Casual Hike #2 - West and East Rattlesnake Mountains - 9/18/21
1243 feet/1289 feet - approx. 4.5 mi
It's a bit unfortunate in some ways that my first hike of the 2021 season had to wait until September, but at least I have a good excuse. My first child was born in May, and I was too busy (mostly) enjoying being a dad that I didn't really have time to spend in the woods. But I couldn't let a whole year go by without hiking, and I'd gotten a nice new Osprey backpack for Christmas that I still hadn't gotten to use, so I figured it was time for the dog and I to get back out there. I rounded up my dad and brother as well, and we picked out a hike that wasn't too far away, something we were all familiar with, to be our first outing of the year.
West Rattlesnake mountain is in Holderness, NH, right at the northern end of the Lakes Region. Its trailhead actually sits directly across the road from the Mt. Morgan trailhead. The Old Bridle Path up to the summit of West Rattlesnake is an extremely easy hike with great views, but it is one we've all done several times, so we wanted to spice things up a bit. There is a whole network of trails in that region, so we decided to summit West Rattlesnake via some unfamiliar trails, and make a loop out to the less-popular East Rattlesnake.
The plan was to start from the parking area on Rt. 113 on the left side of the map, take the Undercut Trail to the Ramsey Trail and up to the peak of West Rattlesnake. Then we would follow the Ridge Trail over the the top of East Rattelsnake, and then take the East Rattlesnake Trail down towards Pinehurst Road. A short walk along the road would bring us back to the Undercut Trail, and we'd follow that back to our cars.
The parking area fills up very quickly, so we got an early start at 7:30am. We had to walk a short distance down the road to reach the entrance to the Undercut Trail. It was clearly less popular than the main trail, and a little overgrown, but clearly marked and easy to follow. It stayed mostly flat, winding through the woods at the foot of the mountian.
After nearly a mile, the Ramsey Trail takes a sharp left back towards the peak of West Rattlesnake. We took a short break here and I gave Lana some water before the next leg of the hike.
The Ramsey Trail is a blistering half-mile straight shot up the ledges to the summit of West Rattlesnake. I did some research beforehand and was confident Lana would be able to handle it, if we were careful. She did extremely well, and my dad was very impressed with how well she handled the steepest parts. I would pat my hand on a ledge, and she would jump up onto it, and then I would follow behind her so I could catch her if she did fall. If I said 'Wait!' she would instantly freeze. There was only one point where I had to hoist her up a part she couldn't do on her own, and she was very cooperative for that as well.
We took a break about halfway up the trail to catch our breaths, and then continued on to the first summit. The views from the top of West Rattlesnake were excellent as usual. To the south, we could see boats out on Squam Lake, and to the west, the tops of Morgan and Percival will still wreathed in clouds.
After a slightly longer break for snacks and water, we continued on towards the east peak. The Ridge Trail leaves the summit of West Rattlesnake heading north but quickly turns east and dips down into the col between the 2 peaks. It intersect the aptly named Col Trail and then begins to climb on the other side, heading up towards to summit of East Rattlesnake. Along the way we saw this enourmous fungal growth on a tree. I'm not much of a mushroom expert but to me this looked a lot like Chicken of the Woods, an edible and apparently very delicious wild mushroom. There was enough here for quite the feast, but I wasn't going to gamble on my mycological skills.
Shortly before the summit of East Rattlesnake is a small rocky outcrop with views similar to those of the western peak. The true summit of East Rattlesnake is another hundred yards back into the woods where the Butterworth trail comes in and has no view whatsoever. We hiked out to the true summit just to be able to say we did, and then returned the viewpoint for another snack and water break.
After our break we headed back down the trail. The East Rattlesnake trail meets the Ridge Trail a bit below the outcrop, and we follwed it down towards to road. Descents are always a bit harder on the knees but I think we were all happy to no longer be climbing. The trail wasn't too steep and footing was good. Just before the road at the bottom, there was a small stream crossing.
From there you could follow another trail out to Five-Finger Points, a series of spindly peninsulas on the lake. There are some beaches, good places to swim and fish out there, but it would add another couple miles and we didn't have bathing suits. Perhaps another time. We continued on to the road, and began to walk along it towards where we expected to find the Undercut Trail again. As it turned out, where it meets Pinehust Road, it's actualy labelled as the Ramsey Trail, despite how the trail map makes it look. We walked up it until it met with the Undercut Trail again, and followed that back to Rt. 113 without issue. A brief walk back up the road and we reached the parking lot, which was now completely full. I said goodbye to my dad and brother, gave Lana a bit more water, and we got in the car and headed home. When we arrived, Lana went right inside, chugged a bunch more water from her bowl, and then promptly fell asleep.
