Middle Sugarloaf

Different Old Guy in the same get up as me.

Me

HIKED ON June 17, 2024
​It has been over three months since I posted anything.  There are reasons that are too tedious to go into.  Suffice it to say that it was a rough spring on a number of levels and now...I feel a lot less like I am drowning in entropy.

I have been getting out to hike regularly but I haven't done anything new in a long, long time.  I went out to Purgatory Chasm here in Massachusetts where we used to take the kids when they were small.  I managed to fall there and really mess up my hip.  Then I hiked Mounts Jackson and Webster as a loop.  The same way as the time I almost slid down Jackson on the ice.  There wasn't any ice this time, which was good.  The view was just as fine.

However, I managed a new hike recently that is worth mentioning if only for its newness. It is fun to explore new trails and new vistas, after all.  It also marked--hopefully--a change in fortune for the summer.

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Another old guy, this one with a friend.

​It was a short hike up Middle Sugarloaf.  In total--including a brief diversion toward North Sugarloaf--it took about two hours of walking time.  I picked it because of its brevity.  Allison had gone up to NH earlier in the day to hike with an old high school friend.  I, however, had work to do and left later in the day.  I had just enough time to fit this in.

Regular hikers in the area will know how to get there.  The trailhead is the first or second one--depending on how you count--off of Zealand Road which is, itself, off US 302.  The spot is easy to find and parking--unlike for the high traffic mountains--is free. A walk over a small bridge along the road leads to a right turn onto the cleverly named "Sugarloaf Trail".

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The point of decision

To start, one follows the stream that the bridge had traversed.  I cannot find the name of it, which is frustrating.  This little string of mountains (Hale then South, Middle, and North Sugarloaf) are collectively referred to as the "Little River Mountains" but there are plenty of rivers and streams a long the route.  This stream, however, is most likely the Zealand, which the Hale Brook flows into before it meets the Ammonoosuc.  Further research is obviously necessary.  After a short time along the  stream the trail turns left and up toward the peaks of North and Middle.  There is neither a trail nor a view off South, although at slightly over 3,000 feet, it is 500 taller than the other two.

After the usual obligatory steep rocky part, the trail splits.  Left takes one to Middle Sugarloaf.  The other goes to North Sugarloaf.  The way after that is mostly flat until the final push...which is steep!  As with many "easyish" hikes it is always good to remember that there will be a moment of pain and despair before the end.

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Cool old rocks enhancing rather than obstructing the view

Anyway, I made it to the top where I encountered a number of old guys all hiking separately from each other with pretty much the exact same kit as me.  Apparently this is where my people hang out.  One of them told me that Middle Sugarloaf had the better view--it is my 25th mountain on the 52WAV list--so I took my time exploring the top and gazing out at Mount Hale immediately before me and the Presidentials in the distance.  Looking north I could see the Twins, two of my favorites. It was a clear day and a glorious sight.  I moved around to take in as much of the broad view as possible.  Yet another of the old guys told me we had a 270-degree panorama.  I trust him.

In the end, I never made it to North Sugarloaf.  I am sure I will one of these days when a short hike is called for.  I started over but ran out of time and ended up hiking down with one of those other old men.  He is a retired professor of botany who now lives in Northampton, MA.  We had a good chat about hiking, land preservation, and our adult children.  Then we went our separate ways.  As usual...I never got his name...

It was short, but I am glad I hustled up north in time to climb it.  I really needed a hike.  I also needed something new. It had been a long winter and spring.  It was good to be out in nature.  If I were to make a list of short-on-time White Mountain hikes, this one would be near the top.  The next day Al and I hiked Mount Willard together with her friend and it is hard to beat the view into Crawford Notch.  However, Middle Sugarloaf wasn't crowded.  Also, the company was mellow. If you just want a place to sit and eat a power bar whilst re-calibrating...this hike wins it.