Mt. Jefferson via Castle Ravine & Castle Trail (White Mountain National Forest)

Mt. Jefferson via Castle Ravine & Castle Trail (White Mountain National Forest)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 10.67 miles

Elevation: 4,206 feet

My Time: 7 hours, 3 minutes (5 hours, 59 minutes moving)

Book Time: 7 hours, 26 minutes

Parking: Parking for ~15 cars at trailhead.
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge 2026; Terrifying 25; Randolph Mountain Club 100; NH Appalachian Trail

The Hike 

Last night was a super fun night seeing The Femmes at the Crystal Ballroom, but that meant I didn't get to bed until almost 2:00am... My alarm went off at 3:30am and it was time for a hike! Any reasonable human would have pushed departure, but I simily needed to climb a mountain after the events of the week. I wrote: "really excited to reconnect with the Whites and get my shit rocked." 

I drove past a shooting star on I-93 and made it to Hooksett at 4:48am. I smiled at the smell of cider doughnuts cooking. I was sleepy, but the emergency cheerios I keep in my car were helping me go strong! They were cleaning the bathrooms when I got there, so I had to awkwardly wait in line for the single bathroom. I was feeling glad that I chose a less-popular route based on how busy Hooksett was.

My sleepy drive continued through Franconia Notch, and I planned to park at the Falling Waters trailhead and do a short walk to the Pemi to stretch my legs and wake up a bit, but at 6:00am, there was already a state park worker turning people away from the full parking lot! Further down I-93, Exit 35 was closed for road work which was annoying, but I got to see a BEAUTIFUL undercast north of the notch. 

I christened the porta potty at the gas station just after the US-3/US-302 junction, and then gawked at more undercast from NH-115. I finally made it to the trailhead at 6:40am. It was a BEAUTIFUL 49 degrees out and wonderfully sunny. Crazy squirrels welcomed me to the Bowman trailhead. I suited up, and I was off on my Terrifying 25 adventure!

[6:52am - Start of Hike #1]

The hike started on the Presidential Rail Trail. It was so nice out and I enjoyed the small views to Adams and Jefferson, and it was wonderfully chilly, too. I crossed a gate and then turned left at the sign for the Castle Trail and Mt. Jefferson. I took a quick pee in the woods, crossed a pipe line, enjoyed a quick view to Adams again, annnndddddd then I turned around because I left my keys in the car. While I may rarely [remember to] lock my car, leaving the keys in it seemed like a bad move!

[7:01am - Start of Hike #2]

I power hiked back, grabbed my keys, and I was off! I retraced my steps and made my way into the White Mountain National Forest.

[7:06am - Enters White Mountain National Forest]

The boundary was marked by the classic ATTENTION sign:

"ATTENTION

TRY THIS TRAIL ONLY IF YOU ARE IN TOP PHYSICAL CONDITION, WELL CLOTHED AND CARRYING EXTRA CLOTHING AND FOOD. MANY HAVE DIED ABOVE TREELINE FROM EXPOSURE. TURN BACK AT THE FIRST SIGN OF BAD WEATHER.

WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST."

This was alongside a bear alert sign. I crossed a power cut next, enjoying the meadowy flowers, and then I turned to follow the Israel River before crossing it. The crossing was a little awkard, but otherwise completely fine. I turned to follow the river again on the other side.

The Castle Trail eventually rose and turned away from the Israel River, passing some ghost pipes on the way! I crossed paths with two VERY forlorn-looking hikers. It didn't look like they spent the night anywhere - maybe they're bailing? I followed the nice, easy trail with infrequent blue blazes for a bit longer before turning onto the Israel Ridge Path.

[7:31am - Israel Ridge Path]

The trail was a bit cozier now, especially with all of the hobblebush. I followed a beautiful, mossy brook, which was an easy crossing. The trail immediately crossed the next fork, which was a little trickier, but still no problem (I believe both of these were the Israel River). 

After, the path narrowed as it followed the river down on the right. There were cascades and pools along the river, which would be divine on a hot summer day. There was one sketchy, slippery rock, but the trail was pretty tame up until this point. The trail climbed up and away from the river, but never steep (yet!).

