Bugle Cliff: A Short but Steep Hike

Bugle Cliff is a location that can be reached via a 0.62 mile trek along the Webster-Jackson Trail beginning at its trailhead in Crawford Notch near AMC's Highland Center.  Although the distance is short, it is a steep hike.  The elevation gain is 538 ft!

Many hikers pass by the spur to this lookout while en route to high peaks such as Mt. Jackson and Mt. Webster.  And actually, that was the scenario which recently took me to Bugle Cliff.  I stopped by there as part of a longer 6.5 mile loop-hike.

Many blogs and hiking forums already contain volumes of photos and narratives about the loop that I did.  Therefore, I decided to forego writing yet another report about a hike to Mts. Jackson and Webster, and instead write a piece about Bugle Cliff.  Perhaps this might be of interest to those who want to do a shorter hike.

Once you reach Bugle Cliff, the view that immediately grabs your attention is the one looking northwesterly where clustered together are: Saco Lake, historic Crawfords Depot, and AMC's Highland Center.  Off in the distance is the red-roofed Mt. Washington Hotel. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Northwesterly view from Bugle Cliff (it's not your eyes, this photo is a bit fuzzy)

Directly across Rt. 302 from Bugle Cliff is Mt. Willard, and at its base are the rail tracks for the Conway ScenicRailroad.   Although not everyone would want to do this, you can get some different viewing perspectives if you carefully work your way down to lower ledges on Bugle Cliff.  One such view is shown in the next photo where the small body of water known as Dismal Pool can be seen.

View from lower ledge of Bugle Cliff (Dismal Pool is at bottom, center of photo)

In the late 1870s, D. Appleton and Company of New York published a two-volume set of books entitled "Picturesque America" which described and illustrated scenes from across America.  Here it was stated that "The cliffs above Dismal Pool . . . are among the loftiest and steepest to be found in the mountains."  Shown below is the page containing that statement, as well as the illustration that accompanied it.

Page from 1870s book entitled "Picturesque America"

Steve Smith directed me to some interesting bits of information about Bugle Cliff and Dismal Pool in the following book which he co-authored: Dickerman, Mike, John Dickerman, and Steven D. Smith. A Guide to Crawford Notch. Littleton, NH: Bondcliff, 1997.

Within this book, there is a statement regarding Bugle Cliff which reads: "One can only speculate how this prominent ledge got its name.  Perhaps a patron at the old Crawford House once entertained guests with a tune or two played from this lofty perch."

And, there is a statement regarding Dismal Pool which reads: "Hitchcock's second volume of his massive Geology of New Hampshire, published in 1877, indicates the pool may have been formed by rocks and boulders blasted off Mount Willard during construction of the railroad through the Notch just a few years earlier."

And lastly, if you should want a hike that is even shorter than Bugle Cliff, then the 0.3 mile hike to Elephant Head would be worthy of consideration.  It has a very manageable elevation gain of only 168 ft.   This hike is launched from the same trailhead as the trek to Bugle Cliff.  The vistas from Elephant Head are somewhat similar to those from Bugle Cliff, but from a lower viewing perspective.

The map presented below shows the location of Bulge Cliff and Elephant Head, as well as Dismal Pool.

Map showing location of Bugle Cliff and Elephant Head

After having caught a glimpse of Dismal Pool from Bugle Cliff, my curiosity was piqued.  A few days later, while out today doing other things, I pulled into the parking lot opposite Flume Cascade as you're heading down Crawford Notch. (It's the first one AFTER the parking lot for Webster-Jackson Trail.) I hiked down the short trail leading to Dismal Pool. It was the first time I've ever visited this spot.  I must say, it didn't seem "dismal" to me!

LEFT PANEL: Sign pointing to trail leading to Dismal Pool; RIGHT PANEL: Dismal Pool

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