Mount Kineo

On a fine October day I returned to the Three Ponds area to check out the south side of the Mount Kineo Trail, which is lightly used above its junction with Donkey Hill Cutoff. Since I was up on the ridgecrest, I continued off-trail to the sharp, wooded summit of Mount Kineo (3313 ft.).

Mount Kineo Trail starts 0.1 mile up the Three Ponds Trail from the Stinson Lake Rd. trailhead. For the first mile it rolls through hardwood forest along the lower slope of Black Hill, with several ups and downs. 

 

Directional signs where the trail turns left onto its original route, now a snowmobile trail.

The trail shadows Brown Brook as it heads up the valley.

A  wide corridor along the snowmobile trail.

At 1.6 miles the hiking trail diverges right from the snowmobile trail past a line of boulders.

The Brown Brook cascade was looking good.

At this junction the Mount Kineo Trail rejoins the snowmobile trail.

 

Heavy duty bridge over Brown Brook.

 

Parts of the snowmobile trail are brushy.

 

I pushed a few yards off trail for a partial view over the mile-long Brown Brook Marshes, with the north ridge of Carr Mountain in the distance. Before it was relocated onto the snowmobile trail, a 0.3 mile section of Mount Kineo Trail followed along the edge of the marshes, with several views. Now the trail only offers limited glimpses of the wetlands.

This section of trail could lead to wet feet on a rainy day.

A glimpse of the marshes.

The trail passes by a beautiful bottomland hardwood forest.

 

A map of local snowmobile trails, posted at a three-way snowmobile trail junction.

A small sign marks the spot where the Mount Kineo Trail turns off the snowmobile trail and becomes a hiking footpath again.

The 1.2 mile climb to the ridge is a nice woods walk.

This south-facing slope is cloaked in a fine hardwood forest.

No better place to be on a golden October day.

 

A steady climb into conifer forest lifted me to the height-of-land on the Mount Kineo ridge, at 2900 ft.

The bushwhack northward to the summit is a bit less than a mile, through mostly open woods.

It's a surprisingly pleasant whack for a 3000-footer. 

There were some blowdowns to weave around, but there was always a way.

 

This was the worst blowdown patch.

 

This was as thick as it got.

Climbing to the pointy peak.

The summit.

Canister and sign.

A mini Sandwich Range view: Middle and South Tripyramid, The Sleepers, Mt. Passaconaway and Mt. Whuteface.

 

Sandwich Dome.

Summit register.

 

 

There were many familiar names in here.

Heading back down the ridge in mid-afternoon sun.

Back on the trail, down through the hardwoods.

On the way out I bushwhacked to a large beaver pond down on the lower slope of Kineo.

A peaceful scene late in the day....

 

.....with a sweet view back to Mount Kineo.

 

Bondcliff West Spur Talus

October is a great time for a long walk into the western Pemigewasset Wilderness. This trek took me into the Franconia Brook valley and then off-trail, up to several talus slopes on the lowest western spur of Bondcliff for some stellar views.

 

It was a beautiful, crisp, chilly morning on the Lincoln Woods Trail. 

The classic view upstream along the East Branch to Bondcliff and its sharp south spur peak.

Mt. Flume seen from the bridge over Franconia Brook.

A wonderful place to spend the day.

Turning left onto a route less traveled.

The crossings of Camp Nine Brook were easy rock hops.

More easy railroad grade walking on the Franconia Brook line of the East Branch & Lincoln Railroad.

The south peak of Owl's Head viewed from the edge of a beaver swamp in the vicinity of Camp 9.

 

I had visited these talus slopes a couple of times in the past, but not since 2006. For this bushwhack, I chose a longer route up a SW ridge that looked more moderate than the direct but steep routes I had used in the past. Plus, this route would ascend through hardwoods for a fair distance. 

An interesting boulder tucked into the forest.

There were a few terrain surprises along the way.

Scaling a slope.

 

This hardwood plateau was the nicest part of the bushwhack.

Into the conifers.

Getting bouldery.

Some big ones.

Uh-oh. Maybe this route wasn't so good after all.

Blowdown in every direction.

 

It took a while to weave through this mess.

Getting steep, but less blowdown.

 

First view, towards Flume, Liberty and the south peak of Owl's Head.

As I approached the lowest of three talus slopes I had targeted, I discovered another flaw in this approach. I had come up above this talus slope, and it was too steep to descend safely down to it, where I had hoped to find a rock seat on which to lounge in the sun. From the edge of the dropoff above the talus, I did find a fine profile of the Owl's Head ridge, but there was no place to sit and take in the view.

I also had my first look up the Franconia Brook valley to Mt. Garfield, the signature vista from these openings.

Thanks to the blowdown maze, it had taken more than two hours of bushwhacking to reach this point. I headed back up into the woods to take a break and regroup. Then it was time to head uphill though the prickly forest to two talus slopes higher on this spur.

The upper talus patches were much easier to access.

Fun but cautious scrambling, as some of the rocks are loose.

Great perspective on Liberty, Flume and the ridge extending out to Whaleback.

A good look at the cirque-like bowl under Mt. Liberty, into which I had bushwhacked last year.

Another long view to Garfield.

Owl's Head!

A 20-minute whack across the slope brought me to the top of the largest talus slope on this spur, at 2680 ft., easily accessed from above.

This spot is the real deal, with a bird's eye view down to the broad floor of the valley.

Zoom on a beaver pond on the east side of Franconia Brook Trail.

Mid-afternoon shadows creeping into the ravines on Owl's Head.

And that amazing view up to Garfield.

Closer look.

 

Here, at last, I had a comfortable rock seat and 45 minutes in the sun.

For the descent, I looped out to the north and found much better going than my ascent route. Steep in places, but once away from the talus area the woods were generally fairly open without too much blowdown.

 

Farther down the slope, Owl's Head loomed large.

 

Hellgate Brook.

 

From a beaver pond opening along Franconia Brook Trail, I could look up to the big talus slope I had visited on the west spur.

A different angle on the west spur from the beaver pond just north of the Lincoln Brook Trail junction.

Last tinge of sun on the south peak of Owl's Head.