Hi folks!
A few days late to say this, but happy Autumn! Personally, Summer is my favorite season. But, this year I’m setting the intention to get as much joy out of Autumn as possible and try to keep spirits up heading into Winter. Let me tell you, it sure felt like the season on my hike of North and Middle Sugarloaf yesterday – holy colors!
The hike: North and Middle Sugarloaf via Sugarloaf Trail
Trailhead access: Zealand Road near Bethlehem, New Hampshire
Miles: 3.3
Vert: ~1,100
After my single day Pemi loop exactly two weeks prior, I’ve been keeping hikes and runs pretty chill for a bit. It’s been a big summer for me, and with some fun goals and a handful of creative projects heading into Fall and Winter, taking a moment to just hike whatever and find so much enjoyment in doing so has been a nice refresh.
When I moved North in October of 2019, I had hiked the 4000 footers but not much else. I had missed out on a lot of the other gems up here, the Sugarloaf’s being one of them. I think for me, driving from the Seacoast was a 2-2.5 hour each way drive (which I realize isn’t bad in comparison to what some have for drives to the White Mountains), but as someone who also enjoys other outdoor activities I felt like I could do that closer to home and save my Northern trips for the 4K’s. Living here though, gold… pure gold.
This is definitely a good “leaf peeping” hike. The bang for your buck is high, as the views for this smaller hike are outstanding. A friend told me yesterday I’m not considered a “leaf peeper” because I live here, ha. I’ll take it, but I sure do enjoy how pretty everything gets this time of year.
The Sugarloaf Trail (and Trestle Trail) starts off very gentle from Zealand Road, following along Zealand River for 0.2 miles before branching off to the left while Trestle Trail continues along the river. At this point, the trail is gradual for a bit before becoming more of a consistently moderate climb up to the col between the peaks. Along this stretch are some large boulders, aka glacial erratics. When reaching the col, there is a sign directing towards North and Middle summits.
I opted to head to North first, as I knew Middle technically had the better view – save it for last, right?! I’m glad I did this because North also has a view, and I had the summit to myself which I decided to sit down and just stare out at the massive amount of woods ahead of me. This is something about solo hiking I love, having a summit completely to myself. It’s such a peaceful experience, and a real good time and space for reflection.
Once deciding to leave the solo summit, I headed back to the junction and then over to Middle, where I was very much not alone. There were a couple of groups up on the summit, some of whom I had seen heading up earlier (but they went to Middle before North) and others I hadn’t seen on my hike yet. The conversation of the day was how surprised everyone was that foliage was “already this good”. Yes, I agree.
While the summits are great, hiking is so much more than the views. At least for me it is. Hiking is about the trail time, the community, the connection with nature and my own being. I’m not sure if I ever realize how much I need a solo hike until after the solo hike… and this was surely the case yesterday. As someone who gets a lot of alone time, sometimes hiking solo can seem unappealing, but I’m always glad when I do it. It’s just an entirely difference experience, one I’m very grateful for.
“Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different.”
C.S. Lewis