My hiking buddies and I each had our own plans this weekend. It was a gorgeous weekend. We were honoring the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Being out in nature was an amazing place to be and just being grateful for our lives and freedoms. I chose Mount Sunapee. It's been on my radar for a while, so I finally decided to go for it. I opted for a roughly 7 mile loop to try and get as many trails as possible checked off that redlining spreadsheet. I was one of the first cars there this morning and wasn't entirely sure where to park. I ended up parking in the Adventure Center lot and by the time I returned the parking area was much busier. I ascended via the Summit Trail, which starts behind the main lodge in the parking area. There is a sign on the tree pointing you in the right direction once at the woods. This trail (according to my GPS) was about 2.7 miles long and was relatively moderate. It climbed gently at first, passing an intersection with the Adventure Center as well as the Sunapee Ragged Kearsarge Greenway which is named Province Trail on some maps. The trail was well established with blazes where needed down low. As you climb the trail gets a little more technical, and as of right now was rather muddy and slick in some spots, but nothing that was impossible or overly difficult to navigate past. I loved the variety within such a short amount of time, from hardwoods to a more rocky footbed. Switchbacks make the final climb seem endless, but also more tolerable with peaks of sunlight as elevation is gained. I honestly found the climb much "easier" than perhaps anticipated with a 2K+ mountain. Being a ski area, the summit is large and open with a lodge and ski lifts. It was amazing to have actual facilities to use with running water! There were a few people wandering around, but it was far from crowded. I stopped for a brief snack and enjoyed the views. Wandering around a bit, I discovered a small area off to the side overlooking Lake Sunapee set up for weddings. It would be an absolutely gorgeous location for such a ceremony. My loop continued on Solitude Trail. Head down the access road, a rather steep descent at first. There was some signage on the ski slope signs indicating which way to go. One final outlook over the lake and it was back into the woods on Solitude Trail. After having seen no one on Summit Trail at all, Solitude Trail was a little busier.. and muddier. I jokingly said to myself my hike was brought to me by the Letter M.. moss, mud, mushrooms and of course mountains! After about a mile there is a spur off to the right signed "View" which leads out to White Ledges. A sheer drop and amazing view over Lake Solitude. Solitude Trail continued a little past the view spur and at Jack and June Intersection, I picked up Newbury Trail. This trail descended on the harder end of moderate with still lots of mud and rocks, but some lovely flatter sections as well through the woods. I saw the most people of the day on this trail. One final view spur I've seen labeled Moon Ledge on some maps which is becoming a little overgrown but still offers some pretty views. At the next intersection, I took a left onto Rim Trail which was the most rustic and probably least used trail I visited. It started descending over a stream bed, which was mostly dried up, but rather rocky before becoming more of the pine bed foot bed I prefer. This trail was only about half a mile long and ended by crossing a brook and coming out in a very unattractive cul-de-sac of abandoned equipment for the ski lodge. I had spoken to a hiker on the summit who attempted to come up via Rim Trail, but couldn't find it. I can see why. Until you actually hit the woods, there are no signs directing you at all. I took a picture in case you have tripped across this blog and are interested in taking Rim Trail up, of what it looked like once I was out and on the access road. The access road is gravel and ascends past the campground entrance. I was following a .gpx track of a friend who had hiked this loop previously and I didn't realize he left the access road and made his final descent on ski trails. I started in where he did but wasn't in the least motivated to go where he went as there was overgrown grass and goldenrod that was neck high for me! I continued in a little further and found an ATV trail that at least gave me a foot bed to follow. Looking at a map later on, I was on Guster ski trail at first, I then met up with Eggbeater. This was mowed, but steep and muddy in some places, so I very slowly descended and still took a slide in the mud. Thankfully no one was around as I'm sure it was far from graceful. My quads were done by this point, but thankfully I could see the parking lot once I turned onto Eggbeater, so there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Intersection of Summit Trail and SRKG

Top of Summit Trail at the summit

Lake Solitude from White Ledges

view from Moon Ledge

where Rim Trail starts off the access road

the start of the trail is behind that dirt pile

heading down Eggbeater ski trail

Sunday, September 5, 2021

Table Mountain

It was overcast with pleasant temperatures today. While a bluebird day is amazing, sometimes fabulous views also come about under overcast skies. The contrast of the mountain profiles with the clouds and sky can be quite dramatic. That was our experience today on Table Mountain. Laura and I headed up relatively early as we were concerned the small parking area on Bear Notch Rd would be full. We had read it only accommodated 4-5 cars and no road parking was allowed. We were surprised to get there and only see 1 car. The parking area is definitely small and quite eroded, I'm not even sure how 4-5 cars would fit. They would have to be creatively parked for sure. We were excited at the prospect of the mountain not being crowded. Especially for a peak on the 52 With a View list and it being a long weekend. The first mile or so of trail is very pleasant, very moderate and no issues with footing whatsoever. The trail meanders alongside a brook for a little while with some pretty cascades before eventually veering away and up. There were a couple of crossings of said brook, but all were easily rock hopped today. The climbing began gently at first and got steeper as the trail progressed. There was a small section of very steep rock, that would be quite sketchy if wet. This was the trickiest part for me of the day and took me a while to navigate up. Thankfully there were just enough trees alongside that I was able to pull myself along, but it took some careful foot placement and trust in the trees being strong enough to hold me. The rock had a sandy gravel coating in some areas that made it just slippery enough to not be able to get a grip on the rock itself. Once up you are greeted with a small open ledge area that has awesome views across to Square Ledge and Passaconaway beyond. The ledge is steep and gravelly, so care is needed while crossing as there was a high drop off over the ledge. Continuing up over more gravelly area, another ledge is reached, similar to the first but with a more expansive view. One more ledge area, which gives the mountain its 52 With a View status looks over Chocorua and beyond. The true summit is about another 1-2 tenths beyond the ledge. Continuing on the Attitash Trail towards Attitash Mountain, an obvious path heads left and up through a steep wooded area to an open flat (but wooded) summit. It was almost like a campsite. An old rusty can is hanging from a tree and we also found a brand new sign in register jar just hung a couple days earlier! We headed back to the ledge to sit and enjoy a snack. It sprinkled just a little but thankfully didn't develop into anything as I didn't want to think about going down the steep slabs while wet. We actually just sat and enjoyed the peace for quite some time. It was perfect. I had been nervous about going back down those short steep sections, but as is typically the case, down was better than up. We were able to butt slide a little and let gravity do the job. Overall a really nice hike, with good bang for the buck as far as effort goes.

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