Ossipee range loop

 I hadn't been up to the Ossipee range since 2009 (except for a snowshoe hike up the trail to take pics at the acidotic race).  When I went up in 2009 I saw the signs for the High Ridge trail and was intrigued.  It took me a LONG time to put it together and go back.

I was up a 315am and out the door by 330am.  That got me to the trail about 30 minutes before sunrise.  It was just (barely) light enough to head out. 

Most of the climb would be in the first 2.5 miles with 1,300' of climb to the summit of Mt Roberts.  I made a couple of minor navigation errors in the early going with some unsigned trails.  I very nearly went the wrong way when the trail I was on intersected (with the Settlement trail I think).  Once I was on the Mt Roberts trail proper it was very easy to follow the color coded trails (and most intersections also had signage with distances listed).

The weather wasn't bad as I headed out with temps in the upper 60s, but the humidity was very high.  I was dripping wet by 1/2 mile in.  The climbing was fairly steady and I hit the summit in 35 minutes, just as the sun was coming up over the ridge.

Now the part I was looking forward to.  The High Ridge trail is about 5.5 miles and for the most part is between 2,300 - 2,600' (the last mile climbs to the summit of Mt Shaw at 2,996').  Of course that meant the pace increased from a slow 15 minute mile on the climb to sneaking under 8 minutes on one of the nicer miles on the Ridge.  The trail was just amazing, a wide grassy carriage road with very gentle grades.  I picked up about a pound of spider webs along the trail (the bonus of being the first person of the day to go through).  I was happy to finish the climb to Shaw with a solid 10 minute mile while gaining 500'.  I knew that'd be the last real climb and was fully warmed up so I pushed it a little.  I hit the top 1:22 after I'd started and 8 miles into my run.

Next up was a short descent and little bump for the summit of Black Snout.  I dropped a little over 200' then had a quick 80' climb in exactly 1 mile.

Now I'd get a LONG downhill run to Turtleback mountain.  I zipped down Black Snout trail to Turtleback Mountain trail (which I'd follow to the bottom with a couple of out/backs for summits). In the next 4.3 miles I'd drop 800' before turning onto the Turtleback summit trail for a 200' climb in .6 to hit the top.  I took in some water on the downhill (I drank about 16 ounces over the course) and grabbed a "chomp".  I was a little worried about bonking as I'd been out for 2 hours and 13 miles.

The Turtleback out/back done, I now had to drop another 500' before the "bump" up to Bald Knob.  This section included my fastest mile of the day (7:05) and also the first time I'd seen people during the run.  A group of three (with their dog) and a guy hiking with two dogs.  I may have started to look pretty ragged as the final climb up to the Knob definitely had an impact.  15 miles down and I still had about 3 miles to go and 600 feet to drop (I'd feel the couple of 30 & 40' bumps on the way down).

I hit the end of the trail 17.8 miles and 2:41 after I started.  Total running time was 2:37 (so less than four minutes lost to stopping to read the map and take pics).  Average pace 8:50's.  I was very happy with how it went and thoroughly enjoyed the loop.