A morning snowshoe bushwhack to a ledge on the slope above and west of the Lincoln Woods Trail. This was my third visit to this spot, but first since 2009. After crossing the bridge at the start of Lincoln Woods Trail, I headed north up the ridge that leads to "Peak 2675," a spur of East Whaleback. The lower part of the ridge is cloaked in hardwood forest, which is usually a good thing. But these woods were crammed with beech saplings, not so good. At least the snow was firm earlier in the morning.
A neat rock formation encountered along the way.
Farther up the ridge I entered spruce forest, as expected. It was thicker than I remembered from my last visit.
As the morning warmed, the snow softened, and there were plenty of spruce traps. Luckily the snow was not that deep.
There's the ledge!
Grouse tracks.
This ledge has a one-dimensional view, but it's a nice one, looking across the East Branch valley to Mt. Hitchcock and its northern and western spurs. A small slide is prominent on the western spur.
I took a shorter and steeper route back down to the Lincoln Woods Trail, descending through a sea of spruces. Back in the spring of 1992 I bushwhacked up to the summit of this nameless
mountain, where there is a ledge with a fine view of Scar Ridge and the
Osceolas. It was one of
the most miserable whacks I've done in the region. The upper part
consisted of endless dense stands of small conifers strewn with wedged-in
blowdowns, all in a setting of steep, rough terrain with boulders,
holes and other delights. That's one I will not repeat!
Bright noontime sun on the East Branch.
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