With the ongoing closure of Sawyer River Road, the shortest route to picturesque Sawyer Pond is the Sawyer Pond Trail off the Kanc Highway - 9 (easy) miles round trip. I hadn't hiked the length of this route for a few years and wanted to revisit it for the next edition of AMC White Mountain Guide.
The trail doesn't receive a lot of use due to the crossing of the Swift River at the start. Unless there is a severe drought, this requires wading, and in high water it's dangerous. There's a line of underwater rocks you can follow. On this day it was a bit more than knee deep, but even so the current was strong in the middle.
The first part of the trail is easy walking under many tall white pines.
Now that's a blowdown. Don't think my Silky would be of much use.
I made a short detour to check out the little-used southern segment of Brunel Trail.
Not hard to follow, requires attention in a couple of spots.
I doubled back to Sawyer Pond Trail on a pleasant Forest Service road.
Signage where the trail crosses the road.
The trail makes a moderate ascent up the west slope of Birch Hill, and partway up I bushwhacked through hardwoods up towards the summit ledges, a trip I've done a couple times in the past.
Whacking along the flat crest.
The ledgy summit. In the 1920s and 1930s Birch Hill was accessible via a trail maintained by the Passaconaway Mountain Club, which was based at the Swift River Inn in the Albany Intervale. I may have spotted a few remnants of the trail, but I wasn't sure.
Of course there's a register for this 1891-ft. peak. It doesn't quite make the NH 500 Highest list. Maybe the 1000 Highest?
There are nice ledges with views of the mountains around the Albany Intervale.
Bear Mountain to the east.
Owls Cliff to the north.
There are two sets of cliffs on this wild peak. The spur trail to the viewpoint goes to a ledge between the cliffs.
Mount Chocorua to the SE.
The Birch Hill cliffs do drop off.
A hidden ledge gives a vista north to Carrigain Notch...
...and Mount Tremont behind Owls Cliff.
I whacked north along the ridge of Birch Hill and rejoined the trail near this interesting boulder.
Nice walking along a shoulder of Birch Hill before the trail descends gently to cross a snowmobile trail.
Most of the remaining two miles to Sawyer Pond is easy walking through a vast hardwood forest on the north side of Albany Intervale.
There's a fine sense of remoteness on this lightly-used trail.
Getting close to the pond.
A rock-hop across the pond's outlet brook.
When Sawyer River Road is open, the hike in to the pond is only 1.5 miles and it is a busy place on weekends. It's gotten a reprieve the last few years with the added 3.8 mile road walk each way. All was quiet on this midweek day in May.
There's a shelter here, not many of these left in the Whites...
...and several tent platforms.
One of the finest pond-side views in the Whites: Mount Tremont and the "back" side of Owls Cliff.
The eye of the Owl stares across the water.
The full sprawling, lumpy mass of Tremont.
Heading home in evening sun.
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