After the thaw,
bushwhacking had more appeal than icy trails with frozen postholes and sketchy stream
crossings. Off-trail conditions were "variable" on this trek to several
viewpoints along a favorite ridge, culminating in cliff-faced Sachem
Peak.
Where's the snow? Not on this hemlock slope.
Higher up there was enough crunchy snow for decent snowshoeing.
In a few places I came across snowshoe tracks from "timbercamp," who came up here three days earlier. The tracks were distorted by the snowmelt.
Nice woods approaching the col on the east side of Middle Acteon Peak.
Neat boulder in the col.
Heading up the ridge.
A tiny ridgetop pool.
Steep climb to the first view ledge.
A lofty perch with a wide view south and west. Middle Acteon Peak on the right.
Stinson and Carr Mountains, with Smarts Mountain in the distance between them.
The Campton Range beyond the lower Smarts Brook valley.
The two Black Mountains across the valley.
Another view ledge farther up the ridge.
Mossy overhang.
A steep, scratchy climb lifted me to the ledgy western shoulder of Sachem Peak, with a view up the valley to Sandwich Dome.
Looking across the middle of Smarts Brook valley.
Westward ho.
More cliffs.
Jennings Peak ahead behind the summit of Sachem.
The headwall of Smarts Brook valley from the summit cliffs of Sachem.
Down-look.
Sachem's
summit. Acteon Ridge was named in the late 1800s by AMC stalwart
Charles E. Fay for the last sachem, or chief, of the Pemigewasset tribe.
Since this is the highest peak on the ridge, Fay logically applied the
name "Sachem."
Looking back along the summit crest. Moses Sweetser, 19th century guidebook editor, wrote of Sachem: "The third peak is one of the finest in the mountains and has been called 'Chocorua in miniature.' It is a needle of white rock accessible only on the W and E sides and girt with overhanging cliffs above. It is inaccessible on the N or S."
Wide-spreading Sandwich Dome.
Welch and Dickey.
No comments:
Post a Comment