Trip report
Iron Mountain Hike
Hiking/Walk DATE: 12/10/2011 - 12/10/2011
Trip/Event Location: Jackson, NH
US
Trip Leader(s): Gandalf , JDNnh
Max # People: 15
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Moderate
The hike is 6 miles with 1,400 feet elevation gain. The Forest Service Road will be closed so we'll first hike 1.2 miles to reach the actual trailhead that will give us extraordinary views of the
...The trailhead for Iron Mountain is located in Jackson, New Hampshire.
From the South:
- From the junction of Routes 16 and 302 in Glen, turn north onto Rt. 16.
- Travel about 2.7 miles, then turn left onto Green Hill Road. This is 0.2 north of the red covered bridge in Jackson.
- Follow Green Hill Road for 1.4 miles [pavement ends at 1.2 miles] which will bring you to a fork on the road. Park here. We'll be driving a blue Toyota FJ Cruiser.
From the North:
- From the junction of Routes 16 and 2 in Gorham, turn south onto Rt. 16.
- Travel for about 20 miles, then turn right onto Green Hill Road. If you reach the red covered bridge in Jackson, you have gone 0.2 miles too far.
- Follow Green Hill Road for 1.4 miles [pavement ends at 1.2 miles] which will bring you to a fork on the road. Park here. We'll be driving a blue Toyota FJ Cruiser.
Trip Report/Photos
A winter hike up to a summit that included explorations of an abandoned iron mine and lunch on the sunny south cliffs!
Everyone was on time and waiting for Jon and Mike, the trip leaders to arrive. The dirt road was free of snow so we were able to drive up to the trailhead that saved us 2.6 miles of hiking [roundtrip].
Iron Mountain is an off the beaten path peak that does not get many visitors. We reached the summit in one and a half hours that had the remains of an old firetower. It appears some sort of Bear Gylls character [from the Man vs Wild tv show] built a makeshift shelter using some boards and a chimney type campfire ring.
It was early for lunch so we decided to hike to the other side of the mountain to explore the iron mines and have lunch. We found evidence of the iron mines with a large dug out channel and big piles of rock debris.
We then ascended back up the mountain to the south cliffs since we were getting hungry at this point. We found the south cliffs to be broad granite ledges and sunny. Views extended to Mt. Chorocua, Mt. Carrigain, Conway, Attitash and much more!
We then returned the way we came. Bill had a tumble and hurt his shoulder. We took his pack and assisted with his descent.
As we were finishing the full moon rose from behind the mountains and lit up our final steps. Bill decided to visit the ER to get a proper diagnosis while the rest of us went to the Red Fox Pub for some brews and dinner.
Bill contacted us the next day and indicated he badly bruised his shoulder. We are relieved to find out he'll be skiing at Attitash real soon!
There are 38 photos in Album (Note: Move mouse pointer over larger pic and click on NEXT for better viewing)
|
|
||
