Lovewell Mountain is another SOTA peak on the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, this one in Washington, NH. There are a number of different approaches to the mountain, but I decided that the one from the south would be the best for me.
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| Parking at the end of Washington Drive. |
The trailhead I chose was at the very end of Washington Drive, on the east side of Island Pond. There is a big turn around with plenty of space to park. On the lake side is a sign for a private beach, and next to it a jeep trail that goes in to some woods owned by the Society for the Protection of NH Forests, which is open to the public.
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| Up one of the jeep trails. |
Head up this trail, following the stream, until you climb up a short hill and reach another jeep trail. Turn left here and follow it to the next junction. At this well signed junction you join the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, which goes over the summit. It also appears that the land ownership changes, and you enter state land.
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| The greenway is only for hikers. |
The route here becomes a single track, and starts climbing. The bottom part was somewhat wet, with lots of icy patches, or open water. Its probably wet and muddy in the summer. After about half of the climb, the terrain flattens out for a bit. The upper climb was not hard, and there is a short spur to a ledge near the summit. There was also a sign for a spring, but I didn't go to look.
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| Enjoying the only view. |
The summit area has a clearing, with a large cairn on one side. It looked like there was a memorial plaque on it, but I couldn't really see through the snow.
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| Time for some field repairs! |
As I was setting up my antenna, the radiating wire broke just past the crimp on connector. Luckily, I had a knife and was able to strip it enough to wrap it around the bolt. With the antenna up, I got on the air and didn't have any further problems. There was good cell service on top, and spotting was easy.
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| It was a winter wonderland. |
Once I started getting chilly, I packed up and retraced my steps back to the car. It was a quick descent, and I was soon back an the road, the car right where I had left it.
Trailhead: End of Washington Drive, east side of Island Pond.
Website: SOTA Site. Google for Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway info.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Head up into the forest, then turn left at the next jeep trail. Turn right onto the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, and follow it to the summit.
Red Tape: None. Don't park in the private parking lot.
Video: YouTube
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