Our original plans changed today due to rain forecast down in the Boston area. It looked like it would stay fine in NH, so I decided I wanted views and foliage. My choice of completing the Bald Knob Trail paid off. A real hidden gem. Having been to Bald Knob in the Cockermouth Forest from the Old North Groton Road trail before, I wanted to finish Bald Knob Trail from the Hebron Town Forest entrance. It was a perfect Fall day. Crisp temperatures, but not too cold with clear skies. From the parking area, head across the bridge and past the kiosk for the Cockermouth Ledge Trail. This section is a snowmobile trail, so wide and easy footing. I was surprised that not long after this the trail opened up into a wide open field. It was very pretty with the foliage starting to pop through. It looked like there might be tall grasses or corn or something at some points of the year, but that was all gone today. The trail skirts the edge of the field before re-entering the woods. The snowmobile trail turned off shortly after this, and while the hiking trail narrowed a little, the footing remained easy. About 1 miles from the parking lot, the Spectacle Pond spur headed straight, while Bald Knob Trail veered off to the right. The trail is blazed orange and there was a sign and map. The trail really had great footing the entire way, which was amazing. Well maintained and well marked, it was easy to follow. The climbing started here, but was gentle at first, gradually becoming more moderate with some steeper pitches and switchbacks at times. With the leaves falling, there were peakaboo views down to Spectacle Pond and over to the surrounding peaks for much of the way, which was so pretty. A short ways after the Spectacle Pond spur, a yellow blazed trail headed off to the left, but there was no indication of where that went, and it's not on any maps yet, so I did not explore. Just under another mile from the Spectacle Pond spur was another yellow blazed trail. This one had a sign reading "To Hardy Rd".. which had me looking at the map and changing my plans for my return, erasing a double up of a previously hiked section. Although this connector is not on any maps that I saw, Hardy Rd was, so I could see where the trail would originate. I continued on Bald Knob Trail which continued to climb. At one point, you came out on some open ledges with beautiful views across to Cardigan Mountain, clearly seeing the firetower on top! The trail became a little more technical as it ascended with some steeper pitches. About 3 miles from the parking area as the trail veered left, I noticed to the right through a thin line of trees what looked like a really gorgeous open view, then I noticed a herd path through the short grass, so I went over and it was spectacular. A couple tenths after this, the trail met up the branch of Bald Knob Trail that starts at Old North Groton Road. From here it is roughly 0.4 miles to the summit of Bald Knob. This is a mean little steep pitch! Nothing crazy as far as technical stuff, just steep! The summit has expansive views over to Tenney Mountain and the windmills on its peak as well as restricted views towards Newfound Lake. If you go past the summit just a few feet, look for a herd path to the left. This leads to wide open ledges with gorgeous views across to Cardigan Mountain and surrounds. I hadn't seen this path the last time I was up so was really pleasantly surprised at how open and spectacular the views really were. From here the trail drops in a short, steep descent alongside some "hairy" (ferns) huge boulders to the intersection with a yellow blazed connector trail to High Pasture Loop, an old (I'm not sure if it's actually maintained) trail that the map says heads to Tenney Lane, and the trail heading up to the Mt Crosby summit. Having been to Mt Crosby on my last visit, I took the yellow blazed trail to High Pasture Loop. In areas this was a great, easy path.. in others it was rather rustic and harder to follow (well blazed though, so no issues). It felt much longer than the 0.3 miles it is. The next intersection is with High Pasture Loop and Beeline Trail coming down from Mt Crosby. I took a left onto High Pasture Loop, which was an easy gradual descent on an old road back to Bald Knob Trail. Again like the yellow blazed trail, at times it was great and clear and other times it was overgrown, although never difficult to follow. Once back on Bald Knob Trail (the branch from Old North Groton Road), I took a right and headed down to the intersection of Old North Groton Road and what the map called Rogers Road. I took the left onto Rogers Road, this section is an old wide road, rough in places and not blazed, but very easy to follow. This was about 0.5 miles long and came to an old green gate with a Cockermouth Forest sign and a sign pointing left saying "To Hardy Rd" Yellow blazes started here and this climbed gently up to Hardy Road. This was the other end of the connector I had passed on my way up. This section was the only section I was flying by the seat of my pants, since it wasn't marked on any maps I had. Turns out it was roughly a mile long, it followed the Cockermouth Forest boundary for most of it, with a gentle to moderate ascent some of the way, before crossing the boundary stone wall and making its way back to Bald Knob Trail about 2 miles from the parking area. I retraced my steps here and finally saw my first person of the day! Back at the Spectacle Pond spur, I went the 0.1 miles. At the fork with snowmobile signage, stay right away from the private residence and descend down the pond and a bench. There was a sign stating there was a trail around pond with white blazes, but it now showing any maps, I didn't explore since I wasn't sure how long it was or where it went. After some quick photos I backtracked back to the car. 8.4 miles and 1 person! Perfect day!

