Hedgehog Mountain

"Because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing the lawn. So go climb that god damn mountain!"

 

 

It's a holiday weekend in a tourist town. That means, I don't want the weekend off. Or that I get the weekend off. It means, I would rather be working and not have to deal with pushing my way through crowds, or hike trails with hundreds of tourists who are in flip flops, with barely any food or water. My long day ended on Sunday at 5:00pm. I got out of work and needed to unwind a bit.

 

I had plans to get out and hike something short and with great pay-offs. But first, I had to go do my laundry. I started my laundry and then decided to hit the Kancamagus Highway for a short trail. As I looked at the map I noticed one of the shorter hikes besides Boulder Loop. It was Hedgehog Mountain.

 

I got to the trailhead around 6:00pm and hit the trail for a loop just under 5 miles long. In hopes of getting back to the car without having to break out the headlamp. I took the loop clockwise and hit East Ledges first. The views from here were some of the best. They were spectacular. I stopped for a few to take some great photos including the pano up above. I admired the surrounding mountains. I could see Chocurua right in front of me and Passaconaway to my right!

 

 

The coolest things about hiking mountains, is you become very aware of your surroundings. I love to be able to look at all of the bumps around me and point out each one, and see how many I have hiked. What their shapes look like at different angles.

 

 

Coming off the ledges it then dips down a little bit and then climbs right back up to the cliffs you see from East Ledges. Once at the top of this you reach the peak of Hedgehog. With some look outs to the north west you can take in the views of the Tripyramids as well!

 

The climb down starts off a bit steep, but then eventually flattens out. Don't forget to take a small jaunt over to Allen's Ledge for a great view back to the East and Bear Mountain. I made it back down to the car just before 8:00pm and before the sun set. It was a gorgeous night, temps were perfect, and the mild breeze kept the pesty bugs away!

 

Just another day in the life of living in the mountains. Another one down.

 

 

Hike Safe & Keep on Trekking