Kettles Path Maintenance: 4/22/24

With the snow mostly gone at lower elevations, it was time to check out my adopted Kettles Path in Waterville Valley to see how it fared through a winter and early spring during which widespread blowdown had been reported across the Whites. I would soon find out that Kettles Path had more than its share of blowdown.

There were still some icy stretches on Livermore Trail where the snow had been compacted by the groomer through the winter.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the first 100 yards of the trail, which is often a running stream in early spring, was bone dry, though severely eroded.

A short distance in was the first and worst blowdown mess of the day.

This one took multiple saw cuts to clear.

Fallen spruce.

Cleared.

Broken tree.

Cut.

A white pine blowdown by the third Kettle.

Done.

I didn't mess with this big, dangerous yellow birch widowmaker. Left it for the pro crew.

A short distance beyond was this broken treetop precariously suspended in the top of a slender beech, right above the trail.

I carefully cut into the little beech and dropped it and the hanging treetop onto the trail (atop another blowdown that was lying parallel to the edge of the trail).

It took a while to clean that up.

The main trunk of this large beech I left for the pros.

I cleared out the tangle of limbs beyond.

I call this natural sculpture "Dude with Sunglasses."

I was happy to see that Waterville's champion white ash had survived another winter.

Compared to the blowdown removal, cleaning the trail's 15 drainages was easy.

It took 5 1/2 hours to cover the mile of trail up to The Scaur. The tally was 23 blowdowns removed, 13 by saw and 10 by hauling off. My Silky tickled six tree species: red maple, yellow birch, beech, white pine, balsam fir and red spruce.

 

 

 As always, the view was ample reward. Sandwich Dome in the distance.

Mount Tecumseh and its partly snow-covered ski trails.

Middle and South Tripyramid and parts of The Sleepers.

I went a short way along Irene's Path to admire the Rock of Gibraltar.

I explored the dark woods above that massive rock, where more ledges lurk.

From Irene's I made a familiar bushwhack descent below The Scaur through open hardwoods. Mixed in this forest are a few black cherry trees, not a common species in the Whites.

A profile staring into the woods.

Evening sun in the hardwoods, with the spruce-topped Scaur looming above.

This towering maple is prominent when peering down from the eastern edge of The Scaur.

The rock face of The Scaur.

Following the base of a ledge wall back to the trail.

 

Wachipauka Pond & Mount Mist: 4/17/24

On the third day of my spring trifecta I returned to the Glencliff area for a trek to Wachipauka Pond and Mount Mist, one of my favorite pond-and-peak combos. I took a roundabout driving approach using Rts. 112 and 116 and Lime Kiln Road, catching this view of Sugarloaf and The Hogsback at the junction with Page Road.

I repeated an approach I have used in the past, following an old route of the Appalachian Trail up from Rt. 25. Since my last visit 5 1/2 years ago a brook has taken over a long stretch of the old trailbed, necessitating a parallel bushwhack. An occasional old DOC blaze is still visible.

Some parts of the old trail are still in good shape.

Along the current Appalachian Trail (Wachipauka Pond Trail), with Webster Slide Mountain looming ahead.

A glimpse of the Webster Slide cliffs through the trees.

 

Arriving at the shoreside view spot on Wachipauka Pond, reached by a spur path from the AT.

Nice spot for a long break. Wachipauka Pond was named by the Indians who came to its shores to hunt and fish; the Abenaki word means “mountain pond.” White settlers later named it Meader Pond for a resident in the area, but thankfully the Abenaki name has endured.

Lounging in the April sun, watching a Red-Tailed Hawk soar overhead.

Mount Mist, cloaked in hardwoods, rises SW of the pond. In his 19th century history of the town of Warren, William Little states that Mist received its name from the vapor that often rises off Lake Tarleton, nearby to the west.

View across the water to Carr Mountain.

Webster Slide or Mount Mist for a climb? Today I chose Mount Mist, for its gorgeous hardwood forest and the unusual views from several somewhat precarious perches atop its east-facing cliffs.

Partway up the AT's mellow ascent of Mount Mist from the north, an unmarked spur leads to a restricted view towards Chokecherry Hill and Bald Hill, the southernmost spurs of Mount Moosilauke. For years there was a DOC sign here that read: SCENIC VIEW BEWARE OF TOURISTS.

The open hardwoods of Mount Mist.

Nice walking on the AT approaching the broad, flat western summit knob.

DOC humor.

Heading off-trail past a small wetland in the saddle between the two summit knobs.

The western knob is slightly higher - 4 feet by my GPS altimeter.

Descending towards the top of the steep eastern face of the mountain.

I guess it's officially a bushwhack. I stashed this in a side pocket but unfortunately it got pulled out somewhere along the way.

The southernmost viewspot I visited offered a nice angle on Mount Moosilauke and Slide Ravine. These perches atop the Mist cliffs are small and, as stated before, rather precarious. Not comfortable for "hanging out."

Not far to the north is a steep gully of broken rock.

Looking down the rockfall with Carr Mountain in the distance.

Wonderful wandering on a plateau behind one of the cliffs.

The headwater of Black Brook getting ready to take a tumble.

The sweetest views from Mount Mist look over Wachipauka Pond. Behind on the left is the huge cliff of Owl's Head at the south end of the Benton Range, with Blueberry and Jeffers Mountains above. Mount Clough is in the middle with Mount Moosilauke on the right.

From another spot, looking out to Chokecherry and Bald Hills, Mount Cushman and Mount Kineo. Sandwich Dome peeks over in the distance.

Another little brook weaves down through the hardwoods...

...before making a precipitous drop over the edge. Yikes!

A little too tricky to get down to that ledge.

A small and hard-to-reach spot in a spruce grove offered the most open view to the north, including Webster Slide on the left..

The view of Wachipauka Pond rivals that from Webster Slide, from a different angle.

View of Mount Kineo and Carr Mountain from yet another cliff top. 

Looking up at one of the higher cliffs. From here I made my way back to the trail, completing an interesting 3/4 mile bushwhack tour.

Heading out along a rocky section of the AT at the base of Webster Slide, wrapping up a most excellent three days of spring hiking.