Avalon and Wardle Mountains, Crawford Notch, New Hampshire
Friday, October 30, 2026
[We had two hikes both departing from the train depot up at Crawford Notch and actually sharing the initial section of the trail. Both groups found the opportunity as we gathered at the base to interrogate Jacob as to whether the typo on his hike announcement was an attempt at humor or an unintentional error. Seeing that his mistake caught him by surprise (and at this moment has yet to be seen by him), let us just assume it was one of those Spell Check things and not his lame sense of humor.
This is a hike report submitted by Laura Sullivan from the group that hiked up Mt. Avalon. There were shifts shifts in who would be designated lead on this hike in the days leading up to Friday that we won’t recount as most of us have lost track of them all. An allusion to playing musical chairs might be employed. In the end, it was Greg Dean whowas designated hike leader and Laura Sullivan, as is often the case, the hike photographer.]
Mt. Avalon Hike Report
Laura Sullivan writes:
“This is the hike report from the group who summit Mt Avalon. …. today’s hikers included Greg Dean( our leader), Laura Sullivan, Robin Marciello, Janet Arens, Kim Levebrve, Sheldon and Sandy.
Distance 3.4 miles
Elevation 1532 feet
Time 3 hours and 5 minutes. add a half hour to that time for lunch.
We started the hike up Mt Avalon with cool temps and breezes. Though it wasn’t long till we all started taking off layers. The trail was well marked as you can tell by all the signs we passed!
We all stayed together, and the last 1/2 mile was very steep with lots of rocks to climb over. We were all happy to reach the top!! The most surprising part was the Gray Jays that joined us at the top. and who were happy to eat snacks from our hands.
Sheldon and Sandy who met us at the top which were also a nice surprise. (their delay explains why they were not included in our initial group photo taken. At the train depot).
We had our lunch and the temp started dropping and the wind kicked up !! So, we packed up and headed back to the trail head. When reaching the bottom a few of headed to the Highland Center in hopes of having some hot soup.
Unfortunately, that was not to be. They were out of food due to a class trip of students. Maybe next time we will have better luck!! I hope the group hiking Mount Willard had just as nice time “
Mt. Wardle Hike Report
Dale Nelson
We have hiked Mt. Wardle often over the years. Our last excursion was in January of 2026. One can view that hike report and see how snowy it was https://denmarkmountainhikers.com/2026/01/10/mt-willard-hike-report-jan-9-2026/.
Today was relatively temperate, with intermittent clouds and sunshine. As is typical the wind at the train depot was quite blustery and we were all wearing a surplus of clothing as both groups posed together for our group photo. Yet, as is often the case, once we crossed the tracks and entered the woods and started the trudge up hill, we quickly warmed and starting shedding the excess layers.
This is a relatively busy trail, even on what one would be off-season, and we always find ourselves chatting among ourselves regarding how ill prepared some of the hikers we encounter seem to be for the weather and the conditions. Inexperience may account for this, or youthful exuberance or in our case, age, slow pace, frailty and caution.
Part of our route follows the old carriage road that brought people up the hill and that was later converted into a hiking trail. Apparently, Mount Willard also had a separate auto road that merged with the carriage road near the upper section, though that secondary branch has largely been reclaimed by nature. That junction was not noticed by any of us.
The old carriage road was constructed in the mid-1840s by Thomas Crawford. He built it as a scenic day excursion for his guests staying at the Crawford House, which sat on the plateau just north of Mount Willard. Rather than staying overnight at the top, Victorian-era tourists would ride up the carriage road to enjoy the same spectacular, viewswe did while looking down into the notch before returning to the rather cushy hotel below. The Crawford House burned down in 1977.
We heard the whistle from the arriving Conway Scenic Railroad trains several times on our walk and this prompted some discussion regarding the train and its history. There are actually two different trains. The Mountaineer: This is the primary heritage train that makes the rugged journey from North Conway all the way up through the steep terrain of Crawford Notch. It uses vintage 1950s-era streamlined passenger cars and diesel locomotives. Ant then there is The Winter Mountaineer: A seasonal variation that brings passengers up into the snowy mountain pass from late November through March. Which of these trains we were seeing from our perch on Wardle was hard to tell.
This train line ran originally ran from Portland cutting west through the White Mountains and then extended across Vermont to Ogdensburg,, NY, on the St. Lawrence. At the time Ogdensurg was the furthest east that ships from the Great Lakes could reach before rapids blocked further transport. So that’s where freight was transferred to trains. Construction of this rail line through Crawford Notch was considered an engineering marvel at the time. One must marvel that the line was carved into the mountainside using hand tools, horse drawn cart and black powder. The trackes from east and west were officially joined at the notch summit on August 7, 1875.
Construction through the steep, rugged cliffs of Crawford Notch was considered an engineering marvel of its time. Workers had to manually carve a shelf directly into the mountainside using hand tools, horse-drawn carts, and black powder. The tracks were officially joined at the summit of the notch on August 7, 1875, and opened for train traffic a week later.
Next Week: FOSS MOUNTAIN
PLEASE NOTE: This hike up Foss Mountain and the one for the following week, up Black Cap are highly contingent on the weather and whether our access roads are still open. We are watching conditions and will alter our destinations if the roads close. Confirm that we haven’t emailed you information about changes before attempting to travel to the trailheads.
November 6 – Easy – Foss Mountain (1,647 ft), Eaton, NH – 0.6 miles RT, 587 ft elevation gain. RT hiking 0.5 hours. RT driving 1.5 hours. (HL – Jeff)
Meet at the Denmark church at 8:30 am.
This is an easy enough hike but with a stupendous view. The only significant challenge is making it up the road to the trailhead. It is steep gravel road, enough so that if you lose your momentum going up, it is difficult to regain traction on the gravel and backing down is no fun as some of us can attest to.
Trailhead:
From route 153 in Eaton, NH – on the north shore of Crystal Lake, turn east onto Brownfield Road. Turn right in 1.6 miles onto Bull Pasture Road. In 1 mile, turn right onto Stewart Road. In .3 miles bear left at the next intersection onto Foss Mountain Road. Continue approximately 1.5 mile to trailhead parking on right.
PLEASE NOTE: This road is a single lane dirt road that gets high volume use. It is maintained by the town of Eaton but is “use at your own risk”. There are very few places to turn around or pass another vehicle and 4-wheel drive is highly recommended.
NO PARKING ON FOSS MOUNTAIN ROAD. If the Trailhead Parking Lot is full, we may have to ferry people up from the lower lot, otherwise this easy hike may prove arduous.
As noted,,, this road will close once it snows and few of us are eager to traverse up the road on foot as it would add three tedious miles to the hike. So watch for last second emails on road status
GPS coordinates of the summer parking lot:
- Latitude: 43.88492° N
- Longitude: 71.03783° W
This is a recent photo of our friend Maggie Lynn leading one of Loon Echo Land Trust’s Wednesday Wander Hikes. The cat isn’t hers but belongs to Kim Colson our local representative of the American Chestnut Foundation. Granted thhis isn’t DMH news, but how can one resist such a photogenic cat?
The Loon Echo Land Trust Wednesday Wanders take place every other Wednesday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm in the Lake Region of Maine.
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