Some scenes from a trio of hikes on the south side of the White Mountains.
WHITE LEDGE
Enjoyed this 4.4 mile loop hike over an eastern spur of Mt. Chocorua on a day with showers moving in mid-afternoon, with its trailhead in the White Ledge Campground off Rt. 16.
The lower eastern part of the loop leads through old pastureland grown to woods, passing this large pile of rocks presumably removed from a field.
My favorite part of the loop ascends some open granite slabs as it approaches the summit from the north.
Views back to South Moat and Kearsarge North.
An outlook to the northwest, including Mt. Carrigain, Mt. Tremont, Bear Mountain, Mt. Nancy, Mt. Bemis, Mt. Willey, and Table Mountain.
A ledge near the 2010-ft. summit with a wide view east into Maine.
I took Joe on a short bushwhack to a ledge with an impressive view of Mt. Chocorua. We made it back to the trailhead before the rain arrived.
EAGLE CLIFF & RED HILL
I hadn't visited Eagle Cliff or taken the long route to Red Hill via the Eagle Cliff Trail for quite a while, so it was time for a re-visit. The Eagle Cliff Trail starts at a somewhat obscure trailhead on Squam Lake Rd.
Due to wetness from overnight rain, I used the easier bypass rather than the scrambly main trail for the short, steep climb to the superb viewpoint on Eagle Cliff, overlooking Squam Lake.
This perch also has a great view of the Sandwich Range to the north.
A closer look at the Sandwich Range high peaks: Tripyramids, Sleepers, Whiteface and Passaconaway.
The two mile ridge walk from Eagle Cliff to Red Hill is a pleasant ramble on a narrow footway with good footing, attractive oak woods, and a few ups and downs.
The Red Hill fire tower offers great views.
Lake Winnipesaukee and the Belknap Range.
Mt. Chocorua and its long southern ridge.
The lumpy mass of Mt. Paugus, displaying the bright ledges and gravel slides on its SW face. My next hike was going to be in that area, and this sight prompted me to add a bushwhack to the itinerary.
BIG ROCK CAVE, WHITIN BROOK VALLEY & THE PAUGUS GRAVEL SLIDES
This hike led me through some interesting terrain on the south side of the Sandwich Range, including Big Rock Cave, the peaceful Whitin Brook valley, and the lower part of the big, bright gravel slides on the steep SW face of Mt. Paugus. I took the eastern route to the trailhead on Rt. 113A. It was a beautiful morning, so a stop at "The Grove" on Chocorua Lake, with its magnificent view of the Sandwich Range, was mandatory.
Mts. Whiteface and Passaxconaway.
The scarred mass of Mt. Paugus.
Chocorua!
After a short stint on Cabin Trail, I turned onto Big Rock Cave Trail.
A pleasant climb through hardwoods.
Crossing the flat crest of Mt. Mexico; the nondescript 2020-ft. summit is a bit off to the north.
Into the Wilderness.
The trail then descends to an area of huge boulders.
Cool shape to this one.
Big Rock Cave.
Big enough to walk through.
A smaller cave next door. Might be a tight squeeze.
A trailside boulder on the descent to Whitin Brook.
The mellow Whitin Brook Trail leads up this quiet valley between Mt. Paugus and Whitin Ridge.
Artifacts from logging days.
One of four crossings I made over Whitin Brook.
Well into the valley I headed off-trail for the Paugus gravel slides, first through hardwoods...
...then through spruce forest.
Not going that way.
A sculpted boulder.
Lots of debris on the forest floor.
Climbing steeply towards the slides.
Small trees are somehow thriving in a steep sea of gravel.
Heading up to the more open part of the slide.
Jumbled rocks.
Looking up the slide.
Steep ledges.
Wonalancet Hedgehog and Nanamocomuck Peak, spurs of Mt. Passaconaway.
The spur of Mt. Paugus known as The Overhang. The tip of Mt. Passaconaway peeks over behind.
Looking up the ledges. The dry slabs looked climbable, but the pitch here is 37-38 degrees and coming back down would not be easy.
A side view shows the steepness. These slides are not classic debris avalanches caused by torrential rains; but rather their genesis has likely been a slow weathering and sliding of the granite over the centuries. The longest and largest gravel slide, seen here, is NNW of the main cliffs in this area. From its base amidst the birch trees that have managed to sprout from the gravel to its upper end, it is 475 ft. long and extends from 2,180 ft. to 2,560 ft. with an average slope of 38 degrees. What late 1800s guidebook editor Moses F. Sweetser described as “the red and ledgy flanks of Mt. Paugus,” and the 1901 WODC guide to the Sandwich Range called the “red ledges of Paugus,” are prominent from many distant viewpoints to the south and west.
This double white pine towers along the edge of the slide.
Looking back up while descending to the base of the slide. I was able to make secure footholds in the loose gravel.
Dropping back into the Whitin Brook valley.
Tangled.
A cascade on the upper end of Whitin Brook.
Tree stand.
I whacked across the valley and up to the Lawrence Trail at its low point under the ledges of The Overhang.
The Lawrence Trail was once among the steepest and most rugged trails in the Sandwich Range, but it was eroding away, so in 2006 and 2008 the Wonalancet Out Door Club made two major relocations to bring it onto more moderate terrain with an excellent and sustainable footway.
Slant Rock.
Turning onto the Cabin Trail to complete the day's loop and return to the trailhead.
One part of Cabin Trail follows a narrow sidehill footway across the steep slope of the knob known as Carrigain Outlook.
I was happy to see that Cabin Trail still offers this framed view of the Paugus cliffs and slides, with the mountain's South Peak above.
Homeward bound on the Cabin Trail.
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