Mt. Sunapee via Summit Trail

First day of vacation and I thought I would start it out with a hike up to Mt. Sunapee. I can’t believe I’ve never hiked this mountain.

I got to the trail head early, the temps were in the low 70’s and the skies were cloudy. There was enough room for about 6-8 cars in the small parking section.

At the start of the hike it was a little muggy and mosquitos were out in full force. I was glad to have remembered bug spray this time.

The first half mile is very mellow on this trail. There is a small gradual incline that is barely noticeable.

The trail was well used and well maintained and this morning I had it all to myself. As I climbed there was a small breeze that helped a lot.

Lots of interesting old trees on this trail too. This trail is also part of the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway as well.

I continued climbing till I came to some larger switch backs on the trail. These made the steep accent more like a moderate climb. Finaly knocking out some of the elevation.

Then I got to the last push up to the summit. Some short switchbacks and some big steps but still not to bad.

The trail started to level out a bit, and I took a quick break on a large rock at the top of the switchbacks.

When I got to the last section before the summit the trail was overgrown by plants and my fear of ticks was heightened. I ran as fast as I could through the weeds to the open summit and ski area.

I walked around a bit and found the geo marker for the summit. I thought about going over to Lake Solitude but decided to leave that for when I finish the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway later this year.

After a snack I started back down. On the way down I started to encounter people climbing up. The further down I got the more people I saw. I stopped and had a good chat with Kevin on the trail.

As always the trip down is much faster than the trip up. I was back at the car before I knew it and it was a great morning hike. I look forward to returning to finish up the greenway!