[7:49am - Castle Ravine Trail]

I paused at the junction for the Castle Ravine Trail to read the guidebook and then continued my hike, passing a beautiful waterfall through the trees on the right. I hiked over some old mossy boards that looked comically slippery and then started the series of 100,000 river crossings (that's an exaggeration). The first crossing took me a good 5-10 minutes of thinking to figure out. It would have been much easier to just go shoes off, but what fun is that?! I'm also such a baby and scared of slipping.

I was blown away at how wild and beautiful the river was and just how beautiful the woods were. I kept my poles in "super long mode" because I knew there were many more crossings to come. The trail climbed moderately and the sunlight soon joined the trail!

The next crossing was noted for being "awkward" and it was right! I was shaking from fear of falling in (baby!). The next crossing was wet, mossy, and bouldery, but still beautiful. The trail climbed a little more before passing a beautiful cascade and, you guessed it, crossing again!

The following crossing was fine but confusing due to storm damage. The trail climbed more moderately now, I passed a frog, and caught my first tree view to the HIGH wall of the Castle Ridge on the right. The brook was flowing down low now as I hiked across a delightful section of flat dirt. 

For better or for worse, my body knew this flat stretch would be one of my last... safe spots. It triggered a scary tummy feeling, and no more than two minutes later I was taking my pack off to formally christen Mt. Jefferson. I was unhappy, but I supposed pleased it happened in deep woods and not above treeline (my greatest fear). 

The trail continued at easy-moderate grades through an open blowdown area, passing many berries that were blue (NOT blueberries). I could just barely make out one of the castle through the trees, which was HIGH up, and another flat stretch brought me to the junction with The Link.

[8:49am - Castle Ravine Trail/The Link]

The trail stayed moderately flat after the Link joined. I was loving the tree views up to the Castle and down to the cascades. I passed a campsite on the right and eventually had an easy hop across a stream in a really pretty area, with another crossing just after.

[8:56am - Castle Ravine Trail/Emerald Trail]

I passed the junction with Emerald Trail in an area that belongs in a fairy movie - it was absolutely stunning (and according to the guidebook, a haven for black flies in the late spring - it writes "enchanted, cool, virgin forest beloved by black flies."). I could make out the full ravine cirque through the trees. 

[9:00am - Csatle Ravine Trail/The Link Departs]

The Castle Ravine Trail had a slightly larger but still easy crossing and just after The Link departed. I had a bit of a confusing crossing in a similarly enchanted area, and then the trail began to climb more steeply. I was hungry, but decided I wouldn't stop until I had a nice view. 

The trail briefly descended to cross a really weird section with a lot of logs - maybe this is an area of avalanche debris? I had my first wet toe of the day in this stretch. There was a view up to the headwall from here, but the sun was too bright for me to fully see it.

I climbed through what I assume to be the avalanche track, which was super wet, muddy, and mossy, which resulted in both of my feet getting wet. I had a nice view out to some of the Castles, though! The trail shot up afterwards and came to a mossy, shaded boulder field that had the sound of running water underneath. The temperature dropped what felt like at least 20 degrees here!

The trail became more wet and then climbed steeply, living a double life as a stream. I passed Roof Rock, which was super cool to hike through, and I could hear water trickling inside.

[9:30am - Castle Ravine Trail/Alpine Zone]

The steep stream-laden trail continued to a tricky, slimy slab, but conditions slowly improved as the stream slowly transitioned underground, which was audible. My nipple was starting to chafe as the trail wiggled steeply uphill on soft ground, and soon I came to the famous stop sign! It was super faded, and I was just excited that I was about to find my sitting rock! I scrambled up and out into a massive boulder field with absolutely sickening views. The Castle Ridge was insane, the ravine was LOUD, and the sun was shining down brightly over the headwall. I could see north all the way up to Jay Peak!

