New Hampshire’s Wildcat Mountain might be best known for the skiing, but the mountain is also heavily used for hiking. The weekend prior it was low 70°’s, sunny, and felt like summer. This hike (April 18, 2021) was the complete opposite. A foot of snow had fallen two days before my hike, so I was met with a winter wonderland, a comfortable 40° day, and overcast skies.

My initial plan was to park at the Glen Ellis Trailhead and start the Wildcat Ridge Trail from there. But, the trailhead’s gate was closed and the road to it wasn’t plowed. This led me to start at Pinkham Notch at the Lost Pond Trail, which would add additional mileage to my hike. The Lost Pond Trail had a set of tracks before me, but it was kind of tricky with the snow and maneuvering over so many rocks. I had hiking poles on this trip and they were helpful here. Once I got to the Wildcat Ridge Trailhead, I was a pretty immediate and steep incline. Some scrambling was involved and I was seriously wondering how I was going to get back down on that trail since it is an out-and-back. Once I hit alpine zone, there was so much snow. Sooooo much. It was deep, powdery, and beautiful- but it was hard to walk through. There was a set of snowshoes but I kept post holing in them, and my poles kept shortening on me here. It was pretty aggravating and I wanted to throw the poles of the mountain lol. I was super exhausted and frustrated and every time I looked at my trail location on the All Trails map it seemed like I had barely covered any distance. I knew I had to at least make it to D Peak, and I figured once I made it there I wouldn’t continue onto A Peak and just call it a day.

At D Peak though, there were two girls who had skinned up the ski mountain and were musing over hiking to Peak A. They were in their ski boots so the hike would not be so easy- but as they were talking one of them said, “well it’s only just after noon and the sun sets after 7:00pm, we have a lot of time”. This, my friends- was the motivation I needed. (Also the ridge line portion of the trail was packed down and waaaaay easier to hike on than during my ascent. I was also talking to them about my struggles coming up the mountain, and one of them recommended I walk down the ski mountain and back along the highway- which was sound advice and is what I ended up doing. Going down the ski mountain felt like it took forever (SO much faster on a snowboard!), but it was definitely easier than going down the way I came up!

All said and done, I can say it was not an enjoyable hike- and that’s ok! Not everything will be fun every time you do it. I’m just happy I got these two peaks out of the way and I’m proud of myself for chugging along to Peak A!

PARKING

There is parking at the Glen Ellis Trailhead but it is not open in the winter. You can find alternative parking at Pinkham Notch and tack on some extra distance with the Lost Pond Trail, which starts across the street.

MILEAGE

Image courtesy of 4000footers.com — Trail map via 4000footers.com

8.4 miles out-and-back from the Lost Pond Trailhead to Wildcat Peak A

TERRAIN

Lots of rocks, some scrambling involved, and steep incline.

THE VIEWS

Lost Pond is nice to look at, and there are some great view points of Tuckerman Ravine/Mount Washington on your way up to the alpine zone. Once you’re on the ridge, the summits are wooded alpine (is that a thing or am I making that up?), and there is a view point at Peak A where you can see Carter Notch Hut.

GEAR

Peak Bagging: Wildcat Peak D + Peak A

MILEAGE

TERRAIN

THE VIEWS

GEAR

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