Spring Rambling, Part II

 More spring outings while scouting trails for the 32nd edition of the AMC White Mountain Guide...

  A creative crossing of the Pemigewasset River along the Pemi Trail in Franconia Notch: a staircase, a boulder and a bridge.

Nifty view of Cannon Cliff and Eagle Cliff from a beaver wetland by the Pemi Trail, north of Lafayette Campground.

Checking out the scene at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge: the Dartmouth Outing Club gives ample warning about possible closures of the bridge over the Baker River on  Gorge Brook Trail during high water events.

They are serious about this: there are now swinging lockable gates at both ends of the bridge.

I needed a quick bushwhack fix so I headed a mile or so up Gorge Brook Trail and whacked through open woods towards an old (1942) slide track.

 

The gullied track scoured out by the slide.

 

 

A few remnant snow patches.

Steep and thick approaching the upper part of the slide.

The slide is almost completely revegetated, but the top is still open enough to present a view over the valley to Moosilauke's Blue Ridge (Mts. Braley and Kirkham and Sayre Peak, named after DOC notables) and distant mountains beyond.

 

 

Zooming in on Ravine Lodge.

One of several white pines thriving amidst the spruce and fir. On the left is a stray hemlock, not very common at 3400 ft.

 

Steep descent.

 

 

For variety, I veered off to the Snapper Trail and descended the lower part of that trail.

Some of the many cool signs displayed on the walls of Ravine Lodge. The orange one caught my eye. The Gorge Brook Slide Trail was only maintained from ca. 1968-1980.

On a cool, bug-free day I did the first of two spring maintenance trips on the Passaconaway Cutoff, the adopted trail of the AMC Four Thousand Footer Committee. This snapped off blowdown was not thick but it was tricky and required two cuts and a bit of coaxing to bring it down.

 

Cleared.

"The hemlock cathedral."

 

 

Cleaning drainages. 

 

My favorite hardwood corridor.

 

 

More drainages. 33 done on this trip, 23 to go.  

This was a leaner that finally came down.

Cleared.

 

On the way out I rewarded myself with a quick bushwhack to what I call the Passaconaway Beaver Pond. Even when hiding in evening shadow, its symmetry is at once beautiful and imposing.

 

Passaconaway is a parent to the eastern spurs of Nanamocomuck Peak and Square Ledge, with a bit of Wonalancet Hedgehog peeking out behind.

On a day with rain moving in by  early afternoon, I drove over to Breezy Point Road to check out the lower half of the Moosilauke Carriage Road. The washout on the upper end of the road, caused by the 2017 Halloween storm, seems to have gotten worse. Unless you have a monster truck, a road walk of 0.4 mile is required to reach the start of the trail.

 

Breezy Point, with its open fields and mountain views, is one of my favorite places in the Whites. Walking up the road, you an espy Moosilauke's South and East Peaks.

The open fields of Breezy Point were once home to resort hotels known as the Breezy Point House (1877-1884) and the Moosilauke Inn (1885-1953). From the 1950s-1980s, a smaller motel-like complex was located here. There was also a nine-hole golf course.This tract was added to the WMNF in 1991, and the fields are kept open by the Forest Service. From the upper field there are views of Carr Mountain...

...and Mt. Kineo.

The site of the inn known as Merrill's Mountain House or Merrill's Mountain Home, is a short distance up the Carriage Road. This foundation is located just to the left of the trail. Operated by the Merrill family from the 1860s until 1910, it could accommodate about 35 guests. Merrill’s was a homey hostelry, lacking the pizazz and social status of the larger Breezy Point House and its successor, Moosilauke Inn, just down the slope. The inn succumbed to fire in 1915, and the site is now wooded.

This stone well is located next to the foundation.

This partial foundation is on the right side of the trail. There is a geocache hidden here.

One of several wet sections, which alternate with dry stretches with good footing along the next mile of the Carriage Road.

Trout Lily Highway.

Who doesn't love this sight in spring?

Shy and lovely.

An English major, not.

I have yet to locate any evidence of the DOC's Camp Misery, built in 1932 and used into the 1940s. Maybe nobody wanted to stay there.

A rare DOC blaze as the Carriage Road heads up into a beautiful mature hardwood forest.

Dartmouth owns 4500 acres on the east side of Moosilauke, and it is a great resource for student and faculty research. Of course, kiss any federal grants goodbye with those dirty words, "climate change."

Gorgeous hardwoods up here.

I was hoping to find some Dutchman's Breeches that I had spotted up here about ten years ago, but no luck. There were plenty of Trout Lilies, and Spring Beauties, too.

 

On the way down, I took a short side trip on a pleasant section of the quiet Hurricane Trail to visit a logging camp site.

This was the site of  Camp 1 of the William R. Park, Jr. logging operation in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Park logged in the Big Brook and upper Baker River drainages and was notable for constructing a gravity railroad to haul lumber partway down to the mills in Warren.

A few weathered relics are scattered around the area.

 

A bent-over sled runner.

Not sure what we're looking at here.

 

Big Brook, one of many beautiful streams that flow off the slopes of Moosilauke.

 

Spring Rambling, Part I

Catching up on a series of shorter hikes this spring, mostly with the purpose of checking trails for the next (2027) edition of the AMC White Mountain Guide.