[9:35am - Break]

I had my breakfast sandwich on the first flat rock with some leftover Dots Snack Mix. It was absolutely lovely. A few flies did find me, but they weren't overly bothersome. I swapped my Nalgene and put my visor on for the big climb that was to come.

[9:49am - End of Break]

I continued my scrambling after my delightful break. The blazes were orange, which I think is an RMC thing, but it was tricky to follow them and the cairns - it was like a Where's Waldo over the boulderfiend. Eventually, I dipped back into the scrub, which was a rocky, rooty mess. 

Emerging back out into the endless boulderfield, I was trying to follow carins and orange +'s. It was SUPER steep and SUPER pretty. The rocks were generally firm, but every now and then there'd be a fun loose rock. I was checking my phone for service every five-ish minutes becuase I forgot to tell Mom I was hiking today and she has (reasonably) not been well after the murder. I eventually did get enough to send the text - and then the phone was away for the rest.

Higher up, the rocks got smaller and looser, and I found myself wishing I put my poles away when I broke treeline, as I was awkwardly dealing with holding my poles and trying to scramble on up. The clouds were starting to roll in, which was super chilly! This really was the climb that never ended, but it was one of those climbs where you could turn around and go "wow" everytime you were feeling tired. 

I could eventually hear people for the first time, and I could see them WAYYYY over on the Randolph Path, which was really cool! They looked so small. I just am in love with the northern Presidentials. 

After a long, slow climb up, the trail eventaully began to mellow out and it felt GOOD to round the shoulder. The only bummer was that I still had to climb up Jefferson (the word "bummer" is used loosely here). I gobbled up some alpine blueberries and enjoyed the sound of an underground spring. The sun was coming in and out as I continued to climb past some magical birds, and passed my first person in a long time just before the end of the trail.

Aside from working on my Terrifying 25, I chose this trail because I knew it would be challenging. Enough to the point where the only think I could think about was making it up the mountain, and thank goodness I was correct. This trail was exactly what I needed to give my brain a break from the absolute horror this past week has been. So, thank you, Castle Ravine!

[10:34am - Castle Ravine Trail/The Cornice]

[10:34am - Randolph Path]

[10:37am - Edmands Col/Gulfside Trail]

I flew through the junction with the Cornice and joined the Randolph Path for just a quick jump and then I was in Edmands Col! It's a huge junction and for the first time, I realized how many people were actually out today. It was definitely a culture shock, especially after being by myself for so long. I took a picture of a plaque at the col:

1850 - 1910

IN MEMORY OF

J. RAYNER EDMANDS

A MEMBER OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB 

FROM ITS FOUNDATION IN 1876, AND ITS PRESIDENT IN 1886

THE FIRST TO BUILD CONTINUOUS UNIFORMLY GRADED PATHS ON

THE PRESIDENTIAL RANGE. ALWAYS RISING BUT NEVER STEEPLY

A MONUMENT TO HIS SKILL AND UNFLAGGING ENERGY

IN OVERCOMING OBSTACLES.

MANY THOUSDANDS OF PERSONS, BOTH WITHIN AND WITHOUT 

THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE CLUB, HAVE ENJOYED THE FRUITS

OF HIS LABOS IN THEIR ASCENT OF THESE PEAKS.

I followed Gulfside out of the col, gawking at the views I'd seen all day, but now also looking to my left at the Carters, which were looking massive. There were a few scrambles on Gulfside, but nothing too bad. I was moving slow and steady - partially for my heart rate, partially for photos, and partially so I keep distance from people.

[10:49am - Mt. Jefferson Loop]

After a few mniutes of careful pacing for the aformentioned reasons, I turned onto the Mt. Jefferson Loop and continued that particular pace! A group of college-aged boys caught up to me, so I happily scooted to the side. I also used this moment to finally stash my poles, which I haven't used in literal hours. Everytime I turned around, I was shocked at how massive Mt. Adams looks/is. 

[11:02am - Mt. Jefferson Loop/Six Husbands Trail]

My legs were on FIRE as I tackled the summit cone, soon passing the upper junction with the Six Husbands Trail. The closer got, the more dread I felt. The summit cone was absolutely swarmed with people. I did have to summit it, morally, but I was going to move quickly.

