October Rambles

Scenes from a series of hikes enjoyed during the second half of October. One of the perks of retirement!

One afternoon I hiked up the Bog Pond Snowmobile Trail to the large wetland known as Bog Eddy, finding a series of geocaches along the way. From the edge of the wetland, where Harvard Brook pauses in placid pools, there is a nice view of the southern ridges of South Kinsman.

With a bit of bushwhacking, I also found a vista that took in Mount Pemigewasset and the Franconia Range.

For the return trip, I bushwhacked down along Harvard Brook to the upper end of the Georgiana Falls Path, passing "Upper Harvard Falls" along the way.

View from the top of Harvard Falls.

Harvard Falls, aka Upper Georgiana Falls. The unmaintained path up here is rough with some big dropoffs alongside it.

 An afternoon hike close to home, up ski trails on Loon Mountain and out to a ledge overlooking Little Loon Pond, which is downstream from the much larger Loon Pond. Loon's South Peak is in the distance.

Looking up at Loon's gondola summit.

Ski trail view out to the Pemigewasset Wilderness.

 

Loon has the best view into the slide-scarred basin of Clear Brook, between Big Coolidge Mountain and Whaleback Mountain. 

 

 

 

 

 On a chilly, cloudy day I checked out the ongoing mile-long relocation of the lower Falling Waters Trail, which will follow a switchbacking route along the base of the western spur ridge of Mt. Lincoln (aka Carpenters Ridge), to the north of the waterfalls. There will be a spur providing access to  Cloudland Falls. It promises to be a pleasant and much safer route. Work will likely continue on this relocation for the next two years.

One rock staircase and a few pairs of steps have already been built, with many more to come.

On a crisp afternoon I made a five-mile loop over Cotton Mountain and Mt. Livermore in the Squam Range. The view of Squam Lake from a ledge on the south spur of Cotton is now mostly obscured.

 

An interesting rock cut along the Crawford-Ridgepole Trail as it descends northward off Cotton Mountain.

Late color along Crawford-Ridgepole Trail.

View of Squam Lake and Red Hill from summit of Mt. Livermore.

A convenient seat for taking in the Squam Lake views.

Squam Lakes Association trail signage. The SLA maintains 60 miles of trails in the Squam region.

The next afternoon Carol and I took a late afternoon three-mile hike to Five Finger Point on Squam Lake, starting at the southern Rattlesnakes trailhead on Pinehurst Road.

 

Many stone walls and large white pines in this area.

View of the Squam Range across Rattlesnake Cove from "Jumping Off Rock."

Hoag Island.

East Rattlesnake.

Small beach on a Five Finger Point cove.

A sign welcoming visitors who arrive by boat.

Beautiful flat ledges at the end of a spur path.

Late afternoon light.

The Rattlesnakes.

On a crystal-clear day with 130-mile visibility reported by the Mount Washington Observatory, I returned to an old favorite, Blueberry Mountain in the Benton Range. The lower half of the ascent on Blueberry Mountain Trail from Long Pond Road leads through hardwood forest. In late fall it's a bronze beech-lined tunnel.

Halfway up there's a remarkably abrupt transition to conifer forest.

The trail soon emerges on broad, mostly gentle granite ledges fringed with bright huckleberry and blueberry foliage.

The ledges and scenery make this a very pleasant trail to hike.

 

View south from a ledge beside the trail. Carr Mountain is prominent on the far left, with Smarts Mountain on the far right.

A peek back at pointy Mt. Kineo.

 A view of Mt. Clough, where a strip of gold aspen or birch foliage appears to outline the revegetated track of a slide that fell during the September 1938 hurricane.

My favorite spot on Blueberry is this comfortable ledge with a wonderful view of Mt. Moosilauke and its Slide Ravine.

A little snowcap added a nice touch to the scene.

Iron pins and the faint outline of a carved triangle mark the location of a survey station from the late 1800s.

 

More views, including this vista of the ledgy peaks of Sugarloaf, Black Mountain and The Hogsback, are found by traversing the broad crest of the mountain to the west side.

Long views across the Connecticut River valley to many peaks in Vermont, including all five of the state's 4000-footers.

Swirly clouds.

Another stop at the Moosilauke view on the way back.

Studying the slides in Slide Ravine, the site of several rewarding bushwhacks over the years, most recently this summer.