Rattlesnake Mountains - Old Bridle Path, Ridge Trail & East Rattlesnake Trail

Maps, Elevations & Summary

Distance:  4.8 miles
Maximum Elevation: 1,304 ft.

Cumulative elevation gain: 1,027 ft.

Total Time: 3.8 hrs.

TRAIL REPORT

This was the prefect day for a hike.  Early morning temperatures were 37 degrees so no ice, trails were dry and the temp was supposed to rise up into the mid 60's.  Also, it might be the last weekend that there were few mosquitos about so I decided to head up to the Rattlesnakes for a big loop hike.  I heard that these were very poplar hiking destinations so I decided to leave early, arriving at the trailhead just before 7:30 a.m.  The lot was absolutely empty, so I parked and donned boots and pack and set off up the Old Bridle path.  The path is very wide with lots of very convenient steps and water breaks.  In no time at all a spur is reached at 0.9 miles which leads to a small granite ledge with the first views of Squam Lake.

I imagine that in the summer, most of this view is blocked by leaves.  Getting back on the trail, I continued on to the second set of ledges which are just 0.2 miles farther.  These are wide open and afford a beautiful unobstructed view of the lake.  Bennett and Veerie Coves were a beautiful blue color in the morning light and the air was still, making the lake look like a mirror.

Looking further to the southeast, the first views of Red Hill are experienced.

Looking straight out, the first thing that I noticed was the peninsula immediately below the ledge.  This was Five Finger Point.  There are trails at the base of the mountain that circle this mall spit of land jutting out into the lake.  Almost Due South are the Bellknap range with  Mounts Major, Piper and Bellknap the leftmost summits in the picture.  The water immediately at their bases is Lake Winnepasaukee.

After a short water break, it was time to move on.  Feeling pretty well, I decided to head over to East Rattlesnake Mountain.  The trailhead was found just opposite the ledges so I quickly started down the Ridge Trail into the Armstrong Natural area managed by the University of New Hampshire.

UNH has a nice pamphlet available online which describes the flora and fauna you can find in the area.  Since it was very early in the season, most plants were just emerging and it was tough to ID any ground plants.  It was nice to see the maples actually starting to push out their leaves in some of the smaller samplings.

The trail rapidly descended into a shady col. About 0.5 miles from the summit of West Rattlesnake, I reached the saddle between the two summits and the intersection with Col trail.  Instead, I continued on the Ridge Trail.  about 0.1 miles beyond the Col Trail junction, thhe Ridge tail makes a very abrupt 90 degree turn to the right which is very poorly marked and easily misses.  The trail began it's ascent up the side of East Rattlesnake almost immediately and reached the ledges after another 0.1 miles.

The views from East Rattlesnake are not quite as open as those from the West Rattlesnake summit, but pretty nonetheless.  The open ledges were very sunny and warm so it seemed like a good place to hand the pack, stretch out and have a sandwich and some water.  It was still early and I has seen absolutely none on my whole trek so far, which was positively delightful.

I headed back sown the trail to the junction with the East Rattlesnake trail and began a pretty steep descent  toward the lake.  The trail was not very rocky but was rather relentless with few switchbacks.  about halfway down, it did zig-zag through a number of pretty large boulders in the forest.

Almost 0.5 miles from the beginning of the East Rattlesnake trail junction, I came across a small stream which was very easy to cross.  In the summer it would be a very convenient water source.  Very close to the stream crossing is a junction of the Five Finger Point trail, the Col Trail and the Pasture Trail.  

Continuing on a short distance, the trail passes a barn and winds up on Pinehurst Rd.  which is paved.  After a level 0.2 mile stroll down Pinehurst Rd., there was a sign for the Ramsey Trail on the right.  I headed up the Ramsey Trail for some distance looking for the Undercut path but could not find the intersection of the trail.  Instead, I headed back down Pinehurst Rd.  for another mile until it intersected with Route 130.  

The walk up to the trailhead along Route 130 is not recommended.  It is not very steep but a relentless climb up 0.5 miles of blacktop.  Traffic was steady and there are no real shoulders to walk on so I found myself stepping off the road frequently to let vehicles pass.  On reaching the trailhead parking, I was surprised to find both parking lots full with cars pulling over to park along Route 130; quite the contrast from the seclusion I experienced on most of the trip.  I used only 1.5 liters of water so the 3 liters I carried was overkill, especially considering the stream which was available to refill my water container.  I'll lighten the load next time.

Pratt Mountain - Wapack Trail

Maps, Elevations & Summary

Distance:  3.0 miles
Maximum Elevation: 1,817 ft.

Cumulative elevation gain: 686 ft.

Total Time: 3.0 hrs.

TRAIL REPORT

The drive up Binney Hill Pond Rd. is very rocky, enough so that we needed to switch to the Volvo SUV to clear the large rocks and mud pools in the road.  We went to within 0.25 miles of the trailhead and found parking in a cleared field where the Wapack Trail intersects the road from the south.  After gearing up, we followed the yellow triangular blazed down the road until the double blaze marked a departure of the Wapack trail from the road to the north.

The weather was perfect and the forest was quiet except for a number of woodpeckers working on the trees.  We saw one, a large hairy woodpecker doing his work as well as a number of chickadee pairs.  The large road puddles were filled with frog egg clutches and we could make out some of the tadpoles writhing within....spring is here!  After leaving the road, the trail heads downhill about 0.2 miles to Binney pond.  There was a stream at the bottom of the hill and an old beaver dam but crossing the stream was an easy rock to rock crossing.  The pond itself showed signs that it was once a farm field with stone walls that disappear under the water from the shore.

Along the edge of the pond, there were a number of bod bridges, all in good repair, which made moving over the wetland very easy as the trail turned north to parallel the pond.

The trail is not very rocky at this point and it moves through deciduous forest up and down some small hills.  After about a mile from the trailhead, the path jogs to the left, away from Binney pond, and begins it's climb uphill.  There are a number of large boulders here, presumably coming from the top of the mouton ridge.  Abby took some time to climb a few.

After about a mile from the car, we came across a spring which feeds into Binney pond.  It was well marked and flowing strongly, a good source of water of we had a filter with us.  Just beyond the spring, there is a patch of very muddy trail, but strewn with enough stones that it can be crossed easily.  It might be more difficult after a rainy period.  From here the trail ascends pretty steeply.  There are enough rocks on the trail to give a good footing.  About halfway up the mountain, the trail jogs to the left near a fallen tree.  The climb is pretty relentless until the ledges are finally reached.  The summit here is marked by a cairn.

There are signs that point to the ledge overlook which was very pretty indeed.  There are some nice rocks to sit on and the view looks down directly on to Binney Pond.

We took off our packs and posed for water and a snack after taking a number of photos on the ledges themselves.  You could see Mount Watatic and Emmerson Hill almost directly behind the ponds.  To the southwest, we clearly saw Mount Wachusset, the ski area still white from the late season snow making.

We actually spent quite a bit of time at the overlook, looking at the wild life.  A flock of geese flew over the pond but changed directions abruptly, just as a turkey vulture flew overhead.  He was soon joined by a number of red-tailed hawks that were soaring on the thermals just below us.  Down at the pond, a blue heron could be seen flying in and out of it's nest.  Eventually, we geared back up and headed back down the trail.  We paused again on the pond bridges to get a close up of the great blue heron as it flew overhead.

By this time the sun had warmed things up and it was close to 65 F when we finally got back to the car.