Passaconaway Cutoff: 10/28/21

I lucked out with a fine sunny late October day for some fall maintenance on the Passaconaway Cutoff, the adopted trail of the AMC Four Thousand Footer Committee. It was 27 degrees at the start but warmed up into the high 40s by afternoon.

A new signpost has elevated the signs at the junction of the Cutoff and Oliverian Brook Trail. On this trip I used a long-handed garden hoe for cleaning drainages as a number of the rock waterbars on the Cutoff have narrow channels. The smaller head of the garden hoe works better on these than the larger head on my hazel hoes. And the long handle is easier on the back when pulling heavy wet leaves.

 

Lovely hemlock forest on the lower part of the Cutoff.

 

 

A golden October day in the hardwoods above the crossing of the west branch of Oliverian Brook.

With the leaves down, Mt. Passaconaway is a looming presence as the trail climbs above the brook.

Today I tried a new pattern for the work - clearing blowdowns (only 4) and doing some brushing on the way up, and hitting the major part of the work - cleaning drainages - from the top down. I knew I wouldn't get to all 57 drainages and decided it would be best to leave just the lower ones for another trip with the shorter daylight hours. Usually I do all the work from the bottom up.

Blowdown cleared.

From the top of the Cutoff I headed 0.3 mile up Square Ledge Trail to the Nanamocomuck Slide for lunch with a view, stopping briefly to poke around an old logging camp site of the Swift River Railroad along the way.

I hadn't seen these artifacts before. Please remember that these are protected by law and should not be disturbed or removed.

The Square Ledge Trail passes along the bottom of the Nanamocomuck Slide.

A short, careful scramble up the right edge leads to a shelf with a fine view to the north. Hedgehog Mountain and the East Ledges are prominent in the foreground. Mt. Tremont and Bartlett Haystack are in the middle distance. Mt. Washington and the Wildcats/Carters are on the horizon.

Looking up the slide from the shelf. This slide came down during the 1938 hurricane. The crumbling ledges make for tricky footing.

A well-weathered trail sign at the top of the Cutoff.

A break in the trees reveals the mighty Passaconaway.

In the afternoon I cleared 40 drainages on the way down, leaving just 17 for a second trip. Lots of wet leaves after a rainy couple of days.

Cascade on the west branch of Oliverian Brook.