Shelburne Trails Ramble: 7/11/25

On yet another humid, partly sunny day, I headed over to Shelburne, NH to hike several trails in the lower Mahoosuc Range maintained by the Shelburne Trails Club (STC). I knew that parts of two trails - the Scudder Trail up Mount Ingalls and the Red Trail up the "other" Mount Cabot - had recently been partly relocated by the STC, so they needed to be checked out for the next edition of the AMC White Mountain Guide (due out in spring of 2027).

 

I drove a half mile up gravel, potholed Mill Brook Road (off North Road) to the parking spot for the Scudder Trail and set out late morning.

I hustled along this grassy road section to try to stay ahead of the mosquitoes.

 

Last fall, at this clearing (with a view of Bald Cap Peak),  STC volunteers relocated the Scudder Trail off an overgrown, tick-infested section of the road into the adjacent woods.

The half-mile relocation passes by this interesting perched boulder.

Pleasant climbing on a soft new footbed.

The trail rejoins the original route and climbs to this junction near the low point between Mount Cabot and Mount Ingalls.

 

Just 0.1 mile up Scudder Trail from this junction (and 1.4 miles from the trailhead) is one of the finest view ledges in the Shelburne area. 

Last fall the STC, with permission from the private timber company landowner, hired a professional logger to cut a handful of trees below this cliff top to open up the view. It's a sweeping prospect to the south, here looking SE towards Speckled Mountain, the Royces, and the east end of the Moriah range.

Perhaps the nicest vista is looking south to the sprawling masses of Shelburne Moriah and Middle Moriah Mountains. There's also a good look SW to the Presidential Range, but at this point they were still buried in clouds.

The outlook is located on a neat east-west ledge shelf that the trail follows for 0.2 mile.

Scudder is a fun trail to hike as it winds its way up the south ridge of Mount Ingalls at varying grades, including some short seriously steep pitches.  This is one of the mellower stretches. There is also a nice variety of forests.

 

Farther up the ridge is another outlook that looks SW to the Moriahs and the Presidentials.

A ledgy stretch were I found a few early blueberries.

There are some old spruces on this ridgecrest.

As the trail approaches the summit of Mount Ingalls, it leads across an expansive area of ledge with good views.

Before settling on the ledges for a long break, I continued on to the wooded summit...

...and beyond on a spur path that descends 0.1 mile to a tiny ridgetop pond.

Swirls of green algae gave Ray's Pond a curious look.

Then I headed back to the ledges to relax for an hour or so.

Mounts Washington, Clay, Adams and Madison were emerging from their cloudbanks.

Another good look at the Moriahs.

Beautiful spruce forest heading back down the ridge.

I took another break down at the lower view ledge.

Next up was a check on the 0.4 mile side trail to little Judson Pond. This turned out to be a bit of an adventure.

This trail is very lightly used, and without the yellow blazes it would be quite difficult to follow as it descends into a hardwood bowl.

The only stream crossing of the day, over Ingalls Brook.

As it climbs through a logged area, the trail becomes completely overgrown for a stretch.

In its current state, for experienced hikers only.

After crossing a skid road, the trail descends to the swampy shore of Judson Pond.  The water level is way down this summer, but the spot still has a wild and remote feeling.

I retraced my steps from the pond and then climbed the Ingalls-Cabot Connector to the broad, mossy top of Mount Cabot.

A  short jaunt on the Red Trail led me to the 1512-ft. summit, where there is this old foundation.

I went a short way down the Blue Trail to a northeastern outlook. 

Here there is an intriguing look at the wild and inaccessible Bear Mountain massif in the eastern Mahoosucs.

On the south side of the summit a short loop leads down to an excellent view ledge.

The STC arranged for this view to be opened up last fall, as was done for the lower view ledge on Scudder Trail. The tools and supplies were packed up by llamas. Another fine place to lounge for a while.

I headed down the steep upper part of the Red Trail on a needle-cushioned footway.

Once down into less steep terrain in the hardwoods, the trail passes by extensive areas of recent logging. Much of the Shelburne trail system on the north side of the valley passes through private timberland under conservation easement. Thanks to the landowners for allowing public access on these trails.

A newly relocated section descends through an attractive hemlock grove.

At the bottom of the relocation the trail crosses a large open logging yard that was used during recent winters.

STC signs show the way at both ends of the crossing. From here I continued out on the lower Red Trail, the Yellow-Red Trail Connector, the Yellow Trail, and the lower 0.1 mile of Scudder Trail, completing an interesting 7 mile loop. Thanks to the Shelburne Trails Club for their excellent work maintaining these trails!

A dusk view of Mounts Madison and Adams from a pulloff along Route 2 in Randolph.

 

Sweatfest Hike to Crag Camp: 7/7/25

 

On an HHH day - hazy, hot and humid - with a chance for afternoon thunderstorms, I planned to check out some recent Randolph Mountain Club (RMC) trail work on the middle part of Lowe's Path, and ramble over a few other trails on the lower slopes. Since the sun stayed out and the storms did not materialize, I ended up climbing the Spur Trail to the Lower Crag for great views of King Ravine, followed by a brief visit to the RMC's Crag Camp. It was a sweatfest from start to finish.

 

Mine was the only car at Lowe's Store when I started out mid-morning. 

That's a long 4.8.

Lots of history on these trails.

There is ongoing construction along the powerline that the trail crosses. The crossing is now made on a wooden platform.

