Sticking with familiar local low-elevation bushwhacks, I spent an afternoon roaming around the many boulders and cliffs on the sunny south side of Bald Knob (Acteon Ridge). There is an amazing assortment of rock formations on this rugged little peak.
An old sugar maple guards a stone wall near the Old Waterville Road, an area that hosted several homesteads in the mid-1800s.
Up through the bare-ground hardwoods.
An interesting duo.
Rock, moss and ferns.
A rocky jumble. Climbers call part of this area "Skyfall," which seems appropriate here.
Gateway.
A behemoth lurking in the back.
A ledge outcrop passed along the way.
Rugged terrain.
Traversing alongside an overhang.
This "roof" is one of the neatest features on Bald Knob.
Another angle. There is a place here named "Gandalf's Cave" by climber Mike Robinson, who established a route dubbed "Gollum's Escape." (As seen on mountainproject.com.)
Framed view south from a piney, breezy ledge.
Cliffs.
This is a climbing route known as Gypsy Cafe.
More cliffs.
Looks forbidding.
Wonder how old this stout spruce is?
Coming to the base of another cliff.
A hardwood glade from which to admire it.
Climbing safely alongside it.
A flume in miniature.
Arriving at the top, looking at the Campton Range beyond the south spur of Bald Knob.
Down-look to the hardwood glade.
Sandwich Dome (far left) and its two Black Mountains.
Sandwich Notch, with a bit of the Squam Range beyond.
A white pine towers above the surrounding spruces.
More cliffs above.
Descending past the boulder fields.
Solo boulder illuminated by late day sun. Stay safe!
No comments:
Post a Comment