[11:05am - Mt. Jefferson Loop/Castle Trail]

[11:05am - Caps Ridge Trail]

[11:07am - Mt. Jefferson Summit]

I hit the upper junction of the Castle Trail and continued on the Caps Ridge Trail and truly leapt onto the summit, gave the button a boop, took a few photos (Washington and the Great Gulf look ridiculous), and then launched myself right back down.

[11:09am - Castle Trail]

Now following the Castle Trail down the ridge, a decent headwind was making my fingers cold! I loved seeing the ridge and Mt. Adams, and the trail wasn't too rough up here. I saw a low-flying helicopter, and found a nice off-trail sitting rock that was slightly sheltered from the wind for my next snack. Something I particularly love about being up here is being able to see all of the different trail corridors and the itty-bitty people far away, all having their own adventures. I was feeling super cozy with my fleece and nano puff on, and I reluctantly took the puff off when it was time to move again...

[11:31am - End of Break]

I enjoyed the view towards Bretton Woods and the mountains of the Pemi on my way down, and I was loving my new blue highlander hoodie! It excells in a cold breeze - letting the moving air in without the cold. 

[11:45am - Castle Trail/The Cornice]

There were a few moments of steep, a few moments of loose rocks, but overall the descent was going well. I could hear the cog in the distance, and I passed the junction with The Cornice - reading 4.5 miles to the car was emotionally painful!

I took my fleece off just before starting my voyage down the Castles proper, which were really cool rock... sculptures? The highest Castle was surrounded in blueberries, and the views were still stunning. The third Castle featured a peek down into the Castle Ravine, and the following Castle had an even better view down - the ravine was loud, even from up here!

This stretch of trail reminded me of the upper bit of Airline, maybe with a bit more scrambling? Nothing has been terrifying, yet! I could see the Caps Ridge from the lower castles, and a few scrambles began to appear further down. I caught my first of many yawns, which was pretty good for 1.5 hours of sleep! The best view of Castle Ravine was of the final Castle, and it was pretty ffreaking cool to see the trail from this vantage point - I climbed that!

The scramble down from the lowest Castle was the trickiest - maybe not enough to earn a place on the main Terrifying 25, but it was tricky! The trail was in the woods now for a minute, descending steeply with decent footing before opening up again. I made it to a slab that I simply did not know what to do with. I stared at it or a minute, and then made it down by using trees and my butt. This little slidey scootch officially brought me back out of the Alpine Zone.

[12:28pm - Castle Trail/Alpine Zone]

There was another tricky scramble just afterwards (I am more understanding of the Terrifying 25 designation now, but I was more spooked by the 100,000 river crossings or endless boulder field on Castle Ravine, which is on the elective list), and then the trail momentarily leveled out in a lovely area. I could hear the cog again before the trail plummeted down with better footing. The lovely/flat to plummet pattern repeated a few times.

[12:34pm - Castle Trail/The Link]

The Castle Trail felt less traveled after the junction with The Link (like a monster, I'm thinking about a long hike from Appalachia to Jefferson via The Link only...). I saw a faded blue blaze as the trail followed a narrow ridge. The trail was beautiful and full of fers, too. I did find myself getting a bit complacent and stepped on a few slippery roots. This was actually a truly lovely descent!

The Castle Trail flattened out into a wonderland of soft dirt and berries that were blue (bluebead lilies). I then hiked through a blowdown patch and then more wonderful dirt, descending easily. I lost track of time for a while, but it was all a big ol' delight! I later wrote in my notes: "after a long, wonderful ride, it's time to descend steeply again."

Interesting, I passed a single blue, plastic diamond blaze (which are usually for xc-ski trails?). The trail was steep again with a slanted, slippery slab to contend with. I made it down some rock stairs and rejoyced when I could start to hear US-2. My quads were on FIRE, but I was just grateful there were stairs for me to stomp down. The second the stairs ended, though, I slipped on a root.

