Carr Mountain (3,453 ft) and Three Ponds/Kineo Trail Loop

Wednesday December 27, 2006

Hikers: Pat, Lincoln, Luna
Weather: high 20s - low 30s, cloudy, light snow
Miles: 11.1
Elevation Gain: 2143 ft
Duration: 4.5 hrs

Carr Mountain is near Stinson Lake in Rumney, NH. I wanted to take the dogs hiking at least once during the holiday break, and I decided on Carr Mtn because it is a relatively short drive - a little over an hour. I first heard of Carr Mtn a little while ago when I stumbled upon a list of peaks in New Hampshire that have good views. The list is called 52 With-A-View, and consists of peaks below 4,000 feet in elevation.

I was somewhat surprised to see snow on the ground at the trailhead since there wasn't any snow when I hiked Mt. Tremont a couple weeks ago and the weather hasn't been very cold since. Apparently, the mountains did get some snow. There was about an inch of crusty snow for most of the hike with slightly more at the summit.

The summit is 3 miles from the trailhead via the Carr Mountain Trail. The trail was fairly wet and muddy. So much so, that at one point I was starting to wonder if I'd taken a wrong turn and was following a streambed instead of the trail. The trail climbs pretty steadily but is never steep. The summit has remnants of a fire tower and some open rock. It was clouded in when I was up there, so I didn't get to observe any of the supposedly good views.

The descent down the trail went quickly and I was back at the Three Ponds Trail at noon, so I decided to hike that 5 mile loop before heading back to the car. The trail is wet near the ponds, but nice overall. There is a shelter near one of the ponds, though I didn't go and look at it.

Mt. Tremont (3,371 ft) NH

Saturday December 16, 2006

Hikers: Pat, Lincoln, Luna
Weather: 40s, cloudy
Miles: 5.6
Elevation Gain: 2600 ft
Duration: 3.5 hrs

I took the dogs up Mt. Tremont today. It was the first time I’d been hiking in a couple months; it was nice to get out. Jodie’s ankle is still healing (she broke it running with the dogs at Tower Hill), so she wasn’t able to come.

Mt. Tremont is in Crawford Notch, though at the southern end. The trail climbs moderately for the most part, and never that steeply. After crossing the Stony Brook (1.5 miles?) it climbs increasingly steep until reaching the summit. The summit has some open ledge with great views toward the Kancamangus Hwy valley, Passacaonaway, the Tripyramids, Carrigain, etc. The view down to Sawyer Pond was very interesting. The area looks vast and wilderness-like.

Despite it being mid December, there was basically no snow on the entire trail. Near the top there was a very small cover in many places, but not everywhere. The trail was almost completely bare except for some special areas. I can’t recall a December with so little snow in the mountains.

This was a fun hike, and a little more challenging than I expected. I’d like to go back on a clear day to take in the full view.