This one took me by complete surprise. I loved it. Hedgehog Ridge Trail is about 4 miles long in total, so I am breaking it up into 2 trips, and today I did a lollipop from Hedgehog Mountain Road. The parking area is about a quarter mile from the trailhead, however the road is a quiet dirt road so no issues walking down to the trailhead. The stick of the lollipop is only about a tenth of a mile long. At the junction with Woods Road, I turned right and headed up Hedgehog Mountain Trail to the summit area, which was a steep little climb, but less than a mile. The summit area was gorgeous, a huge firepit and gorgeous views over to Kearsarge and surrounds. I spent quite a bit of time up there enjoying the views. It was very clear. From here I picked up Hedgehog Ridge Trail. I can almost guarantee, if a trail has the word Ridge in it, I'm probably going to enjoy it. And I did. I only went about 1.1 miles along Hedgehog Ridge Trail to the intersection with Woods Road, but it was really nice. Some undulating ups and downs, nothing crazy but enough to keep it interesting. A variety of terrain from rock slab to pine needle path. There were clearings here and there along the way so you could see the views. A couple of twists and turns, but it was well marked so easy to follow. There was one tiny little scramble (really tiny) that was almost a bit too tall for me, but I figured it out, which led up to another beautiful viewpoint. Once on Woods Road, it alternated between Class VI type terrain, smoother woods road and narrow footpath. The initial descent on the Class VI terrain was a bit steep, and with the leaves hiding rocks it was a bit slow going, but once on the more level areas it was smooth sailing. The last quarter mile or so turned off the road back into the woods and was a bit more rustic, but thankfully well marked and easy enough to follow. The trail rejoined Hedgehog Mountain Trail back near the start and it was an easy walk back to the car. 12/10, I thoroughly enjoyed.
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