Vose Spur and Carragain Notch

Vose Spur is a trailless peak in the White Mountain National Forest. It is on the New England Hundred Highest list. It features a summit sign with register. The access is an easy 3.5 mile hike which begins on the Sawyer River Road. From the Signal Ridge Trailhead, follow the Signal Ridge trail for 1.7 miles to the junction with the Carrigain Notch Trail. At the junction, turn right and follow the Carrigain Notch Trail for roughly 1.6 miles. There will be a very large rock in the trail with stepping stones around it on the right hand side. A few yards beyond this rock on the left will be old partially rotted birch logs and small cairn that indicates the start of the bushwack portion of this hike. The bushwack path is reasonably easy to follow. Someone has used pink and orange flagging tape to mark parts of the route. While it is re-assuring to see the tape, it should not be counted upon for complete route finding. A compass and map, and/or GPS, is required for safety on this route. The path follows a drainage for the first portion. It climbs steeply for the majority of the roughly 0.7 miles from the Carrigain Notch trail to the summit of Vose Spur. About half a mile from the trail, you will encounter a talus slope which is crossed upward in a straight line from where you enter the slope. Follow the fairly obvious path through a section of significant blowdowns to the actual summit where you will find the sign and register. Return to the Carrigain Notch trail by re-tracing the same route.