Passaconaway on a Wet October Day

Our friends Bully & Blaze

Route: Dirt road, Dicey Mills Tr - Rollins Tr
Mileage: appx. 9 mi
Duration: 7 hours including breaks

On a gray autumn day, three women and most of their dogs met at Ferncroft parking lot to hike Whiteface.  Not a hike I thought I'd do again but the characteristics were just right.  Hannah, Amy, and I agreed on Whiteface for it's hiking appeal for Tango and Lilo, the opportunity to see the foliage, and its location away from the major leaf peeping routes (though 113 was simply gorgeous and bursting with color that day, 10/9/2016).  Amy and I met up the night before and camped in Tamworth as the forecast began to deteriorate overnight.  Nursing a cold and crinkling my nose at the drizzle that passed over us at 7:00AM, I admit to having doubts.  Thankfully, Hannah and Amy aren't babies like me and we proceeded to the trailhead.

One of the loveliest trailhead views I know of

Upon arrival, we decided to take Dicey Mills to Rollins in and out instead of the loop up Blueberry Ledge and down the former two, assuming the ledges above would be slick at best. To begin the hike, one must walk out of the parking lot and back to the road and take a right. A few fortunate souls live on the dirt road at least part of the year and it's a nice easy way to settle into a hike.  Past the gate that welcomes hikers while barring vehicles, we passed through a large meadow, then a smaller one before entering the woods, enjoying the soft dirt beneath our boots.

Audrey Dog!

Shortly after the bridge to the Tom Wiggins Trail, the ascent began, gently and with good footing.  I suppose I can say that about most of Dicey Mills Trail.  Some slightly steeper staircases here and there but a truly moderate trail in every sense, it was lovely and extra appreciated in light of my cold and the occasional gentle rain.  Even still, I increasingly found myself struggling as we neared the junction to head towards Whiteface.  I felt pretty guilty about it too since Ty was practical giddy (but well behaved!) and Tango was uncharacteristically gung-ho.  He probably felt the need to show off being the only guy and all!  He had a new chica to impress too; this was our long awaited first hike with Amy and her rescue chow mix Audrey.

four leggers... 

At the junction, Hannah referred to her map, which told us that Passaconaway was half the distance as Whiteface so again, we changed course.  Because, as experienced WMNF hikers have already realized, I forgot Dicey Mills doesn't meet up with Blueberry ledge on the southeast side of the summit but wraps around it.  A convenient mistake on my part, thankfully.

I don't recall much until next intersection at a sort-of left to reach the viewless summit of Passaconaway.  The trail became increasingly more challenging and included a few nice, brief scrambles that were doable in the rain.  One of them I recalled from when Linda and I hiked there in 2012 and had our first experience with boiler plate ice (and missing junctions!).

THIS is trouble! Ty was feeling very peppy having a
hiking partner who matches her pace.

It wasn't all rocks and boulders.

Scramble time!

Just as with the last time, the potential vista slightly before the summit was shrouded in thick clouds and we continued on.  The true summit is along one a of a couple small herd paths and is marked with a cairn... and maybe a wooden marker but I don't recall.

What a view!

3-way intersection with the herd path

We made our traditional photo attempts, celebrated another 4K, which we haven't accomplished much of lately, and decided to take the other side of the loop back down to Dicey's Mill, for no other reason than to mix things up.

It was rough but we were happy to be descending rather than ascending (like the handful of folks we passed).  Like the other side of the loop, there were a few steep sections where we held onto tree limbs or scooted down.  The day's biggest laugh came while I was squatting down to prepare to hop down a ledge.  Lilo is one of the most unique trail dogs we've met.  She's like a freight train: slow and steady and always moving forward.  So at that particular moment, I was blocking the path of said pibble train, who, without flinching stuffed her head under my armpit and continued onward. Between laughing and being forced forward, I almost tumbled down the rocks!

Above: going down a steep section,
below: looking up at the same section

The rocks I was nearly run over at!
(Just before the Walden Trail)

After that, the trail was curvy and mellow and we caught a couple of glimpses of orange hills through the wet trees.  Before long, we passed familiar intersections.  Along the last section of Dicey's Mills, the group began to spread out, as Ty, inspired in part by the buoyant and adventurous Audrey, began pushing the limits of her permitted distance from me while Lilo's steady pace lost some "oomph," as it was later discovered, from some minor pad abrasions.

By the meadows, we'd re-converged and walked down the road together, enjoying the quintessential "New England-ness" of it all.  The road walk and drive to and from the trailhead produced the most views of the foliage but there is certainly something to be said for hiking through the fall colors as well.

Waning but still mesmerizing color

 Aside from all the emotional highlights of Sunday's hike, it's a nice one to recommend for dogs.  The footing and grade are solid except for the summit loop, which offers reasonable challenges.  There is only one noted water crossing/water source; however, Hannah covered the same trails during a different hike in early July and recalled a handful of seasonal runoff streams.  The trailhead was nearly full and we saw enough people to not feel remote but it's a comparatively quiet hike.  For the humans, there aren't many opportunities for views but the hike itself is quite enjoyable and all the dogs seemed very happy with it, which, let's face it, is why we're here!

