Second spring maintenance trip to Passaconaway Cutoff to clean drainages on the upper section and do some hobblebush and spruce brushing throughout, followed by a climb to the top of the short but steep Nanamocomuck Slide.
I call this section of the Cutoff the "cathedral forest."
My favorite section is the hardwood corridor after the crossing of the West Branch of Oliverian Brook.
This large, tricky walk-under blowdown I leave for the pro crew.
One of only a few blowdowns encountered on this trip.
Cleared.
The important task of cleaning drainages.
If time permits, my reward after completing the day's work is to hike 0.4 mile up Square Ledge Trail to the Nanamocomuck Slide, which comes right down to the trail. This slide came down during the September 1938 hurricane.
A one-minute careful scramble up the slide rewards with a nice view north to Hedgehog, Tremont, Washington and Wildcats/Carter Dome. I've been to this spot many times during the 15 years working on the Cutoff.
I had been a little farther up the slide, but never to the top. I figured this day was a good time to try. The slide is very steep and the ledges are interspersed with deposits of loose, pebbly "rottenstone," which make for treacherous footing.
I found this ledge too steep to climb, so I made a switchback out to the left.
Looking down the slide.
Ascending higher on the slide expands the view out across the Albany Intervale to the Moats.
A shoulder of Mt. Passaconaway looms nearby.
Steep slab climbing near the top.
In his 1958 dissertation, Landslides and Their Revegetation in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Edward Flaccus measured the average slope of this slide at 35 degrees with a maximum of 39 degrees.
The top of the slide is a heap of rottenstone beneath a crumbling ledge. According to Google Earth, the slide drops a bit more than 200 feet of elevation in 0.07 mile.
There were a couple of tricky spots on the ascent, so I opted to descend through the steep woods
beside the slide, emerging back at my usual sitting spot. From there it was a four-mile hike back to the car.
Nice report Steve. Thanks for your trail work. I once adopted a trail for a few years and it was a lot of work.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rob. It can be a lot of work, but rewarding.
DeleteSteve