SRK Greenway: Mt. Kearsarge

 

Heading up Barlow Trail

Mt. Kearsarge looks like it gets mobbed, but I can say that if you go on a weekday morning in mid-October, it is deserted. Wonderful! The vast parking lot for Winslow State Park had only a few cars at 8:00 am. 

Quinn's overlords beam down a message

That parking lot is high up the flanks of the mountain, so it's a pretty quick climb up to the top. The SRK Greenway follows Barlow Trail up the mountain, the longer and easier route. It clearly gets a lot of use. I passed a nice woman coming down the mountain early on, and then a couple of jerks with two off-leash bully-breed dogs that charged my leashed terrier and caused a kerfuffle because terriers will raise hell protecting themselves. And that can lead to a fight, and my dog could be seriously hurt or killed. This happened to someone I know. So there were some words exchanged. But after that, I had the mountain to myself. It was amazing. 

Looking back at Ragged Mountain, with Proctor Academy
and Bradley Lake below

Very old grafitti at the top of Kearsarge

The mountain is high enough above the surrounding terrain that everything seems to flatten out. Not quite as much as at the top of Mt. Monadnock, but it was the same effect. The summer-like haze also washed out the colors. But it was clear! So often you climb up a peak on a cloudy day and see nothing. 

Mt. Kearsarge summit

I enjoyed looking back at Ragged Mountain, and used the Peakfinder app to identify what else I was looking at. Such as Mt. Cardigan, Mt. Monadnock, Mt. Sunapee, Smarts Mountain, and even Mt. Washington. Quite the view. 

Mt. Sunapee on the horizon (far right)

I was hoping to meet my husband up at the top. He had decided to park at the big Mt. Kearsarge State Forest parking lot on the south side of the mountain and hike up. But he got a late start and the drive up the park road was much slower than anticipated. After hanging out at the top for twenty minutes or so, I figured I catch him on the way down. And I thought I heard his voice at one point, but it turned out that he was going up a different trail than the one I was taking down. Like two ships in the night. 

Lincoln Trail started out steeper than expected

The SRK Greenway follows the Lincoln Trail down the mountain, which turned out to be quite steep at the beginning. I would have preferred taking the Rollins Trail if I'd known the trail was a cliff. I didn't have a heavy pack, but I did have a leashed nut job of a terrier. Going downhill can be pretty nerve wracking with a leashed dog, especially when there are a lot of chipmunks. The rodents were forever trolling my dog, just begging to be chased. They were everywhere.

The rest of Lincoln Trail was pretty gentle

I never actually saw the parking lot for the state forest, because the trail goes near it but not right to it. But immediately after the parking area, the trail narrowed, the grade eased, and it was pleasant walk down the mountain. This would be a great spot for the state to open up a primitive camping area. 

Private lands managed for timber near Baker Ledge

Eventually the trail leaves the state forest and enters private lands being managed for logging, which opened up a nice view back towards Kearsarge. It was in this area that I accidentally dropped the dog's training collar remote. Didn't realize it until further down. I use the remote to chime a bell when the dog starts pulling me down a hill. Works pretty well when I don't lose the remote. Coming out at the bottom, I ran into my husband coming in from the road, just getting back from his hike up the mountain and long drive down. He was game and willing to head up the hill and find the lost remote...and take the dog. Whoohoo! (He did find it after a good long hike. My hero!). I continued along the SRK Greenway and crossed under I-89. 

Crossing under I-89

The SRK Greenway between Kearsarge and Sunapee is a patchwork affair. There will be a minor road walk, and then a trail, then another road walk, and another trail, and so on. All in all, there was less road walking than expected, though, because many of the "roads" on the maps aren't streets per se. Nothing most people can drive on. First up was Shadow Hill State Forest featuring Gile Pond. This was a peaceful place to take a break and collect some water. 

Gile Pond, Shadow Hill State Forest

Next up was Wadleigh State Park and Kezar Lake, where I had planned to stop for the day because there was good parking where I could leave my car the next morning. My husband was still up on Mt. Kearsarge gamely looking for the lost dog remote, however, and I didn't feel like waiting around, so I continued down the road along the shore of the wonderfully named Kezar Lake and hoped I'd find a spot where I could leave a car the next day. 

Walking along Kezar Lake 

This was a fun road walk. Penacook Road closely follows the shoreline of the lake and is lined with well-maintained cottages.  It was full of people walking and running and riding bikes and felt more like a multi-use trail than a road. Part way down the road I got a text that my husband had found the dog remote that I'd lost and that made the road walk even better. 

Looking back at Kearsarge from Kezar Lake

After Kezar Lake, I started looking for some place I'd be able to leave a car, but it wasn't looking good. The trail turned onto Kings Hill Road, and there were signs telling people they couldn't park there. Hmm. The sun was surprisingly hot for mid-October. 

Kings Hill Road

As the road headed up the hill, Kings Hill, the road began to narrow and I was really starting to worry that I wouldn't find a good stopping place where I'd be able to park the next the day. And then all the sudden I came upon a hiker lot for the King Hill Reservation Maple Leaf Natural Area.  Yay! 

Hiker parking lot on Kings Hill Road

I sat down at the kiosk to wait for my husband. I was sitting there playing Sudoku on my phone when some guy walked by and exclaimed with excitement "ARE YOU LOST!" Really? Actually, I get asked this question a lot. If I stop to pull an apply out of my pack, or check a text message on my phone, or pull out some letterboxing clues, or step off the trail with my psycho dog to avoid dog-drama, some guy will ask if I'm lost. Sigh.