Black Cap trail head by Hurricane Mountain Road.
| Black Cap from
Hurricane Mountain Road Black Cap |
| Estimated net time | One hour. | ||
| Difficulty | No difficulties. | ||
| Drinking water | No stable access to running water. | ||
| GSM coverage | Coverage in the upper part of the route (July 2013). | ||
| Parking | Room for many cars at trail head car park. | ||
| Start height | 524 metres | ||
| Vertical metres | 210 metres for the roundtrip. | ||
| Trip distance | 3.6 km | ||
| GPS-file | X | ||
| Map |
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| Route photo |
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From the town North Conway, on road 16, drive 2.1 km (1.3 mi) north after you've passed Memorial hospital on your right hand side. Turn right where signed "Hurricane Mtn Rd" and drive 6.1 km (3.8 mi) to the car park on the right hand side of the road. Park here.
Start your hike by following the path that starts at the far end of the car park. Make sure you fork left, signed "Black Cap", after 1.3 km, and follow the path to the summit. The upper part of the path is marked by red paint, and the summit is marked by a red dot painted on the rock at the summit.
Descend by reversing your ascent route.
We had arrived the nice White Mountain Hotel the night before and the plan today was to visit Mount Washington before the five hours' drive south to Bristol in Rhode Island. But I found time for a quick morning hike before breakfast, and was pleased to find a very nice path up to Black Cap. This route seemed to be a popular place for people exercising, and during my descent, before 7 am, I met four other hikers.
Back at the hotel I went for a swim in the hotel's pool, together with Njål and Sigurd, before we had a typical American breakfast of sweet bakery, but this time also a decent porridge.