Bald Knob & Turtleback Mountain

Today I did an out and back to Turtleback Mountain via Bald Knob. Parked the car on Rt 171 at the bottom of an unofficial trail at the Tuftonboro/Moultonborough town line sign. Oof, it was a steep climb up for just under a mile to Bald Knob. Although unofficial, the trail was marked with blue blazes and was mostly easy to follow. I got off course a couple of times, but was able to regroup easily enough. Way steeper than I had anticipated, but the views from Bald Knob are well worth the effort. I continued on Bald Knob Trail on the now superhighway of LRCT trails over to Turtleback Mountain Trail. The trails were mostly nice and dry with a little soft mud that could be easily avoided. The climb became a little more moderate until the final push on Turtleback Summit Trail. One large blowdown on the summit spur that I was able to duck under. Views from the summit are back towards the Ossipee Range rather than over the Lakes Region. It was a gorgeous day. I retraced my steps stopping again at Bald Knob for another quick picture opportunity before tackling the steep descent back to the car. The only people I saw all day were 2 women with their pups ascending as I was descending back to the car from Bald Knob. 

Strava Activity

from the start looking up to Bald Knob

Bald Knob views

Turtleback Mountain summit views

back at Bald Knob on the way down

one last look at where I had been