The combination of working on my 52 with a view and the much denser tracing project is awkward. While I wanted my 52 to take place in the single year after my 48, it didn’t quite make sense to push the list when I was going to hit them all “eventually.”
That said, Potash has stayed on the top line of my “easy hikes” list for about 2 years now. First I was saving it for winter, then keeping it for friends who preferred shorter hikes. At last, Potash rose to the top of the deck when I was looking for a short hike on a humid day with my parents!
We got a very late start, which was fine with me as my previous night’s sleep was on a red-eye from Seattle (PNW trip report coming soon). Additionally, our later-than-intended start led us to miss the scattered thunderstorms that passersby had encountered!
Starting from the familiar Downe’s Brook TH, we took a quick right onto Mt. Potash trail and arrived at the notorious crossing of Downe’s Brook within 5 minutes. Though I got most of the way across on rocks, I reverted to walking straight through when it got too far for my 5’4 legs. After the crossing, the trail ascends very gradually until just past the crossing of FR-511.
Though the trail gets steeper, ascending slabs, at 1800 feet- the grades are extremely manageable and even damp, the rock was grippy. After a quick climb up the first band, we got to a false summit of sorts, lending great views of Mt. Passaconaway and the Rollin Ridge to Whiteface. I also picked out the back of Square Ledge, as I recalled climbing the steep drainage between it and Passaconaway in the fall of 2022. My mom mentioned how impressive it was I could identify so many peaks, but the truth of the matter is I just remember how hard certain ridges & drainages were to climb and then center myself by them!
After the ledge, we climbed along some steeper grades, but even amid wet roots and big rocks, the footing was very stable. There was one steeper ledge to climb just before the summit, which was still damp from the morning, and even so, my shoes were good and stuck to the mountain.
As we reached the top, I took off to start taking in the view, and man was I impressed. The vast face of Green’s Cliff centered me as I faced Northwest towards the Hancocks, Mt. Carrigan, Webster Cliffs, Crawford, and Tremont. Turning around I picked out the high peaks of the Sandwich range, namely the easy count of the Tripyramids.
We enjoyed the sunshine and took a sunburn home as a souvenir, quickly descending until the rain picked up the instant we got back to the car.
All in all, this was a fantastic hike and a great one for all abilities!
Mileage: 4.64
Elevation: 1384 ft.
Comments