Hiking Mount Cardigan 5/17/2020

“Your off to great places, today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.” – Dr. Suess

I have decided that I am going to try and write reviews of hikes that I have gone on or will be going on in the coming months. Just go with the flow for the first few until I get the hang of how I want to type them out! This one will probably seem all over the place but getting into writing “publicly” is something new for me, so enjoy my wild ride anyway! 🙂

New Hampshire’s mountains offer peace and serenity to many people, myself included. It has been so long since I made my way north to the mountains and they were calling…BIG TIME! 2020 has been quite the whirlwind of a year so far; from giving birth in February to being stuck in quarantine since March, it was time to get out there.

Being out of shape and not really getting to hike that much in recent months my goal was to hit an easier mountain. I had considered Mount Watatic in Ashburnham but had read that it was over crowded basically daily, so I reconsidered my options. I have been slowly working on the New Hampshire list 52 With A View and had been wanting to hike Mount Cardigan for a long time now. Around 9:30 Sunday morning my sister in law, Luciana, and I set out for Mount Cardigan. Getting a late start, we were expecting the parking lot to be full but to our surprise we were able to get a spot in the main parking lot. As we hit the trail there were people starting at the same time as us and a lot of others making their way down.

Trail conditions were a bit muddy and a LOT of bugs! But, with spring in full swing the greenery is booming which makes for beautiful sights, along with all the melting snow there was plenty of running water along the way.

Getting back into the mountains was refreshing and just what my mind, body, and spirit needed. The fresh mountain air instantly allowed my senses to be cleared and cleansed from the crabby city life. My favorite part of getting away to the mountains even if it is just for a day is the fresh, clean air that fills up my body. Nature allows me to think and get almost lost in my thoughts and really think about where I am and want to be headed; so after being cramped up inside for basically three months it was the perfect reset.

I was also excited about this because it was my first real hike with my new camera and I couldn’t wait to put it to work! (See Below)

As you can see the views are impecable and did not disappoint on us on this day! Even with the overcast clouds, they were gorgeous. Once we were at the top we were able to be spread out from everyone and enjoy a lunch break.  We stayed at the summit for about 45 minutes relaxing, catching up, and capturing pictures. As we packed up and made our decent the trail was now almost empty which was nice, we passed a few people heading up but not many heading down. 

As we made our way down we found some snow off trail near the summit, as of course went to explore. There was a small stream that was red copper in color when the sun hit it. The scene surrounding me made me almost feel like I was in a movie. I was peaceful, quiet, and full of life. 

Overall, I would highly recommend this hike – it is short and offers some amazing views from the top.