Mt. Success & Tin Mountain | 9/28/25
- Izzy Risitano
- Sep 29
- 4 min read
After a delightful summer on the high peaks, I've decided it's time to sink into fall before microspikes become a necessity. Autumn has always meant North Country to me- better colors, smaller crowds, and an excuse to wear lots of orange. This Sunday, Willow and I spent several hours en route to the last peaks I have due on my soon-to-be-released Mountains for Meals list, Success and Tin.
Fresh off a restless night's sleep, Willow met me in New Hampton and promptly christened her new car with a very long drive. Some 2 hours and a dirt road later, we arrived at the Mount Success Trailhead off of the freshly renovated Success Pond Road. I was extremely impressed by the newfound drivability. This road used to be a rock fest- it's the reason I put trail tires on my car four years ago!
We tucked the car into the non-existent parking lot and began a relatively steep ascent to the iconic southern outlook on the shoulder of Success. Though we'd worked for the open ledges right out of the gate, the unbelievable views immediately south to North Bald Cap, the southern Mahoosucs, Carter's, and Presidential Range were unbelievable. On top of the fresh perspective, this marked the first true fall hike of the season.
When we left the view and finished the outlook loop, the prickly bushes and faded blazes made the impression that most people had gone out and back to the main trail. No stranger to the uncharted, we quickly got back to the ascent and enjoyed some more mellow grades as we climbed to the junction with the Appalachian Trail.
In Mahoosuc fashion, we were greeted with one tricky scramble featuring a rope and 2 big drops. They would've been more challenging with a large pack, but with a jump and a hop, we got through the obstacle and had an otherwise easy journey to the summit.
The summit, marked with a sign and a survey marker, was open and looked south to some beautiful new bog bridges. We got to cross several of them on our short trek to the Northeast Airlines Flight 792 crash.
Because the plane is easy to find and something I'd hate to see vandalized, I won't share how I got to the crash, but I will say it was not difficult to find. When we got to the site, the air seemed to shift as we looked at just how much wreckage was still there 70 years later.
In seeing the way the plane landed, the result of a talented improvisation, I was amazed that everyone survived the initial impact. One section of the plane remained close to its initial shape, but otherwise the plane was entirely dissected across a large plot of the forest. The somber scene was unlike the others I'd been to in the White Mountains, not quite haunting but very heavy.
As we doubled back to the Success Trail, we only saw a handful of hikers and then had a quiet picnic tailgate back at the car.
After lunch, we pushed south to Jackson for the small but memorable Mount Tin. Tin sits just in front of the Doubleheads and behind Jackson Village. Just the drive in through town makes the hike worth it!
A lot of Tin's trails weave through private property, but the trails are well marked from the Tin Mine Road parking area. Our hike was just 2 miles with 600 feet of elevation gain, but we had a lovely variety of sights.
Before entering the woods, we passed memorial boulders and soon took a left towards the Tin Mine. In 1840, this was the site of the first tin found in the United States! This mine went on to form the Jackson Tin Company, where two shafts were mined in the mountain. Judging by the size of the mines, it's no wonder the company didn't last very long thereafter.
The shaft and mine pit are both quick in-and-outs. In fact, the shaft was so shallow that I still had enough sunlight at the end to see the spiders above my head. Past the mine, we took a left on the Sapporo loop and climbed aggressively away from a high-hill neighborhood to the summit. While the views were gripping all around, it was really the house on the side of Middle Mountain that caught my attention- absolutely stunning!
Our way down was a bit less steep, and I enjoyed how nicely it wrapped around the Tin Mountain Summit Loop at the base. I wouldn't feel the urge to do this in the 3-seasons again, but it would be a lovely winter hike!
Stay tuned on Instagram (and Facebook, I guess) & my main website page for the soon-to-be-released hiking list. I hope you'll hike these 2 to earn your patch too!
Mount Success & crash site: 6.63 miles, 2085 ft
Tin Mountain: 2.28 miles, 613 ft
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