Little East Pond: 11/11/24

Took a mid/late afternoon hike to one of my favorite ponds on Veteran's Day. (Veterans, thank you for your service!)

 

 

The section of Little East Pond Trail that follows the century-old grade of the Woodstock & Thornton Gore Railroad through open hardwoods is always a pleasure to walk, especially when the leaves are down and the forest is wide open. 

 

Some fairly intensive logging is planned along the lower half of this trail in the near future - a "sanitation harvest" of white ash that has been infested with Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). The purpose is to control the spread of EAB, which has been moving northward into the White Mountains. (Including our yard in Lincoln, where we had to have a beautiful white ash taken down.) Unfortunately, there appear to be a dozen or more flagged routes for skid trails crossing the Little East Pond Trail, which runs counter to the recommendations in the WMNF documents concerning the East Pond Brook Ash Harvest: "To protect the Little East Pond Trail a feller-buncher will be required and minimal trail crossings will be utilized." and "Design features to protect the trail should include minimal trail crossings and no hauling along the trail." It would seem that fewer trail crossings should be considered for the project.

I always stop to check out this piping that served a logging camp along the railroad near Clear Brook.

A couple of pieces of remnant rail beside the trail.

In 2022 and 2023, the all-volunteer Mad River Trail Collective (www.madrivertrailcollective.org) installed 9 sections of two-foot wide boardwalk on Little East Pond Trail, totaling 246 feet. Several short sections bridge small drainages. This 110-foot section, located where the trail turns right off the railroad grade, is the longest boardwalk. Excellent work!

Another section of boardwalk. These are "armored" with rocks at either end.

The woods looking very November-ish on the climb to Little East Pond.

On my many visits to Little East Pond, I have never seen the water this low. The pond is very shallow to begin with, but this fall's drought has exposed the shoreline all around the pond. The view of Scar Ridge (L) and Middle Scar Ridge (R) is always a treat.

I could see that a nice sitting rock at the northeast corner, normally accessible only by a heinous bushwhack, was easily accessible today.

I followed the exposed shoreline to this perch using rocks, gravel and sticks for footing.

Looking back along the east shore.

 

Skies were gloomy, but there was a bit of brightness to the south.

After a nice break on the sitting rock, I returned to the south end of the pond and wandered up along the west shore for a different perspective.

Looking across at a gentle spur ridge that descends southward off the main ridge between Middle Scar and East Scar.

A gnarled old red maple at the SW corner of the pond.

Descending the trail with sunset coming on.

 

Liberty-Haystack Slide: 11/7/24

November is a fine time for bushwhacking in the leafless woods. After wandering into Walker Ravine under Mount Lafayette the week before, I decided to re-visit another secluded nook of the Franconia Range on a chilly, cloudy day - the ravine on the western slopes between Little Haystack Mountain and Mount Liberty. My objective was a raw, gravelly slide that presumably was triggered by a big rainstorm in October, 1995. This would be my fourth visit to this slide, perhaps a dubious record of some sort.

I approached the bushwhack along the lower section of Falling Waters Trail, passing by this cascade on Walker Brook.

After crossing Dry Brook on the trail, I headed up into the woods on a southeasterly course.

A random boulder in the forest.

A high plateau is home to some old, leaning sugar maples.

This gnarled yellow birch has seen many hard winters.

Higher up, I entered the land of the conifers, with a sprinkling of birch.

This is one of the more unusual tree arrangements I've seen in my ramblings.

I passed through mostly open woods as I ascended the flank of the ridge that parallels the ravine's brook to the north.

Farther up, a glimpse of the slide through the trees.

The going a looked a little ugly here. Time to back up and head farther up the slope.

Better woods up here.

I dropped steeply down to the brook at a lower point than on previous trips, as I wanted to check out the runout track of the slide.

 

As shown on satellite photos, the slide scoured out the brookbed for nearly half a mile downstream. I started making my way up the track, but most of the rocks were super-slick, making for very slow going.

 

I decided to head back into the woods, crossing over this boulder train known as a debris flow levee, deposited by the slide along the edge of the track. (Debris flow is a geologic term for the type of landslide prevalent in the White Mountains.)

 

The footing was a little gnarly in here, but faster than going up the rocky slide track.

I pushed through this thicket and re-emerged on the track near the base of the slide proper.

Stunted spruce and fir are taking over a dry branch of the track.

Final approach to the base of the slide.

The 1995 slide is a two-pronged affair. From a wide upper section, two swaths run down on either side of a strip of trees. On previous visits I had ascended the north prong. Today I would head up the south prong, which diverges to the right in this photo.

One of the peculiarities of this slide is an abundance of brightly tinted red rocks. This is a result not of lichen growth, as it might seem, but of a mineral known as iron oxide in the rocks.

Side gouging on the southern prong.

 

Approaching the wide upper section of the slide.

Steep and rubbly, with somewhat sketchy footing.

A spine of gravel and loose rock runs down the middle, with a spur of Little Haystack behind.

 

The south side of the main slide section is very steep, with a slope angle approaching 35 degrees.

The upper part of the slide offers a wonderful wide-screen view of the Kinsmans, but the clouds that had lent a gloomy gray look to the day were still hanging tough in the early afternoon. But they were slowly lifting, and the sun was starting to poke through.

 

A solitary white pine is making a living at the top of the most open part of the slide, at 3400 ft. Several other white pines were noted at the base of the slide.

The upper end of the slide is narrow, steep, and loose, topping out at 3475 ft.

More red rocks here.

After an hour's sojourn, the Kinsmans are revealed at last! The Cannon Balls are to the right.

Descending the spine in increasing sunshine.

Looking back up.

 

Spur of Little Haystack leading up to the main ridge, south of the Little Haystack summit.

Heading down the gravelly north prong of the slide.

More views of the Kinsmans.

After 29 years, plant life has yet to gain a foothold on much of the slide.

It must have been quite a sight - and sound - when this slide came roaring down in that October 1995 rainstorm.

 

A few spots of foliage remain on a single tamarack (larch) that took root near the bottom of the slide.

Parting shot.

 

Back up a steep slope to exit the slide track.

It was a pleasure to descend through the open woods in late afternoon sun. Made it out just before dark.