You Are Here: Mt Pawtuckaway

Still not ready to Winter hike yet, I opted to stay close to home and begin intentionally red-lining the Southern NH AMC Guide. Without knowing that a spreadsheet existed, I'd done 26% of the trails over the years. I now have the spreadsheet downloaded and it will give me some good options for Winter, since I don't think I'm ready for any big time Winter hikes up North this year. I've been in Pawtuckaway State Park a few times, mostly to volunteer at the Vulcan's Fury Trail Race hosted by acidotic RACING, and once to hike South Pawtuckaway for the Fire Tower list. Other than that, it was all new territory for me. Due to Covid, parking requires a reservation at the 2 main lots and due to a last minute plan, I ended up only being able to get space at the park's main HQ. This required an additional 0.4 mile road walk each way to reach the trail head. I arrived soon after the park opened and headed for Mountain Trail. There were a few other parties heading out at the same time, but we were able to keep our distance easily enough. As most headed for the Fire Tower, I opted to bypass the tower and remain on Mountain Trail. The air was cool enough to be comfortable and it was a bluebird day. All the trails were in great shape. Just about every intersection is well signed. There were a couple spots I had to stop and look around, but overall (and especially with a map as well) it is easy enough to navigate. Boulder Trail was probably the busiest spot I encountered with several groups out rock climbing. I was wondering if there was a class taking place, because at the area near where North Mountain Trail begins, just about every boulder had a climber/mat. It was interesting to stop and watch for a moment. To this point, most of my hike had been relatively moderate in ascent, there were definitely ups and downs but I had been able to keep a 30 min/mile pace or better. As I started to ascend Mt Pawtuckaway (the north peak) I started to slow down and get tired. It was rather steep with a few hand over hand climbs. I passed several parties on their descent and welcomed the opportunity to step to the side and take a "breather break". I ended up stopping for my "lunch break" about 0.5 mile from the summit but past the steepest sections. I needed the break to regroup. Carbs on board I felt better as I headed back out for the summit. The summit of Mt Pawtuckaway is unmarked however there is a geological survey benchmark on top of a rock, which is blazed, but I imagine most bypass as the trail goes just around the rock and if you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't realize it was there. It is also the highpoint for the town of Nottingham. There are no views from the actual summit. I did encounter some clearings as I descended with some lingering colors. Views from mountains in the southern part of the state are definitely different than the north, lots of "flat landscapes". Still beautiful though. I definitely passed a lot more people heading up from this direction and once I reached Reservation Road at the bottom it was packed. I also bumped into a couple I knew from the area who were out hiking with their pup. That was a nice surprise and we chatted for a bit before heading in our separate directions. The last 4 miles were a snowmobile corridor with rolling ups and downs but basically a gentle way to finish out my day. I had a great day and look forward to going back and completing some of the other trails in the park.

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