Views from Iron Mountain Trailhead, and Then the Runner-ups

The views from the trailhead for the Iron Mountain Trail are almost enough to make you consider stopping there and going no further!  If you've ever been to that location, then you surely know what I mean.  Those of us who are enthusiastic about hiking will eventually move forward and do the hike, even though we know the views along the trail will be very nice, but "runner-ups" to those experienced at the trailhead.

Just in case you've never been to the trailhead for the Iron Mountain Trail, the next three snapshots provide a sample of the views from this spot which is located on the old Hayes Farm property at the end of Iron Mountain Road in Jackson, NH.

Okay, my goal for this particular day (17-May) was not to go to Iron Mountain!  Instead, I wanted to visit a ledge just to east of Green Hill.  My plan was to use just a small segment of the Iron Mountain Trail to get me to the point where I could leave the trail on the public land of the WMNF.  Upon leaving the trail, I would bushwhack southeasterly to reach a col along the ridge between Green Hill and Iron Mountain.  Once on the ridge, I would then head easterly toward my targeted ledge.  For my return leg of the journey, I would follow the ridgeline westerly to meet up with the Iron Mountain Trail which I'd then follow back to the trailhead.

My approximate route is shown on the map below.  (Click to enlarge.)

The bushwhack to the col was through open woods and was very quick and easy.  Upon reaching the col, the travel along the ridgeline wasn't difficult, but it was extremely slow-going.  There were patches of what I call "bayonet-conifers".  If you've done off-trail travel, I think you'll know what I mean.  I'm not talking about the nearly impenetrable conifers that you have to push your way through.  Rather it's the type that requires slow and careful maneuvering to avoid being slashed by the razor sharp "bayonets" that protrude from the trunk.

My hope was to find some remnants of an old trail which once ran along the ridgeline.  If the old trail is still there, then I missed it!  I did find some occasional trail-like corridors, and a few even had some piled rocks which could have been old cairns.   However, each of these corridors quickly faded away and the battle with the "bayonet-conifers" began again!

Shown in the next photo is one of the corridors I ran across along the way.

It was good to learn that travel is effortless in the open hardwoods below the ridgeline, and that it is slow-going in the conifers along the ridge.  For any future visits to this ledge, I would likely leave the Iron Mountain Trail at the same spot, but would then make a beeline for the ledge itself.  I did some poking around while I was up there, and think this is a very doable route.

Okay, that's more than enough chit-chat about getting to the ledge.  What did I see when I got there?  Well, first of all, upon arrival at the ledge I saw clear evidence of the bootleg trail that traverses some private land and comes up from the east.  I'll leave it to the readers discretion if they want to pursue that route.   Regardless, the views from this ledge are more expansive than I'd ever thought they would be!  The next series of photos provide a sampling of what can be seen from this terrific spot.

Presidential Range

 Carter Notch and Surrounding Mountains

Doubleheads and Baldfaces

 Stairs Mountain

Mt. Passaconaway and Tripyramids

Kearsarge North

Vicinity of Jackson, NH

Zoomed Photos of Some of the More Prominent Landmarks

Besides all the gorgeous landscape scenery, there were plenty of beautiful things to see right at my feet.   I'm talking about colorful works of Mother Nature, such as wildflowers and butterflies that I photographed along the way (next photo).

After a thoroughly enjoyable visit to the ledge, I trekked westward along the ridgeline and then eventually hooked-up with the Iron Mountain Trail.  Along the way, I only found a few short segments of what might have been the old trail corridor. 

I didn't take time to go to the South Cliffs viewpoint on the Iron Mountain Trail.  Not only was my time running short, but also I knew that I'd seen similar views earlier in the day from the unnamed ledge that I visited.

Upon arriving at the top of Iron Mountain, a few snapshots were taken of the ruins of the old fire tower (next photo).

The descent from the fire tower area back to the trailhead is tedious.  This section of trail has been very eroded for the past several years.  However, it seemed to me that there was even deeper erosion since my last trek along this trail a few years ago.  Perhaps Hurricane Irene might have played some role.  Shown below are a couple examples of the trail erosion.

To sum it up, the views from the trailhead for the Iron Mountain Trail are stunning! However, the "runner-up" views that I experienced on my bushwhack adventure were also pretty spectacular.  Perhaps there are no clear winners here.  So, let's just call it a tie!
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P.S. For anyone wanting to read about the abandoned trails in this area, as well as other interesting history about Iron Mountain, my fellow Blogger named Karl has an excellent report on his Blog (click HERE).