Mount Cube with a dusting of snow.
It has been a warm week, complete with rain, sleet, and drizzle. Bleah – much of the beautiful snow we had last week has compacted, and the frozen ponds and rivers are looking rather soft. Nonetheless I was eager to get out on the trail, so I headed for an old standby, Mount Cube. The sky was cloudy but I was rewarded with views both close and distant. Read on!
Smarts Mountain – from the north and from the the south.
An obscure entrance to the Appalachian Trail offers quick access to the trail where it crosses Jacobs Brook, and climbs Eastman Ledges on its way up Mount Cube. It’s a short walk, perhaps a quarter mile along the brook and then a half mile up the A.T. to the ledges. I had not been along this section of trail since I backpacked this segment in 2012, and had not driven to this access point since before the turn of the century. I’d been eager to return, so today I visited at the end of fall foliage and the beginning of deer season. I got some great photos of the cascades along Jacobs Brook and had a nice view of Smarts Mountain.
Then I drove back to Lyme and hopped up to one of its favorite viewpoints to look back at the same mountain. Read on!
Continue reading “Viewpoints on Smarts Mountain”Back again, after 41.5 years.
The first (and last) time I climbed Mount Monadnock, in southern New Hampshire, was over four decades ago… as a senior in high school. Despite living in New Hampshire for nearly all the years since then, I have never returned. Why? my impression is that it is always crowded. It was true in May 1982, and it was true now in November 2023. (Some say it is the second most-climbed mountain in the world, behind Mount Fuji in Japan.) Read on for the story of my visit this weekend, and for the gallery of photos!
Hot, humid, and muddy.
One of my favorite go-to hikes is to climb Mount Cube via the Rivendell Trail. Today, after three weeks of nearly non-stop rain, a friend and I planned an early start to avoid the forecast of hot/humid temperatures, and likely thunderstorms, later in the morning and afternoon. We arrived at the trailhead at 6:30 and climbed through the morning fog. The trail was extremely wet, requiring us to step over, around, or through many muddy patches, but the going was otherwise easy. We snatched brief views at the two outlooks along the way, but arrived on the summit in the clouds. After about 10 minutes, the clouds (really, fog) rose and allowed us a glimpse of neighboring smarts mountain.
It’s always a good day when one is out in the mountains.
Hike stats:
Distance: 4.1 miles
Time: 2h43
Gain: 1995′
Today was breezy and a bit chilly, but nonetheless a spectacular spring day. I took the opportunity to head for Mount Cube, one of my favorite nearby/short hikes. The Rivendell trail ascends quickly over the span of two miles, meeting the Appalachian Trail at Mount Cube’s granite summit. From there, there is a broad view spanning the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the plains of the Connecticut River valley.
Today, though, the best part of the hike was the way that spring was bursting out all over, with wildflowers blooming small and large all along the trail. Below is a trillium, in a deeply maroon color. For a few more photos, see the gallery.
A beautiful day with grand views – and wildflowers.
After a couple of months with little or no hiking, it was time to get back out on the trails. Traditionally, it is appropriate to stay off the trails after the snow melts, until Memorial Day… when the trails have hopefully dried out and are sufficiently stable to accommodate the foot traffic. This morning broke cool and clear, with nary a cloud in the sky. Although I started up the Rivendell Trail toward Mount Cube more than two hours after sunrise, I was nonetheless the first person up the trail this morning. I was treated to grand views from the outlooks and summits, and to the occasional wildflowers along the trails.
Check out the gallery for more, notably, the panorama from the North summit.
Hike stats:
Distance 7.2km
Time: 2h31m with stops
Gain 473m
A climb above the valley fog to clear my mind.
After a busy and challenging work week, it was a pleasure today to return to one of my local peaks for a quick morning outing. I’ve already climbed Mount Cube a few times this year, in winter, spring, and summer, partly because it is close by (less than 30 minutes’ drive) and because it has a remarkably nice view for such a short climb (2 miles). The Rivendell Trail up Mount Cube is a favorite of many in the area, so I was surprised to see only one car at the trailhead when I arrived a bit before 9am.
Cloudy but beautiful.
On Independence Day it finally stopped raining. It has rained, more or less non-stop, for four days. True, it was a welcome respite from the hot and humid weather at the start of the week, but it the rain was getting a bit tiring. So I was eager to get outdoors, and jumped at the chance to hike Mount Cube with an old friend. The trail was wet – to be expected on Mount Cube under almost any circumstances, but especially now – but the forest was lush green, and the bugs seemingly washed away. Although there were no views – low clouds still clung to the hilltops everywhere – it was a fine day to be out.
Continue reading “Mount Cube”Returning to an old favorite with old friends.
There’s something magical about gathering with old friends, even after a long absence. It reminds me of the experience of slipping on a well-traveled pair of hiking boots: they fit just right and enable you to walk for miles in comfort. So it was for us today, a group of friends who have been hiking together for more than three decades. We met at the base of the Rivendell Trail on Mt. Cube – a trail that is one of my local favorites, because it gives one a dose of the “White Mountains” without a long drive or a major hike. Standing apart, and forgoing the usual hugs, we donned a layer of warm clothes as the wind whipped through the trees overhead. Read on!
Continue reading “Mount Cube”The weather this week has been startlingly warm, almost as if summer has lasted into November. Yesterday’s high temperature here at home was 71ºF! It may have been the last ‘summer’ weather of the year – and also the last day before deer-hunting season fully opens – so I was eager to get out for a hike. I try to hike on weekdays to avoid the weekend crowds.
Despite a dense fog clinging to the Connecticut River in the early morning, I hopped into the Tesla for an all-electric drive to one of my favorite trailheads – the Rivendell Trail up Mount Cube, only 30 minutes away. I’ve been up this two-mile route many times, because it gives one all the features of a “real mountain climb” without the temporal overhead of a long drive or a long hike… a stroll through leafy hardwood forests, a scramble up rugged rock-strewn trails, the pungent scent of balsam firs, and distant views from its granite outcrops and 2900′ summit. In the view below, from the summit you can see the foggy Connecticut River valley in the upper right and Smarts Mountain at upper left.
Sadly, the summit has poor views to the northeast, but if you stand on tippy-toes and peer between the firs you can pick out Mount Moosilauke. No photos worth taking, so here’s the summit trail sign, where the Appalachian Trail passes by.
David Kotz 