Little Wildcat Mountain
Location: Beans Purchase, New Hampshire
Mileage: 3.15 Miles
Elevation Gain: 1765 Feet
Trails Used: XC Ski Trail, Bushwhack
Views: None, Wooded Summit
Difficulty: Moderate
Hiking Lists: NH 200 Highest/NH 3000 Footers
Brian and I had planned to do a good-sized hike today on a few 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 an ice base which made it hard to walk on and our Microspikes were almost useless. After a few falls between the two of us, we decided to turn around and try 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.
We parked at the Great Glen Base Lodge parking area with the views looking towards Mount Washington obscured by the cloud cover.
We started 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. The snow was not too deep at this point in the hike
Brian taking a break in an open woods section before we hit some scrappy trees and steep icy cliff bands below the summit area of Little Wildcat Mountain.
Brian looks extremely happy, as we are about to begin the steep ascent to the summit of Little Wildcat Mountain.
Canister and Kitten sign on the summit of Little Wildcat Mountain, elevation 3325 feet
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 to where we parked.
Brian heading down from the summit of Little Wildcat Mountain. We made it back to our recent 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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