Passaconaway Loop

From my experience, and from what I've read, most people hiking Passaconaway to up and down via Diceys Mill. What about a loop option such as taking the Old Mast Road from Ferncroft to Wonalancet to Walden Trail It is a tad longer one way than Dicey’s Mill, at 4.7 vs. 4.6 Is there a reason I don't hear about more people doing a loop? Another option is from Ferncroft to Old Mast Road (a good warmup) then Walden (said to have some steep sections, better for climbing up than down). That option would be 4.8 miles.

I know nothing about those other options but I am guessing most people do Passaconaway in and out using Diceys Mills Trail is because its very easy with nice grades. I Did Whiteface/Passaconaway loop couple weeks ago and coming down Diceys was a breeze and seemed going up would be a breeze too. However you have the right idea trying to loop anything since always nice to see new sights and terrain... especially a peak like Passaconaway which is barely worth the effort with its wooded summit. The .3 view to the north was nice though at least.

Lots of great trails around Passaconaway, Kelley trail is a great one, if you're looking for a beauty of a trail to incorporate into your loop.
If you have a 2nd car (or bike) for your loop, McCrillis Trail is a beautiful way up Whiteface.
The shortest/easiest way to the summit is not always the most beautiful

A lot of ups and downs on Walden. The distance isn't much more but the effort is. This loop was the introductory hike we occasionally used for the WODC summer trail crews to see what sort of shape they were in. I think it's a much more interesting hike than up and down Dicey's.

erugs said:

What about a loop option such as taking the Old Mast Road from Ferncroft to Wonalancet to Walden Trail?

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It's a great hike -- do it. I've done this a number of times and enjoyed it as a nice alternative to Dicey's Mill, et al.

Perhaps the reason why you don't hear that much about folks taking that route is...well, I'll be honest -- don't know why.

As a bonus: because you won't see as many folks taking that route, you'll more than likely have the trails to yourself.

Sue and I recently hiked the Whiteface - Passaconaway combination and descended from Passaconaway via the route you're describing. It was a very nice change.

Here's the report...

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=37230

Enjoy the hike!

Here's another brief report from earlier this year. http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=36375

Thanks for the encouragement. We did our loop on Saturday.

Just commenting on your trail conditions report, the neat thing about that loop is the solitude you get before hitting the Diceys Mill trail.

Ed'n Lauky said:

Just commenting on your trail conditions report, the neat thing about that loop is the solitude you get before hitting the Diceys Mill trail.

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That's for sure. And that the trail is lightly trampled, with no erosion, is nice, too. I think I'm going to make a point of heading out on these types of trails more often.