"2nd summit of the day. Continued on after meeting friends on Turtleback. Similarly gentle trail conditions for the most part. Snowy sections here and there on the High Ridge Trail. Dropped my pack at the snowmo intersection for the last steep .5 mile to the summit loop. My long hike culminated in absolutely gorgeous views north and east. I could not find the USGS marker or any evidence of the former fire tower :(. Another county Prominence Point done!" — SteveM_StickMan • Apr 20, 2025

"A hike for some Ossipee peaks. I hiked up Sentinel Mtn, which was quite a prominent bump. I then hiked over to Flagg. There were a lot of rocks along the trail that slowed down my momentum. I then took the Guerilla Tr to Mt Shaw. The Guerilla Tr had most of their paint blazes down on rocks on the ground. This would be difficult to follow in the winter with there being a lot of open woods. I reached Shaw and had a swarm of blackflies. Nice views though despite the cloudy weather. I headed back to Flagg. I then decided to bushwack to Canaan to save elevation gain/loss if I kept on the trail. I tried to sign into the canister on Canaan but the journal was soaked. I hooked back up to the trail, went over Sentinel and back down to my car. " — newenglandwarrior • May 23, 2024

"Slightly overcast day that got cloudier later on. High 50s and not a lot of wind, so the temperate was fairly pleasant. Not as muddy as expected but still plenty buggy. Left the trailhead at 10am. After about 0.8 miles we reached an infamous stream crossing which has a sign commemorating a person named John who died there in 2006. The trail is easy after that until about 2 miles in, where it climbs 800 feet in less than half a mile. The trail levels out right before the intersection with Black Snout Trail and is easy-going all the way to the summit. A clearing on the north side of the Mt. Shaw summit offers spectacular views of the White Mountains and portions of Maine. On the way down to Big Ball Mountain we also visited Black Snout which has views to the south of Lake Winnipesaukee and the Belknap Mountains. The trail down from Black Snout is steep and in a thick coniferous forest. After about half a mile the trail levels off and suddenly enters a deciduous forest. Because we climbed Mt. Shaw in early spring, the leaves had not come in yet and we had a stark contrast between the dark and thick coniferous forest to the sparse and well-lit deciduous forest. After about another half..." — JCalautti • May 11, 2024

"Beautiful weather. Nice crisp air, leaves still colorful, and ice starting to form on the leaves. Ground is covered in leaves so finding stable footing was often hard but other than that, very easy hike." — HikingMomMC • Nov 1, 2023

"We meandered around the Ossipee Range checking out a bunch of trails. Eventually landed on Shaw. The late fall colors were spectacular. Tons of burnt yellows and oranges. Leaves cover the foot paths." — Alohabuffy • Oct 22, 2022

"Hiked a loop with Kurt starting by Castle in the clouds. Went up to Roberts and curled around back and across a mostly flat trail. It started out below freezing, but sunny all day, the ground was frozen and there was some light snow on the ground over by Mount Shaw." — mattgardner • Nov 20, 2021

"Redlining plus peaks. Cold Spring to Faraway Connector. Left on Faraway Mt. Trail and up Oak Ridge Cutoff. Right on High Ridge to Mt. Shaw. Then to Black Snout Trail (Black Snout peak) and out to Turtleback Mt. Trail. Right on TBM back to High Ridge. Left on High Ridge to Oak Ridge Cutoff back down to Faraway Connector and Cold Spring for the finish. 57 degrees and cloudy at start. partly sunny and 66 at finish. " — GreggC • Oct 11, 2021

"This was me and my dad's first hike, boy was it a doozy. The trail was not well marked and we almost got lost a few times. Thanks to all trails we made it to the summit in one piece. My dad did not look so happy once we hit the summit. Also we heard from other hikers that there was a bear near the trail a few miles down. That is always fun on your first hike. Never the less I had a blast and I keep hiking. My dad on the other hand was a one and done hiking mountains. " — MadHobbyist • Aug 31, 2021

"Beautiful bright blue skies providing stunning views north from the summit of Mt Shaw. Snow-capped Mt Washington right in the center. You can literally pick out 20-30 white mountain peaks. Descended across Black Snout and Big Ball mountains. 2-3 inches of snow on the upper half, even in October." — Alohabuffy • Oct 31, 2020

"Planned on taking the Mt. Shaw trail first but then took the Tate Mtn. Trail instead. Met a young man who said that Black Snout was just "a bump"! Signage was nonexistent, would've been lost without my map. Wasn't sure where the peak was for Big Ball, looks like there are two on the map. Headed to Black Snout where I saw the first signage. Trail up very very steep. Once I came out of the forest the peak was surrounded by a carriage road so a nice easy climb to Mt. Shaw, and then an easy descent to the Mt. Shaw Trail, which was also very steep and lacking in signage, though there was the occasional red blaze on trees or rocks. Once I hit the carriage road there it was smooth sailing back to my car." — NHClimber • Sep 29, 2019