The North Country Tab | 9/13/25
- Izzy Risitano
- Sep 17
- 9 min read
The North Country has been one of my favorite coming-of-age stories. Starting back in high school, my best friend and I visited her Uncle Rob in Colebrook every spring for a week of fishing, moose-watching, and roughing it. Since then, I've explored much of the known and unknown sights of the North Country, always feeling much further than 4 hours from home. This trip was no different- although within the same books and hiking lists I am accustomed to, there is nothing ordinary about the far reaches of the Granite State.
Day One: Diamond Peaks
Diamond Peaks brought Liz and me to New Hampshire’s Second College Grant, a township owned by Dartmouth College for recreation, research, and the first-year orientation trip. Given the private ownership, we could not drive past the gate off of Route 16 and had to walk 2.2 miles on Dead Diamond Road to the trailhead.
Despite being a roadwalk with low expectations, Dead Diamond Road became one of the trip’s highlights. From the rugged river gorge and a cabin dedicated to Dartmouth's Dr. Miller and Quinn, this walk was both historical and beautiful. The dedications were particularly timely, as Liz and I had both independently visited the site of the plane crash in the Pemigewasset in the weeks prior.
As we arrived at the Swift and Dead Diamond junction, Liz and I veered left to the Diamond Peaks trail and began our very dry climb to Alice Ledge. The trail started with a handful of booby-trapped bog bridges, which bolted up with each step. Past the bridges, the route passed many dried-up ferns and fallen leaves that deeply reminded me of Vermont. Having been occupied with sports throughout high school and college-guiding the last 4 autumns, I realized I hadn't walked the White Mountain Guide during September much, if ever. Though I'm grateful I'll spend this fall in my home state, it makes me miss all those weekends taking Saint Mike's students out on the Long Trail for the first time.
When we got to the top of Alice's small ledge, my wish to see Diamond's iconic cliffs did not come true. Rather, I got my first real glimpse at Mont Dustan- a beast of a Firetower Hundred peak I'll need to hit at some point. Not in a rush to do that one! We quickly ducked off Alice's ledge and continued the rest of the way up to Diamond Peaks.
Leaving Alice Ledge provided a steady climb to a handful of obscured ledge views along the ridge. At many points, some of the terrain would be troublesome for hiking with pets, but never anything concerning for a hiker. The only hiker's concern was the series of blowdowns near the top that required a detour or a jungle gym to overcome.
When we arrived at the summit, we had great views of the aforementioned Mt. Dustan opposite us and Mt. Umbagog in the distance. We also had views towards the depths of northern Maine and much of New Hampshire's Androscoggin River Valley. For the first time in a while, my entire view was brand new to me. No Chocorua off in the distance, Washington towers somewhere north, or even Carrigan. Nothing but green, lakes, and countryside.
As we descended Diamond Peaks, there were some leaves to slip on; many had fallen yellow or brown, due to the drought. Towards the end of our hike, we ran into a Dartmouth Trip director who informed us that it’s been the driest season in 85 years. He also pointed out the airstrip behind his cabin, which was also dedicated to the Dartmouth doctors. He was quick to note, however, that it is seldom used due to the difficult winds and small runway.
Day 2: Sanguinary Summit & Ridge
When I first found out that there were trails in the White Mountain guide so far up north, I must've rolled my eyes. The more I heard about some of these remote destinations, the less I expected I'd enjoy getting to them. I couldn't have been more wrong!
Liz and I got started from the height of Dixville Notch at 9 AM, making a short road walk to the Balsam's sign by Lake Gloriette to begin Sanguinary Ridge. The iconic Dixville Notch trail kicked off with switchbacks to calmly yet curiously gain 300 feet in 0.16 miles. As we crossed an unexpected talus slide and topped out the cathedral spires across from Table Rock, I was completely blown away by the view. The Balsams, Table Rock, and well-lit cliffs of Abenaki Mountain made for Friday's best, just 15 minutes in.
Little did we know, this sweeping ledge would be our best view of the day. As we continued up Summit Trail, we had a long hike ahead with a flat midsection and an eventual rise to the top of Sanguinary Summit. The trail had plenty of evidence of moose activity, although we did not see any wildlife beyond red squirrels. The trail was well marked and had several blowdowns with clear herd paths around the obstructions. When we got to the top of Sanguinary, there was a clear cut at the top that was giving way to plenty of small spruce growth. Given that the neighboring mountain, Cave, is one of the New Hampshire 500 highest peaks, we had intended to bushwhack over, but were soon stopped by a series of blowdowns and trickier woods than anticipated.
Never mind the setback, I blasted ahead to Panorama Shelter to finish the Sanguinary Summit trail, then doubled back to Liz. The walk back to Sanguinary Ridge felt long as the sun grew hotter overhead, and many of the viewpoints were a bit too cliffside to enjoy.
Back at the parking lot, we filtered water from the drought-afflicted stream to hydrate on the road walk. Coming out of the flume, we met Cathy Crooker, who sends out the 52 With a View patches, and her husband! In addition to a great conversation, they also offered us a ride back to our car, which was beyond appreciated due to the challenging and steep Route 26 road walk we'd expected to complete. Talk about the right person, right time!
