Mountain Wandering: Pond-Hopping: 6/9/25 & 6/11/25

EAST PONDS LOOP: 6/9/25

On a gray murky evening I walked the five-mile loop off Tripoli Road to old favorites East Pond and Little East Pond.

Fine woods heading up the East Pond Trail.

I was not alone.

East Pond has a "wide-screen view" - here looking at East Scar Ridge and its col with Mt. Osceola, through which the East Pond Trail passes en route to the Kancamagus Highway.

A different angle from a spot along the west shore, with spur ridges of Mt. Osceola rising on the right.

The East Pond Loop is a lovely trail as it meanders across the southern flank of Scar Ridge through wild mid-elevation forests.

This ferny glade is a favorite spot.

The water level at secluded Little East Pond was up quite a bit from last summer's drought conditions. Love the intimate view of Scar Ridge and pointy Middle Scar Ridge.

Nice reflections.

In 2022 and 2023, the all-volunteer Mad River Trail Collective (www.madrivertrailcollective.org) installed 9 sections of two-foot wide boardwalk on Little East Pond Trail, totaling 246 feet. Several short sections bridge small drainages. This 110-foot section, located where the trail turns right off the railroad grade, is the longest boardwalk. Excellent work!

CHURCH POND & LOVEQUIST LOOP: 6/11/25

On a partly sunny afternoon with a bit of a breeze I enjoyed an easy, leisurely easy hike to beautiful Church Pond on the north side of the Kancamagus Highway.

The Church Pond Trail starts in Passaconaway Campground and immediately fords the Swift River. I put on my Crocs to wade the nearly knee-deep river with a stony bottom.

I kept the Crocs on to wade a second, smaller stream a short distance beyond.

On the far side the trail angles left through a brushy area. Fair warning: on this hike I picked up 14 (!) ticks.

The trail briefly runs through a beautiful floodplain hardwood forest.

Farther along it passes under tall pines. In here the mosquitoes were swarming, as they often do on the floor of Albany Intervale.

The second half of the trail runs through an extensive area of brushy swamps. In 2013 the Saco Ranger District trail crew installed a quarter-mile's worth of new plank walkways

across this area. This amazing work makes the hike to the pond easy and pleasant. After a dozen years the bridges are holding up well, with only a few planks starting to deteriorate.

Labrador Tea blooming along the edge of the trail.

A Pitcher Plant.

Green's Cliff seen in the distance.

In his 1916 classic, "Passaconaway in the White Mountains," Charles Edward Beals, Jr. wrote of this view: "Green’s Cliff defiantly raises its oblong redoubt far above us, and, from here, is a mountain worthy of respect and admiration – a truly magnificent and imposing rampart." Beals devoted an entire chapter in his book to Church Pond and its trailless neighbor, Little Church Pond, which were then known as the Deer Ponds.

The trail ends at a gravelly hummock known as The Knoll, with a fine stand of red pine. The former eastern loop section of trail was closed years ago due to chronic wetness.

Gazing down at the pond with a warm breeze sighing through the pines.

A steep path drops down to a shoreline opening with a fine view of the Sandwich Range.

Mount Passaconaway and Potash Mountain.

The Sleepers, the Fool Killer and North Tripyramid.

The red pines of The Knoll.

I headed to a secluded flat sitting rock on the eastern arm of the pond for an extended break. Here there is a long view west over the pond to Sugar Hill.

Enjoying the view to Mount Tremont, Owl Cliff and Sugar Hill. A wonderful breeze kept the mosquitoes and deerflies at bay.

After an easy walk back to the trailhead, I drove a few miles east along the Kanc to visit Rocky Gorge and Falls Pond. The bridge over the Swift River offer a great view of the gorge with the Three Sisters of Mount Chocorua in the distance.