Bald Mountain Notch Trail, Rowell Link, Old Summer Club Trail, South Percy Peak Spur (me), Percy Loop Trail, Trio Trail, Pond Brook Falls Trail, Westside ATV Trail, Sugarloaf Arm Trail
13.7 miles (14.7 for me) with around 2800 feet of elevation gain.
After a delicious breakfast at the Stark Village Inn, we got a ride from Nancy back to the trail off Percy Road and got a 7:30am start. Nancy took this photo of the three of us before we began our day's hike.
The climb up Bald Mountain Notch Trail is gradual, and, before we knew it, we had passed the summit of Bald Mountain to our left.
Rowells Link takes you down a couple hundred feet to the Old Summer Club Trail, and then Old Summer Club Trail takes you gently to the base of South Percy, where the trail then becomes moderately steep.
There's a short and steep scramble section or two not far from where the trail intersects with Percy Peaks Trail.
We reached the intersection with Percy Peaks Trail...
...and then, soon after that, we reached the spur trail to South Percy Peak. I needed this spur path for redlining, but the girls didn't; they opted to rest at the intersection while I sped up the half mile to the top.
On my way up, I could see the bald side of North Percy Peak through the trees.
Blueberries! It's a shame Sage stayed at the intersection, for she would have loved this section of trail.
Views from South Percy Peak...
There was a summit canister, which I signed...
I sped back down the spur trail and the girls and I headed on, past the intersection with the North Percy Peak spur (we had been up North Percy Peak a few years ago) and on toward the Trio Trail and Percy Loop Tentsite. We noted that the path down to Trio Trail was much less rocky and far more gentle on our feet than anything we had hiked on the Cohos Trail up to this point.
We stopped here for lunch (we ate far from the platform and sleeping areas), then happily continued along the Trio Trail, which has great footing, excellent blazes, and plenty of signs. There were also plenty of raspberries in the sunny spots, to the delight of all three of us. The water crossing near the end of this trail was do-able, though we had to switch to our water shoes since there was no way to successfully rock-hop (there is an alternate route clearly described at that water crossing if the water is too high to safely cross).
The following roads and ATV routes were pleasant; the overall mix of trail and ATV/road walks generally make for a nice variety of conditions along the Cohos Trail.
We heard ATVs along the Westside ATV Trail but never saw them. Even after we turned off the ATV section and hiked along the Sugarloaf Arm Trail (past the gate below), we could hear them from time to time.
Old Hermit Shelter is nicely situated just past the height of land on Sugarloaf Arm Trail. It is a beautiful structure with the cleanest shelter latrine I have ever seen. The water source is a flowing brook less than a tenth of a mile away, and the general area is peaceful and just plain lovely. This was our home for the evening.
We looked through the shelter log...
....and found some names we recognize.
We spent a fine evening relaxing, playing cards, and enjoying nature. We fell asleep just after sunset.
Tomorrow's post: From Old Hermit Shelter to Baldhead Lean-To.
There are a lot of familiar names on South Percy as well! As for your familiar ones, I knew Cumulus would be there. I enjoyed reading his Cohos experience.
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