I passed what looked like an exploded blue jay as the trail slowly began getting nice again - with my mental state and the hike I'd hiked, I hardly remembered what the beginning of my hike was like. I noticed a bunch of recently-cleared water bars, and I passed another frog! If I am counting my ratio for ONLY castle-themed trails, I'm at two frogs and three people! The water finally began to get louder, my legs were fully gelationized, and I came to the junction with the Israel Ridge Path!

[1:27pm - Castle Trail/Israel Ridge Path]

I was more than delighted to make it to this junction, which marked 1.3 miles to the car. I crossed paths with a lady power hiking up the mountain, and to my delight (and amnesia), it turned out the first 1.3 miles were just lovely! I could hear gunshots in the distance, which made my skin crawl due to recent life events, but the endless mushrooms kept me moving. 

I turned to join the Israel River, noticing a big pipe in the middle of it? I pretended to care about keeping my feet dry at the final crossing - I didn't fully plunge, but my foot did splash. I crossed the power cut, enjoyed the delightfully flat woods, and departed the White Mountain National Forest.

[1:48pm - Castle Trail/Departs WMNF]

[1:52pm - Presidential Rail Trail]

From the boundary, I crossed the pipe line, and then turned onto the Presidentail Rail Trail to finish out my hike! It was fully cloudy out now - Madison was free, but both Adams and Jefferson was socked in now.

[1:54pm - End of Hike]

Back at my car, the parking lot was FULL, and I had a quick pack-up before a relatively pain-free drive home. I was about to fly to Florida for an undetermined amount of time (I only had a one-way ticket), so I had to get home to start packing for that. I was hoping to get another Catskill hike in on the way down to New Jersey tomorrow... We'll see!

Step-by-Step

- Start hike on Presidential Rail Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Castle Trail.

- At jct., turn left onto Israel Ridge Path.

- At jct., turn right onto Castle Ravine Trail.

- At terminus, continue right onto Randolph Path.

- At Edmand's Col, turn right onto Gulfside Trail.

- At jct., turn right onto Jefferson Loop.

- Summit Mt. Jefferson, then descend off cone.

- At base of cone, turn left at sign for Castle Trail.

- Follow Castle Trail all the way down to the Rail Trail.

- Follow the Rail Trail to car.

Photo Album

Mt. Crescent & Mt. Randolph via Crescent Ridge and Pasture Path (Randolph Community Forest)

Mt. Crescent & Mt. Randolph via Crescent Ridge and Pasture Path (Randolph Community Forest)

Hike Type: Loop

Distance: 6.94 miles

Elevation: 2,077 feet

My Time: 3 hours

Book Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes

Parking: Large parking lot at end of Randolph Hill Road for Randolph Community Forest
Hiking Challenges: Randolph Mountain Club 100

The Hike 

I had a wonderful 45-minute drive to Randolph from Bethlehem. On NH-115, just past the Cherry Mountain trailhead, I saw a bear cub in the woods! The turn for Randolph Community Forest was a left at the height of land on US-2, just after Appalachia. I was suffering from pizza burps and insane heartburn at the end of this drive, but the views to Madison and Adams from the road made me feel better. Mt. Adams had a decent amount of snow remaining and was in the clouds, while Madison looked mostly snow and cloud-free! There was plenty of parking at the Community Forest trailhead, separeted by tree islands. I parked and immediately got swarmed by a few deer flies - bug spray on! A trailhead kiosk read:

"The Randolph Community Forest. Owned by the Town of Randolph and Managed by the Randolph Community Forest Comission. This Community Forest was permantly protected on December 4, 2001 through the combined efforts of the Town of Randolph, The Trust for Public Land and the Randolph Foundation. It is open to the pubic and dedicated to hiking, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, other traditional recreational uses, sustainable timber harvesting, and ecological protection."

[8:45am - Start of Hike on Community Forest Road]

My hike started just past a gate on the opposite side of the parking area of the kiosk, signed as "Community Forest Road," which looked like an old logging road. It was mostly surprisingly dry with just one wet spot and grass that was starting to grow in. I was feeling super bummed about my camera, especially since it was so beautiful out. 

