W1/MV-008 Saddleback Mountain

After activating Pawtuckaway Mountain I drove a few minutes north to get this peak. The easiest trailhead appears to be Saddleback Mountain Road off of NH 43. This is where I started. The road is dirt, and there is a fence with a sign about a half mile in saying cars are not allowed past this point. I turned around and parked there.

Park here.

The sign doesn't say anything about hikers, so I just walked up the road. There is a house near the top, and as I was heading up, they drove past. We waved, and both continued on our way.

Getting close to the summit.

There are a few towers on the summit at the end of the road, but the true summit is a bit higher and through the woods. At the top I found a spot where the forest looked thinner at the end of the road and started bushwhacking. You need to head mostly northeast to get to the high point. Others have said they found faint trails, but I didn't see anything and didn't look.

Not lost in the woods, yet.

It was easy to avoid the thick areas in the forest, and I soon found my way to the high point. I knew I was there when I found a register behind a log. I signed it then got my antenna set up in a clearing. It was close to noon, so not very many EU stations, but plenty of other chasers.

Nice clearing near the summit to operate from.

After working the pileup I packed up since it was chilly out. I followed my footprints back to the road, then headed down to the car. There was still plenty of daylight left, so I decided to go over to Fort Mountain for a final summit.

Trailhead: Saddleback Mountain Road.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Walk up to the road to the towers, then bushwhack over to the summit.
Red Tape: None. Don't drive past the sign.

Register on the summit.