Baldface Circuit

Last week I went up to New Hampshire. I spent three full days hiking. I got in a little fishing in after my day hikes. I only fished for about two hours total catching fourteen fish from three different ponds. Instead of giving a play by play of my trip as I usually do, I thought I'd describe my fabulous hikes in different posts in case anyone would like ideas for some of the best hikes in the White Mountains.

On Thursday I did the Baldface Circuit. This loop is off of Route 113 just over the border in Maine. It is a long almost two hour ride from I-93. It is probably forty minutes from Conway. The loop that I did was just under ten miles.

First off because this loop is out of the way, it is not very busy. You will see a few people, but this hike is great for not seeing many people. During a weekday dur

ing peak foliage I saw a total of four other people. When I returned to my car there were four cars in the lot. Another reason this hike is not more popular, the mountains are under 4000 feet. This keeps 'peakbaggers' away.

Now the positives. There is almost four miles above treeline. Four glorious miles of almost completely unobstructed views. Also if you take the route I did, there is a cliff that is 1100 feet. There is a root up this cliff that is .7 miles. It is a difficult scramble, but oh the fun.

The circuit goes over North and South Baldface. It is known as a lollipop. After first three quarters of a mile go you reach a fork. At this point you can choose to go over north (right) or south (left). Since I would rather go up a cliff then tumble down one, I chose to go over South Baldface first. Its 2.6 miles from the car to reach the Baldface Shelter. I had my first snack there. Just past the shelter the view opens up. It gets really steep. This is where the cliff begins. In the next .7 you climb 1100 feet. There are places I had to climb up on my hands while sitting on my butt going up backwards. At many points I had to keep three points on the ground as I went up on hands and feet. Word of warning, DO NOT CLIMB THIS TRAIL IF IT IS WET OR ICY BECAUSE THIS SCRAMBLE IS DANGEROUS!!.

This is the very bottom of part of the
cliff  after the Baldface Shelter

After you reach the top it is utopia. For the next couple miles are 360 degree views. There is still some steep uphill that will make you sweat, but no worries, it is so worth it. I had my lunch on top of South Baldface then tramped on over to North. After I knew I had to eventually go down, I went down the Bicknell Trail. This trail is really nice. There are views almost the whole way down. Everytime I thought I'd be in the trees the rest of the way I'd be surprised by one last view. The other option is to stay on the Baldface Trail but I'm told it is not nearly as pretty and leaves the views and heads into the woods much sooner.

This hike is awesome. Everyone that does it knows. Happily not a lot of people do this hike. If you want great views, few people and a great memory, this hike is for you.

This was a happy surprise in October.