[8:46am - Mt. Crescent Trail]

The Mt. Crescent Trail, blazed in orange (along with every trail I'd hike today), started at a left turn off of the Community Forest Road, marked with a temporary trail sign. Right away, the trail began to climb moderately with rugged, leafy footing around mossy rocks. There were seemingly endless trout lilies that would for sure be blooming soon. I passed some blue spray paint marking property lines, an old logging road, and then saw some trout lily flowers! Interesting how there were more flowers higher up than down low - maybe they have more sunlight?

[8:54am - Mt. Crescent Trail/Peek Path]

I crossed the junction with Peek Path in another sea of trout lilies. I was super curious about the Ice Gulch, but I knew it is famously not climbed in spring, and I was not willing to find out why. I caught some tree views to Madison and Adams, a few conifers started to mix in, and then I came to the junction with the Castleview Loop trail! It looked like there was a viewpoint just below, so I took a short side trip to check it out.

[8:57am - Mt Crescent Trail/Castleview Rock]

I descended briefly on Castleview Loop and scrambled up a large boulder called "Castleview Rock," which provided a nice tree-framed view to Adams and Madison. I couldn't believe how crazy King Ravine was looking - I'm getting impatiently excited to tackle the Terrifying 25!

I scooted back onto the Mt. Crescent Trail and back into sunny deciduous forest, soon crossing another old logging road and the first of many young red trillium! This climb was slow and steady with moderate steepness. I was SWEATING. The trail later reentered a coniferous forest with woodpeckers chirping and red squirrels rattling.

[9:11am - Crescent Ridge Trail]

I turned right onto the Crescent Ridge Trail, which provided a momentary reprive from the climbing. It was nice to be hiking on relatively flat land in the shady conifers! The trail felt less-used and more rugged than the Mt. Crescent Trail, but looking at the map, I think the Mt. Crescent Trail also got dicey after tha tjunction. The Crescent Ridge Trail spent some time rambling along the contour line, navigating just a few wet rocks and a few easy streams.

After crossing the final stream, the trail turned left and began to climb up the shoulder of Mt. Crescent, which immediately got steep. Comically, one it got steep, piles and piles of moose poop began to appear (somewhere around the 2800' contour)! The trail continued to get steeper until I was simply struggling up a steep pine needle-covered slope. Thankfully, there were some peekaveiws to the Moriahs and Carters! Buzzing house flies cheered me on as I stumbled on up over rocks and more piles of moose poop to a brief walking break, where I passed the BIGGEST pile of moose poop I'd seen! It also looked recently... laid. 

The trail steepend again, climbed over more rocks and poop, and finally rounded the shoulder at a blowdown patch with obstructed views towards the Carters and Moriahs. I could hear wind, but I was still waiting to feel it! The trail crossed the height of land just near the summit (I didn't see a sign or a herd path to the true summit, so I didn't adventure too far) and soon came to the upper junction of the Mt. Crescent Trail!

[9:32am - North View and Mt. Crescent Trail]

Straight ahead was the continuation of the Crescent Ridge Trail. On the right was the North View, and on the left was the Mt. Crescent Trail and South View. I checked out the North View first, and WOW. There was truly a spectacular view of the whole Kilkenny Range and the Percy Peaks behind on the right. The dark mountaintops faded into a light brown at the lower elevations, but the light brown had a slight dusting of early spring green starting to show. The wind was also here, and it was howling! I went from cooking to cold in a minute! After I took my photo, I turned around and hiked along the Mt. Crescent Trail toward the South View. Even though it wasn't close, there was minimal elevation change to get there.

The walk from the North to South view was nothing short of an absolute delight. The ground was soft and dry and covered in needles with good footing through moss-covered trees and rocks with PLENTY of moose poop on the ground. I did look around hoping for a true summit herd path, but I didn't see any and simply did not care enough to bushwahck the extra ~20 feet. 

