Trip/Event Location: Wonalancet, NHUS
Trip Leader(s): shep5
Max # People: 10
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Strenuous
Join me for this 11.5-mile hike over the summits of Mts. Whiteface (4020') and Passaconaway (4043'). While these peaks are rather low on the 4000-footer list they offer ample views into the
From Route I-93, take Exit 24 for US-3/NH-25 towards Ashland/Holderness. In about 4.5 miles turn left onto NH-113. Continue for 11.7 miles. Turn left onto NH-113 E and proceed for another 3.7 miles. Continue onto NH-113A W/N (Sandwich Road) for 6.7 miles. Here there will be a right-handed bend in the road...DO NOT CONTINUE...Instead turn left onto Ferncroft Road and the marked trailhead parking lot will be on your right. This is about 30 miles (44 minutes) from I-93. Look for a grey Hyundai Elantra.
For GPS Users: Ferncroft Road, Tamworth, NH (43.913584,-71.357972).
At 8AM on November 23rd, Dave, Mark and I met up at the trailhead off of Ferncroft Road in Wonalancet. It was a beautiful morning with a chill in the air, but sunny skies. We got ready and started up the road to the Blueberry Ridge Trail. The trail is modest in grade for the first couple of miles and then it steepened as we had to ascent up steep rocky ledges. It was a little challenging in spots, but was decent enough even without additional traction. By this point wonderful views opened up from the various ledges across the way to Mt. Passaconaway and the very distinctive Mt. Chocorua. There were also views to the south toward the lakes. We reached the false summit of Whiteface by 11:25AM and in another 15 minutes we were standing on the summit...which was completely in the trees. Continuing on we descended off of the summit and began to look for a spot out of the wind for lunch. Even with the protection of the trees, the wind was bitingly cold. At about 12:15 we took a long deserved break in the col between the two mountains. Just sitting there for lunch we were getting cold again, so we kept it reasonably short and before long we proceeded along the trail to the junction with the Dicey's Mill Trail. We reached this point by 1:15PM. We headed up to the summit of Mt. Passaconaway, which was only about 0.9 miles. The trail was very icey, but in no time we reached the ledge just below the summit, where there were views over to the Tripyramids. The clouds from the west were starting to envelope the peaks, but the views were still good. We reached the summit (which is also completely treed in) by 2PM. It was again pretty cold up here, so we didn't stay very long and instead turned around and headed back down...taking the Dicey's Mill Trail all the way back to the trailhead. This trail had a very modest grade and we made decent time returning to the trailhead by a little past 4PM. It had flurried for a short time on the way down, but we made it back while there was still plenty of light. Afterwards we headed over to Chequers Villa in Tamworth for a drinks and nice meal before we called it a day. This was another wonderful pre-winter hike with good views and great companionship. A big thanks to Mark and Dave for joining me on this outting...you guys made it a great day!
Outdoor Fitness Level: Very Strenuous
Outdoor Fitness Level: Moderate to Strenuous