The first mile and a half of Lowe's Path ascends at easy to moderate grades through a nice hardwood forest.

Good axe work by the RMC trail crew.

Whale Rock.

 

This heavily used path has received lots of trail crew attention over the years. This rock staircase is a short distance below the junction with The Link.

 

Last summer and this summer the RMC trail crew has been making major improvements at several sites along Lowe's Path. The work has been described in detail in the RMC newsletter, which can be viewed on the club website, www.randolphmountainclub.org.

Work has just begun on this gullied section of trail.

 

Excellent  treadway work in a wet area, completed last year.

 

The first rock steps in a project that will lead hikers up along the edge of a tricky, slippery ledge.

 

Lowe's Path becomes steep and rough as it ascends to the shelter known as the Log Cabin.

The first facility at this site was a bark shelter built in 1875 by William G. Nowell and Charles E. Lowe. In 1889-90 Nowell replaced that with an enclosed cabin. The RMC took it over in 1913 and made it available to the public. In 1985 they tore down the old shelter and built the current structure, in a style known as an Alaska trapper's cabin. This summer, through August 14, the Log Cabin is reserved Monday through Wednesday nights for the RMC trail crew as they work on Lowe's Path.

A peek inside.

Last year the RMC crew built this impressive pinned rock staircase atop a nasty, slippery ledge, just above the Log Cabin.

 

From the shelter I followed the Log Cabin Cutoff across to Randolph Path.

The Cutoff is nearly level but part of it is quite rough as it traverses a sidehill slope.

I descended eastward on the Randolph Path, which also had some tricky maneuvering along a steep sidehill.

This section of Randolph Path is more in the graded style of its builder, J. Rayner Edmands.

Heading up the Spur Trail to visit Chandler Fall, which I hadn't been to in quite a while.

 

This pretty cascade on Spur Brook is just a few yards up Spur Trail.

Typical of trails in the Northern Presidentials, Spur trail is steep and rough, rising 1300 ft. in its 0.9 mile climb to the RMC's Crag Camp.

Sign marking side trail to Chandler Fall. Near here was the site of Spur Cabin, a private log structure built in 1899-1900 and used by the Torrey and  Moore families for many years. Eventually the cabin deteriorated, and the USFS burned it down in the winter of 1929-1930. I made a brief bushwhack foray to a likely location but found no evidence of the cabin.

At Chandler Fall, Spur Brook slides down a large, steep rock slab.

An amber pool gathers at the base of the fall.

There are nice ledges to hang out on at the base of the fall, with a partial view to the  north, 

 

 

Since the weather was holding, and I had much of the afternoon left, I decided to tackle the steep climb up to the viewpoint at 4100 ft. known as Lower Crag. The Spur Trail, so named because it climbs an eastern spur of Nowell Ridge, was cut by Charles C. Torrey in 1900-02, in conjunction with the use of Spur Cabin. Partway up, the trail crosses Spur Brook by the junction with Hincks Trail, which ascends to the RMC's Gray Knob cabin.

Yup, it's steep, though perhaps a bit less rough than some other trails in the Northern Peaks.

The trail moderates for a bit on a beautiful shoulder.

One more steep pitch to reach the Lower Crag.

A short side path leads out to this great viewpoint.

A ledge seat for taking in the view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A striking late afternoon vista into King Ravine with Mount Adams on the right and Mount Madison on the left. The Knife Edge of Durand Ridge is highlighted under Madison. Also a good look at the boulder field on the floor of the ravine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A hazy view NE to the Mahoosuc Range.

Zoom on part of the craggy headwall under Adams and John Quincy Adams.

After lounging at Lower Crag for an hour, I climbed another 0.1  mile to Crag Camp, perched on the edge of the ravine at 4247 ft. This was originally built in 1909 as a private camp for Nelson H. Smith. In 1939, when his land lease with the USFS expired, he gave the camp to the RMC. In 1993 the RMC razed the deteriorating building and built an entirely new camp. More information on the history of RMC camps and trails is found in Judith Maddock Hudson's excellent Peaks & Paths: A Century of the Randolph Mountain Club. The RMC also publishes a substantial guidebook, Randolph Paths, for which this writer has been a co-editor along with Judith Maddock Hudson and Doug Mayer. 

Down in front of the camp is the Upper Crag, with a startling down-look to the floor of the ravine.

A wide view out to the north, with the Crescent Range seen across the Randolph Valley and peaks of the Kilkenny region beyond.

 

Another great angle on Madison, Adams and King Ravine.

I took a quick look inside. Amazingly, there was no one around. In fact, after being passed by two fast-moving solo young men down low on Lowe's Path, I didn't see another person for the remainder of the 8-mile hike.

The scoop on Crag Camp. 

Dining room with a view.

View from the deck.

A neat place to spend the night, though I have never done so.

 

 

Descending along the Spur Trail in slanting late afternoon sun.

This is the only somewhat tricky scramble on the route up to Crag Camp.

From the bottom of Spur Trail I followed Randolph Path a short distance down to the five-way junction known as Pentadoi.

From there I followed a pleasant, less-used section of King Ravine Trail back to Lowe's Path.

King Ravine Trail passes below Canyon Fall at its crossing of Spur Brook.

 

When I got back to my car at 8:00 pm, it was 82 degrees. A sweatfest from start to finish. On the way home I stopped at this pulloff on Valley Road to see the moon rising over Mount Bowman, with Mount Jefferson peeking over and Mount Adams to the left.