BLACK POND: 10/22/10

The easy 7-mile round trip from the Lincoln Woods parking area to Black Pond on the edge of the Pemigewasset Wilderness is a nice morning leg-stretcher with ample scenic rewards.

There was a dusting of snow on the suspension bridge over the East Branch at the start of the Lincoln Woods Trail.



The view upstream from the bridge towards a low spur of North Hitchcock.

Late fall is a fine time for a stroll at Lincoln Woods. This trail causes a lot of griping from hikers completing long hikes in the Pemi - I've done that often enough myself - but taken on its own merits, it provides very pleasant and easy walking into beautiful country.

The Camp 8 clearing, just past the Osseo Trail junction. This logging camp on the East Branch & Lincoln Railroad was in use for many years.


Someone had placed a sled runner on display at the edge of the clearing.


From the river's edge, a peek at snow-dusted West Bond in the distance.

A remnant piece of rail alongside the trail.

At this spot there is a classic view of Bondcliff and its sharp southern spur, looking upstream. The 3.2 mi. round trip to here is a rewarding short & easy walk.

The long straightaway beyond the viewpoint.

For a short distance Birch Island Brook runs alongside the trail.

At 2.6 mi., the Black Pond Trail junction.

Another logging camp site here.

A bent and rusted bedframe.

The Black Pond Trail skirts the meadow that was once the Ice Pond, the ice from which was used to supply refrigeration for the logging camps.


A beaver swamp just past the Ice Pond.


The Black Pond Trail cuts through yet another logging camp site.

A pretty stretch of Birch Island Brook behind the camp.

Wandering around a bit off the trail, I passed through this open hardwood glade.

Approaching Black Pond, the trail passes this view of the sharp southern peak of Owl's Head.

A look at the cliffs on the SE spur of Owl's Head.

A golden tamarack on the shore of Black Pond.


From trail's end, a view across the dark water to Bondcliff and its spur.




Shoreside rocks provide seats from which to savor the tranquility.

Nearing the suspension bridge on the way out, I saw that Forest Service rangers had installed a new sign at the start of the trail while I was on my walk. Nice!