I didn’t expect this. On a beautiful sunny October day, with weather hovering in the high 60s, surely, I thought, someone else would be here. But as I made my way down a dirt road to the start of the Daniel Doan Trail, passing over a couple of wooden bridges that made me wonder if they could support my truck, I was getting the feeling this might be a lonely hike.
Fall foliage still hanging tough on the Daniel Doan Trail
Signs, Signs, Everywhere Are Signs
When I arrived at the parking area, hardly big enough for three cars, I was sure of it. All around were signs warning me not to drive any farther, and to be aware of dogs, and to be damn sure not to sell anything to anybody. I was getting the feeling I might be entering an area where there might be some guns, so I strapped an orange vest to my pack as a precaution.
There was a sign indicating the direction of the Doan Trail as well, and I followed its instructions to the start. Scanning the area for all these dogs I was supposed to be wary of, I saw that I was heading towards a house. Well, two houses. Well, one that was more of a garage, and the other, a house. It looked like they might be two separate abodes though. The garage one had a sign on it saying, “Ugly’s Place.”
I had a feeling Ugly wasn’t interested in seeing me, and it certainly seemed in my best interest not to meet him. I know we’re not supposed to prejudge anybody based on their name, but you can’t tell me there’s somebody out there who thinks Ugly’s Place actually refers to a woman. Although, it would be a great character for a book, wouldn’t it? A woman who calls her own home Ugly’s Place? I already want to know everything about her.
One of the dogs ate the other half of this sign, I know it.
The Daniel Doan Trail
Well. I got past Ugly’s Place without incident, but just to be safe, I ran the first mile up the Daniel Doan. Leafy and smooth, I crinkled my way up with little problem. My regular climbing has gotten me into much better shape and I was hardly out of breath after a mile, even with the pack on. For the next mile, I wogged (half walked, half jogged) a bunch, and hit the two-mile mark in probably 35 or 40 minutes.
The last 1.2 or 1.3 miles went slower. It was a steep incline, but still soft on the feet. When I reached the summit, I was only one hour and twenty minutes into the climb and feeling good… as long as I didn’t think about the fact that I still had to survive getting by Ugly’s Place on the way out.
At the summit I found an old warden’s cabin, which I didn’t know anything about beforehand. It gave me Mount Cabot vibes, and maybe because of the terrors from that climb, I didn’t investigate it. Rather, I shot on by, up to the fire tower that I fully anticipated.
The trail had a lot of fallen trees, and even though the low brush is dying, it was still crowding in.
A Mixed Review
A little while back, climbing Moosilauke with a friend, we ran into a woman who had just come from camping on Smarts Mountain. She expressed such joy about the experience, it got my hopes up pretty high for Smarts’ summit. So, I’m not sure my take is fully accurate here—the best interpretation of any place is when there are no preconceptions about it before you experience it yourself. That being said, Smarts is a nice mountain, but as far as the 52 WAV list is concerned, it ranks pretty low on my return-to list.
It’s just that if there wasn’t a fire tower, I’m not sure this mountain would be on the list. Having climbed trails on it from two different directions now, I didn’t find either one of them to be particularly interesting. That doesn’t mean they’re bad. It just means there are plenty of ones I like better. But you could also do a lot worse than Smarts. And the Daniel Doan Trail was nice this time of year, with plenty of beautiful foliage. It also felt a little abandoned at times and I imagine not many people go up this way.
But the views from the summit are quite beautiful, which I’m coming to expect from the 52 WAV list. So again, the weight of expectations is a killer. The cool factor from Smarts is the fire tower, which you are actually able to crawl up inside for a protected view. The winds were really blowing, though, when I was inside the tower, and it wasn’t hard for me to envision the tower collapsing from their force. I took note of some artwork, some broken windows, a logbook, and hastened my exit.
Quick Work of this One
I’m probably not being fair to Smarts. My lackluster review might be suffering from the fact that I was annoyed I couldn’t summit the first time I came here, after getting called away by something going on back in the low-country. I also didn’t enjoy being completely and utterly alone. Some days, being alone just gives you the creeps.
Because of the creepiness, and the desire to spend the evening with my family, I made quick work of Smarts. I left my truck at 1:35 or so, and was back to it a little after 4pm. Typically, this mountain probably would have taken me four hours, but I ran the first mile up and that same mile down, lopping off a heap of time. If I were to take on Smarts again, I’d definitely not go this way. Instead, I’d opt for the route I attempted in the spring on Lambert Ridge. There are much better views that way and a far more interesting climb than the Daniel Doan route.
Don’t Sell Anything to Ugly
Not to mention, you don’t know what’s going on at Ugly’s. When I returned to the trailhead and passed by the place, I saw two men huddled near some equipment at one of the properties. I presume one of them was Ugly, and I looked over to see if they would acknowledge me as I crunched my way through the leaves. They didn’t. I passed a sign that contained a paragraph saying something like, “Do not solicit or try to sell us anything. We are broke and can’t buy anything, so don’t sell it.” I’m paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it. There were a bunch of other words, but I didn’t think it would be polite to stop and read them all.
Between the Beware of Dog signs and the abundance of other unwelcoming signage, I didn’t need any further assurances that Ugly and his pal were not to be bothered. Ugly and his pal might be great guys, but I didn’t want to be confused for a salesman, so I moved along. As I walked back to the truck, I pondered what salesman would even consider coming up here. Who is selling stuff this deep in the woods? Is there something going on I don’t know about?
Probably. I still have so much to learn.
The Way Home—Just get past Ugly’s and your home free
New Hampshire’s Mountains
There are so many great mountains in New Hampshire, and on a different trail with friends, this one would be grand. It’s on NH’s 52 With a View list, and if you check it out, you’ll see where this one ranks for me compared to the others. If you are exploring New Hampshire and want to hear about other places in the mountains, head over to In the Mountains.
See you out there.