Black Cap the Long Way: 4/23/21

Black Cap, highest of the Green Hills east of North Conway, is a small mountain with a big view. Though it's just 2369 ft. high, the ledges around its summit command a sweeping prospect that includes the summits of 29 New Hampshire 4000-footers and several more in Maine. When Hurricane Mountain Rd. is open, the climb of Black Cap is one of the easiest in the Whites, just 2.2 miles round trip with 650 ft. of elevation gain. There is a much longer route to Black Cap from the Green Hills Preserve trailhead on Thompson Rd. in North Conway. Using the Black Cap Connector, this is a long and generally pleasant woods ramble of 9 miles round trip with 2250 ft. of elevation gain. I hadn't been across the Connector in more than a decade, and it was a good choice for avoiding snow and taking in some fine views. 

With the recent hiking boom, and the prohibition of roadside parking by the town at this location, parking is now a major issue at the Thompson Rd. trailhead. The parking space only holds about 8 cars, and the hikes to Peaked and Middle Mountains and Pudding Pond are quite popular. The area is also heavily used by mountain bikers. Even on a Friday in April, it took me two tries a half-hour apart to secure a space.

The hiking trails in the Green Hills are maintained by the Nature Conservancy, which owns and manages the 5,500 acre preserve. This area is a true treasure in the North Conway area.

Second or third growth hardwood forest cloaks most of the slopes in the Green Hills. This was a crisp and sunny though quite windy spring day, great hiking weather.

Much of the Black Cap Connector follows old logging roads, and the trail shows erosion in places.

 

Burl fest.

About 2 1/2 miles in there's a really nice section of trail that meanders across an oak-wooded plateau. There's a surprising sense of remoteness, not far outside bustling North Conway.

An extensive oak blowdown looks to be the work of a nor'easter.

Nature Conservancy trail marker. A map and information on the Green Hills Preserve are available on the TNC website, https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/green-hills-preserve/

A fine relocated section of trail winds up through some ledge shelves.

The Connector meanders along a broad ridgecrest, passing over two knobs and through a couple of spruce-wooded saddles as seen here.

The trail dips into an attractive hardwood col before the last climb to the summit spur trail.

This sign is a relic from years ago when AMC maintained this trail system.

Signage at the junction with the spur trail to the summit.

It's a struggle to check erosion on this gravelly footway.

Emerging on the summit ledges.

The summit is marked by this red dot.

A huge thank you to those who worked to preserve this special area.

The best views are found by heading down the NW ledges a short distance on the Black Cap Trail, which comes up from Hurricane Mountain Rd. The red blazes are the current markings for the trail. The faded orange blazes were previous markings. The outlined blue blazes mark a very short loop out to a west-viewing ledge.

A ledge perch just off the trail offers a grand panorama of the high peaks to the northwest.

Close by to the north is Kearsarge North and its northern spur peaks. In the distance are mountains in the Evans Notch region.

The Chandler-Sable-Baldface Range behind Rickers Knoll, South Gemini and Mt. Shaw.

It was a wintry day on the Presidentials. Winds averaged about 90 mph on Mt. Washington with gusts over 130 mph.

Backlit view to the southwest, with Mt. Chocorua in the middle.

On the return trip, evening light in the hardwoods.