Friday, September 14, 2018

Castle In The Clouds Conservation Area, NH - Mt. Roberts


ABOUT THE PARK:
Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area - Lakes Regional Conservation Trust

DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 43.731891, -71.324704
Hiker parking just before the entrance.


TRAIL MAP:
Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area and Red Hill Conservation Area Hiking Trails Map
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HIKE DISTANCE:  9.8 miles

THE HIKE:

From the parking lot continue walking in on the paved road.
Pass to the left of Shannon Pond.
Then left to the orange diamond blazed Mt. Roberts Trail.
It starts off nice and smooth.
Wild turkeys in the field to the left.
Some fall foliage.
The trail becomes more rugged, steeper and rocky.
Every time you climb up and think you are at the top ...
... the trail keeps going up ...
... to views from higher up.
More climbing ...
... more views.
More climbing ...
... more views.  Two hikers coming up behind us (other than two hikers going the other way, the only others we saw the entire hike).
Again more climbing...
... to the best views where the other hikers took our picture and I took theirs.
Not all that much more climbing to ...
... the summit of Mount Roberts.
The White Mountains in the distance.
Descending Mount Roberts on the other side on the High Ridge Trail.
From here on out it's mostly grassy woods roads that switchback down.
One more view point along the way.
Turning right on the Faraway Mountain Trail.
Right on the Cold Spring Trail.
Coming up on Cold Spring Road where a left would have brought us back to Shannon Pond in half a mile but instead ...
... we crossed Cold Spring Road and took the Settlement Trail...
... to the Whitten Trail ...
... to the Whitten Graveyard,
Just as we turned back on to Cold Spring Road, the Copp Cellarhole a short distance off the road.  Looks like porcupines have been munching on that sign.
A short distance along Cold Spring Road, a left on the Pond Trail ...
... which brought us to the opposite side of Shannon Pond from where we started.
Brodie saw some horses and didn't act near as badly as I thought he would.
Back to the parking lot.

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