Passing up on the opportunity to suffer through -25 windchills further north, Willow & I shifted our hike plans south to Green Mountain in Effingham. Though we still experienced single digits in the early morning, the trade for sun made all the difference on this quiet but unforgettable hike.
According to NH Family Hikes, Green Mountain is the 16th most isolated mountain in New Hampshire- which didn't make sense to me until I saw it. Among an otherwise flat town with a funny name, Green Mountain rises from Effingham to command attention even miles from the trailhead. The trailhead, as we'd soon find out, was just big enough for one car where Old Pound Round splits into two Class IV roads on either side. Though both provide routes to the summit, Willow and I started down Hobb for 0.4 miles to the Dearborn Trailhead. At the end of the Class IV road, there's a house with a dog where we took a quick left to get off his yard and proceed to the kiosk.
From the kiosk, we followed steady yellow blazes to the top through a pleasant and open hardwood forest. The trail is briefly mellow, before picking up to a steady grade. Despite the plethora of reviews on how steep it is, we couldn't pick out what section that was about. Under the snow, there is almost nothing to report about this trail but how lovely it was, and how full of life the forest must be in the summertime. I enjoyed the frequent lookbacks to Province Lake & Moose Mountain Reservation on the way up, which only got better as we rose closer to the height of the High Watch Preserve.
With one final sharp left, we cruised through the most open section of woods that took us right to the fire tower. For an "isolated mountain," the fire tower was one of the more stable ones yet! From the halfway deck, we could look east to Maine, south to Province Lake, and west to the Ossipees. If the top hadn't been so windy, I would've loved to take some more time with the Ossipees, as it was a unique perspective of their volcanic origins.
In addition to the fire tower, there was a closed fire warden's cabin and two picnic tables up top. Of all the trails that go to the top, there was just one ski track coming from the High Watch Trail. Yet, other than that, there were no people or signs of them whatsoever!
While our return had softer snow, it remained supportive and much faster since we'd broken the trail. I look forward to returning to this one in the future, and would recommend it to anyone looking for an out-of-the-box hike!
Final Stats:
3.59 miles
1,375 gain