A little taste of the Presi's: Low's Bald Spot

Route: Old Jackson Road - Madison Gulf Trail - side path (out and back)
Distance: 4.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,050 feet
Duration: Longer than book time when the views are that good! (book time 2hr45min)

By far, the longest time it's taken me to write up a trip report but for such a great a little hike, it was worth plugging through!  Being that this hike was awhile ago now, I'll provide a simple description for hikers considering it.

Low's Bald Spot is a fantastic and strangely quiet viewpoint on the western side of Mount Washington, minutes off of the Auto Road, providing some super cool views.  In the days leading up to the hike, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do for foster pup Sage's first hike and spotted the suggestion on my AMC White Mountains National Forest map.  Instantly sold on the idea, I messaged Hannah and she agreed to come along for the short, fairly easy trek.

waiting to go!

Excited for her first hike!

Good start on the views!

It begins at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center (read: start early!).  I was feeling especially anti-social that morning and parked in (what looked like) the last spot at the end of the overflow lot.  Later, someone wedged a Corolla next to me and some little $%&$ behind me, making me extremely grateful Hannah was there to guide me in backing out.  Come on people, show some courtesy and foresight!

NOT cool!  As the "driveway" narrowed, people continued to line
the outer edge. 

Back to my happy place... mere steps onto the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, Old Jackson Road departs and the chaos of summer hikers not only subsides but all but disappears.  For awhile we tramped on at a brisk pace over relatively flat terrain.

Bridge over nothing - only some drinking puddles
this time of year

The trail soon widened and the incline was more moderate with even better footing.  It was at that point we passed a group of guys taking a break.  I've always said, "the trail provides" and they proved it.  Sage is a shy gal.  I don't think she met many people before being brought into a shelter in Texas.  They were friendly enough to send good vibes but not insistent enough to try to say hello.  She had a great experience with the benign nature of strangers and got her first of many trail-related confidence boosts.

Thanks guys!

After the incline, the trail evened and crossed running water.  We'd passed a handful of dry stream beds so far and this was a veritable swimming pool.  Okay, kiddie pool.  Then came a sharp left turn up a staircase.  We passed it slightly for another water break before ascending.

Small scramble I don't have a good angle on due to being
attached to Miss Sage

The bulk of the trail from that point to the crossing with the Auto Road was surprisingly flat.  Small boulders required an iota of effort to maneuver between paths but the ease of the hard packed dirt was a welcome change from the usual.  The make-up of the forest also offered diversity, from the oaks and maples at the start to hardwoods and a lot of fallen logs and mosses reminding me of a section of the Jewell Trail towards the first viewpoint (nearing the alpine zone).

That first viewpoint is accessed via a herd path just after ascending a very short and easy scramble.  We enjoyed a snack and giggles at Sage's seating position before continuing on.

She's a natural!

I'll just leave this here...

We didn't make it far before crossing the Auto Road and the dogs took another drink and we observed some curiosities:

Not strange, per se, but not something I've seen
on a trail before

To quote Hannah, "I have questions."

After a few minutes of gentle ascent, we reached the intersection with the side path and a scramble that beckoned us towards Low's.  Sage handled it like a natural and we traversed the exposed bedrock up to our resting point just shy of the actual summit, which we eventually visited as well.

Still, "only" a teaser vista

With hardly any wind, blue skies, and natural seating, we hung out for quite awhile, only being passed by two other sets of hikers.  I suppose, being what it's surrounded by, the seeming lack of popularity of this hike shouldn't be a surprise but to me, it's a semi-hidden gem.

Until Blogger starts limiting my picture uploads...:

Ooh, la, la, don't tell Tango!

Titus enjoys displacing Nalgenes

Ever the composed four-legger

So many friends!

"Been there, done that!"

Wooing all the ladies today!

And I just can't get enough of these two!

Carved from the same mold, these two daredevils

Looking northeast - Wildcat ridge being the most prominent feature

Wildcat Ski Area

Smallest summit cairn ever!

Dingo-esque dogs ate Hannah while the pibble stood idly by!

Tried all day to capture those bright, happy eyes!

Heading down the scramble

We will definitely return when the day calls for an easy, bang-for-our-buck kind of hike.  While there is 1,050 feet of elevation gain, we hardly noticed any until we were cruising down.  Well, somewhat cruising, poor Titus tweaked something that he has an upcoming visit with a specialist for.  The silver lining is this gem:

This time of year, there was not a heck of a lot of water but it was obvious that there is during others. Considering what Ty and I are currently working on with training, I liked that this trail mostly parallels the road.  Out of earshot and relatively quiet but being so close to roads and more popular trails cut down significantly on the critter sightings.  It was such a fun day, I recommend this hike as a starter jaunt, for a quick view, or simply a hike on the more relaxing side.  But with one fun scramble!

^ Hiking win! ^