Hike New England - Square Ledge on Mt. Passaconaway

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Square Ledge on Mt. Passaconaway

Destination:		Square Ledge (2620') on Mt. Passaconaway
Trails:		Oliverian Brook Trail, Passaconaway Cutoff, Square Ledge Trail, Square Ledge Branch Trail
Region:		NH - Central East White Mountain National Forest, Sandwich Range Wilderness
Location:		Albany, NH
Rating:		Moderate
Features:		Views, ledges, brooks, loop hike
Distance:		8.4 miles
Elevation Gain:		1380 feet (high point minus low point)
Hike Date:		11/17/2007 (Saturday)
Weather:		Cold, windy
Author:		Faye Doria
Companion:		Eight SDHers and one dog

Route Summary

Start on the Oliverian Brook Trail and follow that for 1.9 miles, gaining less than 300 feet of elevation.
Then bear right to take the Passaconaway Cutoff for 1.7 miles. Most of the 1,050-foot elevation gain for this segment will be in the last mile.
Next turn left onto the Square Ledge Trail and climb steeply to reach nice views of Square Ledge within half a mile and again a little further on.
Return by continuing on the Square Ledge Trail for 0.4 mile.
Then bear left to follow the Square Ledge Branch Trail for 0.5 mile until it bumps into the Oliverian Brook Trail.
Finally, turn left to get on Oliverian Brook Trail and follow that for 3.3 miles of pretty level walking back to the parking lot.
The hike should take about 6 hours.

Place	Split Miles	Total Miles
Oliverian Brook Trailhead (1240')	0.0	0.0
Jct. Oliverian Brook Trail/Passaconaway Cutoff (1500')	1.9	1.9
Jct. Passaconaway Cutoff/Square Ledge Trail (2550')	1.7	3.6
Square Ledge (2620')	0.6	4.2
Jct. Square Ledge Trail/Square Ledge Branch Trail (2000')	0.4	4.6
Jct. Square Ledge Branch Trail/Oliverian Brook Trail (1840')	0.5	5.1
Oliverian Brook Trailhead (1240')	3.3	8.4

Map of hike route to Square Ledge on Mt. Passaconaway (map by Webmaster)

Trail Guide

This Square Ledge loop hike is easy, except for the short stretch of steep climbing at the end, and then a short, quick descent soon after. But this really square looking ledge, when seen from Hedgehog or Potash has intrigued me. I wanted to see the views from there to Mt. Passaconaway, Paugus Pass, and Mt. Paugus.

Eight hikers and one dog met at the Oliverian Brook Trailhead to go to Square Ledge. It turns out none of us had ever been there, which was surprising since four of us had completed the 4000-footers. It was cold and windy in the parking lot, and most of us decided to add an extra layer. That turned out to be a good decision as the day stayed cold and windy.

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The trail was flat for quite a while, with a few uneventful brook crossings. Then we came to a wide brook with the usual crossing rocks submerged due to the recent heavy rain. But we found a wide tree fallen across the brook farther upstream and most of us scooted across that.

The crossings continued to be interesting, and we finally started to climb. We had some nice views through the trees to Passaconaway Mountain, and later to Mt. Paugus.

The lead hikers didn't seem to know the custom of waiting for the rest of the group at trail junctions, so we started to get spread out. Six of us had lunch on a small ledge, but the wind kept us from lingering too long. Then we found our seventh hiker, who had gone ahead but doubled back at the last ledge where the trail took a nearly vertical drop. We went on to that ledge and viewpoint and had the rest of our lunch.

We had continuing discussion about the trail since it was quite overgrown, with lots of blowdowns to crawl under or over. And it seemed that once it started to drop, it went nearly straight down forever.

Once the trail started to level off again, we were able to look back and see why it had been so steep. It was coming down a very vertical ledge. It was a dramatic and beautiful sight. The peregrine falcons nest in the cliffs, which means the trail is usually closed from April to mid-August. That's one of the reasons it is so overgrown.

Since we had made a loop, we had different brook crossings on the way back. They seemed even worse than the ones on the way up. We used a variety of techniques - from scooting across small logs, to using partially submerged rocks, to jumping quickly through the shallows, to just wading across. No one finished with completely dry feet.

We were all happy to see the parking lot. The eighth hiker's vehicle was gone, so we assumed he had continued ahead of us. Since we were all heading different directions, we said good-bye in the parking lot. It turned out to be a nice hike to a new destination.

Ice dripping from ledge (photo by Mark Malnati)

NH - Central East

Driving Directions

The trail is located off the south side of Kancamagus Highway (Rt. 112).

Heading east on Kancamagus Highway:

Approximately one mile east of the WMNF Passaconaway Campground (located on the left side of the highway), turn right onto a gravel road. This is about 23 miles east of the junction of Rt. 112 with I-93 in Lincoln.
The parking lot is located on the left 0.1 mile down the gravel road.

Heading west on Kancamagus Highway:

One mile west of the junction of Kancamagus Highway and Bear Notch Road (located on the right side of the highway), turn left onto a gravel road. This is about 13 miles west of the junction of Rt. 112 with Rt. 16 in Conway.
The parking lot is located on the left 0.1 mile down the gravel road.

Other Notes

Due to peregrine falcon nesting, access to Square Ledge is restricted from April 1st to mid-August.

A parking permit is required to park at White Mountain National Forest trailheads and parking areas. You can purchase a WMNF permit from the forest service and other vendors and can also pay-by-the-day using self-service kiosks located in many parking areas.

Rates:

$3 per day
$5 for a week-long pass
$20 for a year-long pass
$25 for two year-long passes (one household/two cars)

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