W1/HA-137 Bald Sunapee

 It was the last day of 2021, and time to end the year with a bang. I had a three summit day planned, and first up was Bald Sunapee. This poorly named mountain is just east of Mt Sunapee. Based on some trip reports I found, it appeared the best place to start was west of the mountain on Between the Mountains Road. Google streetview showed some pullouts about a mile past the Andrew Brook Trailhead. However, with the snow I didn't see anywhere good to park. So I just parked at the public trailhead.

The road just looked like this.

From this small parking lot I walked about half a mile down the road. This seemed to be past the houses and directly below the summit. I didn't see any negative signage, so I stepped off the road and started up the hill. 

Foggy woods on the way up.

The climb is rather steep at the start. After about half of the elevation, I crossed a flatter area. There were some tracks in the snow, and since they were going the direction I wanted to, I followed them some. I soon saw they were human footprints. I didn't follow them the whole way, but I did follow generally the same route they did.

Operating at the summit.

The second half of the climb wasn't bad, but the forest seemed thicker higher up. There are some small cliff bands, but I missed them on the way up. If you find them, just go around. The summit seemed brighter, but it had also warmed up enough for the snow and ice to start melting off the trees, so it felt like I was getting rained on. 

I was a bit disappointed that the top was totally covered in trees despite having "Bald" in the name, not that there would have been a view with the fog. There was good cell service on the summit, and I found enough of a clearing to put up my antenna. I was glad to have the tuner for this one, since it was up against a few trees. On the air I quickly made contacts, including some Europeans. I didn't linger, since I needed to be back by four to pick up my dad from work and I knew Sunapee would be a bigger hike.

Happy despite no views.

I took the same route down, more or less. I manage to walk through some cliff bands, but I was able to find routes down or around withouth any climbing. It was fast going down, and the snow wasn't too slick. I came out on the road just past where I went in, and walked back to the car. I took a quick break in the lot before starting up the trail to get Mt Sunapee.

Trailhead: Andrew Brook Trailhead, Between the Mountains Road. This lot only has space for about half a dozen cars, and there were a number of "No Parking" signs around. In the summer you can probably park closer and avoid the road walk. Just watch the signs.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: From the trailhead, walk about half a mile up the road, then go straight up to the summit.
Red Tape: None. I'm not sure who owns the land, but I didn't see any signs.
Video: YouTube