[9:39am - Mt. Crescent Trail/South View]

Even if the walk between the two views wasn't an absolute delight, the South View would have been worth it! It presented Mts. Madison, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Jefferson proudly. Between Mts. Madison and Adams was the Snyder Brook drainage and the Durand Ridge, with King Ravine on the right. The Great Gully had some good snow holding on, and Jefferson with either the Caps or Castelated Ridge was looming behind. Really a wonderful view. Down low, the drainages were outlined with conifers while the rest of the forests were a light green with the spring budding trees. The view ended at the Presidential Rail Trail and Route 2 - just wonderful!

I had a nice and easy walk back and couldn't stop wondering why this mountain wasn't on the 52 With-a-View? I'd say it meets all the requirements! Maybe Randolph didn't want the extra traffic? Who knows!

[9:44am - Crescent Ridge Trail]

I was a little on-alert due to all of the moose poop, as moose are truly the one animal I'm scared to run into in the woods, but like a big boy I continued on! The upper stretch of the Crescent Ridge Trail was on a narrow spine and was dark, spooky, and windy - I loved it! There were tree views into the Kilkenny as the trail easily descended. Even as the trail got steeper, the descent had great footing, and I was able to really cruise! I caught a tree view ahead to Mt. Randolph, which was surprisingly far away!

The trail began to mellow and traverse a few navigable wet spots with less, but still abundant moose poop. The poop increased again in a logged area and then it crossed a stream in what I believe was Carlton Notch, proper.

There was comically even more poop on this side of the stream. The trail rose and fell, dodging more and more piles of poop until coming to the junction with the Carlton Notch Trail.

[10:05am - Crescent Ridge Trail/Carlton Notch Trail]

[10:10am - Crescent Ridge Trail/Underhill Path]

Mt. Randolph was 1.3 miles away and I was feeling great - onward! The trail continued back into a dark coniferous forest covered in moss, passing a few vernal pools (and of course, piles of moose poop). Next, I hit the junction with the Underhill Path in a more open area (with more poop) before going back into the conifers - I guess the back-and-forth of forest types is primarily due to logging?

There was another short, steep push to a slope on a sub-peak (past more poop), traversed a prehistoric-feeling wet area with rotted boardsand then meandered into a clearing what was covered in trout lilies. There was a peek-a-view to Mt. Adams in this area.

[10:24am - Crescent Ridge Trail/Lafayette View]

A fun part of doing literally no research prior to a hike (bad advice!!) is that every little feature is a surprise! I stumbled upon the Lafayette View, which was stunning! Ironically, it was mostly of Madison, Adams, and Jefferson, but maybe I could make out Lafayette on the far far right? It was hard for me to tell from this angle. Either way, it was beautiful and just a treat to get another view!

There was a short, steep descent to another clearing, where I saw my first person of the day! I couldn't help but think "this looks skiable..." (turns out it IS, at least according to the Strava global heat map). There was a single blue-diamond blaze higher up in the clearing, I guess marking whatever the trail may or may not be? 

The trail descended slightly from the clearing, crossed a beautiful stream in a col, and then started to climb again, stomping over an endless amount of sticks. It wasn't until I saw the next pile that I realized I went about five whole minutes without seeing moose poop!

Not to worry, though, becuase it was back in abundance! I continued to climb through a partially overgrown section of trail, full of trout lilies, pre-bloom trillium, and some small flower of an unknown name to me. It was pretty! The trail steepened again with obstructed tree views back to Crescent, which looked far away!

The Crescent Ridge Trail rounded the shoulder with barely-visible tree views to the Kilkenny Range and then came upon a cleared view toward Mt. Crescent, the Mahoosuc Range, and Mt. Moriah - it was stunning!

[10:44am - Crescent Ridge Trail/Mt. Randolph]

I was greeted in the summit area with a bunch of blowdowns and plenty more moose poop, yay! I was a little disappointed to see no summit sign, cairn, or anything, but right before the trail started to descend, I saw a sign on a tree indicating the summit - yay again!

