BLACK MOUNTAIN LEDGES & BLACK MOUNTAIN POND: 5/4/17

On a fine spring day Mark Klim and I headed out in late morning to the Sandwich Notch area for a 6-mile loop to a big open ledge area on a shoulder of Sandwich Dome's Black Mountain, followed by a descent to beautiful Black Mountain Pond. Our route started off Sandwich Notch Road and was a combination of bushwhack, old woods roads, and an obscure path, with short sections on the Algonquin and Black Mountain Pond Trails.

There's no better time than a sunny spring day in the hardwoods.

Stone wall along the historic Old North Road, dating back to the early 1800s.

Beaver meadow along the Algonquin Trail.

A big yellow birch beside an old woods road.

Cascade on a branch of Algonquin Brook.

Hemlock forest.

Bushwhacking up a hardwood slope towards the ledges.

Pileateds at work.

Bear nests in beeches.

Bear claw marks.

Approaching the top of the hardwoods, darker woods ahead.

The first ledge, with a limited view.

In the Sandwich spruce forest.

View south from the second ledge.

Mark emerges through gateway trees.

Arriving at the main ledges by an impressive rock wall, elevation 2575 ft.

Mark atop the main ledges.

A fine view towards Black Mountain Pond, the SE ridge of Sandwich Dome, and distant horizons.

Black Mountain Pond, with conical little Young Mountain beyond.

Snooze time!

Looking towards Mount Israel and Dinsmore Mountain.

South to Kiah Pond and the Squam Range.

Southwest to the Campton Range, with a bit of Lower Hall Pond visible.

Peering west towards Carr Mountain.

Nearby to the north looms the ledgy mass of the higher Black Mountain (3500 ft.)

A rock face with some rough edges.

Parting shot of a great spot. From here we bushwhacked across to the Black Mountain Pond Trail.

There was plenty of moose sign up here.

Descending a rock chimney on this steep, rugged section of Black Mountain Pond Trail.

Looking up at the chimney, which has adequate footholds and cracks for a careful descent.

Beaver meadow at the base of the steep slope.

The moss-grown beaver dam.

Somber spruce woods.

On the SW shore of Black Mountain Pond.

Across the water to the rugged slope of Black Mountain. The perch we visited can be seen as a little bump on the flat shoulder on the L.

Mark explores the rocky shore of the pond.

Homeward bound through the hardwoods.