There are very few hikes that I can say I didn't care for. Mount Tecumseh was really the only one (and that is because I think that mountain is cursed...but I will tell you that story another time) that I can think of. However, this past Sunday I found a second mountain hike that I didn't particularly care for.
Jill and I were ending our vacation after a pretty fun-filled week. As mentioned in a previous blog, we started off the week with a great hike in Acadia. Mid-week, we tried our hands at Mount Jackson and Mount Webster, but mother-nature forced us down the trail early. So, we decided to try to finish the week out strong, and hike a close by mountain. Parker Mountain is located in Strafford, NH and only stands 1,410' tall. The Spencer Smith Trail, which leaves from Route 126 to the summit, is only about 1.1 miles. Based on the closeness to our house and the length of the hike, this seemed like a perfect Sunday afternoon activity.
We headed up the trail and noticed that it was heavily eroded, making footing very difficult, especially since the trail was a bit moist from rain the night prior. There was one good view point about 0.2 miles up which outlooks to nearby Blue Job Mountain. This alone, was the only good view the whole hike. The next 0.6 miles was a bit steep and heavily eroded without any scenery. At 0.8 miles we came to a homemade rock cabin (well half a cabin, the walls only went up 3 feet) which would have made a really good camp site. After that, it was fairly flat through the woods until we reached the true summit.
Heading back down, we weren't rewarded with any views as many other mountains offer on the descent. Instead, the clouds moved in, which gave the mosquito's an opportunity to swarm us. This, along with the high humidity made the trek down pretty miserable. Since this mountain didn't satisfy us the way most other mountains do when we summit, we rewarded ourselves with hot fudge sundaes, which were delicious!
So, we gave this one a thumbs down. I found a second mountain I'm not crazy about in the Granite State. I suppose it probably won't be the last, but I know these types of mountains will be few and far between. The truth is, I would gladly hike twenty bad mountains with no views, if it meant I could sit atop one great New Hampshire mountain and overlook nature's creation!
Jill and I were ending our vacation after a pretty fun-filled week. As mentioned in a previous blog, we started off the week with a great hike in Acadia. Mid-week, we tried our hands at Mount Jackson and Mount Webster, but mother-nature forced us down the trail early. So, we decided to try to finish the week out strong, and hike a close by mountain. Parker Mountain is located in Strafford, NH and only stands 1,410' tall. The Spencer Smith Trail, which leaves from Route 126 to the summit, is only about 1.1 miles. Based on the closeness to our house and the length of the hike, this seemed like a perfect Sunday afternoon activity.
We headed up the trail and noticed that it was heavily eroded, making footing very difficult, especially since the trail was a bit moist from rain the night prior. There was one good view point about 0.2 miles up which outlooks to nearby Blue Job Mountain. This alone, was the only good view the whole hike. The next 0.6 miles was a bit steep and heavily eroded without any scenery. At 0.8 miles we came to a homemade rock cabin (well half a cabin, the walls only went up 3 feet) which would have made a really good camp site. After that, it was fairly flat through the woods until we reached the true summit.
Heading back down, we weren't rewarded with any views as many other mountains offer on the descent. Instead, the clouds moved in, which gave the mosquito's an opportunity to swarm us. This, along with the high humidity made the trek down pretty miserable. Since this mountain didn't satisfy us the way most other mountains do when we summit, we rewarded ourselves with hot fudge sundaes, which were delicious!
So, we gave this one a thumbs down. I found a second mountain I'm not crazy about in the Granite State. I suppose it probably won't be the last, but I know these types of mountains will be few and far between. The truth is, I would gladly hike twenty bad mountains with no views, if it meant I could sit atop one great New Hampshire mountain and overlook nature's creation!
BOR-ING!! (not your post, the hike :))
ReplyDeleteBummer about the hike, but the hot fudge sundaes sound pretty amazing!
ReplyDeleteSteph, the sundaes were amazing! Much better than this hike.
ReplyDeleteGlad I checked out your blog. This hike is on my list because I live in Milford it isn't that far from me. No I will think about it and maybe pass it up. Nice Blog by the way.
ReplyDeleteHi Al,
ReplyDeleteYes, I don't think it is the greatest hike. It certainly wasn't worth the time we spent on it, from our standpoint. Blue Job Mountain is right down the street and is definitely worth the hike. You make a nice loop hike out of it, is pretty short and has some good views via the fire tower. If you have a choice, choose Blue Job.
Thanks for reading and I'm glad you like my blog.
Karl
Loved the stone cabin - very cool. But the hot fudge sundaes sound better!
ReplyDeleteYou missed the best part. Keep going a half mile past the summit and you have great overlook of Bow Lake!
ReplyDeleteThe mountain god will crap in your face.
ReplyDeleteHello! I'm not sure how far you hiked, but if you keep going past the summit about 1.5 miles, you are rewarded with a wide open view of Bow Lake. The terrain at the top is interesting and varied with lots of wild blueberry bushes along the way (and one bear track..).
ReplyDeleteYou never even made it to the summit. There is an 8' tall cairn that marks the spot. And if you bothered to hike another 1/2 mile past that, you would have had a panoramic view of Bow Lake. Your loss.
ReplyDeleteYes, terrible hike. Tell everyone how awful it is! The Bow Lake overlook is highly overrated. I've hiked it many times in all four seasons and half the time I see no one. More blueberries for me! :-P
ReplyDeleteYep-as the above stated-great view of Bow Lake from trail's end. It was a wonderful snowshoe!
ReplyDeleteYeah umm, sorry for both of you but there is a view past the summit plus the Parker Mountain mines among some others.....
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought that the plane crash site was quite interesting...though a bit of a bear to get to...
ReplyDelete