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| proof of life |
An actual hiking blog entry seemed overdue, so I figured what better subject than another Squam hike that featured a mid-hike change of plans and proved harder than anticipated.
This seems to be a pattern for us in the Squam Range. While on trail, Hummingbird mused that she doesn’t think we’ve ever done a redlining hike up here that didn’t include a reroute of one sort or another. We plan out a route and then either decide or are forced to change that plan while hiking — whether a minor detour or a major reroute. Every… single… time! Usually it works out for the better. But not always.
I had mapped out options for this section of the range before, and knew doing a loop would be too much for me, so the original plan was a car spot between Mead Base and Guinea Pond trailhead. However, for our Juneteenth hike, we wanted to just do an out & back hike so we could take one car.
Also, Sandwich Notch Road is notorious for being rough, so we had some concerns about my Camry being able to navigate it for car spotting. But we were craving something unique, and preferably “productive” like a Squams checkmark. And with Motorcycle Week in full swing, we wanted to avoid the Laconia/Meredith area traffic, so were limited on hiking options. We’re also obviously spoiled princess hikers, so driving 2 hours to something different like Cardigan (which I tossed out as an idea) or Monadnock was unappealing. (We’ll suck it up one of these days and get back to those!) Something in the Ossipees sounded fine, but less enticing since we’ve been all over that range. (Plus Hummingbird is intent on getting the fall patch, so we’ll hit those later this year.)
Thus, we chose an out & back on Mt. Israel. We’ve both been wanting to hike that mountain for years anyway, even before starting the Squam Rangers patch program. It wasn’t an efficient choice, because we’d have to come back and hit it from the other side for redlining, but it’s an appealing enough mountain that we were ok with having to doing it again. At least theoretically.
This would also give us an opportunity to scope out at least the end of Sandwich Notch Road to see if it looked navigable. Recent reviews mentioned some improvements since its past infamy, so we hoped that was true. If it was still too rough for a sedan, we’d be aware and plan accordingly. Not that our Squam plans ever pan out. LOL
The weather was perfect for hiking. Mild temperatures, nice breeze, low humidity. We really couldn’t ask for a better summer hiking day.
Parking at Mead Base was decent and we found a spot despite a late morning start. The trail immediately began climbing moderately with no warmup, so we were feeling the workout quickly. A gentler incline at the beginning of a trail is always preferable for warming up before the hike kicks into high gear! The trail was not bad otherwise, though.
One exception: we lost count of how many water crossings we encountered! I think the bulk of them were on the way down, but Wentworth trail definitely had a few too. It practically became a running joke. Though Hummingbird in particular was not amused. Well, I guess that explains the sign about water crossings on the trailhead kiosk!
Israel is a lot of elevation gain in a short distance, and I definitely struggled on the way up. Meanwhile, Hummingbird found her momentum and was later excited to realize that she can out-hike me again. It’s been a long recovery for her post-surgery, so we are both glad she’s finally feeling real progress and closer to normal. (Apparently she measures her official progress by whether she can hike better than me or not. Hahaha!)
Progress or not, however, climbing the steepest sections of Wentworth trail had us both nervous about the descent. I knew it was going to be a steep trail, and it’d be slightly questionable how our knees would handle descending it, but we did not know what conditions or terrain would be like. This is NH, so rocks and roots are par for the course, it’s just a question of how safe their footing is. Unfortunately, the trail had not dried out much since heavy rain a day or so before, so the steep terrain was slippery and hiking down sounded pretty sketchy.
Hummingbird floated the idea of a reroute down Guinea Pond Trail. Obviously I was hesitant because I knew the stats. And by the time we hit Israel’s summit, I was already past my physical limit on elevation gain, so the extra mileage concerned me. Even if I stopped when we hit the road and she fetched the car and came back to pick me up, it felt like a lot. But after much consideration, I agreed.
We took our time enjoying the summit views and a short recovery break. The wind was much stronger at the top and my hands actually got so cold I could have used gloves! (I know that doesn’t take much for me, but it’s still unexpected in June.) The summit actually wasn’t quite as open as we expected (I think we were picturing something more like Kearsarge), but it still was very beautiful. I’m sure a few years ago the trees were shorter and there was a more unfiltered, wider panorama, deservingly landing it on the 52 With a View list.
