Elevation gain: 1700 feet
Trails used: Skookumchuck Trail, bushwhack.
Highlight(s): open woods bushwhack, register on the summit of Big Bickford Mountain.
What a difference a few months makes, especially from one hiking season to another. A few months ago, I did this hike with Kris on a rainy day. The first time I did it with Desi, it was slightly overcast (a bushwhack that she liked). So, now it was time to give it a go in winter since the snow conditions were light and I could bare boot from the trailhead to the summit, without the need for snowshoes. I would only be doing Big Bickford Mountain and skipping Scarface Mountain on today's hike. When I arrived at the Skookumchuck Trailhead parking area, it was still snowing a bit and I was the only car parked there. Gearing up quick, I headed up the Skookumchuck Trail on a light layer of fresh snow.
Big Bickford Mountain is located in Franconia, New Hampshire. There are no trails that go to the wooded,view-less summit of Big Bickford Mountain so it requires a bushwhack to reach its high point.
Big Bickford Mountain is on the New Hampshire Two Hundred Highest List and New Hampshire 3K List.
I started off on the Skookumchuck Trail but ended up bushwhacking to the summit of Big Bickford Mountain after the first water crossing, which was a bit tricky to cross.
I took the southern ridge up to the summit of Big Bickford Mountain, and came across these fresh moose rubbings on these trees. I followed them for a bit but I saw nothing.
I passed through this old logging landing where the snow was almost knee deep in spots.
I hit this wide open birch glade just before the summit of Big Bickford Mountain. I followed recent moose tracks and found several places where the moose bedded down.
The jar register on the summit of Big Bickford Mountain (elevation: 3261 feet).
You can see my tracks as I follow them back down to my car, once again through open woods.
A fairly quick return trip had me back at the car just as the snow showers were ending. I managed to get this picture of Cannon Mountain and Mittersill Mountain.
A quick round trip hike, as the snow depths were firm and made it easy to walk on top of the snow. I wore Microspikes from the car, to the summit of Big Bickford Mountain and back down. As soon as I returned to the car, I decided to call it a day and head home. This was still a fruitful bushwhack of a peak that is always nice to visit, in any season.
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