Mt. Cardigan with Chip
Where: Mt. Cardigan, NH
When: July 1, 2026
With: Chip
On-line comments about the Holt Trail:
- The Holt Trail to Mt Cardigan's peak is considered one of the most difficult and dangerous hikes in New Hampshire
- The short but challenging Holt Trail hike up Mt. Cardigan can be harrowing in good weather and down-right dangerous in poor conditions.
- Tackling Mount Cardigan via the Holt Trail, a 4.7-mile loop with steep rock scrambles, is one of New England's toughest hikes
- I've never been so scared hiking until I met Cardigan's Holt Trail
With the 48 NH 4000 footers done, I've turned my attention to the lower peaks. Some new for me (bypassed in favor of the 4K summits) and some I've climbed before. Cardigan is one of the latter. I climbed it in the mid-1980s (1985?), taking advantage of a new car that allowed me to venture beyond the bounds of Boston. My recollections of the hike are very sketchy though. Even the date is a guess.
A recent post on-line mentioned the peak, and a hike up the Holt Trail with a challenging rock scramble near the top. That got me thinking a return trip might be a good idea. I did some research, then proposed the hike to Chip. He liked it, and we set a date, but a last minute conflict arose (tree removal at my house) and the trip was postponed a week.
As luck would have it, a record-setting heat wave rolled in for the new date, but we went anyway. I picked Chip up at his house a bit before 8AM and two hours later we were at the AMC's Cardigan Lodge, the trail head for the paths up Mt. Cardigan. We followed a school bus down the dirt road to the lodge, where it disgorged a large group of teenage boys from Camp Pasquaneny. We tried to pack up quickly and get out ahead of them, but they disembarked from the bus ready to go. We did get ahead of them at first, then let them pass us (they were young and strong, and moved fast).
We caught up with them at the junction of the Holt and Manning trails, where they split into two groups, one for each trail. We continued up the Holt Trail, and were ahead of that group for a bit. They passed us for good a short time later, though we caught up with them from time to time at tough spots. For the most part however we had the path to ourselves. It followed Bailey Brook at first, which had a small flow of water, on a steady climb.
At an intersection of trails, the Holt Trail left the brook and started to climb more ruggedly. After a bit I began to hear the campers ahead of us and we caught up with them as they struggled up a small rock face. A vertical cleft in the face offered a route up, and they assisted each other with helping hands and advice on footholds. They offered us assistance, but we said we were fine and they continued on. I made my way up the cleft, while Chip found another route around one side.
The trail began to emerge from the forest onto open slabs, but wasn't too bad until we came to another challenging rock face, where we caught up with the campers once again. This also had a vertical cleft, but it was a longer, steeper climb and much more exposed. The campers were struggling their way up as before, but helping each other with encouragement, assistance, and advice. I found an alternate route through the brush to the left, but it only bypassed the lower portion of the face. A fairly short (10-12'?) but particularly difficult bit still remained.
I was at the tail end of the group of campers at that point, and talked with one boy at the bottom of that final crux section. He asked about my hiking in the area, then went to the right and found a route up that way. I didn't pay attention to where he went because I had turned to take on the cleft. I managed to top it (with difficulty) eventually. Chip appeared soon after. He followed the lower bypass I'd found, but then was faced with the final bit. We tried to find the route to the right that the camper had climbed, without any luck, so Chip took on the cleft and made it up (though he was a bit bloodied).
From this point on it was climbing up open slabs, trusting the soles of our footwear to keep us adhered to the rock. For the most part we were out in the open, and we took advantage of any shade opportunities we found for rest breaks. We caught up with the campers once again near the top of those slabs, then they continued on and I moved on ahead of Chip. Eventually, I came out into the open and looked up to see the summit fire tower, with the campers spread out around it. I scrambled up the final few steps and claimed the summit of Cardigan for the second time.
Chip arrived soon after, and we stayed on top for an hour or so. Though it was warm (my thermometer showed 107 degrees), a steady breeze kept things comfortable. I looked around, enjoying the views, and located a line of cairns heading west, marking the route I'd taken 40ish years ago. Chip spent the time having his lunch and talking with the campers. Very nice young men, with two adult counselors leading them. Eventually they departed, again as two groups. We let them get going, then took the same route as one of the groups, on the Mowgli trail heading to Firescrew, an adjacent peak.
The name "Firescrew" originates from a massive, devastating forest fire that swept over the mountain in 1855. The intense flames and smoke spiraling up from the summit and its upper slopes resembled a giant corkscrew of fire, leaving behind a permanently bare, rocky peak.
Just below the summit of Cardigan we met an older gentleman climbing up, who said he'd hiked the entire AT, in sections. We chatted with him a bit before continuing on to Firescrew. It was much easier walking than the ascent of Cardigan. A descent into a small col then a gentle climb up slabs to the top of Firescrew. We located the Manning Trail, which would return us to the start, and began the hike back. We lost the path briefly in one area of open slabs, but Chip spotted a yellow paint blaze on a rock and we were back on track.
The trail soon dropped back down into the forest, and from that point on it was just a steady pleasant hike down the slope. The path was rocky & root-covered in spots, with a few climbs down rocks, but was never especially difficult. It crossed a number of small brooks coming down the hillside, none with much water flowing. Finally it came to an old cart road, and followed that for an easy stroll back to the junction with the Holt Trail. I waited there for Chip (I'd walked on ahead), then the two of us completed the hike back to the Lodge together.
The numbers: 6.18 miles, 2030 ft. climbing, 4 hours in motion, 5.5 hours total
Mt. Cardigan: 3136 ft., Firescrew: 3064 ft.