variety of terrain

first real views

zoomed in on Cardigan

viewpoint just off trail

views from Bald Knob summit

views from summit off herd path behind summit

High Pasture Loop off Bald Knob Trail

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Hewes Hill/Tippin Rock

Right around the corner from Carrolls Hill is the trailhead for Hewes Hill and the Tippin Rock Trail. The guide plus all descriptions I had read said parking was at the entrance to a hay field on Warmac Road. Swanzey Conservation Commission has since developed a small official parking area which was nice. Crossing the field, the trail begins in the far right hand corner marked with a sign and map. This trail was night and day from the Carrolls Hill Trail. Super clean and great footing the whole way. Blazed with blue blazes, the trail gently climbs and reaches Tippin Rock in just over half a mile. Tippin Rock is a huge boulder right in the middle of the trail. Supposedly you can make the rock tip back and forth, but I didn't try. This boulder can also be found on the "NH Rocks that Rock" list that I am loosely keeping track of (all the patches!). The blazes continue a couple tenths of a mile to the top of some really high, steep cliffs with a lovely overlook of the surrounding area. Some Fall colors were just starting to peep through. Although I didn't see any, this area is apparently used by rock climbers and some anchors can be found at the top of the cliffs. The blazes stop at the top of the cliffs, but the trail clearly continues to the summit area of Hewes Hill. No views up here, but I headed up and "bushwhacked" (I use the term lightly as the area is very open and not very whacky) to what appeared the highest point a few hundred yards off trail atop a giant pile of erratics. The trail continued over the summit and I noticed a red blaze down a steep descent. Not knowing where it headed and not interested in having to climb back up, I just turned back around and retraced my steps to the car. I have since read this trail may be for rock climbers to descend after climbing up the cliffs. I passed a couple at the overlook as I was descending. They were the only folks I saw all day (on the trails). Another short hike coming in at just about a mile all the way to the summit.

Strava Activity

parking on Warmac Rd

trail entrance from the field

cliffs at the end of the blazed section of trail

Carrolls Hill

It was too nice of a day to not get back out again, but I knew my legs were tired from yesterday. I headed over to the town of Swanzey to grab the last 2 hikes I needed there from the AMC South Trail Guide. First up was Carroll's Hill. Make sure you read trail descriptions should you decide to hike this trail. It's a bit obscure to find, but once there, the trail was straight forward. Located on private land off Westbrook Court in Swanzey, parking is in a field. There is a small upside down sign saying "Enter" with 2 brown "P" signs along some brush on the left side of the field. The field was very wet, and I was afraid of getting bogged in, so I opted to park off the road in the far right hand corner of the field. I followed the perimeter of the field and at the woods line is a sign and box with maps. Although on private land, the trail is maintained by the Swanzey Conservation Commission. The first tenth or so was in the woods, and while there were signs of trail maintenance with big trees chopped and moved aside, there was a lot of small debris over the trail. About a tenth in, you meet up with a private driveway. This was a bit unnerving as there is a (fabric) garage which had a car in it, a gate and a path to a house. The gate has a lot of No OHRV type signs, but foot travel is permitted. For the next half mile or so, the trail follows an old rough road. There are no blazes, but orange flagging tape was hanging periodically from the trees. At any major turns there were wooden signs with arrows or the word "Trail" so it was not difficult to follow. About 3/4 of the way in, the trail turns off the road and enters the woods. Until now the climb had been easy to moderate. At this point it did become quite steep, although just a short climb. At the top of the climb, the trail veered left with a sign and followed along a ridge reaching some huge rocks and ending at a lovely viewpoint with a bench. That last little section was my favorite of the hike, I didn't love the rest of it, but the view was pretty and made it worth the effort. Total was 1.1 miles to the viewpoint.

Strava Activity

Carrolls Hill from where I parked in the corner of the field

trail as it turned off from the road

Saturday, September 24, 2022

Newbury Trail - Mt Sunapee

It was a spectacular day, albeit it windy.. I knew I wanted something with some views potentially, thinking the wind would clear the skies. I decided to head back to Mt Sunapee and finish the Newbury Trail that I half hiked last year and grab the last tenth of a mile I needed on Solitude Trail down to Lake Solitude. Having read all the trail reports and descriptions, I knew parking was a little ways away from the trailhead on Rt 103 at Newbury Harbor near the Visitors Information kiosk. Parking on Lake View Ave where the trailhead is, is prohibited by the town of Newbury. I arrived sort of early and was surprised to find only a couple cars there ahead of me. Carefully crossing Rt 103 and heading up Newbury Heights Rd, the second right is Lake View Ave. Heading up this, the trailhead is just a little ways up on the right, about 0.2 miles from the parking area total. The trail starts on private land and immediately crosses a small brook. We had some decent rains yesterday, so it was nice to see water flowing and a little cascade after all the dry weather we've had. I had read there were some steeper sections on this trail, and those started almost immediately. The first mile and half is a pretty steady up most of the way. There were some small reprieves, but mostly up. At 0.4 miles there is a cairn in the middle of the trail. This marks the Eagles Nest Trail, which I took 0.2 miles to the Eagles Nest outlook. Starting to become restricted with tree growth, nonetheless a pretty overlook over Lake Sunapee and surrounding mountain tops. At about 1.3 miles the Rim Trail intersects Newbury Trail. This is where I had turned off last time I came down Newbury Trail. Continuing up Newbury, there are a couple of steep, yet short scrambles. A scenic overlook, again becoming restricted with tree growth is about 0.2 miles from the Rim Trail intersection. About 2 miles in, you pass just below the true summit of Sunapee South Peak and the trail really levels out. The last couple of tenths over to Solitude Trail were really pleasant, if not a bit muddy. I turned left at the intersection with Solitude Trail, and descended gently about one tenth of a mile to the Andrew Brook Trail intersection and Lake Solitude. Until now I had only passed 2 groups. It started to get busy from here, which I expected on such a crystal clear day. I didn't summit Mt Sunapee as I know the Solitude Trail once it reaches the service road for the ski trails is a steep incline and I wasn't interested in that today. Instead I retraced my steps from Lake Solitude (excluding a revisit to Eagles Nest) and carefully made my way back down, with only one slide on a wet root that had me sitting on the trail briefly! Thankfully no one around to witness that graceful move.

Strava Activity