MtnMagic
New member
Date Hiked: Thursday, August 28, 2003
Trails Hiked: The (West) Rte 115 side of Cherry Mtn Trail and Martha's Mile
Total Distance: 5.4 miles, 2450’ elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate
Conditions: Sunny, warm, windy, a wee bit hazy and cloudy
Special Required Equipment: Wind breaker
Trip Report:
The large, new Cherry Mountain Trail parking lot is two miles from US Rte 3, on Rte 115, now named Owl’s Head Highway. It is directly across Lennon Road, in the Town of Carroll, also called Twin Mountain or simply "Twin" by locals.
This trail is the more common way to hike to these two summits. Other trails to the peaks are the Black Brook Trail from the South on Rte 3, from the East on the Cherry Mountain Trail off Cherry Mountain Road, or from the North on Rte 115 via the Owl’s Head trail.
Leaving the parking lot at the kiosk, one crosses the small wooden bridge to find the trail on a wide, logging road with an easy grade for ¾ of a mile. As the trail narrows, the grade increases significantly. This can seem like a much longer hike than it is and similar to the Lonesome Lake Trail, though steeper. Yet, this hike having just 1.9 miles to Martha, with a 2000’ elevation gain and .8 of a mile (450’) more to Owl’s Head, is only about a 4.5 hour round trip hike.
Cherry Mountain is actually three peaks, Mt Martha (3573’); Owl’s Head (3258’); and the trail-less peak named The Humps (3012’). In the late 1960’s, Littleton, NH resident Bill Nichols created the trail from Martha across the col to Owl’s Head.
There are some great views from Martha, but the main attraction is the incredible views from the ledges just south of the summit of Owl’s Head. One can easily see the Osceola’s in the far distance behind the magnificent Hancocks, as well as the nearby Willey Range. Unquestionably, the most splendid sight of all from this vantage point is awesome Presidential Mountain Range, complete from Madison to Webster and the amazing look into Crawford Notch itself!
Trails Hiked: The (West) Rte 115 side of Cherry Mtn Trail and Martha's Mile
Total Distance: 5.4 miles, 2450’ elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate
Conditions: Sunny, warm, windy, a wee bit hazy and cloudy
Special Required Equipment: Wind breaker
Trip Report:
The large, new Cherry Mountain Trail parking lot is two miles from US Rte 3, on Rte 115, now named Owl’s Head Highway. It is directly across Lennon Road, in the Town of Carroll, also called Twin Mountain or simply "Twin" by locals.
This trail is the more common way to hike to these two summits. Other trails to the peaks are the Black Brook Trail from the South on Rte 3, from the East on the Cherry Mountain Trail off Cherry Mountain Road, or from the North on Rte 115 via the Owl’s Head trail.
Leaving the parking lot at the kiosk, one crosses the small wooden bridge to find the trail on a wide, logging road with an easy grade for ¾ of a mile. As the trail narrows, the grade increases significantly. This can seem like a much longer hike than it is and similar to the Lonesome Lake Trail, though steeper. Yet, this hike having just 1.9 miles to Martha, with a 2000’ elevation gain and .8 of a mile (450’) more to Owl’s Head, is only about a 4.5 hour round trip hike.
Cherry Mountain is actually three peaks, Mt Martha (3573’); Owl’s Head (3258’); and the trail-less peak named The Humps (3012’). In the late 1960’s, Littleton, NH resident Bill Nichols created the trail from Martha across the col to Owl’s Head.
There are some great views from Martha, but the main attraction is the incredible views from the ledges just south of the summit of Owl’s Head. One can easily see the Osceola’s in the far distance behind the magnificent Hancocks, as well as the nearby Willey Range. Unquestionably, the most splendid sight of all from this vantage point is awesome Presidential Mountain Range, complete from Madison to Webster and the amazing look into Crawford Notch itself!
