BEAVER POND CLIFF: 2/3/15

After morning snow shoveling and other tasks, I had the afternoon free and took a snowshoe ramble in Kinsman Notch, across Beaver Pond and up to a clifftop with a good bird's eye view. Spent a few hours plowing through knee-deep powder -- a good workout!

From the Beaver Brook Trail near the trailhead I cut through the woods to the south end of Beaver Pond, where there was a peek at South Kinsman looming in the distance.

Crags rising above Beaver Pond.The cliff I bushwhacked to is on the right end of the foreground ridge.

Some day I hope to visit those upper cliffs. I call this upthrust "Jakey's Crag," after Jakey McGraw, woods boss for the Gordon Pond logging railroad in the early 1900s. McGraw rigged up a drum  and cable setup to lower logs down off the steep slopes behind the cliffs.

Looking across the pond to the next ridge to the north.

Deep pristine powder in the woods.

There was serious snow depth in some of the open spots. The trail-breaking was slow and laborious.

A glimpse of that rugged ridge to the north.

Steep climbing up through the softwoods. The trade-off was a somewhat lesser snow depth.

The final approach to the clifftop. From the parking area this route was only about a mile, but it took two hours plus to get here.

From the open clifftop, looking across at Mt. Waternomee. Although the temperature was in the single numbers, there was no wind and I was able to enjoy an extended break here.

Beaver Pond and Kinsman Notch, with Rt. 112 running through it.

The bog at the south end of the pond.

In the other direction, Mt. Wolf is the triple-peaked mountain on the far left.

A more centered view of the notch.

Mt. Tecumseh and Sandwich Dome fill the horizon.

A good dropoff below.

On the way down, I found a new (for me) little viewpoint with a good look at South Kinsman.

The same vista, with a Black-Capped Chickadee stopping by for a brief visit.

The steep buttress rising above the Stark Falls Brook valley.

Down through the powder.

Heavy going in the hardwoods.

Beaver Pond with dusk drawing on.