Hike New England - Big Rock Cave and Mt. Mexico

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Big Rock Cave and Mt. Mexico

Destinations:		Big Rock Cave (1700'), Mt. Mexico (2020')
Trails:		Big Rock Cave Trail, Whitin Brook Trail, Cabin Trail
Region:		NH - Central East White Mountain National Forest, Chocorua Region
Location:		Wonalancet, NH
Rating:		Easy/Moderate
Features:		Summit, slab caves, brook
Distance:		5.6 miles
Elevation Gain:		1390 feet (cumulative)
Hiking Time:		Actual: 2:21 Typical: 3:30
Outing Duration:		Typical: 5:30
Hike Date:		Sunday, 7/23/2000
Last Updated:		1/20/2008
Weather:		About 60-70 degrees
Author:		Webmaster

Route Summary

Start on the Cabin Trail by following a private driveway for 60 yards, and then bearing right onto another driveway which will lead to the trail after 120 yards.
Bear right to follow Big Rock Cave Trail 0.3 mile from the road.
At 1.1 miles from the road, you will traverse the flat, wooded summit of Mt. Mexico.
Half a mile later, Big Rock Cave appears.
Leaving the cave, walk for 0.1 mile to reach a trail junction; turn left to follow Whitin Brook Trail.
Stay on Whitin Brook Trail for 1.4 miles where it ends upon bumping into Cabin Trail.
Turn left and follow Cabin Trail for 2.2 miles back to the road.

Place	Split Miles	Total Miles	Split Time	Total Time
Cabin Trailhead on Rt. 113A (1060')	0.0	0.0	0:00	0:00
Jct. Cabin Trail/Big Rock Cave Trail (1200')	0.3	0.3	0:07	0:07
Mt. Mexico summit (2020')	1.1	1.4
Big Rock Cave (1700')	0.5	1.9	0:42	0:49
Jct. Big Rock Cave Trail/Whitin Brook Trail	0.1	2.0	0:05	0:54
Jct. Whitin Brook Trail/Cabin Trail (2150')	1.4	3.4	0:37	1:31
Cabin Trailhead on Rt. 113A (1060')	2.2	5.6	0:50	2:21

Trail Guide

This was mostly an easy to moderate, pleasant, woodsy trail. The main attractions were Big Rock Cave and a the pretty Whitin Brook.

Cabin Trail begins by following a private driveway. At the first fork, bear right (there is a small arrow and "trail" sign that can be easily missed). Shortly after this, you'll walk by a house and then the "driveway" section ends.

Here I met up with a group of friendly locals who were hiking out with chain saws to take care of some blow down. The woman I talked to lives right next door in a log cabin. She has lived all over the world and says she likes living there the best. She and her relatives have adopted a section of the trail and they see to it that it stays in good shape. Many thanks to them and all the other people that maintain the trails and make our fun possible!

At the next fork, where Big Rock Cave Trail begins, I veered right to follow that path, while the trail crew went left to continue up Cabin Trail. Shortly after this fork, the trail went from a wide woods road to a narrow path. The climb was moderate and wended its way through beech groves. There was a sprinkling of trees here and there that seemed to be old growth forest - really fat trunks, splitting off into thick, major branches.

After 1.4 miles, I reached the summit of Mt. Mexico. It is a wooded summit, so it's not really obvious you're there, other than the fact that the trail flattens out. From there, I proceeded down a short, steep pitch through a hemlock forest with ample bluebead lilies showing off their striking blue fruit.

Big Rock Cave (photo by Sal Silvestre)

At the base of the descent, I was greeted by several rock monoliths surging almost as high as the hemlocks. The first one was a towering, free-standing boulder whose crown sported a thin covering of soil that managed to support its own forest. Just beyond that, several monstrous slabs leaned against each other to form a lofty overhang, along with a couple tunnels that allowed passage to the other side of the monoliths.

After exploring all the colossal rocks, I descended a bit more to reach Whitin Brook, a pretty, boulder-strewn waterway, which required crossing. On the other side of the stream, I took a left to leave Big Rock Cave Trail and follow Whitin Brook Trail.

The first half mile of Whitin Brook Trail was a slight uphill walk and the brook had to be crossed three more times. I encountered blooming partridgeberry which is a low growing evergreen herb with white tubular flowers. I also saw some artist's fungus growing out the side of a log. It was semi-circular in shape with a radius of about five inches. Most of it was milk chocolate in color, with a ring of dark chocolate outside of that along the curved edges, then finally a ring of white chocolate on the outer perimeter (is it obvious that I've recently given up chocolate?).

At the first brook crossing was a small, picturesque cascade. At the next crossing, there was a small boulder staircase leading down to the stream. There were several quiet pools of water just upstream from the crossing. The pools rested between mini gravel sand bars - it was a very peaceful spot. The last crossing had a log over the water that served as a good railing while hopping from rock to rock. Looking across the stream, the path wasn't evident because it was overgrown on just the short section of trail that it takes to climb back up the embankment.

After the last crossing, the path veers away from the stream and continues along at easy grades for another half mile. The final half mile of the Whitin Brook Trail involved a steep section that climbed up amongst unattractive, half-dead conifers. Right before reaching the height of land, the cliffs of Mt. Paugus could be spied through the trees.

Trail (photo by Sal Silvestre)

At the top of this pitch is the junction with Cabin Trail. Nearby was a downed tree across the trail, lodged at such a height, that it served as a convenient seat where one could catch their breath upon completing the challenging stretch. At this point, I took a left to follow Cabin Trail back to Route 113A.

From there, it was all downhill, starting out with moderate grades and soon becoming more gradual with only dry stream beds to step across. I sauntered through deciduous woods and passed by much shining club moss, tree club moss (which looks like mini pine trees), and burned ground moss (whose spore cases extended above the green mat much like a periscope extends above a submarine).

I was able to capture several glimpses of views through the trees throughout this hike and think this would be a great trail to do in the winter, given its relatively easy terrain, its low elevation and the lure of beautiful views.

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Driving Directions

From Rt. 16 in Ossipee (across from McDonalds), take Rt. 25 west.
After 3.7 miles, take 113 east.
After 2.3 miles, take 113A west.
The parking area along the side of the road for Cabin Trail is 5.9 miles from the junction of Rt. 113 and Rt. 113A.
The parking area is also 1.1 miles west of the junction of Mt. Mexico Road and Rt. 113A (the Wonalancet Fire Department is located at this junction).
Heading west, there is a sign for "Cabin Trail" on the right-hand side of the road. On the left-hand side of the road is a dirt shoulder with room for several cars to park and also a sign for "Brook Trail".

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