Tripyramids Hike

On Saturday morning we awoke to low cloud and mist.  We had expected a sunny day and had plans to hike Mts Haystack, Lincoln and Lafayette. With a forecast of clouds in the high summits and winds gusting to 60-90 mph, we changed plans and made for  the Tripyramids (north, middle south) in the Sandwich region.  These three peaks are just over 4,000. While they have limited views, we hoped they would be in the clear and a little less windy.

It turns out our change in plans was a good decision as we were enjoying sun and clear skies in the valley.  The clear skies persisted as we traveled to the Sandwich Wilderness of the White Mountains and for the rest of the day.  We parked at Sabbaday falls, and walked a mile down the road to the Pine Bend Brook trail which took us to the summit of North Tripyramid Mountain. This winding trail followed a lovely brook and was well designed.  

About half-way to the summit we met Karen, a forest ranger for the White Mountain National Forest who let us know we were a little off trail, which we were.  We ended up hiking to the summit with Karen and learned quite a bit about forest protection, flora and fauna, and trail maintainance.  We also were entertained by her stories.  We had a quick snack at the top of North Tripyramid which had limited views to the south and proceeded to Middle Triyramid Mountain for lunch.  Here the views were much more extensive and we could see the entire Samdwich Wilderness below us.

To descend we stepped onto the Sabbaday Falls Trail at the Tripyramid col, and we joined up with Karen again and enjoyed walking the trail back to the falls with her.   One highlight of the day was seeing a young bear cross the trail and run into the woods about 150 yards ahead of us.   We enjoyed an "A.P." (Arnold Palmer) and a sticky bun from the Vintage bakery at Sabbaday Falls and rejoined the company of MANY visitors enjoying the long holiday weekend with a visit to the falls.

A friendly Sandwich resident

For our friends in Sandwich, UK

Karen and Sheri on the Sabbady Falls Trail

Chicken of the woods?