Mt. Carrigain is 4683 feet in northern Grafton county. Its in the middle of the Whites on the south side of the Pemigewasset Wilderness and the source of the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River (river that goes right by our old homestead). The Hancock mountains are to the southwest which we would climb two days later. Its prominence is 2,223 ft and a fun fact…it was named for the NH Secretary of State (1805-1810).
The most direct route to climb Carrigain is from the Signal Ridge trailhead accessed off Rte 302 near Bartlett NH. This trailhead is 2 mi. up Sawyer Rd, but Sawyer Rd was partially washed out a few years back and so the road is closed. This adds an additional 4 mi round trip to a 10.6 mile hike.
This 14.6 mi hike is more long than it is difficult. It took us 8:20 (7:10 am to 3:30 pm) to complete the hike. Leaving Dad’s house at 6 am and arriving at parking lot on Rte 302 at 7:05 am. We left the parking lot at 7:10 am and reached the top at 11:02 am. We spent an hour at the top eating lunch and talking with groups of people that would arrive after us and we left the top at 12:02 pm arriving back to the parking lot at 3:30 pm.
I had been suffering from another COVID infection for the past two weeks. Something I picked up on a trip to NYC with Lauren 2 weeks prior. It had wiped me out pretty good. I opted to get some medicine 2 days prior to the trip and this helped. I was recovered enough to attempt the hike, but I was a little worried. I didn’t sleep the night before after travelling the previous day. I was awake 4:35 am, said the heck with it and got out of bed 5 am and started cooking breakfast. Woke Jacob 5:20 am and ate egg sandwiches with him. He and I then made a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches to bring along with our Pringles, chocolate raisins, cheese and salami block.
The drive over the Kancamagus and the beautiful views that were there but unseen, with the low clouds and mist obscuring everything. If you didn’t know better, the White Mountains had disappeared.
Arriving at the parking lot at 7 am there were 4 other cars, with two of the cars having hikers standing around waiting for another group to arrive. We wouldn’t see anyone on the way up and all other visitors came after us, so I assume the other 2 cars were from hikers that had gone another route or had continued on with a multi-day hike. The walk up Sawyer Rd was pretty easy and a nice warm up for the legs. The road was wide a graded and made me wonder why it was closed. At the 1 mile mark we would see the problem. About 1/3 of the road was completely washed out and the drop to the river below was very steep. It was cordoned off with orange plastic fence and you could easily get your car by, but if someone wasn’t paying attention, a tumble down the embankment would be fatal. I imagine having cars pass by would also continue the erosion. It would take us 40 minutes to cover the two miles to the traihead but it was a great chance to catch up with Jacob about his upcoming Senior Year of college and what his challenges would be. It nice to be away from the distractions of phones and Internet (no service up there) and just have a chance to talk.
The first mile followed the Whiteface brook that fed into the Sawyer River we had walked next to coming up the Sawyer River Rd. The next 0.7 crossed the Carrigain brook (above) and reached the Carrigain Notch Trail junction (1.7 mi from road/trailhead). It was a beautiful walk in the woods and while muddy in spots there were planks put down or stones to walk across and we never got our feet wet.
The Carrigain Notch trail would take a hiker to the North around Mt Carrigain to the Nancy Pond Trail, which would take you past Nancy Pond and back to Rte. 302. We were to continue northwest on the Signal Ridge Trail for 3.3 miles to the top of Mt. Carrigain.
Jacob and I were enjoying the hike and started taking pictures of the different mushrooms growing in the moist, lush, woods. Of course there is always a comedian, even in a remote forest.
The last mile steepened and both Jacob and I worked up a good sweat. We had covered 6 miles but I was feeling like I was gonna be OK with my COVID symptoms. It was nice and cool out and I had brought 3 liters of water. Had finished half the water at that point and had sweat through my t-shirt and long sleeve nylon shirt. Coming out of the woods we could see the top of Carrigain 0.4 mi away and the fire tower on top. The clouds were still very low with mist. It was 10:30 and had been hiking for 3.5 hours.
Yes, we look like quite a mess at the top of Carrigain. Jacob needed a haircut bad…he thought it looked good. We got there at 11 am and climbed to the top of the fire tower. We sat down to eat lunch being pretty hungry at that point. There wasn’t much to see with the low clouds, so didn’t think much about where we were. Jacob got out the map and we realized we were pretty much right in the middle of the White Mountains and on a clear day, it would have to be spectacular with nothing blocking your views. We were there about 20 minutes by ourselves with another father-son hiker duo arrived. This was the last (48th) on their quest to climb all the 4000-footers. We congratulated them and asked why they had saved it for last. They told us it was because it was supposed to be one of the best views of all the 4000-footers allowing you to see more 4000-footers than any other peak. Not sure if it was true, but a peak at the map assured you it would have been awesome with clear skies. A good reason to return another year.
The hike back down was quicker (3.5 hours). We left the top at noon and were at the car at 3:30 pm. My achilles heel hurt the most with my knees and feet sore. The trip down is always the most dangerous especially with wet rocks. Jacob and I both took a tumble but had hands free to catch ourselves.
I could only chuckle at seeing Jacob pass out 2 minutes down the road. The old man can still out last him. Made it back to Dad’s and had a celebratory beer on the back deck….it was a good day knocking off #38.