Although the first stream crossing was a bit tricky, and the summit of Sandwich Dome was a bit buggy, Jennings and Sandwich Dome both had great views shared with great company. It was an awesome day in the mountains!
Seven of us OTHH took advantage of a day we found sunny and quite warm, but ahead of the building heat and humidity following, to hike up to Mt Liberty (4459 ft). We gathered at the Liberty Spring Trail parking area just to the north of the huge parking area for the Flume Gorge. Then it was around 3/4 of a mile along the paved but hilly bike path that runs along much of I-93 through Franconia Notch State Park. That was the easy part. Then it was a typical hiking trail for a while, climbing steadily but not too steeply over and around boulders. After crossing a few minor drainage streams and then rock-hopping carefully over the larger last of these, the trail got ever steeper and rockier. This stretch seemed to go on forever, until finally we reached the Liberty Spring tent site, noted for its ongoing bear "incident" problem. Onward and upward perhaps another 1/4 steep and rocky mile, we reached the intersection with the Franconia Ridge trail. It was up here that we saw the sign about the bear issue, while there had been no sign at the tent site (this time). No Yogi for us, so we pressed on and up the last 0.3 mile to the rocky summit, some 3185 ft higher than at the trailhead. The views from there are 360 degrees, looking first north up the ridge to Mt Lincoln, and sweeping around to Mt Garfield, the closer Owls Head long ridge, over to the Twins, east to the three peaks of "The Bonds," south to Mt Carrigain far off, the Loon Mountain ski area to the south, and finally across the notch to the Kinsmans, Lonesome Lake, and finally the easily recognized Cannon Cliff.
Pictured below is our gang of seven, atop Liberty, (L-R) Donna, Ginger, Mary, Michele, Dick, and Pat, with Chris perched on a higher rock behind.
Most of us decided to skip Mt Flume and just head down. Chris and Donna chose to "go the extra mile" (actually 1.2, each way) to bag Mt Flume, then return to Liberty for the descent. This added nearly another 1000 ft of elevation gain and two hours to their day. Below are Donna and Chris atop Flume, with Mt Liberty behind them.
We had a relatively cool day, for late June, for a hike three miles up the Crawford Path to the top of Mt Pierce (4310'). As we passed along the last stretch through the very short trees and into the clearing at the trail junction with the Webster Cliff trail, we could feel just how cool it was up there. We had to layer up to ward off the breeze and temperature in the mid 50s. While there had been some chance of showers during the hike up, none materialized. Mt Eisenhower, off just to the north, was in and out of the clouds, but Mt Monroe and Mt Washington farther to the north stayed in the clouds. We went quickly up the last short stretch to the cairn at the top of Pierce, then came back to the trail junction for a quick lunch.
Below, at that trail junction just below the top of Pierce, are (front) Barbara, Pat, Dick, Michele, and (rear) Donna, Ginger, Dave R, Chris, and Dave D.
On June 16, two groups of Turtles hiked the Old Bridle Path to West Rattlesnake, where we all enjoyed the beautiful view. A perfect day for hiking!
One group headed back down from there, while the other took the Ridge Trail over to East Rattlesnake.
A large group of us OTHH had a great weather day, sunny, cool, and dry, for a hike up Mt Tecumseh, in Waterville Valley. Below, gathered at the top, are (front, sitting) Dave, Tracy, Katy, (back, standing) Jonathan, Doug, Donna, Pat, Chris, Becky, Ginger, Leanne, and Pam (pic by Dick).
On June 12, the Friday Walkers hiked a new trail in Tuftonboro: the Meadow Loop Trail. The highlight for the group was the opportunity to climb to the top of the viewing station and look out at the marsh:
Finally, the group turned around for the official picture:
Welch Dickey hike. Left to right are Kim, Donna, Leanne (holding camera), Hillary, Ginger and John.
It was a great hike, views and company.
It was a warm day in the Franconia Notch today with gorgeous views on Pemi . Some mud and bugs along the trail kept us moving . We enjoyed lunch on the ledges and we down by 1pm. Thank you to a great group of hikers.
It was a great weather day for a hike/rock climb up the Caps Ridge Trail to Mt Jefferson. This trail is on the "Terrifying 25" list, although most who have climbed those "hands required" rock scrambles and steep ledges, which earned the trail a spot on that list, have said they did not think the word "terrifying" really applies. This trail is, however, one where both ascent and descent take longer than "book time." Perhaps half the trail is above tree line, and the long views south to Washington and the southern presidentials and west all the way over to the Franconia Ridge and Mt Moosilauke are always rewarding. Up on the last boulder-strewn stretch over and up to the summit, we had a nice view down into Washington's Great Gulf and up its snow-patch strewn headwall.
Below, at the trailhead start, are Pat, Charlie, Michele, Larry, Barbara, Mary, and Chris (pic by Dick).
A few of us decided to hike Moosilauke on Tuesday as the weather improved over earlier forecasts. We were all very pleased that we did as the weather was great and the views were superb. Although there was some haze, we could easily see Killington, Pico, Ellen, Camel's Hump, and Mansfield in Vermont along with too many to mention in NH. It was a little windy at the summit but otherwise, an absolutely gorgeous day.
