Peaked and Middle Mountains, May 17, 2008

Preview

On Peaked Mountain (photo by Mark Malnati) It is about a 5.5 mile hike with two ledges for rest and relaxation! Bring bug spray as the black flies are out in force!

NEXT HIKE: May 17, Peaked and Middle Mountains
MEETING SPOTS: Exit 14 off of Rt. 93, LL Bean/Hannaford side, Concord at 8:00 a.m.
Mobile station in Wakefield (junction of Rt. 16 and 109) at 8:30 a.m.
Peaked Mountain Trailhead at 10:00 a.m
TRAILHEAD: The trailhead for Middle and Peaked Mountains is on Thompson Road, off Artist's Falls Road which is in North Conway off the North/South back road that bypasses downtown.
HIKE LEADER: Claudette Raymond

Trail Report

The weather looked shaky as most of us traveled to our carpool meeting spots in the pouring rain. Surprisingly, we arrived in North Conway to a beautiful, warm, blue-sky, sunny day in the high 70's. Three new people showed up at the trailhead along with six regulars who hike under any condition -- rain, thunderstorms, blizzards, etc.

We climbed 2.1 miles to the summit of Middle Mountain in merely an hour. A few people were still "rattled" by the three trail occurrences of slithering snakes looking for prey. At our first summit break we enjoyed the beautiful views, ate snacks, and swatted black files.

Snake (photo by Mark Malnati) Trail up to Peaked Mountain (photo by Mark Malnati)

Next, we traversed a mile over to Peaked Mountain - no stopping for breaks as the black flies would eat you alive! The entire trail was very dry and leafy, our first hike of the season without any snow. The sun was shining brightly at the top of Peaked Mountain so we spent about an hour having lunch, sunbathing and reapplying bug spray. No mosquitoes, just black flies.

We descended a couple miles and made it back to the parking lot by 2:30 p.m. There was a man trying to finagle his way into his car with a coat hanger, as he accidentally threw his keys in his backpack and shut the trunk. Dennis was able to wedge his door and the Portland man popped his lock. He was very relieved to get back into his car as he drove all the way from Portland and just wanted to hike.

We ended the day at Ben & Jerry's for some yummy creme brulee, lime/mango, and scrumptious hot fudge sundaes!

View of Mount Chocorua (photo by Mark Malnati) View of Mount Washington (photo by Dennis Marchand)

More Photos

Members may see more photos in our online photo album.

On the trail (photo by Mark Malnati) Painted Trillium (photo by Dennis Marchand) View of Middle Mountain (photo by Mark Malnati)