Maps, Elevations & Summary
Distance: 3.2 milesMaximum Elevation: 1814 ft.
TRAIL REPORT
I had some company this morning. My daughter Abby decided to join me and get up just after 6 a.m. We set off with the weather being about 55 oF and patchy fog on the wail to the trailhead.
The trailhead itself is in New Ipswich, NH. Driving up route 123/124 from Townsend, it is easy to miss. There is a narrow pullout on the right side across from the entrance to Windblown ski area. If you reach the point where the power transmission lines cross the road, you have gone too far. There is a small parking area which can accommodate 2-3 cars, but it was empty when we arrived.
We followed the familiar orange triangular blazes of the Wapack trail on level ground, past a house and toward a clearing which looked like someone's back yard.
Not to fear. It is the remnant of the old Kidder mountain ski area and you can still see the pulley system from the rope tow as well as an old rusting tractor attachment used for grooming the slopes. On closer inspection, we found a blaze on the rope tow pulley and then another at the tree line as the traill headed back into the woods.
The fog was lifting and the sun was starting to creak through, illuminating a pretty spider web that had crossed the trail.
After about 0.2 miles, there was a posted sign on a tree, informing you that trespassing was prohibited by the Tennessee power authority due to survey work for a gas pipeline. Just beyond this, we broke out of the woods onto the power transmission line easement, which was undergoing some construction. The Wapack trail takes a left at this point, but we turned right, following the blue triangular blazes of the Kidder Mountain trail.
After a short climb along the service road, (and around a bunch of working construction machinery), the trail takes a 90 degree left turn and heads back into the woods. The trail heads through one or two damp patches and starts its climb, which is not really very steep, with some rocks and roots, but very nice overall. just shy of the summit, we came across two large urns, which seemed very out of place. Abby decided to act out the "grecian urn" scene from The Music Man,.
The urns straddle what looks like an old road that crosses the trail and seem to mark the start of an open cleaning on the north side of the summit. Once the trail pops out into the clearing, we had two options. We chose to turn right and follow the trail up to the summit and save taking the left spur (into the clearing) on the way back.
The short ascent to the summit was filled with signs that autumn was not very far away. There were large clumps of white and purple aster.
Also, a small maple tree was covered in brilliant red and green leaves and we stopped to snap some pictures.
Finally, the trail opened up onto a wide open rocky summit, bisected by a rock wall.
There were open views to the southeast, I and I honk I could make out Mt. Watatic as well as the ski slopes at Mount Wachusset. It was difficult to see because we were in and out of blowing clouds. The view was very pretty and immediately below the summit was a sand quarry and a large pond on the back of a farm.
There were a number of rock cairns which paralleled the stone wall and sloped upward. We followed these, adding to the cairns.
FInally, attached to a short pine tree was a sign marking the summit. Of course, there were the requisite pictures standing next to the sign.
After a brief snack and water break, it was time to start back down. Just before turning left into the woods, we headed to the north side of the summit on a trail we saw earlier. It led to a wide, open clearing which had a view to the north at Burton, Holt and Temple mountains. However, the entire range was obscured by low clouds and we could only catch fleeting glimpses of the ridge as it passed in and out of the clouds.
After returning to the trail, we headed back down to the car, still encountering no one. This was a short and very easy hike and is highly encouraged if you want your privacy. I Hope we get back to this in the winter since it would be a great trail for snowshoeing.
The trailhead itself is in New Ipswich, NH. Driving up route 123/124 from Townsend, it is easy to miss. There is a narrow pullout on the right side across from the entrance to Windblown ski area. If you reach the point where the power transmission lines cross the road, you have gone too far. There is a small parking area which can accommodate 2-3 cars, but it was empty when we arrived.
We followed the familiar orange triangular blazes of the Wapack trail on level ground, past a house and toward a clearing which looked like someone's back yard.
Not to fear. It is the remnant of the old Kidder mountain ski area and you can still see the pulley system from the rope tow as well as an old rusting tractor attachment used for grooming the slopes. On closer inspection, we found a blaze on the rope tow pulley and then another at the tree line as the traill headed back into the woods.
The fog was lifting and the sun was starting to creak through, illuminating a pretty spider web that had crossed the trail.
After about 0.2 miles, there was a posted sign on a tree, informing you that trespassing was prohibited by the Tennessee power authority due to survey work for a gas pipeline. Just beyond this, we broke out of the woods onto the power transmission line easement, which was undergoing some construction. The Wapack trail takes a left at this point, but we turned right, following the blue triangular blazes of the Kidder Mountain trail.
After a short climb along the service road, (and around a bunch of working construction machinery), the trail takes a 90 degree left turn and heads back into the woods. The trail heads through one or two damp patches and starts its climb, which is not really very steep, with some rocks and roots, but very nice overall. just shy of the summit, we came across two large urns, which seemed very out of place. Abby decided to act out the "grecian urn" scene from The Music Man,.
The urns straddle what looks like an old road that crosses the trail and seem to mark the start of an open cleaning on the north side of the summit. Once the trail pops out into the clearing, we had two options. We chose to turn right and follow the trail up to the summit and save taking the left spur (into the clearing) on the way back.
The short ascent to the summit was filled with signs that autumn was not very far away. There were large clumps of white and purple aster.
Also, a small maple tree was covered in brilliant red and green leaves and we stopped to snap some pictures.
Finally, the trail opened up onto a wide open rocky summit, bisected by a rock wall.
There were open views to the southeast, I and I honk I could make out Mt. Watatic as well as the ski slopes at Mount Wachusset. It was difficult to see because we were in and out of blowing clouds. The view was very pretty and immediately below the summit was a sand quarry and a large pond on the back of a farm.
There were a number of rock cairns which paralleled the stone wall and sloped upward. We followed these, adding to the cairns.
FInally, attached to a short pine tree was a sign marking the summit. Of course, there were the requisite pictures standing next to the sign.
After a brief snack and water break, it was time to start back down. Just before turning left into the woods, we headed to the north side of the summit on a trail we saw earlier. It led to a wide, open clearing which had a view to the north at Burton, Holt and Temple mountains. However, the entire range was obscured by low clouds and we could only catch fleeting glimpses of the ridge as it passed in and out of the clouds.
After returning to the trail, we headed back down to the car, still encountering no one. This was a short and very easy hike and is highly encouraged if you want your privacy. I Hope we get back to this in the winter since it would be a great trail for snowshoeing.
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