Mountain Wandering: From Bare Ground to Snowshoes

A series of shorter hikes in late November/early December evolved from the last bare ground of the season to the first trek on snowshoes.

There was no snow on the ground for a late afternoon jaunt up to Champney and Pitcher Falls on the north side of Mt. Chocorua. Champney/Pitcher Falls has been a popular destination since the late 1800s, and in the 1870s geologist Joshua H. Huntington deemed Pitcher Falls "the most picturesque of the many falls and cascades around the mountains."

In 2019 the trail was relocated onto its original route, adding two crossings of Champney Brook. These can be difficult in high water. At such times, it would be possible to bypass them using the old route of the trail up on a small ridge on the west side.

A pleasant walk up the valley through open hardwoods.

A scenic spot alongside Champney Brook.

Junction with the loop that leads past Champney and Pitcher Falls.

The lower drop of Champney Falls, named for 19th century White Mountain artist Benjamin Champney.

Picturesque Pitcher Falls.

Wide angle view of the flume that hosts Pitcher Falls.

The upper cascades of Champney Falls, seen from the loop trail as it ascends alongside.

Steep rock staircase on the loop trail, often dangerously icy in winter.

View north from a ledge on the east side of the brook above the falls, accessed by a path opposite the point where the loop trail turns right to rejoin the main trail. The vista includes the east ridge of Mt. Hancock, Mt. Carrigain/Vose Spur, Owl Cliff, Mt. Tremont, and Mt. Nancy.

The mighty Carrigain.

A couple of days later I headed down to Waterville Valley for a long-deferred (due to the government shutdown) fall maintenance trip on my adopted Kettles Path. I was waiting for the early snow to melt a bit, and this was the day, before a larger snowfall ended the regular maintenance season. At the beginning of the trail I had a chance to check out the impressive trail reconstruction of a chronically eroded 0.1 mile section, recently completed by professional trail builder Ryan Harvey and his crew.

Every year, during spring and high water events, a small stream had run down this gentle section of trail, leaving a mess of exposed roots and debris. This "turnpiking" has alleviated the problem.

Impressive step stones across the spot where the small brook intersects the trail.

The sidecut relocation constructed by the Waterville Valley Athletic & Improvement Association in 2014 is holding up well.

Peering down into the largest of the three "kettles" found alongside the trail. These bowl-shaped hollows were formed when chunks of glacial ice were stranded as the glacier receded. Sediments built up around the ice chunks, and when they eventually melted these hollows were formed.

The trail's champion white ash is hanging in there.

Thanks go to Mike Trocchi, adopter of Drakes Brook Trail, who had taken out two blowdowns on Kettles while hiking the day before. I removed two more small ones that had since come down in robust winds. One larger new beech blowdown I had to leave for another day. My primary focus this day was to clean drainages before the snow returned.

The drainages were a bit frozen, especially in the upper spruces, but the adze hoe was up to the task.

Surprisingly, there was almost no snow or ice in the upper spruce section, so I was able to scramble up to The Scaur without using the spikes.

Beautiful late afternoon light at The Scaur. Sandwich Dome in the distance.

Middle and South Tripyramid off to the east, with West Sleeper peering out in back.

On a crisp, windy, sunny afternoon I drove down to Center Harbor for a loop hike over Red Hill: up the Red Hill Trail and down via the Cabin Trail.

The hike started off on bare ground, but that didn't last long.

There was a thin crunchy layer of snow down low, and a couple inches of powder higher up.

The Red Hill Trail follows an old jeep road on a moderate, winding ascent.

On the ground, the Red Hill summit view is limited to this vista south to Lake Winnipesaukee and the Belknap Range.

The view from the fire tower is a spectacular panorama of lakes and mountains, especially on a day such as this with 100-mile visibility. The drawback was the bitter cold and biting wind raking the upper level below the cab, where the view is best.

I managed to spend about 10 minutes in the tower. My fingers quickly went numb taking photos of the views. To the north there is a phenomenal look at the sprawling Sandwich Range.

This panorama - one of four placed around the upper level - IDs the peaks. -

Mt. Paugus and Mt. Chocorua.

The high peaks of the Sandwich Range.

Mt. Whiteface and Mt. Passaconaway.

Sandwich Dome.

Lake Winnipesaukee and the Belknap Range.

A ghostly profile of Mt. Moosilauke.

Squam Lake, with Mt. Cardigan on the horizon.

Fire tower history.

Heading down the Cabin Trail.

The upper half of Cabin Trail makes a meandering descent through an attractive oak forest.

The old hunter's cabin for which the trail is named, nestled in the col between Red Hill and its southeastern spur.

Below the cabin, a yellow-blazed side path leads to cellar holes of the Cook family homestead, occupied from ca. 1785 to 1910.

The homestead was also used as a small inn for guests visiting Red Hill.

A cold moon.

Sunset glow.

The day of the season's first significant snowfall was a two-parter: snowblowing in the morning and snowshoeing in the afternoon. For my destination I chose an old favorite - the lower part of the broad ridge on the north side of Lafayette Brook. To get there, I parked at the partly plowed Gov. Gallen Memorial area by the old Route 3 bridge over Lafayette Brook. The view of Mt. Lafayette looking up the ravine from the bridge is one of the finest roadside vistas in the Whites. My destination was a small scrubby open area partway up the ridge on the left, with an even better view up the ravine.

My first snowshoe tracks of the season, in about 8" of fluffy powder with no base.

The woods heading up this wide slope are mostly hardwood and birch.

There is plenty of hobblebush, and without a base underneath I had to step gingerly at times due to branches and other obstacles hidden under the snow.