grouseking
Well-known member
I win! I was finally able to hike to the summit of Smarts Mtn and actually enjoy the wonderful views from the fire tower. Also, the trek along Lambert Ridge is one of the most underrated stretches of the AT in NH, IMO. Let's keep it that way.
It was a very late start, a little after 1pm, but we made relatively decent time heading up Lambert Ridge. Before we knew it, views opened up towards the south and east. I didn't realize the views came up so fast, and along the first section of the open ridge, I wouldn't have minded if that was the end of the hike. The day was perfect temperature wise, and the visibility rivaled a winter's day, especially looking east.
Flowers were everywhere. I'm not a good person with flower ID, but I know there were bunchberrys all over the place, along with an assortment of small, but beautiful flowers. This made the up, and down trip of Lambert Ridge go by quite fast, as did the views. Then we arrived at the first major view of Smarts Mtn, which hit me right in the face. The summit cone is quite large.
After this viewpoint, the trail lost some elevation (bummer) and we walked thru a very nice and shady col which was predominantly spruce and fir. So far, there hadn't been too much in the way of coniferous, so the smell of the fir was a nice change. After the col, we started climbing in earnest up the summit cone. It wasn't overly steep, but definitely steeper than anything we had done thus far. Just prior to 3:30, we arrived at the Range trail junction, and we were ready to make our final push to the summit. The steep trail continued but switched back and forth along the contour lines so that helped make things very manageable.
Around 4:00, we made it to the summit. I had no idea of how tall the tower was, so I was quite surprised when we were below it.
Views were obviously 360, and today was one of those special summer days where the visibility was clearly 80-100 miles. I could see west to VT, and possibly NY, north to Canada, east to Mount Washington and south to MA. I could barely comprehend the extensive views. If the fire tower were a bit more comfortable, I would have stayed up there forever. A few pics...
Mt Washington, and a sneak peak into the Pemi
Mt Moosilauke, Part of Franconia Ridge and a small piece of Mt Clough
Cummins Pond...very interesting
Views into VT were hazy, but still fairly nice
After an extended rest, we set off for the car around 4:45. I was quite surprised with our speed heading back. We really didn't waste any time. Perhaps it was Ranger Trail (which isn't easy, esp near the top part, but it is somewhat easier...). The Ranger Trail doesn't appear to be maintained officially so there were a bunch of blowdowns lying about. It was also pretty rocky in places...random rocks, the worst kind. But we made great time and made it to the car garage around 5:50pm. This was where I had to turn around last time, since the temp was zero and the wind chill was lower, and I didn't have the correct clothes on....
Despite the god awful bugs, and some piles of moose poo, the last leg of the trip went smoothly and we were out by 6:30 or so....making for a 5 hour 20 min hike. This was pretty good timing, esp with the extended breaks on Lambert Ridge and the summit. I want to hike this again in fall when the leaves are changing. And now that I know its actually possible to make it to the top, I think I will!
Until next time,
grouseking
http://grouseking.phanfare.com/album/324359#imageID=19835192 Pictures
It was a very late start, a little after 1pm, but we made relatively decent time heading up Lambert Ridge. Before we knew it, views opened up towards the south and east. I didn't realize the views came up so fast, and along the first section of the open ridge, I wouldn't have minded if that was the end of the hike. The day was perfect temperature wise, and the visibility rivaled a winter's day, especially looking east.
Flowers were everywhere. I'm not a good person with flower ID, but I know there were bunchberrys all over the place, along with an assortment of small, but beautiful flowers. This made the up, and down trip of Lambert Ridge go by quite fast, as did the views. Then we arrived at the first major view of Smarts Mtn, which hit me right in the face. The summit cone is quite large.
After this viewpoint, the trail lost some elevation (bummer) and we walked thru a very nice and shady col which was predominantly spruce and fir. So far, there hadn't been too much in the way of coniferous, so the smell of the fir was a nice change. After the col, we started climbing in earnest up the summit cone. It wasn't overly steep, but definitely steeper than anything we had done thus far. Just prior to 3:30, we arrived at the Range trail junction, and we were ready to make our final push to the summit. The steep trail continued but switched back and forth along the contour lines so that helped make things very manageable.
Around 4:00, we made it to the summit. I had no idea of how tall the tower was, so I was quite surprised when we were below it.
Views were obviously 360, and today was one of those special summer days where the visibility was clearly 80-100 miles. I could see west to VT, and possibly NY, north to Canada, east to Mount Washington and south to MA. I could barely comprehend the extensive views. If the fire tower were a bit more comfortable, I would have stayed up there forever. A few pics...
Mt Washington, and a sneak peak into the Pemi
Mt Moosilauke, Part of Franconia Ridge and a small piece of Mt Clough
Cummins Pond...very interesting
Views into VT were hazy, but still fairly nice
After an extended rest, we set off for the car around 4:45. I was quite surprised with our speed heading back. We really didn't waste any time. Perhaps it was Ranger Trail (which isn't easy, esp near the top part, but it is somewhat easier...). The Ranger Trail doesn't appear to be maintained officially so there were a bunch of blowdowns lying about. It was also pretty rocky in places...random rocks, the worst kind. But we made great time and made it to the car garage around 5:50pm. This was where I had to turn around last time, since the temp was zero and the wind chill was lower, and I didn't have the correct clothes on....
Despite the god awful bugs, and some piles of moose poo, the last leg of the trip went smoothly and we were out by 6:30 or so....making for a 5 hour 20 min hike. This was pretty good timing, esp with the extended breaks on Lambert Ridge and the summit. I want to hike this again in fall when the leaves are changing. And now that I know its actually possible to make it to the top, I think I will!
Until next time,
grouseking
http://grouseking.phanfare.com/album/324359#imageID=19835192 Pictures
