On September 25, 2013, a day that promised to be cloudy but rain free, Margot, Hunter, and I and Grannies Barbara Duncan and Dan Brand set out from the trailhead parking area at Ferncroft to climb Mts. Whiteface and Passaconaway via the Blueberry Ledge Trail. I had previously climbed both mountains from Ferncroft by going up the Dicey’s Mill Trail to the summit of Passaconaway, then across to Whiteface via the Rollins Trail, and back to Ferncroft on the Blueberry Ledge Trail. Unfortunately the wooden steps that were installed on the steepest ledge below the summit of Whiteface have been removed and I thought we would be safer to ascend this ledge rather than trying to descend it, particularly since the AMC White Mountain Guide describes it as one of the “more challenging climbs in the White Mountains.”
We made good time up the Blueberry Ridge Trail, noting the many recently built rock steps as the trail climbs up the steeper slopes of the ridge, and stopped briefly at the junction with the Tom Wiggin Trail. From here we began the steep ascent toward the “challenging” ledges and met a lone hiker coming down the trail. He described the trail up the ledges as impossible to find and said he had decided his only choice was to turn around. With this less than encouraging information, we continued on until we came to a fine outlook at the edge of a steep cliff. At this point we realized the trail must climb over a steep ledge above, but found it difficult to figure out the exact route to take. Our confusion was quickly solved as we watched Hunter scramble directly up the ledge, make a turn to left near the top, and peer down at us as though “What’s your problem.” Upon closer inspection, we could see the old holes drilled into the ledge to hold the former wooden steps, but their course straight up the ledge appeared too dangerous for us to attempt. After a brief discussion, we climbed to the left of the old holes along a large crack in the ledge, made a left turn at the end of the crack, and stepped carefully across the top of the ledge. Margot was not happy with our route, proclaiming she might just head down the mountain, but with much persuasion and some hand lifting by Dan and myself, she got to the top of the ledge successfully.
The trail continued over several more ledges, but we were able to scramble up them without much difficulty, and soon we arrived at the top of the lower south summit of the mountain. The only good views from Whiteface are at the south summit, so we stopped here here for a quick lunch under skies that began to darken as clouds appeared to descend upon us. We then made haste over the true summit of Whiteface on the Rollins Trail and soon arrived at the junction with the Dicey’s Mill Trail.
At this point we were only 0.9 of a mile from the summit of Passaconaway, but the time was now 3:45 in the afternoon and Barbara was concerned that we might not have enough time to climb to the summit of Passaconaway and get down to the trailhead before dark. My response was that having come so far, I wasn’t about to head down without climbing to the top of Passaconaway. A plan quickly took shape: Margot would go on down since she hikes somewhat slower on the downs than the rest of us, the three of us and Hunter would make haste up to the summit, and try to catch Margot on the way down. Barbara, Dan, and I hid our packs off the trail, and along with Hunter quickly covered the distance to the summit. We found ourselves in the clouds there, so we did not attempt to hike over to the north view, which is the only real view from Passaconaway.
Heading down the trail with as much speed as we dared, we picked up our packs at the junction to the Rollins Trail, continued down until we encountered two young men rerouting a short, badly eroded section of the trail. They were contract workers for the Forest Service and said they had done the rock steps we had seen on the Blueberry Ledge Trail earlier that morning. I also asked them whether the Forest Service has any plans to rebuild the missing wooden steps near the summit of Whiteface, but they said the plan is not to replace those steps since this whole area is part of the Sandwich Range Wilderness and man-made structures are not appropriate in a wilderness area.
Continuing our descent, we kept thinking we should catch Margot, but we never did. Just as we emerged from the woods near the end of the trail, there was Margot hiking toward us. She had hiked another half mile down, driven up the gravel road from the parking area to a gate just below where we met her, parked the car, and wondered where we were. So much for my idea that she hikes slower than the rest of the three of us!
Since it was much too late to consider stopping for a milkshake, we headed directly home, arrived after dark, and insisted on taking Barbara to her home on Lake Morey rather than dropping her off at the Orford Fire House where she had parked her bicycle in the morning. A long, but very interesting day in the mountains that leaves me with the question: To what standard do we maintain hiking trails within wilderness areas? Why do we construct stone steps on steep ground but remove wooden steps on ledges? Perhaps the objective is to preserve the environment, i.e. constructing stone steps to prevent erosion, but not to make access easier for hikers, i.e. building foot bridges over streams. What do we say when someone falls off the ledge on Whiteface and is seriously injured or dies or someone drowns crossing a swollen stream in a wilderness area? I guess you hike at your own risk. I always have.
