Trip report
Spring into Summer Hike 1: Mt Hedgehog
Hiking/Walk DATE: 05/18/2014 - 05/18/2014
Trip/Event Location: Albany, NH
US
Trip Leader(s): WalkaboutBrian , markus24
Max # People: 15
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Easy to Moderate
Join Mark and me on the first of three spring hikes which will become progressively harder. On this trip we will hike Mount Hedgehog, a 2532 foot mountain nestled along the Kancamagus Highway in
...We will meet at the Downs Brook Trail parking lot directly across from the Passaconaway Campground entrance on the Kancamagus Highway (NH Route 112). It is about 15 miles west of Route 16 in North Conway, or 21 miles east of the Route 93 exit for Lincoln/NH112. Be prepared to park along the side of the highway as this is a popular parking area for several other trails. If you do park along the highway be sure to keep your tires completely off the pavement. This is a National Parks parking fee area and there is a self-service parking pass station at the lot. Passes are $3 for the day.
Trip Report/Photos
Three of us had a great casual Sunday hike up Mount Hedgehog with some very pleasurable weather. Originally our hike was planned for Saturday, but after a wretched weather forecast for a 90% chance of an inch of rain we decided to postpone it one day.
Paul, his dog Blitz, Mark, and I met at the parking lot for our hike. We agreed to wait a while for a fourth person, but he ended up being a no show. After 25 minutes we headed off.
The weather was partly cloudy and there was a comfortable coolness in the air. The trail was fair with several wet areas from the heavy rains over the past few days, and all the small brooks had a nice flow of fresh mountain water. Blitz had a great time at each brook (and a few mud puddles) enjoying a fresh drink of water and a short soak at every opportunity he got. Even Mark joined in at one brook for a small soaking.
The Bugs were few, something we were all happy about. Just some black flies and mosquitoes to deal with. Shortly after our start we came across a snake in the process of devouring a frog in the middle of the trail. Other wildlife included the typical plethora of red squirrels common to the mountains and various small songbirds.
Once we made it to the first ledge we had a lunch break. This area offered a grand view of the valleys just north of the Sandwich Range. The Tripyramids and Mount Passaconaway, all 4000 footers, stood tall in front of us. The trail continued on many ledges and entered a boulder riddled forest, then it offered a good climb up ledge and rock to the summit.
Our climb down was rooty and relatively dry. There were a few more spots with views for us to enjoy then we eventually made it back to the parking lot to end our pleasant hike.
There are 29 photos in Album (Note: Move mouse pointer over larger pic and click on NEXT for better viewing)
|
|
||
