Catching Foliage in the White Mountains
We had delayed our arrival back to New England, mainly due to rig repairs and a sick kitty. It all turned out for the best because we had a fabulous time hunkering down in Allegheny National Forest. Only downside is, Allegheny isn't home to us. There is a National Forest that's much more dear to our hearts. We weren't sure if we'd catch much fall color when we finally arrived, but we were pleasantly surprised by the vibrant hues.
The original plan was to putter around New Hampshire from late September into November. This would bring us right through peak foliage season, no matter when it occurred. Typically peak reaches the White Mountains around Columbus Day Weekend, give or take. We arrived to our campground in Freedom, NH on October 13. Freedom is located south of the White Mountain National Forest, so although peak had already passed further north, we caught its tail end in our region. This meant no big adventures in leaf peeping up near the Presidential Range, but we had plenty of exploring in the surrounding towns.
Our October in NH brought a lot of rain, but we had one weekend of bright, beautiful sunshine. This was our opportunity to get outside. We decided, as we often do, to take Tanner on an easier hike one day, and then challenge ourselves the next day.
The town of Freedom is nestled between the mountain and lakes regions of NH. Only a stone's throw from Conway traveling north and Ossipee traveling south, there is a lot to explore. We, however, think of one thing when we visit the town, and that's Foss Mountain. We had visited Foss back in 2020 on one of our pandemic escape trips. It's a small mountain surrounded by old farmland, best known for its blueberries. Hikers are allowed to forage their own berries atop the mountain. It's an experience like no other, traversing the granite slabs and picking the berries while surrounded by mesmerizing views.
The hike isn't difficult and is only about half a mile. It is uphill, but before you know it, you're making your final little climb toward the summit. The path there passes by pastures and aromatic pine tree groves. Standing at only 1647 feet, the mountain may be small, but the views are big. The summit offers 360-degree views, and because it's more a hill than a mountain, there is no real peak. Instead, you're able to walk along the rocky hilltop, which seems to last for miles. That's a lot of blueberries!
Of course, we didn't go during blueberry season this time. As harvest season ends, autumn isn't far behind, and we knew the view would grant us some spectacular color. We packed a picnic lunch and headed up the steep road to the trailhead.
The road is scarier than the hike itself. Like many shorter uphill hikes, it's short only because most of the ascent is done by car. The trailhead is located on a fire road just past Crystal Lake in Eaton, NH, and it's narrow with lots of hills, making it hard to see if anyone is coming the other way. Slow is the way to go, and four-wheel drive isn't a bad idea either. The road isn't maintained in the wintertime, and though there is a separate lot to park and take a longer winter hike, we wouldn't risk it. But, in the nice weather, the drive is a small price to pay for views like this.
Foss Mountain was just a warm-up for our plans the next day. Our 36-mile hiking challenge in Niagara sparked motivation to challenge ourselves to longer hikes. We've done plenty of strenuous hikes, but usually clocked at about 3-4 miles. We've also done longer hikes, in the 10-12 mile range, but those tend to be on flatter terrain. Niagara gave us the confidence boost we needed to assure us that we can in fact hike further and actually pace average or a little faster than average. This was enough of a boost for us to hike Mt. Chocorua. Certainly one of the most unique looking mountains that greets travelers heading to the Whites up route 16, Chocorua has what can best be described as a double summit. Once at the top of the mountain, there is a massive bald, where hikers must scramble up two boulder climbs to reach the true peak. Chocorua stands at 3480 feet, and despite not being a 4000-footer, gives hikers a challenge as well as a huge payoff at the end. After years of gazing with googly eyes at this Teton-looking mountain gracing the southern Whites, it was finally time to get a different vantage point. And what better time than in colorful Autumn?
There are a few trails that lead to the summit of Mt. Chocorua. We chose the Champney Brook Trail, partially because it's technically the easiest and partially because we wanted to also hit Champney Falls on the way up. This trailhead is located on the Kancamagus Highway, route 112. This is known as the most scenic drive through the White Mountains, and in Autumn, it's ranked as one of the best scenic drives in the world. As we drove the 11 miles of the "Kanc" to the trailhead, we noticed that the Swift River that runs alongside the road was flowing more than we had ever seen it, especially in fall. Typically the summer season dries out the rivers, but recent rainstorms had brought the river back to life. The rapids were so beautiful, waves of white splashing among the vibrant colors of the leaves. We couldn't wait to see what the trail would offer us.
