A Job Well Done by the Forest Service on Mt Tremont (May 2010)

[1HappyHiker]

I hope it's not viewed as inappropriate to use this Forum to extend some well-deserved accolades to the Forest Service for an awesome job they did about a week ago on the Mt. Tremont Trail. A chainsaw crew led by Nathan Jones from the Saco Ranger District removed numerous huge blowdowns (about 35 in total). Some of the blowdowns were so complex that wedges and careful planning were required.

Of course I do realize that the folks at the Forest Service were only doing their job. Nonetheless, I think all of us appreciate an occasional kind word of appreciation for the everyday work we do.

So, the trail is now in good shape and I think it is well worth a hike. The lower part of this trail is quite mild mannered and takes you past many beautiful cascades located along Stony Brook. The upper portion of the trail is quite steep and rough & tumble, but your efforts are rewarded with some wonderful views.

Below are a few photos showing some of the sights to be seen on a hike to the top of Mt. Tremont.

Cascade on Stony Brook

Trailside Presidential View from Mt. Tremont Trail

Carrigain Notch Area from Top of Mt Tremont

View of Sawyer Ponds and Green's Cliff from Top of Mt Tremont

1HappyHiker

[KathyC]

As always, such beautiful pictures...

[KSearl]

Hey, as always, great pics. Can I ask what kind of camera you use?

Thanks,
Karl

[Anna LeBlanc]

Beautiful photos John.How long is the round trip to the summit of Mt Tremont without any bushwacking?

____________
Anna

[1HappyHiker]

KathyC: It's gratifying to read that you enjoyed the photos in this report about Mt. Tremont, as well as the photos in my other Trip Report about Dream Lake/Wocket Ledge.

KSearl: Karl, regarding the type of camera I use, it's truly nothing fancy. It's a simple "point & shoot" (Panasonic Lumix, Model DMC-ZS1).

Anna LeBlanc: Anna, believe it or not, I don't do any bushwhacking to get to the top of Mt. Tremont!

By doing an "out & back" hike from the Rt. 302 trailhead, the round-trip mileage for the Mt. Tremont hike is 5.6 miles, which is quite modest (by White Mountain standards). However, there is a caveat. The ascent involves a 2,600 ft elevation gain from the trailhead to the summit. If that 2,600 ft gain were spread fairly evenly over the entire 2.8 miles, then it might not be so bad. However, according to my rough calculations, approximately 1,600 ft of that gain occurs in the last 1.1 mile of final ascent to the summit. Even though there are numerous switchbacks to provide some relief, the final ascent is still a very steep climb.

I've told several folks that if they don't want to attempt the steep climb to the summit, it is a very worthwhile hike to simply stroll along the very scenic Stony Brook on the lower portion of the Mt. Tremont Trail. There are numerous cascades that are flowing throughout the warm weather months. Obviously, they are most impressive at times of high water conditions, such as the early Spring season, etc.

[Jimmy Legs and Little d]

John,
Mt. Tremont deserves more recognition as one of the finer "small" mountains.
On several winter trips we tried to located the trailhead and could never find it (due to the snow plowed from the roadway) so we gave up and did it one fall. It definitely does have a bit of elevation gain.
Thanks also to the trailworkers who do a great job on the trails.

Donna

[mtruman]

Certainly not an inappropriate use of the forum to praise this good work - particularly when it's accompanied by your typically beautiful photos John. It's also nice to see praise given for something that probably too often is overlooked by those of us out on the trails.

[Anna LeBlanc]

Thank you very much for the information John.I will definitely put it on our to do list.

__________
Anna

[1HappyHiker]

Donna: I certainly agree with you that Mt. Tremont is quite a mountain, but perhaps as the volunteer maintainer for this trail, I might have some bias!
And perhaps it should also be mentioned that on the "NH 52 with a View" list, it is ranked pretty high (out of the 52 peaks, it's ranked as #19).

I think that one possible reason that Tremont loses some popularity points is because of the lack of winter parking (as you pointed out). This basically makes Tremont a seasonal peak rather than a year round peak.

During warm weather months, the trailhead parking basically consists of a wide spot on the shoulder of Route 302. However, during snow season, the wide spot on the shoulder is not plowed out. In winter, the nearest reliable parking is at the bottom of Sawyer River Road (and sometimes at the lot for the Fourth Iron Tentsite). Parking at either of these lots requires a few tenths of a mile roadwalk along Rt. 302 to the Tremont trailhead. Understandably, this discourages many folks from hiking Tremont in winter.

Mark: Thanks for your compliments on the photos, and also thanks for lending support for praising the fine work done by the crews (Forest Service, AMC, etc) in maintaining our trails.

Anna: You're certainly welcome, and it's great to hear that you've added Tremont to your list!

[KSearl]

Well, I must say you are truly an impressive shot with a point and shoot type camera. Your pics typically look professional!