Grafton County Highpoint Trip Report

Date: October 14, 2010
Author: Adam Helman

Greenleaf Trail

note: All coordinates are in the WGS84 datum.

This effort was part of a larger journey collecting New England county highpoints in October 2010.

The trailhead for this route does not begin at the ski tram parking lot. The latter is where you may park overnight - yet the actual trailhead is located partway along the Interstate-93 northbound onramp (Exit-34B); and accessed from the lot by walking under the freeway overpass and then turning north (left). The trailhead coordinates are (44.17080° N, 71.68384° W) at a GPS-measured 2,048 feet elevation (2 to the 11th power).

I cannot for the LIFE of me understand why this VITAL information has not been made readily available - until now. I grant that perhaps it's in a guidebook: it certainly is not at summitpost.org -

"GREENLEAF TRAILHEAD (1980'): This trailhead is also on I-93 and north of Lafayette Place. It is located at the Cannon Mountain Tramway parking lot on the west side of I-93."

...or in any previously posted trip report.

The first trail section annoyingly just parallels the freeway south, gaining little elevation. With October foliage on the ground, it is at-times trying to locate the trail here. Once it begins climbing in earnest, however, this is no longer an issue.

The net elevation gain must be calculated not from the trailhead to summit because one walks from the parking lot. To the resulting 3,300 feet one adds twice the estimated downhill travel on the ascent of 75 feet, for a total elevation gain of 3,450 feet.

The summit benchmark is about three feet below the highest boulder slab to its immediate east.

I consume 2.6 hours for the ascent and 5.4 hours for the round-trip. The Greenleaf Hut anemometer makes an interesting "whirring" sound that can be heard for several hundred feet.