Iron Mountain

In my previous Mount Avalon post, I described how we managed to get in a 52 With A View peak during our recent trip to AL and UP's condo in the White Mountains. However, what I didn't mention in that post is that during that same trip, and on the very next day after hiking Mount Avalon, we bagged another peak! We woke up on Monday morning without too many plans, with the exception of eventually packing up and heading home after an enjoyable holiday weekend. With the sun already shining and warmer temperatures then the day before, we thought it would be fun to get in another quick hike in the morning. The trailhead for Iron Mountain was only a few minutes drive away, and the hike itself was less than a mile each way. We asked around to see if anyone from the previous day's hiking team was interested in coming along, but didn't have any takers. So we quickly got dressed and headed out the door with the smaller crew of Owen and Katy plus Toby.

The road to the trailhead was a long, narrow dirt road. It was in good shape and we made it to the trailhead with no trouble but it definitely seems like it could be tough to get two cars past eachother in some spots. When we finally reached the trailhead, there was a small little parking area with room for about 5 or 6 cars with 3 other cars already there. We squeezed in a spot and got ready for the hike. Right off the bat the trail takes you through an open field with really nice panoramic views of the Presidentials. These were probably the best views of the entire hike. We worked our way up the easy trail and navigated the .8 miles in no trouble. About halfway to the top, Toby fell sound asleep and I could hear him snoring in my ear as we worked our way up the trail.

The summit is wooded with minimal views, and we opted to skip the extended trip to the ledges on the other side which would add another mile each way to the hike. Overall, though, it was a very enjoyable morning outing, and we were finished and back to the condo in time for lunch.