Home States  Connecticut  Maine  Massachusetts  New Hampshire  New York  Rhode Island  Vermont  View All Lists  NE 4,000 Footers  NE 100 Highest  NH 4,000 Footers  NH 52 With A View  NH Belknap Range  NH Ossipee 10 Explanation of Ratings Links Ossipee Mountains Notice Search Trail Conditions Trip Log About	Mt. Whiteface, Mt. Passaconaway Albany, NH, Sandwich, NH, Waterville Valley, NH Trailheads, measurements, times, distances, and maps are all approximate and relative to the hike(s) as shown below. Looking up the Blueberry Ledge Trail Route: Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, (Mt. Whiteface), Rollins Trail, Dicey Mill Trail, (Mt. Passaconaway), Dicey Mill Trail With beautiful weather and a late start, I decided to head over to Ferncroft and head do the Whiteface-Passaconaway loop. Despite the great weather and holiday weekend, the Ferncroft parking area was fairly empty. The road walk to the Blueberry Ledge Trail proper was rather ice - it was tempting to put on my snowshoes for traction! Nonetheless, I waited until I reached the woods. While the trail was barebootable to the Wiggins junction, I elected to wear my snowshoes so that a) I wouldn't have to carry them and b) my injured foot would be less likely to get sore. The ledges were a bit interesting on snowshoes - while I was able to navigate up most of them without any hesitation, the third scramble was a bit of challenge, as it been completely covered in ice. Fortunately, I had my ice axe handy and was able to plant it and, with a hand hold, pull myself up and over. Stopping at the southern view ledges for a few minutes for lunch, the views were tremendous - Mt. Caridgan in particular caught my attention to the west with its white dome. With temperatures hovering around 30, being able to sit on the ledges in just a long sleeve tee shirt was quite nice. After a brief lunch, I made my way to the summit, paused for a moment to take in the lack of views, then continued on my way along the Rollins Trail. Though mostly barebootable, there were a few ice patches that required caution. Joining a few other hikes for awhile, we were able to remove some blowdowns along the way. Reaching the Dicey Mill junction, I was feeling low on energy (failed attempt at Isolation two days earlier and a long hike to Owl's Head one day earlier). Nonetheless, with the nice weather, I decided to head up the progressively steep slog to the summit. The scenery from the two on-trail vistas was tremendous - views to the west from near the highpoint and then to the east and north from the other vista a few minutes around the corner were absolutely stunning, as the Presidentials and Franconias were fighting to break out of the clouds. The descent was once again filled with additional trail maintenance. The water crossing down low was fortunately snowbridged over a log. Below that, however, the trail was a bit of a mess, covered in postholes, monorail, and some large blowdowns. Nonetheless, a great spring hike in February! Hike Ratings Getting To Trailhead: Easy Destination: Mt. Whiteface Length: Moderate Steepness: Very Difficult Navigation: Easy Views: Excellent Crowds: Minimal Destination: Mt. Passaconaway Length: Difficult Steepness: Difficult Navigation: Easy Views: Excellent Crowds: Moderate Hike Stats Date Hiked: Sunday, February 15, 2009 Hike Commenced: 10:01 AM Parking Elevation: 1,140' Destination: Mt. Whiteface Ascent Commenced: 10:01 AM Summit Reached: 12:08 PM Time Elapsed: 02:07 Trailhead Elevation: 1,140' Summit Elevation: 4,020' Distance: 4.2 miles Vertical Gain: 3,055' Destination: Mt. Passaconaway Ascent Commenced: 12:09 PM Summit Reached: 2:09 PM Time Elapsed: 02:00 Trailhead Elevation: 4,020' Summit Elevation: 4,043' Distance: 3.1 miles Vertical Gain: 863' Hike Ended: 4:23 PM Hike Time Elapsed: 06:22 Hike Vertical Gain: 4,053' The Blueberry Ledge Trail trailhead at Ferncroft Looking at Mt. Cardigan from the Mt. Whiteface southern ledges The Rollins Trail from Mt. Whiteface to Mt. Passaconaway Looking east at Mt. Paugus and Mt. Chocorua from near the Mt. Passaconaway summit Directions to trailhead: Take Route 113A to Wonalancet, then take Ferncroft Road. The trailhead (the road) and parking lot are both on the right next to the pasture. Back to Mt. Whiteface Profile Back to Mt. Passaconaway Profile
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