I woke up from my roadside campsite frazzled at how I ever fell asleep and surprised at how chilled I still was. It was 7 am, and the overnight low of 27° was persistent enough that I skipped breakfast and a proper morning routine in favor of my car's heated seat. I visited Yaya’s, mostly for a warm bathroom and a hot hazelnut green mountain coffee- for which my campfire read had detailed the origin story of.
At that hour of the morning, I was unsurprisingly the only woman in the store and probably the only one who wasn’t on the way to work or a tree stand. As everyone around me talked about how cold it was, I was still warming up. But, at least I had finally begun to start my day.
I drove up to Stark, enjoying each moment of the familiar North Country ride. As I reached Christine Lake, I marveled at how the fog danced on the water, the moon shone brightly in the day, and how vibrant the past-peak foliage still was. Even with all the beauty, I was still aware it was still a brisk 30° as I packed my 32L bag as full as I could with shoulder season gear.
Heeding the WMG warnings that the no trespassing signs didn’t apply to trail-following hikers, I breached the gate to Percy Summer Club. Upon some NHPR reading, I discovered that like many great (and exclusive) things in the mountains- a group of executives from the city who loved to fish journeyed north.
The group began to stay each summer, eventually bringing their families to stay in the picturesque cabins. A unique aspect of the hard-to-come-by membership is that each owner has a pledge to conserve the land- and from what I could tell, they do it well. As I traveled the stunning woods of the Old Summer Club Trail today, I couldn’t help but foolishly fantasize about marrying into the club or something. Joking… mostly.
Starting up the Old Summer Club, it first was very logging road. Despite this, the trail was fairly dry and marked when needed. Just before elevation ramps up, a spur to Devil’s Rest shelter is at the hiker’s left. The spur had some Cohos-notorious deep mud, yet the shelter was stunning. Somehow, this was my first visit to a Cohos-specific shelter.
As I continued up, the grades remained manageable until the Victor Head Spur. Though the start was a lightly eroded bed of foliage, higher trekking was steep as I worked through mossy rocks and thick spruces. While a great bit of effort, this early stop was quite possibly my favorite part of the day.
When you first get to the top of Victor Head, there is a partial yet rich view of the Percy Peaks to the right and a downhill spur to the left. I found the left view perfect in this morning hour- even though I’d begun with frosted glasses, the ledge was so warm that I laid down to tan. I took a proper break, eating breakfast and gaining the warmth to keep me energized all day. Christine Lake was just as beautiful from above, its shape was both interesting and unexpected from a Birds Eye view.
Coming down the Victor Head spur was a bit easier than I expected, and it marked the more monotonous part of my day. As I out and backed Old Summer Club to the saddle, I was thankful for the relatively gradual incline and quiet woods. Despite my expectation of animals I didn’t want to run into, all I saw was a grouse- on the way out and back, who I had some words for. Other than a lone artifact, some stream crossings, and a few blowdowns to negotiate, I have little to report from this section. It was exactly what you’d expect, in the best way.
When I got to the saddle, I frankly wasn’t interested in climbing more but still opted to get 200 feet from the summit of North Percy to catch another glimpse of it. Even though I technically had time to ascend, I had forgotten my poles and didn’t want to repeat the summit without them.
Once I’d taken Old Summer Club back to the junction with Rowell’s Link, the sun was shining brightly on me- warming the air up to over 60°. The beginning of Rowell’s link was a pleasurable snowmobile path, however, it turned into a bit of a wet squiggle as I went on. I’m not sure I would repeat this trail unless, of course, I was completing the Cohos trail.
At the end of Rowell’s, you cross Rowell’s Brook over a sudden yet attractive wooden bridge that spits out at the junction of the unmarked connecting path and Bald Mountain Notch Trail. While the connecting path had little to speak of, Bald Mountain Notch Trail was dashingly well-kept. There were few views, though it was evident I was in a notch, and the highlight was descending a thick birch glade just past the exit of Kauffman Forest. The end of the trail is inconsistent, turning more to an under-power line route, however, the trail as a whole was pleasurable.
To end my day, as per usual, I had a 2-mile road walk. For some reason, this one felt short, perhaps because I knew I had dinner at the end. Once I got back to the lake, I started to prepare a cheesy chicken and rice bowl. As I checked the time, I happily enjoyed my extra hour eating straight from the MSR pot by the water.
I thoroughly enjoyed this route. It was one of those reminder days that this trace is worth it… because come on, I never would’ve known to venture up here without its guidance.
Stats:
13.26 miles
2,890 gain
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