Mount Livermore and Cotton Loop Hike

Thanks to Mo for joining Joe and I for this hike on a beautiful Sunday with highs in the upper 50s and lots of sunshine!   In the midst of all the horribleness in the world right now, I find that being out in nature is the best way for me to take my mind off of everything and remind me that there is still beauty in the world.   We passed a few people on the trail, but everyone was very respectful, and either we would step out of the way to give us the 6+ feet of space, or they would.   We practised social distancing, but were still able to talk.   We took our time on the hike as we realized that this was probably the highlight of our social calendar for the week, so nobody really wanted the hike to end.   It was also a nice easy to moderate hike where you could walk without constantly looking down to see if you're going to trip over a boulder.     After a short 30 minutes to the top of Mount Cotton, where we admired views of Squam Lake, we continued down and then back up to the summit of Mount Livermore, where there was plenty of space to stretch out for lunch.    We decided to deviate slightly on the way down in that we went forward on Crawford-Ridgepole trail to Old Mountain Rd then to Old Highway back to Rt-113, instead of backtracking to Prescott Trail and then Old Highway.

Join us for a loop hike over Mount Cotton and Livermore in the Squam Range, with beautiful views of Squam Lake, where On Golden Pond was filmed.    This is a 5 mile loop hike with about 1000 feet or less of elevation.  Joe and I hiked this earlier this week, and the whole trail was completely snow free and beautiful.   The hike up Mount Cotton on the Mount Cotton trail is fairly steep but you're up there in about 30 minutes or less, and we can pause to see the first view of Squam Lake.   After that, there is undulation on the Crawford Ridgepole trail as we go down and then back up to Mount LIvermore, but the ascent up to Mount Livermore is gradual with switchbacks.   There is a large area at the top of Mount Livermore where we can spread out to have our lunch.   After lunch we will backtrack on the Crawford Ridgepole Trail to the Prescott Trail, then the Prescott trail will lead us to Old Highway trail back to Rt 113 and the cars.    

There was a sign at the parking lot to not park along the street if the parking lot is full in order to encourage social distancing, with the possibility of closing the trail if the parking lot gets too full.   This is definitely a lesser used trail, so hopefully that will not be a problem, but more people have been hiking lately, and if for some reason the West Rattlesnake trail is closed then that may draw people to alternate trails on the Squam range like this one.    If the parking lot is full, we know other hikes in the area and can quickly come up with a plan B.

We will practice strict social distancing, and we encourage communication during the hike amongst the participants to aid in this effort.