This is one of those hikes where it is a spectacular trail and not too many people know about it.
This hike is part of the 52 WAV hiking challenge if you do not know what a hiking challenge is check out my post on "What are Hiking Challenges".
Alltrails states "This 6.9 mile loop trail near Lyme, New Hampshire. Generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 3hr and 52 min to complete. This is a popular trail for backpacking, camping and hiking, but you can still enjoy some solitude during the quieter times of day. The best times to visit this trail are March through October. Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash." This mountain has an elevation gain of 2332ft and 4.2 out of 5 stars.
This is also part of the Appalachian Trail (AT) or you can avoid the AT by taking the Smarts Ranger Trail. I would recommend following the path I took which is go up the AT and then come down the ranger trail.
The reason behind this method is that the AT is more difficult than the ranger trail, but as you will see in both the shared gallery and this post is that the AT has some stop worthy views.
Hikers Log:
Day: 8th October 2021
Time Start: 10:10 EST
Time Summit: 13:40 EST
Time Finish: ~16:00 EST
Weather: Fog in the morning, Sun late morning-rest of the Journey
This is the first lookout point which is shortly off the AT on my way up. This shows the fog still sitting in the valleys from the early morning. The fog was thick that morning driving up to the trail head.
This is the first true lookout point, in early October you will notice the leaves have mostly changed colors, the fog is still lifting in the valleys, the sun is out and it was just a beautiful day. This hike is very serene and blissful. For me it is hard not to be at peace/balance when surrounded with the beauty of nature and getting the exercise from hiking.
The point I am making with these 3 pictures is that there are plenty of things to see along the trail besides the view. If you walk and live mindfully everyday not only on the trail, we will begin to notice things that we may have not before. This was my first time hiking this trail so everything was new, but had I been rushing or busy in my own head I may have missed the beautiful Striations in the rock, how cool the well marked pathway looked at that time, or the very large uprooted tree (OK maybe I wouldn't have missed this one right next to the path that I fit in) but you get the point.
This was the next stupendous lookout point. I know you can not see it on this picture and very hard to see in the video I took, however the "hill" to the left hand side. If zoomed in on this section you can see the fire tower that is the top mark of Smarts Mountain.
In this video I am just talking to a squirrel I found in a tree (SO Uncommon I know right!) Anyway just wanted to share this fun moment I had alone in the woods. The trail at this point I would say about 2 miles in was all mud, so definitely bring your boots. Reminded me towards the top of MT Isolation how it is all mud up there but that is a whole other story that I will be posting about.
Once you hit the merge of the two trails you may be exhausted I know I was. This is towards the beginning of the what feels like a long ascent to the fire tower. I believe the steep ascent is about 1 mile long. There are boulders, steps, and other methods of helping ascend the steep incline.
Here are some of those said steps.
Now just before you reach the fire tower and all throughout the fire tower site, there were signs for a campsite. Double check the weather and if I am accurate on this, but I do believe you can set up a tent at the summit. Now this is still part of the AT so I would imagine that this information is correct especially with a ranger station also at the summit.
Hooray! we have finally arrived at the base of the fire tower. When I first looked at this structure I contemplated not even climbing up it. I said to myself "NO! we did not hike all this way for no view on a gorgeous day" So up I went. I was scared the entire time going up that this full steel structure was going to collapse (it was soooooo sketchy). Once you reach the top of the stairs. There is a large heavy trap door. I went inside and...
...OMG such beautiful views. The area inside the fire tower is a very tight fit 3-4 people max up here at a time but the views are so worth the "treacherous" (not really treacherous just felt it at the time) climb. Towards the end of the video and the cover photo of the video. These are the areas where the initial lookouts were, and the route we had taken to reach this point. It will be the same route on the way down if you decide to go down the AT. I however took the other trail at the merge and went down the Smarts Ranger Trail.
This is the only thing that the ranger trail has to offer that is better than the AT trail. There is this hut where you can spend the night and a lot of people have signed the inside of the hut. Otherwise the ranger trail is just a run of the mills trail. A few streams to cross over (very small nothing like Potash MT again will be discussed in another post), NO overlooking views unlike the AT, a fallen tree (at the time of me completing this), and most likely easier trail. I personally do not like the idea of just a trail, I like the look out points and the things that are interesting. However if you are looking for an easier way up this may be the trail for you.
As always do your due diligence before making a trek into the woods. Make sure the weather is fair, you are supplied, you know the trails you need to take, and all the other important things for when you go into the wilderness.
As always enjoy life and be safe!
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