Winniweta Falls & Popple Mountain Cliffs

This hike had two objectives - to check out the Winniweta Falls Trail for the forthcoming 32nd edition of the AMC White Mountain Guide, and follow that with a bushwhack to the NE cliffs of nearby Popple Mountain, which was described for many years in older editions of the guide.

Winniweta Falls Trail starts at a pullof along Rt. 16, north of Jackson. 

Almost immediately you must ford the Ellis River at a normally shallow section. (This is a non-starter in high water.) Though the water was not deep, the underwater rocks were slippery.

After an initial brushy section, the trail follows trails of the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation network.

 

 

Wide trails and easy walking.

 

A short side path leads to the top of Winniweta Falls.

A longer path that is quite steep leads to the bottom of the falls.

 

 

A pretty spot even with low water flow.

 

 

Hopping rocks out into the brook provides a better perspective on the falls.

 

 

Looking downstream along Miles Brook.

The bushwhack excursion to the NE cliffs of Popple Mountain first appeared in the 1928 edition of the AMC White Mountain Guide at the end of the description for Winniweta Falls. Some version of this was in every edition through 1983. I had seen these cliffs many times driving north on Rt. 16, and finally made the opportunity to visit them.

It seems likely that this passage was penned by Ralph C. Larrabee, who was Chair of the AMC Guidebook Committee at the time and a frequenter of the Jackson area. He described the bushwhack in a slightly different manner in his 1927 booklet, A Guide to Jackson, New Hampshire for Those Who Walk, published by AMC.

 

To gain the woods on the far side of the brook, I had to carefully scramble up some slippery ledges.

From here the climb was quite steep on a slope littered with old blowdowns.

Lots of weaving around these.

 

 

Better woods for a bit.

 

 

Next was a slow sidehill traverse through a thick carpet of dry, fluffy leaves, hiding rocks and other hazards.

 

 

Final steep push through conifer forest to the first ledges. 

 

As promised, an excellent view north: Carter Dome, Wildcats, Mount Madison and part of Mount Washington.

 

 

Closer look at Carter Dome and Wildcat.

 

Mount Madison in the distance, seen through Pinkham Notch.

 

 

Good angle on bumpy Osgood Ridge.

Nelson Crag and Mount Washington.

 

 

From the next ledges, looking across the valley to Spruce Mountain.

Down the Ellis River valley with Kearsarge North dominating the horizon.

Rugged ledges along the top of this band of cliffs.

Nice perch here.

 

 

 

Approaching the next set of cliffs.

 

 

Wide views to the south.

 

Doublehead dominates the town of Jackson.

 

 

Another great perch.

 

 

Down-look.

 

Now that's a perch!

 

There's a hint of an Old Man profile here. 

 

 

Carter Dome is a shapely peak, with Rainbow Ridge on its right.

 

 

Neat angle on Doublehead and Kearsarge North with the Shaw-Gemini-Rickers Knoll ridge between.

 

Iron Mountain and its long east ridge in the distance.

Late afternoon light on Carter Dome & Wildcat.

Another look north to Mount Madison. It was tempting to continue on to the summit of Popple Mountain and additional view ledges nearby, but the whacking had been slow so far and there was still more than a half-mile to get there. With the short daylight hours of November, it was time to head back.

 

Homeward bound.

Lower Great Gulf and a 2023 Slide

A mellow ramble into the lower half of the Great Gulf, with a bushwhack to a small slide with a big view that likely fell in 2023.

Great Gulf was the first Wilderness area designated in the White Mountains, as part of the 1964 Wilderness Act.

 

The long way to Mount Washington.

 

 

Suspension footbridge over the Peabody River.

A beautiful new sign.

 

 

Nice easy start to the Great Gulf Trail.

 

Ledgy cascade along the West Branch of the Peabody.

Into the Wilderness after 1.6 gentle miles.

 

Big rock.

 

 

 

Scenic spot along the West Branch. 

Only a little bit of steeper climbing en route to The Bluff.

 

 

Arriving at The Bluff, a gravelly bank high above the West Branch.

 

 

Framed view of Mount Washington's Chandler Ridge.

The best views at The Bluff are obtained by a scramble up onto the tall boulder in the center of the photo. It seems a little harder every time I do it!

 

 

From the flat top of the boulder you can look up to Mount Jefferson and Mount Adams towering above the Great Gulf.

 

There's a great angle on Jefferson's Knee, up which Six Husbands Trail follows its improbable route.

 

Adams displaying the finest peak in the Presidentials.

 

Great Gulf Trail drops steeply to a crossing of Parapet Brook on large rocks - easy in the current low water conditions.  

 

 

I went up and over the little ridge and down to the West Branch, to check out the crossing by the closed suspension footbridge. It looked unappealing on the downstream side of the bridge.

More feasible but still not easy, in my opinion, on the upstream side.

 

 

The bridge. Repairs could take place in 2027 or 2028; meanwhile the Appalachian Trail follows a detour route.

Back up on the little hogback ridge between the West Branch and Parapet Brook, I turned onto Madison Gulf Trail, which follows this little spine, with a view up to Mount Adams near the start.

 

 

The trail follows the hogback for 0.2 mile. 

 A bit farther up I started the bushwhack towards the slide with a climb up a steep slope.

 

 

 

Decent mixed woods en route to the slide. 

 

 

Arriving at the top of the slide, which drops 220 feet almost to the West Branch with a slope of 29 degrees. Carter Dome and Wildcat in the distance.

 

Down-look.

 

 

Side view. At its widest, the slide is 85 feet across. A perusal of satellite photos suggests that this slide fell in late 2023, perhaps in the big December rainstorm.

Nice view of Middle and South Carter, Mount Hight and Carter Dome.

 

 

Zoom on Hight and the Dome. The big NW slide on Carter Dome was hidden in shadow.

 

Looking up. Careful foot placement needed on this loose slope.

 

 

 

Back at the top, the full spread of Wildcat Ridge revealed. 

 

 

Zoomed.

 

Heading back down the hogback on Madison Gulf Trail.

Late afternoon light on Mount Adams.

 

 

 

Made a little loop on the way back along Osgood Cutoff, normally part of the AT.

Shadowy view of the upper Great Gulf and Mount Jefferson from an open spot near Osgood Cutoff.

 

Along Osgood Cutoff, a pleasant trail 0.6 mile long.

 

Layout of Osgood Tentsite.

 

Descending the lower section of Osgood Trail, which is temporarily part of the AT.