I was back on the Class VI road at Camp Merrowvista! There were an unfortunate amount of people at the main camp area (near my car), but they were all friendly and just doing their job (which looked like a fall cleanup day).

I worked my way home, excitedly messaged the person who runs the Ossipee 10 patch challenge (his first response was "Sorry I am just so overwhelmed with the election," followed by actual submitting instructions) and then I realized... I never actually summitted Mt. Flagg! Ugh. This disappointment was fitting for the day, but darn!! The hike wasn't "one for the books" or one that I particuarly want to do again, but I guess I have to! I'll likely take Mt. Flagg Trail to the summit and then Gorilla to Mt. Shaw just to mix things up, or if I get a buddy maybe a point-to-point hike, descending either Mt. Shaw Trail or somewhere into the Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area. At least I crossed Sentinel off the list!

Step-by-Step

- Park at the white main building at Camp Merrowvista.

- Follow signs toward Archery and the Class VI road.

- As the road turns right, continue into woods on the Mt. Shaw Trail (yellow blazes).

- At second jct., turn right onto Dave Green Trail (white blazes).

- At next jct., turn right onto Sentinel Connector Trail (orange blazes).

- At Sentinel Mountain, turn around.

- At terminus, turn right onto Dave Green Trail (white blazes).

- At terminus, turn left onto Canaan Mtn. Trail (red blazes).

- At terminus, turn right onto Mt. Shaw Trail (yellow blazes). 

- Think you summit Mt. Flagg at the ledges, turn around, and follow Mt. Shaw Trail back to car.

Photo Album