Middle Sugarloaf in Winter
It has been a long time since I’ve gone on a group hike. While I do enjoy escaping into nature by myself, I also like sharing the trial with friends.
So when one of the hiking groups I belong to decided to organize a hike up Little Sugarloaf in Twin Mountain, New Hampshire, I decided to join them.
I’ve hiked the Sugarloafs before in the summer. But in the winter the access road is closed so you have to park about 1.5 miles from the trail head. Or in our case, snowshoe in.
| Date: | 2-12-2022 |
| Location: | Twin Mountain, NH |
| Distance: | 5.36 mi |
| Elevation Gain: | 542′ |
| Total Time: | 2 hr 29 min |
| Parking: | 10+ cars |
| Difficultly Rating: | Easy |
We all met up at the snowmobile lot located just past Zealand Road on Rt. 302. The lot is large and is shared with hikers, skiers, and snowmobilers.
From the parking lot we crossed the road to the snowmobile trail. Once across we geared up with spikes and snowshoes. We followed the snowmobile trail to Zealand Road. After we crossed the bridge the snowmobile track veers to the left and the hiking and skiing trail continue on straight.
The trail was well packed and easy traveling with snowshoes. There was also a nice XC track along side the hiking track. Lots of untouched snow as well.
We finally reached the trail junction and started in. At first we followed a frozen stream before starting to ascend up the mountain.
The snow was about shin to knee deep along the packed monorail. The trail started up at a moderate pace and then it slowly got steeper and started to switch back a bit until we hit the ridge line.
From here the trail leveled out for a little bit and started to get steep again near the summit. The last push to the summit involved a ladder that was snowed in. Fortunately my snowshoes had enough traction to climb up this final incline.
Once at the summit the views were fantastic. The sky was overcast but all the clouds were well above the mountains. We had almost full 360 degree views. The full Presidential Range from Madison to Jackson was in our view. The Twins, Hale and I think Zealand were all in view as well.
We stayed at the summit for a bit and had a bite to eat and drink then take a few pictures. After we had our fill of summit fun we started back down.
I know the ladder would be tricky. So I decided to go down on my butt one step at a time. From here we continued down again. After a short time I decided to take my snowshoes off which helped speed up my decent.
The monorail was strong and firm but with the mild temps I could not help but post hole a number of times. Once we we were back on Zealand Road it was a straight shot down. I wish I had my but sled with me.
Back at the car we all had a drink and took a few more pics. We all had a great time. And It was great to see everyone.
