Orford
Cube is also likely the most popular day hike on the CRT, easily accessible off of New Hampshire Route 25A and located near several campgrounds. Plus, the views are splendid for moderate effort, though its rockiness in some relatively steep areas requires a modicum of lower-body strength.
The heavy rains on July 1 that forced a weeks-long closure of Route 25A between Orford and Wentworth, N.H., also affected this trail, causing a mess of mud and exacerbating erosion in some areas.
Fortunately, the CRT could rely on the Upper Valley High School Trail Corps, the team of student workers from schools throughout the region whose members spend the summer performing maintenance under the guidance of the nonprofit Upper Valley Trails Alliance.
Two separate Corps crews recently helped clear blowdowns and debris, installed about 20 new water bars and implemented benching, cutting into the side of the hill to promote water flow.
“The vast majority of the work we did involved drainage issues,” UVTA development director Randy Richardson said. “What we tried to tell the kids is that a lot of the most-important work that allows trails to be sustainable is stuff that, when you’re done, you might have no idea you were there.”
That was reflected by Bradford, Vt., resident Kelly Clements, one of nine trail users spotted on Thursday afternoon.
“That’s awesome that they were out here,” said Clements, hiking the trail for the second time l this summer. “They obviously did a great job because you wouldn’t even know there was any damage.”
Clements’ hiking partner was Colin McMahon, who earlier had been seen running up the trail. A visitor to the area, McMahon is lodging at nearby Camp Moosilauke.
“Every time I’m here, I try to come up this trail,” McMahon said. “It’s short, and it’s beautiful.”
From a parking lot on the west side of Baker Road about three-quarters of a mile from 25A, follow the CRT’s abundant blue blazes to a kiosk entering the woods on the left.
There’s an immediate feeling of escape as the overhead mixed hardwood provides a tunnel-like canopy, though the growth of white birch, beech and pines at the outset is fairly young.
If conditions are breezy like on Thursday, a pleasant whooshing of leaves emits overhead. Otherwise, birds and the flow of a nearby brook make the only noise.
About 15 minutes into the walk, the forest thickens and terrain becomes a bit steeper. The fresh smell of moss abounds, and rotting logs and healthy spores indicate it’s a high-moisture area. You might have to fend off a few mosquitoes.
The grade increases again at about 25 minutes, the heart pumping as the trail begins a broad switchback pattern. Red blazes mark Appalachian Trail conservation land — the AT also traverses Cube, roughly perpendicular to the CRT. Ignore them and keep following the blue marks.
The path narrows as shrub-like debris, possibly removed by the Trail Corps, rests on either side of the path. The evergreens that make up Cube’s hulking facade as viewed from the roadway begin to dominate the landscape.
The path gets rocky, putting good use to a sturdy pair of hiking boots. Some of the protruding stones are minor obstacles, others handy natural steps.
A large granite bolder hosts its own miniature forest, rooted in its mossy topside. Take a peek around the rear to find a cavernous gap.
About an hour into the hike, step over a large evergreen blowdown, the sawing of its branches rendering it traversable. Soon after, emerge onto the path’s first brilliant vista point.
Facing due west on a rocky clearing, a clear day elicits views as far off as Vermont’s Mount Mansfield as well as up-close looks at nearby landmarks such as Sunday Mountain near Orford village, the cliffs in Fairlee known as the Palisades and Moose Mountain, within the northern reaches of Hanover. This vista alone would be worth a day hike, but there’s more.
A more earnest switchback pattern begins and, about 10 minutes later, a new viewpoint emerges with northerly views. Indian Pond between Orford and Piermont, the village of Bradford and the bumpy ridges of Groton (Vt.) State Forest all are visible, as is distant 4,000-foot Vermont peak Camel’s Hump.
From here the trail flattens, even descending slightly as it becomes less rocky and more rooty. It was here that WCAX Channel 3 news anchor Adam Sullivan was met hiking with his family of four.
“We try to do it about twice per year, because it’s a relatively short hike and well-maintained,” said Sullivan, an Orford resident. “There’s that one blowdown, but other than that, it’s in great shape. It’s probably better now than the last time we came here in June.”
Just over 90 minutes after leaving the parking lot, the CRT terminates at Cube’s summit, where it intersects with the Appalachian Trail. One AT section hiker, Hal Wright of Newtown, Pa., was found Thursday, though he noted a group of through-hikers trailed not far behind.
The view here opens to about 280 degrees, the highly recognizable slope of Cube’s closest prominent neighbor, Smarts Mountain, dominating the southern foreground in front of faraway Killington and Mount Ascutney. Keep turning clockwise to spot the wind turbines along a Groton, N.H., ridgeline as well as the rolling hills of New Hampshire’s Lakes Region. There are plenty of rocky platforms to rest and take it in.
A leisurely descent takes just over an hour.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.