Below are Hillary, Mike, Doug, Pam, and Meg. Larry was there, too but nowhere to be seen!
The A group hike of the week, up Moosilauke, was moved from the usual Tuesday to the next day, due to earlier expectations of unsettled weather of Tuesday. As things turned out, the lingering moisture from the weekend's rain moved out totally. A group who couldn't go Wednesday did the hike on Tuesday, while the rest of us went Wednesday, and both days were simply great both days. Our Wednesday group hiked up via the Gorge Brook Trail, had lunch, and descended via the "Carriage Road" trail (hardly a road, although perhaps a small tracked vehicle could make it's way over the rocks). Some of us took a short side hike to the south summit, which has nice views to the west and back up to Moosilauke. Further down Carriage Road, we took Snapper back to Gorge Brook.
Below, at the top, are Barbara, Charlie, Pat, Chris, Dave, and Dick.
For a delisted peak, you can still get some beautiful views on the hike, but not at the summit. We added a couple of miles due to parking at the nearby Glencliff Trailhead, so we were able to get about 5.5 miles AND beat the afternoon rain showers.
From Left to right: Chris, Tracy, Denise, Jean, Barbara, John, and Jane
The B group kicked off its 2026 hiking season with Stinson Mountain, a 52 WAV. It was a great warm up hike, and would be ideal in winter due to its gentle grade. It was a bit breezy at the summit, as much as we are all ready for shorts, it is still a bit early for them. I was glad to have my gortex shell to help break the chill.
It was a peak bagging day, with good hiking weather and not many bugs yet, for a trip up "scenic" Mt Hale, one of the 4K. For a departure from past hikes up Hale, we took the Fire Warden trail on the west side, from about a mile in on the North Twin trail starting at the end of Haystack Rd. The Fire Warden trail, while no longer an "official" trail, is a favorite of winter hikers. Perhaps one reason for this is that, with winter road closures, the North Twin trail can be accessed with a shorter road walk than can the Hale Brook trail, on the east side, off Zealand Rd. Another reason is that the grades on Fire Warden are quite even, with no very steep sections or ledges to navigate. Also, there are no difficult stream crossings on this route, other than a minor one going in that mile on the North Twin trail.
Below, at the top (where there is no view at all!) are Pam, Doug, Dick, and Pat.
Five of us OTHH took a nice walk up Mt Kearsarge (north), just outside North Conway. We had moved the hike from our usual Tuesday to a Monday, as the weather outlook for Tuesday was HOT, with the chance of thundershowers in the afternoon. Well, we ran into showers on the drive up, and there were some sprinkles here and there for an hour. Someone coming down from the top spoke of a downpour while he was up top. At least we didn't get that. However, the showers passed on by, the sun came out, and we had great views all around from the tower at the top. Below, inside the nice room atop the tower, are Bernie, Michele, Dick, Barbara, and Pat.
The A group had another great weather day for this trip up South Moat Mountain, in Conway. The weather was sunny, cool, and dry. The bugs hadn't yet made themselves known here just yet. Up top, after lunch, are (sitting) Katherine and Andrea, and (standing) Deb, Mary, Ginger, Andy, Pat, Barbara, Jon, Dick, Michele, and Tracy.
We had a somewhat warm, but clear and sunny day for another hike up Mt Israel. Turnout for this one was again higher than usual, and there were ten of us setting out. We went past the first viewpoint, and higher up was the open ledge area with the nice view northward toward the Sandwich Range. That point often is mistaken for the top, but for that we kept going another ten easy minutes to the actual summit. Still, we kept on for perhaps another 100 yards to another open ledge area, this one having a view not only of the Sandwich Range but also of the Paugus Range, with Mt Chocorua at its end. The photo below was taken at that point. Left to right are Mary, Michele, Barbara, Dick, Andrea, Richard, and Pat.
The A group hike season got underway with a fairly easy walk up Mt Pemigewasset, at the southern end of Franconia Notch. There were quite a few of on the hike (15), many more than is typical. We took two trails up (Mt Pemigewasset, Indian Head), coming together at the open ledges up top. Weather was ideal - full sun, cool and dry air mass, and no black flies yet!
Below, at the summit ledges, are (L-R) Dick, Brenda, Donna, Mary, Mike, Katherine, Larry, Marie, Pam, Deb, Andy, Carol, Pat, and Richard. Photo by Bernie.
We've been having a really good time with all this gorgeous snow this year. And should I tell you how delicious the soups, cookies and bread have been? I don't know which is better the snow, or the food!?
We have enjoyed snowshoeing up in Sugar Hill, and have had three different outings in and around Sandwich. We have so many beautiful areas to explore, and we're so lucky to have access to private trails that landowners create, as well as conserved land. Here are some random photos from over the past few weeks. We look forward to next Friday's soup and snowshoe, and are so grateful to each host and co-host for keeping the tradition going.
