Prancing Up Peaked Mountain

The Fat Man and I decided to stay local and check out Peaked Mountain and Middle Mountain right here in Conway, NH.  If you bag both peaks, it's about 5.5 miles with an elevation gain of 1650.  Modest by New Hampshire standards, but whatever they put in the water here, it ain't available in New Jersey.

The trailhead starts on Thompson Road.  Take Route 16 to Conway, and turn onto Artists Falls Road (under the railroad track).  Then take a right onto Thompson Road.  The Pudding Pond parking area will be on your right.

Parking area sign

Road that leads to the trail

We met Jeff in the parking lot and he told us the views on Peaked Mountain were nicer, so we decided to hit that first.  The sign for the trail was easy to find. 

First signpost

While I was getting my gear together, this noisy squirrel made it known that he was not happy about me being in his space.  I told him to chill and that we'd be gone in a minute.

Nasty little bugger

When you get to the telephone pole, you will be tempted to go the right, but don't.  As you can see, the road forks and the correct path is to the left.  

Don't go to the right

Stay left at the fork in the road

The trail starts off quite nice with a few minor ups and downs.  I was feeling chipper, and thinking the trail was going to be forgiving the whole way, I jogged on the ups, which was something I regretted later.

Pretty woods trail

Very well-marked trail

At the next signpost, we joined the Black Cap Connector Trail, which can take you all the way out to Hurricane Road.  Black Cap Mountain is a little-known gem here in Conway, and going this way would certainly add some extra mileage to that hike.  But Hurricane Road is an experience in itself.  It is the closest thing to a roller coaster via automobile.

Gentle climbs

For most of the way, we were on a woodland road.  It was a cool day, which was lovely.

More of the trail

When you get to the next sign post, you take a right and the next mile to the summit is all uphill.  Most of the way you are on a dirt trail until you get to the ledges, which are less steep than other trails up here.  It is certainly a good workout.  I'm sure the natives probably jog up this hill, but they don't have good bagels here, so that explains everything.

Hang a right here

Get ready to feel the burn

Just when you think you must be close to the top, this sign reminds you that you've really only gone a little more than halfway. 

Cough up a lung from here on

When you get to the first ledge, it feels like a summit, but there are actually a few false summits, so just keep going.  

Mount Cranmore from the false summit

The views from the false summits are quite lovely, especially on a clear and sunny day.

View from the ledges

Great views for modest effort

The big W (Mount Washington)

At the next ledge we found this memorial stone.  While it looks like a good place to stop, keep going.

The path continues to climb to the summit and gets a little gnarly with tree roots in one section.  At this point, the Fat Man announced that we would also climb Middle Mountain.  I didn't say anything, knowing that we still had a long way to go.

Getting closer to the summit

At long last, we arrived at the summit.  It affords 360 degree views of Conway, Middle Mountain, and Mount Washington from the backside.  

View of Middle Mountain from Peaked Mountain summit

We were the only ones there, which made for a lovely lunch.  Within the half hour, we were joined by four other folks, including Jeff, who bagged both summits (overachiever).  He didn't have an ounce of fat on him.  

Time for some lunch and sun

We took the connector trail down, which wasn't too steep.  Like our descent down White Ledges, my knees were starting to hurt.  Despite joining a gym (and actually going to it), nothing prepares you for hiking than hiking.  What goes up, must come down, which is why I don't like to climb too high. Perhaps if we move here and drink the water long enough, we too will gain super hiking powers.  

When we reached the trail for Middle Mountain, the Fat Man announced that maybe we wouldn't climb it after all.  I just smiled to myself, reveling in my vindication.  Any hike that doesn't end with a hissy fit is a plus in my book.  Since I've been planning most our hikes this leg of our journey, so they have been very pleasant.  

Starting our descent

This was a real gem of a hike that afforded fabulous views without having to climb too high.  We will definitely come back and do Middle Mountain at some point.  

Heidi's rating:★★★★★ Great views and great workout.
The Fat Man's rating: 5 Kit Kat bars.