Albany Mountain 7/24/2026

On Friday, we hiked Albany Mountain in the White Mountain National Forest from the north. As usual, the trail was in excellent condition, and the beaver dam was no issue to cross.

The beaver dam crossing

Sampson at the upper trail junction

The first viewpoint looking west

It seems that this year is a bad year for mountain blueberries, due to last year's drought, and we only found a few on our hike. However, the views were excellent, and we were surprised that we only saw two other groups out on what is usually a pretty busy trail.

The summit of Albany Mountain

The view southwest at the viewpoint past the summit

The view south at the viewpoint past the summit

After the hike, we headed to Broken Bridge Pond, where we set up camp at one of my favorite dispersed sites in the National Forest. It was a great peaceful night at the campsite, and it was perfect sleeping weather!

Broken Bridge Pond

Sampson swimming in the pond

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The Horn & Saddleback Junior 7/17/2026

Today's hike brought us up two of the most spectacular peaks in the state, The Horn and Saddleback Junior! After the drive in to one of the side roads off of Potato Hill Road, we started on our hike on an abandoned section of the Fly Rod Crosby Trail. Although there was lots of tall grass, this section of trail was pretty clear. We then followed the ATV trail to the start of the Berry Picker's Trail.

Start of the Berry Picker's Trail

View south from Berry Picker's Trail

View towards The Horn from the AT

Berry Picker's was in good shape, and we enjoyed the beautiful views from the ridgeline on this clear, windy, and somewhat chilly day up high. After reaching the Appalachian Trail, we ascended to The Horn, where we saw our first other hikers of the day. It was windy and a bit cold on the summit, so we didn't linger too long, but we did take a bit of time to take in the amazing 360 degree view.

Summit of The Horn

View north from The Horn

View west from The Horn

From the summit of The Horn, we descended to Redington Stream Campsite, where we had lunch. Backpackers should note that the water source at this camping area is almost completely dry right now. From the camping area, we started the steep and rough climb to Saddleback Junior. With its summit poking just above treeline and its location in the center of the High Peaks, the 360 view from Saddleback Junior is one of my favorites anywhere. The fact that very few day hikers visit it makes it even better! By then, it was a bit warmer, so we lingered a bit on the top.

The AT between The Horn & Saddleback Junior

Summit of Saddleback Junior

View southwest from Saddleback Junior towards Saddleback & The Horn

We then descended a short distance down the east side of Saddleback Junior, before turning onto the east side of the unofficial Saddleback Junior Loop. While descending the loop, we took a detour on the trail to Wildcat Ridge to get one more great view. We finished our hike by descending the ATV trail back to our vehicle.

Saddleback Junior from Wildcat Ridge

View northeast into the High Peaks from Wildcat Ridge

A small man-made pond near where we parked

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Lookout Rock 7/10/2026

Today's hike was a pretty straightforward one up to Lookout Rock in Township C. It had been a few years since I had hiked it, and the trail seems much the same, with the notable absence of the former trailhead sign (only the post remains). The trail itself is a moderately steep 0.6 mile long trail, marked with both blue blazes and flagging tape. It climbs to a ledge-top viewpoint on the side of an unnamed peak.

Start of the trail up to Lookout Rock

The lower part of the trail passes through hardwood forest.

The upper part of the trail is mostly in softwood forest

On our hike today, we found that the trail was pretty well maintained and easy to follow. We were treated to excellent views through Black Brook and Sawyer Notches, as well as of the South Arm of Lower Richardson Lake.

View towards Old Blue Mountain

View towards Black Brook & Sawyer Notches

View towards C Bluff Mountain and the South Arm of Lower Richardson Lake

After descending, we stopped by Silver Ripple Cascade for a swim. We had the cascade mostly to ourselves, and we also visited the adjacent Devil's Den.

Silver Ripple Cascade

Silver Ripple Cascade

Devil's Den

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Grafton Loop Trail—East Side 6/28/2026

Yesterday, we tackled quite a long day hike! Over the course of 20 miles and 6,000 feet of elevation gain, we traversed the east side of the Grafton Loop Trail.

Starting our hike in Grafton Notch State Park

One thing to note about this section is that you should not rely on the Maine Mountain Guide description. Usually the Guide descriptions are quite good, but this one reads like it was written by someone quite some time after they hiked the trail. Landmarks are described in the wrong locations, slope steepness is described incorrectly, distances are misrepresented, some landmarks no longer exist as described, and the description overall is vague and not reflective of the on-the-ground trail experience.

West Peak on Baldpate Mountain

Sampson heading towards East Peak

In the saddle between the two peaks of Baldpate Mountain

We started our day at the Baldpate/Old Speck trailhead in Grafton Notch State Park. Our ascent of Baldpate went by pretty quickly, and we arrived at West Peak to find that morning fog still covering much of the mountain and surrounding area. As we crossed the saddle and ascended East Peak, the fog lifted, and we were treated to great views all around.

East Peak on Baldpate Mountain

View from East Peak

From this viewpoint on Baldpate, we could see the three ridges that we would spend the day traversing.

After a quick snack break, we started down the Grafton Loop. After passing East Baldpate Campsite, we reached Lightning Ledge. In my opinion, Lightning Ledge is one of the two best hidden gems on this section of trail. The ledge offers outstanding clifftop views of the mountains on the other side of Grafton Notch and the Bear River Valley. If it weren't such a long hike to get to it, I'm sure this would be a much more popular spot.

A ladder on the way down Baldpate Mountain

View from Lightning Ledge

Sampson on Lightning Ledge

Soon after Lightning Ledge, we came across the second hidden gem of this section of trail. Down a marked side path beyond Lane Campsite is a beautiful waterfall and swimming hole on Wight Brook. This is the same brook that eventually flows over Step Falls, and this waterfall is similar, although higher on the mountain and much more remote.

A section of trail through beautiful mossy forest

Sampson found this moose shed.

The waterfall near Lane Campsite

This section of trail follows a few branches of Wight Brook, and we navigated numerous stream crossings, some of which required care to stay dry on. We began the relatively gradual ascent of Long Mountain, crossing a seemingly abandoned snowmobile trail and passing Town Corner Campsite along the way. At the top of Long Mountain, we took the short spur to a somewhat restricted viewpoint, where we ate our lunch.

Town tri-point marker between Andover, Andover West Surplus, & Newry

Sign near the summit of Long Mountain

Looking towards Puzzle Mountain from Long Mountain

We descended off of Long Mountain, crossing a woods road and Chase Hill Brook. We then began the final ascent up Puzzle Mountain. Although not overly steep, I was getting a bit worn out by this point and the climb was slow going. We made it to the summit and enjoyed the excellent views from the variety of viewpoints on the mountain, before making the last descent off of Puzzle Mountain to the trailhead where my car was parked.

View up Grafton Notch from Puzzle Mountain

View towards Long Mountain from Puzzle Mountain

Sampson at the Southwest Peak of Puzzle Mountain

This was an awesome hike, and I'm super glad that I finally got the chance to hike a few of the more remote sections of the Grafton Loop. Perhaps the best part is that, despite it being a beautiful summer day, we didn't see another person over the entire course of 20 miles!

The signs marking the end of our hike

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