In retrospect, we should have taken the Swift River's...swiftness...as a sign that water was flowing really well that day. We were hiking a brook trail, which not only ran parallel to a water source for much of the way, but also contained a lot of brook crossings. Cue the immediate doubt that set in when we reached our first brook crossing, about 50 feet from the trailhead, and met up with a slew of hikers staring down the waterflow, figuring out the best way to make it to the other side. Our choices: stepping stones covered in wet leaves, makeshift log bridges with logs so soggy they were becoming rubbery, or hiking up our pants and fording the brook. We found ourselves in some variant of this situation several times at the start of the trail. My guess is that this was enough to deter some hikers from continuing on, but the real fun lies in soaking in the experience...and possibly getting a little soaked yourself. It's certainly a way to make fast friends, comparing water-crossing methods with our fellow hikers, and even getting a hand-hold assist once in a while. These groups of hikers would become our companions all the way up to the summit, as we'd continue crossing paths for the next several miles.
The Champney Brook Trail is a straight out-and-back to the summit of Mt. Chocorua, which is a distance of a little less than 4 miles each way. However, there are some other trail intersections and little loops that can be a fun way to tack on some more miles. We took the short offshoot toward Champney Falls, which all the locals know is actually not the more scenic of the waterfalls you see on the trail. The real beauty is Pitcher Falls, and unsurprisingly, it was looking strong and beautiful that day. We spent a few minutes marveling at the beauty of this waterfall, while chatting with some new friends we made at one of the brook crossings. Then we continued the loop back to the main trail.
Most of the trail is very doable in good conditions. However, where there's water, there's mud. The runoff down the mountain was so bad, at times we felt like the trail was actually in Champney Brook! We still made good time with our ascent, and thankfully the water did not make the leaves and stones very slippery. The granite rocks are very rough in texture, which helped provide some grip. We hit every topographical region we expect from a White Mountains hike: a flatter woodsy walk among the (wonderfully vibrant) deciduous trees, followed by the alpine zone where the trail gets a bit steeper, and then the respite near the top before the big, bald boulder climb.
We chose an absolutely gorgeous day to sit atop the summit. It's a very large space due to the two peaks, so even though we were sharing the summit with a fair amount of people, we still had a quiet area to ourselves to have a snack and take pictures. Chocorua is a taller mountain for the southern foothills of the Whites, so the views are expansive. To the south you can see the shiny blue lakes, to the north the larger peaks of the Whites, and to the east the state of Maine. We hiked on a clear enough day to see all the way to Mount Washington. The fall foliage didn't disappoint; we felt like we were looking at a painting. So often I hesitate to summit the very mountain I like to see from below, because then I won't be able to see it. However, I've determined that Chocorua is beautiful from any angle, even right on top of it.
We did want a good vantage point from off the summit, though. We were debating during the hike whether or not to add another loop. Chocorua connects to a series of smaller peaks called the Three Sisters, and I had read good things about the ridge between Chocroua and Middle Sister. It would only add about 1-1.5 miles to our hike, though it would include a little scrambling. We didn't make the definitive decision until we were standing at the juncture, but we were feeling good and decided to go for it. Boy were we glad we did! The views of Mt. Chocorua from the ridge are unreal. The photos speak for themselves.
In total we clocked about 9 miles that day, and it was truly an experience to remember. From the brook crossings and mud, to the amazing Pitcher Falls, to the summit, to the Middle Sister ridge, we embraced everything that autumn in the White Mountains has to offer.
While we could probably write several posts about our favorite hikes in the White Mountains, we felt this weekend was all-encompassing for the different types of hikes that are offered in the southeastern part of the White Mountain region. If you're looking for great views with little effort, then Foss Mountain is a top pick. Or, if you're seeking more of an adventure, the Kancamagus isn't far away, and from there you have beautiful scenic overlooks and hiking trails that are sure to give you some good stories and a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.