Passaconaway, Whiteface, Sleepers, and Tripyramids
Date of hike: 7/23/11
Downes Brook Trail: 2.3 miles
Downes Brook Slide Trail: 2.0 miles
Dicey's Mill Trail: 0.8 miles
Rollins Trail: 2.5 miles
Kate Sleeper Trail: 3.3 miles
Mount Tripyramid Trail: 1.4 miles
Pine Bend Brook Trail: 4.0 miles
Total Miles: 16.3 miles (5,250 elevation gain)
Trip Report:
- Saturday I headed to Kanc to do a Sadwich Range Traverse.
- The hike along the Downes Brook Trail went fast mostly because of the annoying bugs and mosquito's. It was very humid out and temps were already in the 80's as I made my way to the gravel outwash about 2.3 miles in and took a left and hooked onto the long-abandoned Downes Brook Slide Trail (Passaconaway Slide). Within a couple of hundred feet I reached the sign stating any blazing in unlawful and will be prosecuted.
- I followed the herd path and popped out on the slide and hiked up it with ease with good views behind me. The slide was mostly dry and the illegal blazes which at one point were attempted to be removed by washing them off the rocks and painted over are faintly visible on the slide and easily seen on the trees from what looks like black acid burns on all trees where the blazes once were.
- The path follows the open rock slabs for awhile then ducks under over hanging trees and a small pool below a ledge then pops out into the open back over rock slabs before heading into the woods for the remaining relentless climb to the outlook about 0.3 miles from the summit of Passaconaway.
- Unfortunately my camera went crazy again in the high heat and humidity so my pics were useless until I used my apple phone. For pics of slide see previous hike from September 2010.
- I really booked it up the slide and was exhausted as I took a break from the outlook before heading up to the summit.
- Between Passaconaway and Whiteface I finally ran into a few people on the Rollins Trail then a few more on the outlook near the summit of Whiteface where I relaxed and took a break before heading over to the Tripyramids.
- To connect to the Mount Tripyramid Trail you hike along the Kate Sleeper Trail over two 3,500 footers. The Trail had very soft footing and was maintained excellently.
- Finally I reached the South Slide and had about 0.2 miles and a few hundred feet up the steep slide to the summit of South Tripyramid. Views from the slide were great as usual and luckily there was a breeze, which was a hot breeze but better than nothing.
- The hike from South-Middle-North Tripyramid is one of the easier ridge walks in the Whites with decent footing and nothing steep. Middle Tripyramid has good views but there were people lounging on the rocks so I just kept hiking and stopped once on North Tripyramid before my final descent.
- The hike down went quickly as I made it back to the car at 2:45.
Tripyramids from Outlook above Downes Brook - Passaconaway Slide
Mount Tecumseh - Waterville Valley from South Tripyramid Slide
Birch Glades on the Pine Bend Brook trail
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