After we completed our hike and parted ways, we drove over to Dixville Peak, which I had informed Liz we did not need to hike from Gloriette as anticipated. What I did not realize is that I would be driving my car (a mid-sized SUV) 6 miles up an ATV trail with 1,746 feet of elevation gain. Although Apple Maps first gave me the wrong directions, we soon prevailed with Gaia and common sense, taking Connector Road > Clear Stream > Dixville Peak Road. When we arrived at the gate at the end of Dixville Peak Road, we were met with many descending ATVs and a brief bushwhack to the largely blasted-off summit.
The blast area looked like a crater, inverted where the summit would have been. Between the private property and the fear factor of being underneath the winter turbine, I did not need to spend any time exploring up there.
Although we hoped to hike Sugarhill later in the afternoon, our long drive and failed attempt to Cave had taken up enough time, and it made sense to go back to camp. We headed off to Lake Francis and prepared for the day ahead with a little bit of GPS studying and some more hard cider sampling.
Day Three: Deer Mountain, Prospect Mountain, Table Rock
On Saturday morning, I went out for a hike up Deer Mountain for firetower and tracing purposes. Liz and I briefly split up, as I dropped her off at Covell and headed north for a peak she'd already bagged.
Deer Mountain access is tricky, so I was curious where I'd park. I made it slightly past where All Trails indicates parking is on Sophie’s Lane, leaving my car at the base of the double-blazed Deer Mountain fire tower trail. I started up the gravel road and took a left turn to the true trail, a well-marked path with blue blazes.
Despite the 46° temperatures, I soon warmed up to a T-shirt and continued my run while occasionally shouting out "good morning grouse" to prevent further wildlife scares. Although there were plenty of signs of bear and moose activity, I was spared any further scares even through damp open areas. Because the mountain is more of a ridge than a peak, I did most of my elevation in the 1st mile, and then rolled towards the summit at 2.2 miles into my journey.
At the top, I reached the famous pine tree in a fire tower casing and appreciated the eerie weather, complementing the landmark. I sent a quick text to Liz that I would be back to her drop-off location in about 45 minutes, and ran down the trail back to my car. As I drove out of Sophie's Lane, I passed two hikers heading up, but otherwise enjoyed an entirely solo morning.
After picking up Liz on Round Pond Road, we headed over to the happy corner village of Pittsburgh, where we began to hike Prospect Mountain. This short hike was partially on somebody’s driveway and partially on the Cohos Trail; the route was thoroughly blazed in yellow and looped us around the top of the mountain, similar to the other Prospect Mountain in Lancaster. At the top, we found a small summit outlook towards Magalloway Mountain, a lovely peak further north in Pittsburgh. There was a string at the high point, but unfortunately, no jar to register.
In exchange for our jam-packed morning, we had a peaceful lunch back at camp, waiting for Liz's son Nick to join us. Nick has more recently gotten into hiking and made the 3-hour drive from UVM to join us for some short but unforgettable hiking.
Upon Nick's arrival, we finished up a relaxing lunch and drove back to Dixville to try out a new ascent of Table Rock. Liz and I had both tried the other routes, but were looking forward to the longer ascent via Huntington Cascades and Three Brothers.
Unlike the other trailheads, Huntington Cascade and picnic area had a sizable parking lot with nice signage encouraging a quick hike to the falls. The water was low, but we were still impressed by the lower and upper falls of Huntington Cascade through the gorge-ous corner of Mt. Gloriette. The trail was steep at times by the water, but calmed down as we crossed Cascade Brook and more gently ascended towards Table Rock & the Brothers. Near the top, we took the short detour to Middle Brother, which afforded a unique view of Table Rock's side profile from below.
When we ascended back to the main trail, we had a view of rolling ups and downs to the "plank" of Table Rock, and it was just as frightening as the last time! While I'm capable of going to the edge, I walked down the table with my arms out for balance, as if I was literally walking a plank. Nick, on the other hand, down-climbed all the way down to the very edge, nearly giving Liz and me a heart attack. Beyond that, Table Rock was, as always, breathtaking & quiet due to its remoteness!
Day Four: Fourth Connecticut Lake
On Sunday morning, we awoke to just enough rain to make packing up a challenge and prepared to see some moose. Fourth Connecticut Lake is a unique trail- it's extremely remote, crosses the Canadian border several times, and is the very start of the Connecticut River! Don't be fooled, although some of the water will flow to Long Island, the start is a mere puddle.
The parking for 4th Connecticut is just before the Pittsburgh customs station, which we promptly walked around to the shared trailhead with the Cohos trail. Be careful, although one technically crosses the border to start, you cannot walk down the road, or you'll get spoken to (obviously). I won't say who, but I watched it happen!
The first part of the Fourth Connecticut Lake trail follows the border swath on a herd path, gaining slightly at first before leveling out where the trail enters the woods of New Hampshire. Be sure to look out for the many survey markers before the wooded section to count how many times you cross!
As we entered the woods, we had a quiet walk to encourage wildlife sightings, yet got absolutely nothing. Between the landscape and location, we had high hopes but were disappointed by the silence. I'm sure that all the moose saw us, though!
On our way back out, we ran into some fluffy caterpillars and a couple finishing the Cohos Trail. Since the border agent mentioned how it's a bummer there's no celebration for finishing so far north, I offered them a cider as admiration for their hard work! Had to lay down some positive karma for when I eventually thru-hike it- lol.
In addition to being a much-needed getaway, we had a productive and beautiful trip up in the North Country. My only complaint? 700 miles on the odometer. Miles are meant to be travelled!
Comments