Three Ponds and Beyond

The wild basin between Carr Mountain and Mount Kineo in the southwestern Whites has long been one of my favorite backcountry haunts. This small but expansive mini-wilderness holds many ponds and wetlands from which to admire the foliage.The trailhead for the wonderful 5.7 mile loop around the Three Ponds Trail, Donkey Hill Cutoff and Mount Kineo Trail is on Stinson Lake Road, a long way in from the major highways. The parking area was expanded a few years ago, but I was sorry to see that sometime in the last year and a half this attractive and informative poster had been replaced with a standard you-are-here WMNF map. 

 

 This old lightning-scarred maple has stood guard here for many years.

 

Except for one relocation, the first two miles of Three Ponds Trail follows old logging roads widened into snowmobile trails. After an initial climb, the grades are mostly easy.

I made a short bushwhack down to a familiar beaver meadow along Sucker Brook, with the long ridge of Carr Mountain peering over the trees.

The spot where a 0.2 mile relocation (opened many years ago) alongside Sucker Brook diverges right from the logging road/snowmobile trail.

A wetland view where the relocation rejoins.

Sucker Brook.

At 2.0 miles the trail turns left off the snowmobile route for good. 

After following a more recent relocation, the trail drops down to the shore of beautiful Middle Pond, with a long view north to Whitcher Hill. The water level was surprisingly high.

A side path leads up to Three Ponds Shelter.

The shelter looks to be in pretty good shape.

Back down on the main trail I had a nice chat with a group of hikers from the Concord, NH area known as the "Mountain Goats." Several of these folks have been customers in my (former) store.

 

Lovely shoreside view of Carr Mountain. Though not as vibrant as other years, the foliage was still nice.

 

I've always admired this stalwart white pine that rises along the west side of the pond.

Signs at the junction with Donkey Hill Cutoff, 2.5 miles from the trailhead.

 

Here the Three Ponds Trail crosses the remains of an old beaver dam, with the aid of a couple of wooden planks. At times over the years, this crossing has been difficult to negotiate without getting wet feet

It's in pretty good shape at present, but you do have to choose your footing carefully.

Nice color in the swamp behind the beaver dam.

Gorgeous view of Carr Mountain from the NE corner of Middle Pond.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

In another 0.2 mile a side path leads to a fine sitting rock on the shore of Upper Pond.

Mount Kineo peers over the eastern shore.

I wanted to check the condition of the trail north of the Three Ponds, where it is lightly used and can be overgrown and obscure in places. To the point where I hiked, 4.2 miles from the trailhead, there were a few mildly overgrown spots, but most of the trail was open and easy to follow.

A nice remote feeling out here.

This quadruple blowdown was the biggest obstacle encountered.

Farther north I made a short bushwhack down to Foxglove Pond, where the water level was way down.

Looking  north.

 

At 3.4 miles the trail crosses the edge of a large open bog at the north end of Foxglove Pond. This spot can often be squishy, but thanks to the drought was mostly dry this day.

The view across the bog to Carr Mountain and its elongated north ridge is one of my favorites.

More of the north ridge.

Another angle. A wild scene!

A number of white pines populate the bog.

 

Some fine woods walking out here.

 

At 4.0 miles the trail crosses a remote snowmobile trail.

Above here the trail tends to be a little more obscure.

I left the trail a bit farther up and bushwhacked eastward through open hardwoods to a little open meadow on the flank of Whitcher Hill.

This is a nice little sunny, remote spot

Years ago the meadow had a view over some of the ponds in the valley, as well as Carr Mountain. Tree growth has now obscured almost all of the vista, with just the top of Carr seen.

Late day sun at Foxglove Bog.

The sun drops behind Carr Mountain at Middle Pond.

I turned onto Donkey Hill Cutoff, a wild and wonderful trail, to continue on the classic Three Ponds loop.

More wetlands.

Another favorite spot is this viewpoint looking across the Brown Brook Marshes to Mt. Kineo.

Zoom on the wild ridgecrest of Kineo.

Turning onto Mount Kineo Trail, the last link in the loop.

Cascade on Brown Brook, along Mount Kineo Trail. The 5.7 mile Three Ponds loop, including the side trip to Upper Pond, is highly recommended!

 

 

Mount Cube

On yet another sunny day that ended up with 100-mile visibility, I climbed Mount Cube (2909 ft.), one of the best "52 With a View" peaks, via its northern approach, the Mount Cube Trail off NH Rt. 25A. In addition to the mountain's stellar views, I wanted to check out the major trail reconstruction completed by the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) trail crew over the last few years.

The Mount Cube Trail is part of the Appalachian Trail route over the mountain. It was built by DOC in the late 1980s to replace a route that traversed private land. In its first section it crosses a stone wall and passes two cellar holes.

There's a nice mix of forest along this trail, including some large hemlocks.

Brackett Brook, looking upstream from where the trail crosses it.

The middle section of the trail passes through some fine mature hardwood forest.

In one stretch the trail crosses a plateau forested mostly with beech.

A large old leaning yellow birch.

The upper mile of the trail follows switchbacks through steeper and more rugged terrain. Here is where I started to encounter the amazing DOC trail reconstruction.

There are a number of staircases masterfully constructed with flat quartzite rocks.

 

I paused often to marvel at this work.

The upper part of the trail is still rugged, but vastly improved over these formerly eroded pitches.

The stairs keep coming!

Close-up.

Wooden steps near the top of the ridge.

 

X-marks for traction.

New signs at the south summit.

Marker from the 1870s U.S. Coastal Survey.

My favorite view from Cube gazes south to the sprawling mass of Smarts Mountain.

Closer look.

Looking southwest. Killington and Pico in the distance on the far right. The sun was balmy here and I had the summit to myself for an hour.

Long view out to the Green Mountains beyond nearby Sunday Mountain. Mts. Abraham and Ellen are left of center and Camel's Hump is right of center.

Heading over to the North Peak for a completely different view.

 

Quartzite ledges along the way.

The best view ledges are found beyond this huge outcrop.

Gorgeous view of Mt. Moosilauke rising beyond Upper Baker Pond.

 

A great angle on the Moose, with the Kinsmans peering over in back.

Carr Mountain dominates the horizon to the east.

A solitary white pine has taken hold on the ledges.

Looking SE to the Cube satellite peak known as Black Hill. Shadows getting long, time to head down. The hike to both  Mount Cube summits via the Mount Cube Trail is 7.4 miles round trip with 2300 ft. of elevation gain,