Kath
New member
Been wanting to hike this loop for quite some time, having never seen the Squam Lake area, so "Oldlurp" and I set out from the Morgan trailhead on Rt. 113 in Holderness. The parking lot was buzzing with fellow hikers, and from what we could gather, most folks were planning do a clockwise loop. So Oldlurp and I opted for the counterclockwise route. We carried both our snowshoes and crampons, but chose to bareboot it for the time being. Shortly after heading up the Morgan Trail, we turned right to cut over to the Percival Trail and followed it up to the summit. Just below the summit there is the option to take either the Cave Route to the left, or the Cliff Route to the right. We decided to check out the Cave. It was pretty neat, but the cave was not passable with all the snow. A short rock scramble along side of the cave brought us to the summit. Terrific views to the south, north and east. Never met a single sole all the way up. Crossed the ridge over to Morgan, meeting all the folks that we had left at the parking lot. More great views there. Could not identify with any certainty one of the mountains that was just about due north from where we stood. Took a picture of it to study later, but still can not name. Can anyone give us a clue? After wrestling with the idea for most of the day, we broke down and strapped on the crampons for the walk down the Morgan Trail. GOOD IDEA! Snow was soft and slippery by then on the steeper sections. This was a delightful hike. All trails were very well packed, very well marked, and in good shape. March hiking at its best!
