You Are Here: Hedgehog Mountain

We had a decent snowstorm on Friday, so hiking on Saturday was pretty much out as everything would be in rough shape. Today, Laura and I decided to tackle Hedgehog Mountain in Albany. Both of us needed it for the 52 With a View list and it was a shorter/less elevation gain hike than most of the others we both needed. We had also read a trip report from Saturday where the hiker said snowshoes were not needed. This was especially appealing to us. We're both kind of over Winter hiking at the moment. We headed up and parked at the Downes Brook Trailhead, which is also the trailhead for the UNH Trail to Hedgehog Mountain. There were a few cars already there and some more arrived as we were getting geared up. Lots of pups on the trail today as well. It was one of those layer up, layer down type of days as it was chilly to start, then we warmed up as we got going, but then it was chilly at the summit.. so lots of stopping to put gear on, take gear off etc. Same with our traction. We started out bare boots, as the snow cover was shallow and the trail was relatively flat. Once we started to climb, we put on our spikes to help with slipping. The snow was super soft and slushy, but we did find the spikes helpful. The first 2 intersections are with XC Ski Trails, then about 0.8 miles in you reach the Loop part of the UNH Trail. We opted to take the western side of the loop first, the shorter/steeper way to the summit. We started to encounter bare ground/mud/wet leaves here but kept our spikes on all the same. It would have been off/on/off/on if we hadn't as there was still plenty of areas of slushy snow. We reached Allens Ledge, a small overlook area in about 0.3 miles from the intersection which is a short, steep climb up to a wonderful outlook. This was the only time on our hike the sun was really out, which was beautiful. You can see up to the summit of Hedgehog Mountain from here as well. Back on the trail and we climbed up to the summit... although at the time we didn't quite realize it was the summit, we thought it might have been, but there are no markers to indicate exactly where it is. Just before the summit is another little unnamed view spur. It was an overcast day but our immediate views were clear and spectacular! Coming off the summit is rocky and steep and was a little slippery. There are a couple of precarious spots, but we managed without any major incidents, just one little roly poly slide for Laura! After a particularly steep area, there are some more climbs before reaching the East Ledges which were clear and dry and we took the opportunity to sit and have a snack. From here the trail is back in the woods and was rather muddy mixed with slush so we were pretty slow going to make sure our footing was stable. I was surprised how much the snow had melted on our final stretch back to the car, I guess enough people had passed through. Was still very wet and muddy and I was glad for my waterproof Winter boots.

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