Smarts Mountain

 I pushed myself today with my biggest hike in several years. While my hike to Faraway Mountain several weeks ago was longer, this one had more elevation gain, so I'm calling this one my biggest. I was actually terrified going into this, because the Faraway Mountain hike left me completely spent for the last few miles, so I was nervous about how my body would handle this. I wasn't completely sure what to expect as I chose a lesser traveled route to reach the summit and hadn't really found any trip reports to help me. The most commonly hiked route to Smarts Mountain is the Lambert Ridge Trail/Ranger Trail loop. I chose to approach from the north on the J Trail, as it appeared to be a gentler approach looking at the topo maps online. Judging from the trip reports and videos I had seen of the Lambert Ridge Trail I do think I made the right choice for me. I parked at the gate on Quinttown Road in Orford and walked 0.5 miles up the gravel road to the trailhead for the J Trail. This is also the Appalachian Trail between Smarts Mountain and Mt Cube. The J Trail left off to the right, the Kodak Trail to Mt Cube left off from the left. There was 1 other car at the parking area when I arrived, so I also hoped it would be the quieter option. According to the trailhead sign, the summit of Smarts Mountain is 4.2 miles from the junction. The trail itself is in great shape, only 1 water crossing which is 0.1 miles from the start across Jacobs Brook. A bridge is there making that an easy crossing. The remainder of the trail has zero views and is just a long, consistent climb up. Nothing crazy in the way of inclines and several flat areas make this a really awesome day in the woods. Several areas of the trail seem to be consistently damp, but those small mud patches were easy to skirt around. In the larger areas of mud, bog bridges have been placed and recently renovated. The 4 miles was long (for me) but in terms of the trail itself, it really is a great trail. I imagine for a northbound thru hiker it's a little piece of respite before the gnarly reality of the White Mountains ahead. I reached the summit a little earlier than expected per my watch and found it much smaller than I had anticipated. The fire tower is surrounded by trees but is much taller than them, so all the views can be found from the top. I believe there are open ledges if coming from the Lamberts Ridge Trail, but I was too tired to go any further and explore. I enjoyed the views from the tower and called that a successful summit. The former fire warden's cabin is a little ways from the tower and is now an AT shelter. There was a thru hiker enjoying her lunch in front of the cabin, so I didn't go look inside leaving her in peace. There is also a privy on the summit, which although I didn't actually see it, I could sure smell it. A couple were leaving as I arrived, and another couple arrived as I was leaving, so I was able to enjoy the views to myself. It was a bit hazy, but definitely another beautiful mountaintop. The hike back was also long, but again relatively easy as far as grades and footing are concerned. I completed 8.6 miles in 6 hours. The one benefit to solo hiking is I am accountable to no one but myself, no need to feel guilty that I'm holding anyone up!

Strava Activity

Gate on Quinttown Road

J Trail head off Quinttown Road

crossing Jacobs Brook

Fire Warden's cabin shelter