 

I hadn't been up Boy Mountain (2,241 ft.) in Jefferson in a long time, so it was time for a re-visit. This privately maintained trail is open to respectful hikers, starting off US 2 just west of Carter Cut Road. The route is well-marked by signs and arrows and packs a bit of a punch, ascending 650 ft. in 0.7 mi. The open viewpoint at the top, furnished with a bench, is ample reward, with a fine view of the Presidentials.

 

A great look into Castle Ravine.

 

The view also takes in the trailless Dartmouth Range and the distant Bond-Twin Range, with Mt. Lafayette peering over in back.

 

 

 

Nearby, a short easy trail starting at the Castle Trail trailhead leads to Rollo Fall, in the Randolph Community Forest.

 

 

 

In late April I made the spring maintenance trip to my adopted Kettles Path in Waterville Valley.  It was good to see that the turnpiking and ditching placed by  trails professional Ryan Harvey and his team, with funding support from WVAIA, had resolved the annual spring flooding and erosion issue on the first part of the trail. Thanks, Ryan!

Hello, there!

 

 

A beech blowdown along the approach to The Scaur.

Cleared.

Cleaning drainages.

 

 

The reward at the top: the view from The Scaur, looking south at Sandwich Dome. 

 

 

 

I had not ascended the western route to Hurricane Mountain, a little bump on the long south ridge of Mount Moosilauke, in a dozen years. I always love the pastoral feel along the fields at the start of Glencliff Trail.

 

I made a short side trip to look at the Dartmouth Outing Club's Great Bear Cabin, open to the public by reservation only; obviously Dartmouth-affiliated folks get first dibs.

You have to hand it to DOC when it comes to privies. How about a two-seater?

 

 

The Hurricane Trail is a quiet route ascending through some nice woods on the west side of the ridge.

 

The uppermost part of the trail gets a little steep, rough and wild.

 

The trail is mossy and magical as it traverses the broad crest of the ridge through a softwood forest.

The trail's appeal increased in 2016 when DOC opened a spur path to a viewpoint on the south side of the trail.

 

 

 

It's a humble view, but a nice one, looking south to Stinson Mountain, Whitcher Hill and Carr Mountain.

Just for variety, on the way down I bushwhacked across to the Glencliff Trail. The first part of the whack led me through a marvelous open hardwood forest. I came out on Glencliff Trail a mile or so above the trailhead.

 

Before heading home I checked out most of the nearby Town Line Trail, paying a visit to Jeffers Brook Shelter.

More DOC privy art.

 

 

A nice cascade on Jeffers Brook, near the shelter.

 

 

I took a look at the dreaded ford of Oliverian Brook from the Rt. 25 side. Usually requires wading and in high water it's a no-go.

 

 

 

Two days later I headed down to Orford to hike a recently opened trail that will be added for the next edition of the guide. Stonehouse Mountain Conservation Area is a 270-acre privately owned parcel under conservation easement with the Upper Valley Land Trust. A loop trail to its summit was recently opened, and my co-editor, Ken MacGray, worked with Jason Berard of UVLT and landowners Bob and Christie Hedges to facilitate its inclusion in the guide. There is a parking area and kiosk for the trail on remote Stonehouse Summit Rd. in Orford. 

 

This map shows the trail up the mountain and a proposed trail connecting Stonehouse with the adjacent Mountain View Farm Conservation Area.

The direct route to the summit climbs steeply at times. 

 

 

The trail approaches the summit through a gorgeous mossy softwood forest.

 

 

Summit sign. Stonehouse is a NW satellite peak of Smarts Mountain.

 

The longer section of the loop descends gently along the summit crest through a fine forest of spruce and red pine.

 

 

 

Then it descends through a rocky oak forest.

A framed view of Smarts Mountain.

 

 

 

A bit farther down the loop comes to a nice ledgy viewpoint.

The vista looks across the Connecticut River valley to Mt. Ascutney on the left and more distant Vermont peaks on the horizon. The loop over Stonehouse Mountain is 2.1 miles with 770 ft. of elevation gain.

After hiking Stonehouse in mid-afternoon, I had time for an evening hike to the Eastman Ledges, a wonderful viewpoint on the Kodak Trail (part of the AT)  at the south end of Mt. Cube. The hike begins with a half-mile walk up Quinttown Road beyond the parking spot at a gate.

The Kodak Trail, built by the Dartmouth Outing Club in the late 1980s, is the most scenic route to Mt. Cube. The trail name reveals classic DOC humor.

The trail starts with a mellow climb through nice hardwood forest.

This patch of Trout Lilies was all closed up for the evening.

 

 

 

Quartzite rocks on the approach to Eastman Ledges.

The viewpoint is a great quartzite perch with a close-up view of Smarts Mountain and its long, sweeping north ridge, which the J Trail (AT) follows.

 

Smarts summit, with its fire tower just poking above the trees. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking SW to Stonehouse Mountain (L), Bundy Mountain (R), and the fields of Mountain View Farm.

Long view to the Green Mountains in Vermont.

The Killington Range. The view here is a big payoff for a round trip of just 2.2 miles with 640 ft. of elevation gain.