The Crescent Ridge Trail began to descend a little roughly to another obstructed view towards Mt. Madison, Mt. Adams, and King Ravine before continuing to steeply descend. I did make the mistake of steeping on a slippery root, slipping and catching myself at least three times, and ultimately falling on my butt and jamming my finger into a blowdown (which is still a bit swollen as I'm typing this three days later...). 

The trail soon opened up again and the temperature seemingly shot up - being in the sun and out of the breeze (and pushing 11am) really got me cooking! The descent eased up significantly, and now I was just walking through open hardwood forests with abundant sunshine. There were countless flowers and some above-tree views up to Adams, which simply looked ridiculously high up. I passed two delightful women at a steeper pitch, the interaction went like this:

Me: "Hey hows it going?"

Woman 1: "Oh goodness! We never see anyone on this trail!"

Woman 2: "No time for talking Mads, we got to keep going!"

And that was it - genuinely so quick, easy, and delightful!

[10:56am - Crescent Ridge Trail/Four Soliders Path]

[11:03am - Crescent Ridge Trail/Vyron D. Lowe Trail]

[11:05am - Crescent Ridge Trail/Lookout Ledge]

The trail flattened out and I crossed the Four Soliders Path, which looked simply nonexistent. I couldn't see a trail bed or a blaze, just the sign indicating it was there... It was also about five minutes before this junction where I saw my last pile of moose poop... tragic.

Next was the junction with the Vyron D. Lowe Trail and Lookout Ledge, which was simply spectacular. I could see Pine Mountain, the Moriahs, the Carters, the Howker Ridge, Mt. Madison, Mt. Adams, King Ravine, Mt. Jefferson, and the works. The sun was HOT, but I was truly having a wonderful time on this hike.

Just after there was another, smaller view with a bench, and then I got back onto a rugged descent toward the Pasture Path.

[11:10am - Pasture Path]

To my dismay and horror it said there were 2.7 miles to Randolph Hill Road, which is fine, just a solid bummer. I moped for about 14 seconds, had a snack, and continued on. There were a couple of gentle stream crossings followed by a larger one that required 10% brain power. I was pretty warm at this point, and the water was looking mighty fine... I stayed dry and hopped across two more medium-small ones and one small-small one. A dry spell was followed by another medium crossing, which was the lst for at least a few minutes. There were a good amount of blowdowns in this area and a few criss-crossing logging roads - thankfully it was well-blazed.

[11:27am - Pasture Path/Notchway/Four Soliders Path]

There was a small crossing at the Four Soliders Path junction (which had one single yellow blaze but still no discernable footpath) as the Pasture Path followed property lines blazed in blue. There was a lovely boardwalk section with a few muddier spots, but overall nothing too horrible. To my DELIGHT I was able to shave off at least a mile of the hike by turning onto Grassy Lane! The 2.7 miles was apparently to Randolph Hill Road a ways away from the parking area, this was a relief!

[11:38am - Grassy Lane]

[11:40am - Randolph Hill Road]

Grassy Lane was exactly as it was named - a grassy lane. There were beautiful private residences on either side, and at the top of the lane I continued left onto Randolph Hill Road, which was a little longer and gained a little more elevation than I wanted, but overall it was low-brain and easy hiking back to the car! There was a heavenly breeze, and it was time to get changed and get ready to ski!

[11:45am - End of Hike]

To my horror, there was a tick crawling up my shoelace as I was debooting. Thankfully, I flicked it off. I changed my clothes, and saw a tick-like shadow on my leg, and in no sane state of mind absolutely shredding my leg scratching it off (I KNOW that's bad, but I simply cannot help it!). I put my crocs on, and found the first tick again! Oh my goodness. I was UPSET. I did a big brush and search of my body, and confirmed it was only those 1.5-2.5. 

To wrap up this chapter of my day, I got my dry clothes on (my anglerfish t-shirt and my leopard print shorts), ordered a BUNCH of food from Dunkin, and drove into Gorham to claim the goods before heading down through Pinkham Notch for the last day of ski season!

Step-by-Step

- Start hike on Community Forest Road.

- At jct., turn left onto Mt. Crescent Trail.

Photo Album