Hostel Weekend: Cotton-Livermore Loop

We were much stoked for this hike at peak autumn foliage! These are mountains Jon and I have never hiked before.

The path we took runs from Cotton Mountain Trail, along the Crawford-Ridgepole path in the Squam Range, descending down Old Mountain Rd. and Old Mountain Highway making this a loop hike. There is some coverage in the AMC guidebooks but I found enough info online to feel comfortable about finding our way out of the woods. I like to know more or less where I am when running a hike.  

The views to the N and NW were somewhat limited on this hike, but there were excellent views to be had at several points where the trail pops out onto an opening. 

We started from the Cotton Mountain Rte. 113 trailhead eventually spilling out into an old gravel pit. Ascending Cotton was pretty straightforward, good footing, with a few steps. 

Cotton Mtn turned out to be no softie... the ascent was steep. Sort of like a middle-of-the-mountain trail section in the Whites, though much shorter - which was fine with us.

The Cotton Mtn summit is wooded but with a limited view available from a little rock outcropping. There was some colorful foliage but it was not peak like further north. The red leafs of the maples stood out among the yellowish-green forest.

The descent down Cotton Mtn. was rough and steep. Near the bottom I saw an opening in the woods to the left and thought this could be a beaver pond. We decided to investigate and sure it enough it was with a beaver lodge!

The ascent of Livermore had some interesting switchbacks. Just something about how smooth they were- walk, turn, walk, turn, pretty soon I lost my sense of direction and was just meditatively following the trail…reminded me of walking in a labyrinth.

Reaching the Livermore outlook was a huge unexpected treat. The view from this spot is the most expansive along the Squam Range Ridgeline, except maybe for Mt. Percival.

We took a few minutes to soak it in, had lunch and Jon took out a pumpkin cookie with a candle where everyone sang ‘happy birthday’ to me. We then started our descent back to our vehicles.

There was an interesting marker at the outlook of Livermore, with "25" chiseled into it. The descent down Livermore was steeper than anticipated but not rough. We found a similar marker in a stone wall, with “JK 1913”, chiseled into it and “24.” These must be old property markers.

We reached the Old Mountain Road junction, took a right and continued our descent. It was eroded in spots but led to an excellent view of Red Hill beside an open field, before joining Old Mountain Highway.

On Old Mountain Highway we visited the Prescott Cemetery. A century ago, this old road followed by this trail was part of the main highway between Holderness and Center Sandwich. We descended at moderate, easy grades until we reached Rt. 113. On the road walk, myself and Rick decided to practice our rodeo skills…LOL.

On the drive back to Rock ‘N River, we stopped by at Owens Farm and marveled at the assortment of pumpkins, vegetables and gourds. We checked out the two seater voting privy and I promptly sat down to vote for Hillary. I posed next to Hillary and loved the sign posted next to Trump.

At the lodge, we sat on the deck having beer/wine and snacks to enjoy the spectacular foliage display. Jon cooked up a delicious meal of grilled chicken marinated in Italian dressing with peppers, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, and side salad. For dessert we had strawberry-rhubarb pie topped with whipped cream.

Thanks for a great weekend. So nice to meet everyone! 

Trip Report by Mike
Photos by Jon & Mike

Jon and I are running this hiking weekend from Rock ‘N River [Mike and Jon’s house] in the White Mountain National Forest for this getaway! It’s all about all of us having fun together! Lodging is optional to participate but we think you’ll have more fun, cut down driving back & forth in one day, and get to make new gay outdoorzy buddies better if you spend the weekend.

COTTON AND LIVERMORE LOOP HIKE

Cotton Mountain [1,210’] and Mt. Livermore [1,500’] provides exhilarating views of Squam Lake! We will be meeting at the Mt. Cotton trailhead for 11:00 AM and the directions are posted below. We’ll ascend using the Cotton Mountain Trail and at .7 miles reach the south spur of Cotton Mountain with a spectacular open ledge viewpoint of Squam Lake. We then follow the Crawford-Ridgepole Trail for 1.3 miles to reach Mt. Livermore [2.0 miles] with another view of Squam Lake where we will have lunch. At 2.4 miles we reach Old Mountain Road, and follow that down to reach Old Mountain Highway after 3.1 miles.  

We’ll then turn and follow the Old Mountain Highway to reach our cars at 4.2 miles.     

Vertical Gain: 1,200 feet [Moderate]
Distance: 4.2 miles 
Approximately 4 hours outing duration

CLOTHING/GEAR

The weather starts to get chilly this time of year so make sure you have a wool hat, gloves, insulating layer such as fleece and protection from the elements with a rain shell. Bring lunch, snacks, and water. 

APRES- HIKE

Later on we’ll relax on our deck for beer/wine/snacks to enjoy the spectacular views, have a family style BBQ and a campfire under the stars! It’s BYOB all weekend. If you will not be spending the weekend with us and would like to join us for the BBQ [$10 to reimburse our food costs], let us know so can ensure there is enough food for everyone.

LODGING OPTION

Rock ‘N River has 2 rooms with 4 bunks each. The bunks include linen/blankets and there are plenty of towels in both bathrooms to use for showers. We can only accommodate 8 members indoors for the weekend so RSVP quickly!  Members who reserve both nights instead of one night will be given priority…so if you only reserve one night you may ultimately not have a place to stay.  Rock ‘N River will be open take in arrivals Friday night at 7PM. Saturday & Sunday mornings we will start the day with coffee and bagels.

RATE

The rate of $25 for Friday night and $35 Saturday night [includes BBQ]; or $60 for the entire weekend. Includes a bunk bed with a breakfast each morning, BBQ Saturday night and full access to the amenities at Rock ‘N River.