First Day Hike 2024 – Crotched Mountain via Bennington Trail.
| Date: | 1-1-2024 |
| Location: | Bennington, NH |
| Distance: | 3.5 mi |
| Elevation Gain: | 972′ |
| Total Time: | 3 hr 59 min |
| Parking: | 1-2 cars |
My buddy, Jay and I decided to take a first day hike up crutched mountain. We decided we would go up the Bennington Trail. I had never been on this trail before and it is one of the lesser traveled trails.
When we got to the trailhead, there was room for about two maybe three cars to park.when we arrived The lot was empty.
The weather was pretty clear, but temps were in the low 20s . So it was chilly. We started up the trail, which is mostly leaf covered at this point..
As we continue to walk, the trail got a little steeper, but was still very moderate most of the way. This first section of trail is about a mile long that leads you to a junction. We could go left toward the ski resort or right toward the summit.
At this point, we decided to make our way over towards the top of the ski area first. Along the way, we saw some funny little faces in the moss along the side of the trail. Lots of little “Easter eggs” to be found along this trail.
Once we made it over to the top of the ski area, we finally got to see some snow . we met up with some friends my buddy Jay knew and talked with them for a bit.
After a while we made our way back to the trail junction. Once we got there, we decided to continue to the summit of crotched mountain. . We arrived at the summit after a short quarter mile or so. While we were there we took advantage of some of the warm sunlight, and had a snack and took a few pictures by the tower.
After a snack, we went and checked out a few views around us. There is a lookout not far from the tower with some awesome views and picnic table to enjoy lunch on.
From here we made our way down the Shannon Trail. The trail descends from the lookout, pretty steeply, and let us back down towards the Bennington Trail junction. From here we continued back the way we came all the way back to the vehicle .
This was a great first day hike for 2024. The trail was not very long, and the only people we saw pretty much were our friends who had gone up the trail after talking with them. They mentioned that they hike the trail often, and they hardly ever see anybody on it.
