You Are Here: Rogers Ledge

I set out for my longest hike of the year (actually in probably 4 years) with butterflies in my belly. Rogers Ledge is a new addition to the 52 With a View list with this years evaluation of the peaks by the Over the Hill Hikers who created and maintain the list. I couldn't find a whole lot of information or trip reports about it ahead of time, so went with what little I could find. There are 2 ways to reach Rogers Ledge, one hiking up from Unknown Pond which I had read was steep and rugged, the other coming from South Pond, longer but much less elevation gain. Considering this was my longest hike to date, I opted for less elevation gain. I knew I could definitely do the gain, it was the length that had me nervous. The closest I've come this year, I was toast at the end, but with many more miles on my legs between then and now, I just felt confident I could do it. The Kilkenny Ridge Trail begins at the South Pond Recreation Area, which unfortunately due to Covid this year is closed, thus requiring parking outside the gate, and adding an additional 1.3 mile road walk at the start and finish of the hike (which I knew ahead of time and was the reason this became my longest hike to date). The weather report for this weekend was a little iffy, the high summits forecast called for some Winter precipitation and we had our first rain in many weeks yesterday. I packed extra clothing/Winter gear just in case and headed out. Driving up through the Mt Washington Valley area, the sun came out casting a magical glow over everything and I felt awake and ready. Upon reaching Gorham and turning left onto Route 2, only about 20 miles from the trailhead, the skies were dark and gloomy and clouds were low. Bummer. I just thought positively that in the few hours it would take me to reach the summit, the sun might find its way through the clouds. After all, this peak is on the 52 With a View, I hoped for a little something to actually view! I reached the gate on South Pond Road, there was already a truck there and another car arrived at the same time I did. This actually made me feel a little at ease, I knew there would be other people out on the trail. This just felt really remote to me (it really isn't, there are houses/camps right around the gate) and knowing other humans were within range calmed me! Weird how things like that work. I set out on the road walk and hit South Pond pretty quickly. Kilkenny Ridge Trail starts at the south end of the beach area and the first couple tenths are very flat and smooth as it also serves as a handicap accessible trail for the pond. Once that ended and the "trail" began it definitely became a little more rugged. Yesterday's rain made the trail a lot wetter than I had anticipated and all the fallen leaves hid many mossy rocks, mud and slippery roots. There were 3 stream crossings, that really for the first time this year I had to cross with actual water in them! The wet rocks made one of them a little more difficult and I ended up getting a wet shoe, but compared to other water crossings in the White Mountains, these were very tame. There is an intersection at 0.7 miles for the Devils Hopyard, which I opted to pass on this time due to the wet conditions and not really wanting to add any extra miles this time around. If I ever come back, I'll head up the 0.3 miles to explore that area. The 4.1 miles of the Kilkenny Ridge Trail to Rogers Ledge summit, is really just a nice long walk in the woods. Terrain varies from flat and smooth to mossy boulders to tight pine alleys that made me all wet from the rain yesterday! It doesn't really get steep until the final mile or so and even then it's not a bad steep. I was just tired and started to get concerned about the 5 miles back, but wasn't about to turn around. I just watched my pace, took lots of breather breaks and enjoyed the perfect temperatures. The summit was a lot more open than I had anticipated, thinking "ledge" I just envisioned rock slab and not much else. It was very pretty and flat. The actual "ledge" was just a small area off to the side, which of course were where the views were. I had the summit to myself and sat to have a snack and regroup. The clouds had mostly cleared and the views were very pretty. The ledge has a complete drop off the edge, which always makes me nervous and I was glad no one else was there. I always get very anxious watching other people in areas like that. The break was just what I needed and I felt energized to head back down. First I walked around the flat summit area, I knew there was a spur path to the true summit with a benchmark. It wasn't difficult to spot and I walked over and took a picture. The walk down was uneventful, mostly just being careful on the wet, to not slip and hurt myself. I passed several groups of both backpackers and day hikers and said a silent thank you that I had timed my summit just right again. I've been very lucky this year to have had most summits to myself! The time seemed to go very quickly and before I knew it, I was back at South Pond and the 1.3 mile road walk back to the car. Another great day to be outdoors.

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