The Cohos Trail – Dixville Notch to Stark

PHOTO: Julie is on top of Middle Brother, aka Old King Cliff above Dixville Notch. The Cohos Trail traverses the ridges of the mountains that form Dixville Notch. From the top of the cliffs are dramatic views to those that climb to reach them. The more famous Table Rock with its narrow rock gangplank high above the Notch can be seen on the left. From here the view across Lake Gloriette to the shuttered BALSAMS Resort below Abeniki Mountain certainly is a grand eye-filler. Cohostrail.org

by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer

The Cohos Trail runs the length of Coos County from the Canadian Border to its most southern reaching point at the bottom of Crawford Notch in Hart’s Location. The trail is 170 miles long. Some people backpack and thru-hike the entire trail but a lot of people section hike the trail too.
We have been section hiking our Cohos Trail adventure. A month ago Julie and I finished our last outing in Dixville Notch and now we would continue southbound from there to South Pond in Stark. We planned to go from Dixville Notch and through the Nash Stream Forest spending two nights on the trail.
I recruited my husband Charlie to help us with a car drop so when we finished in Stark so we wouldn’t have to drive an hour back to Dixville to pick up my car. We dropped Julie’s car off at the gate at South Pond in Stark and Charlie drove us north to Dixville Notch.

Charlie took our photo at the Cascade Brook Picnic Area and wished us good weather and good luck. Carrying our heavy backpacks we headed up the Cascades Trail and the trail went straight up past the pretty Huntington Cascades. At the top we crossed the brook and continued on the Three Brothers Trail.
At the Middle Brother Outlook spur we dumped our packs and went down the path. The view to nearby Table Rock’s rugged spire and down over the former resort to Abeniki Mountain was spectacular and if you’re out day hiking to Table Rock be sure not to skip this outlook. We also dropped our packs and took a quick trip down to Table Rock where we saw two hikers. Julie had no interest in climbing out to the end of the narrow cliff.

Once we left the popular Table Rock Trail the trail became wild with lots of deep mud and it was grassy and brushy. Nearing the summit of Mt. Gloriette we popped out on the abandoned ski trails of the former Wilderness Ski Area at the Balsams. It has been closed since 2011. As a skier that once enjoyed these slopes it is heartbreaking to see the rusting ski lifts and I have little faith that anything will be opened again in Dixville.
Next up was the climb to Dixville Peak, home of the numerous wind turbines, the Cohos Trail crossed below the summit and we left the green tunnel into the wide open wind turbine service road. On the edge of the road we found a nice rock to eat lunch in the sunshine and watched a couple of ATVers ride by.

We were nearly out of water by the time we reached the bottom at Kelsey Notch we went down to a small brook next to the stringer bridge we just crossed to filter water. We filled all our bottles because looking at the map we didn’t see any brooks over the next two miles to Baldhead Lean-to. We needed to carry enough water for supper and breakfast.
Just before we reached the shelter we dropped out packs and I led Julie to the wooded summit of Baldhead Mountain, a peak on the NH Highest 200 list. There isn’t a herd path and for ten minutes I wound us around mud holes and a thick patch blow-downs. I was surprised to see when we signed the register, I was the last to sign-in when Zachary and I snowshoed here way back in January.
With ten miles behind us we now had the shelter all to ourselves and we were all moved in and making dinner by 5pm. The privy was nice and we stored our food safely away from the animals in the nearby bear box–a metal box that locks. The temperature started to drop and the sky was clear and the moon and stars were bright. This might be the quietest place on earth.
Julie woke me up and we enjoyed oatmeal and coffee and were hiking Sobo by 7 am.
We found water ten minutes down the trail.
The Nash Stream Forest is nearly 40,000 acres owned by the State of New Hampshire and camping is only permitted at the Cohos Trail’s designated sites. And fires are never allowed on the Cohos Trail or in NH State Forests. We’d be in the middle of the Forest until we reached Rte 110 in Stark.

The trail was well blazed and easy to follow but everything was wet. The Gadwah Notch Trail feels like the best wilderness New Hampshire has to offer. We hiked up and down and mostly down to the Nash Stream. The Cohos Trail volunteers recently had a work day and built many new bog bridges/puncheons and brushed the trail. Thank you volunteers.
We didn’t see a Moose but we saw a lot of tracks and moose poo.
We filtered water at the Pike Brook bridge and continued on. Reaching the Sugarloaf Mountain Trailhead we thought about eating lunch but decided to push on to the Old Hermit Shelter up the Sugarloaf Arm.
A few years ago Julie and I hiked the Percy Peaks and then tackled Sugarloaf the same day. We decided that we’d skip them during this hike.
It was just after noon when we made it to the shelter and there is excellent water here. Julie shared a bag of dill pickles and it made my lunch extra good.
Down we went again until we crossed the Nash Stream and the road and up to Pond Brook Falls. Oh they are loud and pretty and the granite ledges are a sight to see.
Now we were on our last section of trail before the campsite, the Trio Trail. This trail is joyful and well groomed with some nice stone steps. The trail is trimmed like a golf course–someone is giving this trail major love.

We hiked 17 miles to reach the Percy Loop Tentsite and two Nobos had already settled in and there was only one tent platform. So we set up right in the middle of the trail on the best spruce needle covered flatspot. Another good privy that could use a step to climb into it, a bear box and water flowing nicely right at the site. We climbed into our sleeping bags before it was dark. It rained all night but stopped by the time Julie woke me up extra early. We were hiking by
6:30 am and in a cloud. So skipping the Percy Peaks was easy.
When we reached the spur to Victor Head the clouds were starting to lift. We dumped our packs and climbed. From its ledges we had a nice view of Christine Lake. Percy Peaks were still in the clouds.

There is no sign of an unofficial path to Bald Mountain and I convinced Julie it was worth the climb. It is one of my favorite ledgy summits because of its far reaching panorama to the Mahoosucs and beyond and of course the Percys. We weren’t disappointed when the clouds lifted and we saw it all. Even Berlin’s wind turbines looked near.
Our third day on trail went by quickly, another ten miles behind us and with less than a mile to go we were walking in mud with the worst mosquitoes that we have run into this whole summer. We couldn’t have been more happy to get to the car.
From the Canadian border to South Pond we met few people on the trail. We had the lovely forest all to ourselves. The Cohos Trail is a gem. It is rugged and wild. The volunteers that care for it love it very much and we do too. It was fun to section hike Sobo the northern 100 miles of the Cohos Trail this summer.
We now have completed our section hike of the Cohos Trail. There is no more new-to-us trail ahead. We’ve both hiked the Kilkenny Ridge to Jefferson. Earlier this summer together we hiked from the Jefferson Country Store and through the Pondicherry Wildlife Refuge. We’ve hiked over Cherry Mountain and up the Edmands Path, over Mt. Isolation and down the Davis Path during many different outings over the years.
But I think we are to continue our section hike Sobo from Stark; only 70 miles to go. It is too much fun not to do it again.!
Have fun.