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| one of many pics from the summit |
After final deliberation, we began our descent. Another unplanned adventure in the Squams!
Mead Trail featured more wetness and Guinea Pond trail was that plus tighter growth (although we’ve certainly encountered worse). I did spot some interesting plant life, at least, which gave me excuses to stop for a moment to admire and rest. I also found a red eft newt, which is a more common sight in the spring, but considering the damp habitat was not too surprising.
Hiking down this alternate route, while not perfect or always easy, was definitely not as sketchy as Wentworth Trail. My body isn’t convinced our detour was a good thing, but the rest of me is pretty sure it was the right choice.
When we finally reached Sandwich Notch Road, I had fully expected to have Hummingbird go ahead to get the car and come pick me up while I plotzed at the trailhead. I was beyond running on fumes at that point and some pain was flaring up. However, the mosquito population was also flaring up, so I really couldn’t have stopped without getting eaten alive. Admittedly, I also had mixed feelings about splitting up. And so I pushed on.
The road walk was annoying, as road walks generally are, but more so because there was more uphill. We were supposed to be done with elevation gain! Ugh. Although at least we were done with incessant water crossings. And the benefit of doing the full road walk was that we more fully got to feel out the driving conditions. There were a couple washout areas along the edges, but overall it definitely looked doable in any vehicle. Good thing, since at one point we saw someone in a low sports car zip by! More than likely, they were blindly following their GPS. Not the best area of the state to do that!
We also scoped out the parking situations at the Guinea Pond trailhead (which we’ll need for a car spot to Black Mt.) and the CRT to Doublehead. There wasn’t a lot of space, but we did find viable options for both, so that was encouraging. (The hikes themselves are less encouraging to me. I continue to find the northern Squams physically overwhelming and I do not stop questioning whether I can ever finish this patch.)
The last leg of our reroute took us on one piece of familiar territory — the trail to Beede Falls. We hiked here this winter and it was epic to climb behind a partially frozen waterfall! I didn’t blog about it, but I posted plenty of pics and vids on my socials. (Feb. 27) It was cool to see it in the opposite season. I was also grateful there was no “need” for us to expend more energy to play around it. A quick photo snap from the edge of the pond and we continued on to finish this overambitious hike.
Just before we reached the trailhead, I spotted what might have been the best view of the entire hike. Not to detract from the truly beautiful sights we saw, but there in the trees stood an outhouse! OMG I had to pee so bad. We’d been out here 5.5 hours, plus the drive up, and I had been hydrating decently. I was exceedingly grateful to not only find a privy, but that it was actually in pretty darn good condition! It would have taken a lot for me to not use it at that point, but I was definitely thankful that it wasn’t scary/disgusting. The hour drive home just became a lot more comfortable. Whew!
It took 3 days for me to physically recover from this hike. Yes, I recovered, but this is not what I hike for. I am not a “no pain no gain” supporter. I hike for enjoyment, peace, and nature therapy. Yes, I hike for goals too, but that does not include causing myself more pain than I already deal with. (Otherwise my goals would be bigger.) Not everyone understands this. Feeling a little sore the next day is one thing. That’s normal and (I guess) acceptable. But multiple days of not being fully functional? No.
I know my limits. Sometimes they vary. Sometimes I push them. This was more than a push. I don’t necessarily regret it, all things considered, but it’s not something I wish to repeat.
That said, I might hike Israel again as an out & back — in the winter with snow cover and spikeable conditions. Meanwhile, it is exciting that we got to add several checkmarks to our hiking lists. A couple more Squam legs down, plus another 52WAV. I know I’ll never finish the latter list, but I do enjoy knocking off which ones are appealing and feasible for me.
6/19 Mt. Israel to Guinea Pond Trail loop, 9.25 mi, 1959 - 2680 ft depending on whose app you believe (it sure felt like the higher!), 5:33 hrs total
LOTS more pics on my socials! 📸
