Sandwich and Jennings

As I drove past Mount Cube on NH Route 25A, early this morning, I noted that the cloud deck was low. Very low. Indeed, all the way down to the road! The view of Mount Moosilauke, to which drivers are treated as they round the bend at the height of land on this sector of Route 25A, was simply a wall of white. And the subsequent view of Mount Cube – although it is much closer – was a fuzzy mix of green hillside and puffy white clouds, some of which touched the road in front of me. I was headed for a hike, deeper in the White Mountains, in hopes of summiting two of the peaks on the “52 With a View” list. These steamy morning conditions did not portend well for good views today. Read on to see what happened!

New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest is home to many tall peaks, including 48 over 4000 feet in elevation. Many “peak baggers
(including me) strive to climb them all, allowing one to acquire a coveted patch or sticker recognizing that feat. But, quite frankly, some of those peaks are not really worth climbing, despite their height. So, after completing “the 48”, for the second time, I’ve turned my attention (and my peak-bag tendencies) to the “52 With a View” peaks … which are selected in large part because they each have a wonderful view. Today, my goal included the tallest peak on the list – Sandwich Dome, and its immediate neighbor, Jennings Peak.

It was a steamy morning. Although I arrived at the trailhead early (8am), the temperature was already in the mid-70s ºF (mid-20s ºC), and extremely humid. I resigned myself to swimming uphill through a steamy soup of moisture, amplified by overnight rains that had left the trails wet and the trees dripping. To make it worse, I slipped at the first stream crossing and dunked both of my feet, leaving me to hike the rest of the day in wet feet. At least there were some pretty scenes along Drake’s brook.

Despite the sweaty conditions, the hike was nonetheless worth it. I passed almost nobody all morning – just two people as I climbed the Drake’s Brook trail – and was alone on each of the two summits. Sadly, despite the guidebook’s promise of fantastic views, each summit was ensconced in cloud as shown above. On the summit of Sandwich, I sat for 15 minutes to eat my, um, sandwich (really!), an early lunch, as I was eagerly observed by two Gray Jays (also known as “camp robbers”). [video] They arrived less than two minutes after me, knowing full well that many hikers drop crumbs … or even offer nibbles on outstretched hands. I kept my food to myself.

For the descent I chose the Sandwich Mtn. Trail, which makes a wonderful loop. Part-way down it passes over some rocky knobs that provide outlooks over the Drake’s Brook valley and back toward Sandwich Mountain. Of course now the peak was clear of cloud! Sigh.

I arrived back at the car precisely at noon – my target, given the morning’s forecast for thunderstorms to arrive at noon. Check out the full gallery for more photos!

Hike stats:
Distance: 8.03 miles (12.92 km)
Time: 3h59m (including stops)
Gain: 2,632 feet (802m)
Clockwise around the loop below, with out-and-back to Jennings & Sandwich.