"A last minute change of plans due to running into off and on rain. Went up the trail and down the snomo way. Was going to try to snag the NE peak but the rain turned steady at the summit, which was clouded over, so I hurried down. Nobody else was stupid enough to be out today!" — SteveM_StickMan • Jun 17, 2025

"As it was only my 3rd hike this year, I may have bitten off more than I could chew with this loop. It was a grind for me to get up Crescent, which was the majority of the elevation gain for the day. The summit itself kinda sucks, but the South Viewpoint is pretty great. The North viewpoint wasn't as good, but I still had to check it out. I never saw a summit sign or marker, so I suspect that if there was one, it was in the woods off trail. I continued onto the notch trail towards the 2 peaks of Randolph. This trail was mostly easy, with a few portions that were steep descents. A small gain near the top of Randolph North got me up there. This part of the trail was kind of trashed by water in places. Again, you never get right up to any kind of marker. I'm pretty sure it would have been off to the right of the trail, as there was a slightly more elevated area there, but we're talking maybe 50 feet of gain. I was close enough. Another descent followed this, not a ton, but enough that my legs were just about done for. It was tough to push them up the final gain to the top of Randolph to find the first summit sign of the day. There is no real view or anything up there either. It was abo..." — mikewilliamsjr • Jun 11, 2025

"As it was only my 3rd hike this year, I may have bitten off more than I could chew with this loop. It was a grind for me to get up Crescent, which was the majority of the elevation gain for the day. The summit itself kinda sucks, but the South Viewpoint is pretty great. The North viewpoint wasn't as good, but I still had to check it out. I never saw a summit sign or marker, so I suspect that if there was one, it was in the woods off trail. I continued onto the notch trail towards the 2 peaks of Randolph. This trail was mostly easy, with a few portions that were steep descents. A small gain near the top of Randolph North got me up there. This part of the trail was kind of trashed by water in places. Again, you never get right up to any kind of marker. I'm pretty sure it would have been off to the right of the trail, as there was a slightly more elevated area there, but we're talking maybe 50 feet of gain. I was close enough. Another descent followed this, not a ton, but enough that my legs were just about done for. It was tough to push them up the final gain to the top of Randolph to find the first summit sign of the day. There is no real view or anything up there either. It was abo..." — mikewilliamsjr • Jun 11, 2025

"As it was only my 3rd hike this year, I may have bitten off more than I could chew with this loop. It was a grind for me to get up Crescent, which was the majority of the elevation gain for the day. The summit itself kinda sucks, but the South Viewpoint is pretty great. The North viewpoint wasn't as good, but I still had to check it out. I never saw a summit sign or marker, so I suspect that if there was one, it was in the woods off trail. I continued onto the notch trail towards the 2 peaks of Randolph. This trail was mostly easy, with a few portions that were steep descents. A small gain near the top of Randolph North got me up there. This part of the trail was kind of trashed by water in places. Again, you never get right up to any kind of marker. I'm pretty sure it would have been off to the right of the trail, as there was a slightly more elevated area there, but we're talking maybe 50 feet of gain. I was close enough. Another descent followed this, not a ton, but enough that my legs were just about done for. It was tough to push them up the final gain to the top of Randolph to find the first summit sign of the day. There is no real view or anything up there either. It was abo..." — mikewilliamsjr • Jun 11, 2025

"Another hazy day, limiting visibility to about 10 miles. The weather otherwise was pleasant, with temperatures in the 60s and winds at about 10mph. Leaving from the Castle in the Clouds hiker parking lot around 10:45am we made our way across the open field to the northwest, past a group of bee hive boxes, and into the woods. The first half-mile of the Mt. Roberts Trail is mildly sloped and not too rocky. There is a south-facing viewpoint here where we could only see about halfway across Lake Winnipesaukee. The Belknaps across the Lake were completely invisible. After this viewpoint, the trail becomes rockier, steeper, and begins to occasionally pop out of the trees. In addition to views of the Lake, the trail also offered viewpoints of the other Ossipee Mountains to the east, such as Faraway, Shaw, and Turtleback. The trail briefly entered a thick grove of evergreens, which is where most of the mud for this trail resides, but returned to the bright deciduous trees just before reaching the summit. If not for the haze, the summit would have great views of the White Mountains all the way to Mt. Washington. For us, all we could see was Black Snout to the north. Bugs were a nuisance for..." — JCalautti • Jun 8, 2025