Elevation gain: 1765 feet
Trails used: XC ski trail, bushwhack.
Highlight(s): canister on the summit of Little Wildcat Mountain.
Brian and I had planned to do a good sized hike today on some peaks near Berlin, New Hampshire and while bushwhacking conditions have been pretty good lately, we would be doing a good portion of our hiking on snowmobile/ATV trails which did not turn out so well. There was a new layer of fresh snow over a ice base which made it hard to walk on and Microspikes were useless. After a few falls between the two of us, we decided to turn around and try something else. We decided we would do a short bushwhack near Jackson, New Hampshire and on a peak that we had not done since my New Hampshire 3K finish. Arriving at the parking lot for the Great Glen XC ski area, we geared up and headed out.
Little Wildcat Mountain is located in Beans Purchase, New Hampshire. There are no trails that go to the wooded, view-less summit of Little Wildcat Mountain so it requires a combination of trails and a bushwhack to reach its high point.
Little Wildcat Mountain is on the New Hampshire Two Hundred Highest List and New Hampshire 3K List.
We parked at the Great Glen Base Lodge parking area with the views looking towards Mount Washington obscured by the cloud cover.
We stared off on Sages Path XC ski trail but quickly hopped off of the ski trail to begin our bushwhack to the summit of Little Wildcat Mountain.
We bare booted southwest through open woods with a fresh layer of snow down.
Brian taking a break in these open woods before we hit some scrappy stuff and steep icy cliff bands below the summit area of Little Wildcat Mountain.
Brian looks ever so happy as we are about to begin the steep ascent to the summit of Little Wildcat Mountain.
Me on the summit of Little Wildcat Mountain (elevation: 3350 feet) with its Kitten sign.
Instead of reversing course and heading back the way we came up, we decided to head east a little bit, and although steep to start, was a better choice. We got this view of South Carter Mountain on the way down.
Brian heading down from the summit of Little Wildcat Mountain. From here we made it back to our old tracks and hiked out to the car pretty quick.
A similar hike to the one we did for my New Hampshire 3K finish several years ago, made a tad bit difficult with the ice and snow near the summit of Little Wildcat Mountain but still a pleasant hike. While we did not manage to do our planned hike, this was still a nice alternative on a winter day that did not turn out so bad.
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