Laurie and I went back to New Hampshire on my days off from work this week. After a hectic day on Wednesday, we got to the mountains well after dark. So we started having any real fun on Thursday. We had to be home mid-afternoon on Friday because we had concert tickets Friday night.

Our main goal on Thursday was to hike Hedgehog Mountain. While not a big mountain, it was the mountain we turned back on last week because Laurie developed half dollar sized blisters.

Hiking up Hedgehog, our first view was about a mile from the car on a ledge

Although the trees are growing up the view at the summit was quite impressive

Right next door was the huge mass of Passaconaway

Laurie enjoying the view

After we got down, we drove west down the Kanc. We stopped at Sabbaday Falls. Although the stream leading to the falls seemed like a trickle, the falls was still pretty nice

It's about a ten minute walk slightly uphill to the falls

We stopped in Lincoln for some fuel, then took a round about way back to our site in Twin Mountain. Down Rt. 112 past the Lost River is the very pretty Beaver Brook Pond. It is a roadside pond with a picnic table. 

With an hour before dark we tried to think of something to do. I wanted to hike up Artist Point, but Laurie was done hiking for the day. So we went to the Old Man of the Mountain Memorial. I remembered this sign from my childhood

Laurie at the memorial. 

The mountain just doesn't look right without the Old Man's profile 

As if we hadn't done enough, we watched the sunset from a little bridge at Exit 34C. It is a memorial to a New Hampshire governor. The view faced west toward Vermont.

The next day (Friday) we got an early start and drove to Mount Cardigan. Cardigan is in the lakes region not the Whites. It was a long drive. From the highway it was about 45 minutes. It was well worth it. The hike is easy. It is only about 1.5 to the top. There is a firetower and a 360 degree view. I would absolutely recommend this hike to anyone. We took a slightly longer way up the mountain than most people do.  This way we got another view than just the top. Our first viewpoint was at a spot called Rimrock

It was a good spot to have a bag of fruit snacks before pushing to the summit

Laurie on a little footbridge.

It was extremely windy on the summit. I'm glad I brought my raincoat to block the wind

A bay of Lake Winnipesaukee

The firetower on top

The parking lot was quite full when we got down

On our way back to the highway we came across a sign for the Daniel Webster birthplace. It was only a couple miles off our path. We took the detour. His burial site is in Marshfield, MA near an Audubon Sanctuary I go to, so I figured I should check out his birthplace also

The cabin is obviously locked. We looked in the window and saw the cooking area

We had a great couple of days. Although we did a lot of small things, my favorite part was the hiking. I would have been satisfied with the great views from Hedgehog. However, Cardigan is one of the most fun mountains I have ever hiked. It reminded me of Monadnock in so many ways. It has trails from all sides. It is a state park. The top of both mountains is bare granite. On clear days you can see fifty miles or more. It truly was a spectacular hike and a great way to end another chapter of my New Hampshire adventures.