NOTE: This route involves posted private land! I had accidentally crossed it without noticing the sign going up, and spotted in going down, but now was in a pickle as much of the surrounding land is posted as well. The sign is there going up (I finally spotted it on the far side of the property going down).
PLEASE respect landowner's property rights and do not use this route in its entirety. It may be possible to summit this hill using unposted land.
That being said, I was on my way back from Boscawen when I figured I'd do something I hadn't done since around 1979. Climb this hill. Back in that day, I was about 14 years old and rode my bike in from Penacook to see if I could get a view of The Giant Store (a local department store, formerly a pipe factory, now apartments for the elderly). I believe I did indeed see it, it was a happy little memory, so I wanted to relive a little piece of my early years.
It was a soggy day, but not raining at the moment, so I plodded up the power lines, getting wetter as I went. Memory is funny, this sucker seemed both longer and steeper than I remembered. There were a few additions as well.
There were a number of hunting blinds and a camp as well. Pretty sweet place. It was also a lot wetter than I remember, and not just from the rain. A big pond dominated most of the swath at one spot, and a number of soggy areas needed to be avoided. Along the sides in a number of places, No Tresspassing signs were found. Every crest brought on another hill climb until finally I could tell it was sloping down ahead. And what a view!
Couldn't make out a thing. Oh well. I was surprised to see a snowmobile trail coming in from the north through some pretty woods. Must be a nice ride.
Figuring it was a named peak (and had prominence) I headed off into the woods a short distance to tag the high point. Easy? No. It was one of those hilltops. Every bump looked higher until you stood on it, then you swore the other ones were higher. After exhausting bumps, I had to have hit it (whichever one it was), and headed down as it started to shower. Remember the pond?
Back near the blinds, I saw a no trespassing sign in the swath. Uh oh. I had been trespassing. Crap. I am a very strong believer in property rights and not infringing upon others. Though an accident, I was not too pleased with myself and hoped the signs were missing on the way up. Not having a good route out, I made my way quickly down (trespassing again, argh), looking back to see if I missed the signs coming up. I did. I must have been too busy avoiding something or other. So my recommendation is find the snowmobile trail and use that.
Arriving sufficiently moistened back at the car, I thought that maybe childhood memories are best left that way. Maybe the views are better on a good day, but they can't be any better than “meh,” while what I remembered was excitement at looking down at my neighborhood some miles away. C'est la vie.