Mt. Agassiz – June 2

Enjoying the hazy view
Enjoying the hazy view

Sundays in the White Mountains are about finding that short hike.  We have a four hour drive home on Sundays so a shorter hike, gets us out of New Hampshire at a decent time to avoid globs of traffic from Amherst to Hartford.  Plus today, we had to outrun dangerous thunderstorms.

I’ve been eyeing this hike to Mt. Agassiz, since 1HappyHiker blogged about it.  This fit our Sunday hike criteria; close to the cottage, short hiking time and has a view.

Off we went to find the views.  We parked on the shoulder of Agassiz street and began the trek up the longest (.8 miles) and steepest driveway I have ever been on.

Agassiz 010
“hiking” up a driveway

Two signs greeted us with the explanation of   the history of the mountain and to give responsibility to the hiker, not the property owner.

History of Mt Agassiz
History of Mt Agassiz
Take responsibility and respect the land
Take responsibility and respect the land

For a “hike” up a driveway, it was beautiful.  Shortly into the hike, there was  a view out.

first view
first view

Lady Slippers dotted one portion  of the driveway shoulder.  For me the real treat was discovering a yellow Lady Slipper, I haven’t found one in almost 30 years.

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Agassiz 046

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Looking off to the sides the forest was beautiful.

the forest landscape
the forest landscape

At .8 miles we reached the house and a directional sign pointed the way.

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Go left young hiker

Very thankful the homeowner allows hikers to come up to enjoy the view.  Please if you venture here, be respectful of such a tranquil spot.

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Agassiz 020

Agassiz 019

In case you were wondering what mountains were in the viewing area, my PeakFinder app was trying to be helpful.

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This was a great little leg burner, that rewarded us with views from the summit and on the side of the driveway.  A huge thank you to 1HappyHiker for posting his hikes.  We have relied on his blog for many an adventure.

The Details: 1.6 miles out and back.  I think we were out for a little over an hour, we spent about 10 minutes snapping photos of the yellow Lady Slipper. This makes for a great little cardio workout and the views are stunning.

GPS data
GPS data

4 thoughts on “Mt. Agassiz – June 2

Add yours

  1. Ann, first of all , thank you for such kind words and the link to my Blog.

    And secondly, congratulations on finding the “trailhead” for this terrific hike. There are a number of folks who have been unable to find it, even when given detailed directions. But, in their defense, it does look like a very unlikely spot to begin a hike! You immediately feel that you surely must be at the wrong spot! 🙂

    It’s so gratifying to read that you not only enjoyed the hike, but you also had the unexpected treat of spotting yellow Lady Slippers. Sound to me like your luck is now turning in the right direction! 🙂

    John

    1. You are most welcome for the link.

      As for the trailhead, your picture of the building helped us find it. Without that picture clue, we would have missed it. I forgot to mention in the blog post, a great after hike treat is a stop at Maia Papaya to grab a fruit smoothie.

  2. Really love this little hike; its a great place to take visitors who have never ‘hiked’ before; short enough for them, strenuous enough to make them feel they’ve climbed a ‘real’ mountain, and a great view at the end.

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