White Mountains Variety Pack

Scenes from a series of shorter hikes around the White Mountains while scouting for the next (32nd) edition of the AMC White Mountain Guide.

 

A beautiful afternoon at Basin Pond on the south side of Evans Notch.  The Basin is the lowest-elevation glacial cirque in the Whites. 

The Basin Trail leads from Basin Pond over the headwall of The Basin and down to the end of the Wild River Road (closed until repairs are made.)

Cliffs on a spur of West Royce, seen across the west end of Basin Pond.

Nice hardwood forest on the flat floor of The Basin.

 

 

Hermit Falls, reached by a loop trail off the Basin Trail. The trip to the base of the falls is an easy jaunt of 2.8 miles round trip with just 200 ft. of elevation gain.  

 

 

 

 

A return to Shelburne to check on the Blue Trail up the "other" Mt. Cabot, which was heavily impacted by logging on private timberland in recent years. The Shelburne Trails Club (STC) has done an excellent job of restoring and re-marking the trails in this area. 

 

 

The summit area of Mt. Cabot (1,511 ft.) features an excellent view ledge looking out to the Moriah summits and the Presidentials, only hazily seen on this hot, humid day. This view is much better than what you get on the mountain's 4000-footer namesake.

On the way down I made a short side trip to the first view ledge on the nearby Scudder Trail, which ascends Mt. Ingalls.

 

 

This ledge is one of the nicest spots in the Shelburne area, with a wide view across the Androscoggin valley.

I descended along a fine recent relocation made by STC on the Scudder Trail.

 

An interesting perched boulder along the relocation.

 

 

Later that day I headed over to Randolph to check on a reported large logging cut at the top of the trail known as The Diagonal. It appeared to be a planned homesite, the owners of which will have an OK view.

A great profile on Mt. Madison.

 

I walked a short loop on three of the local Randolph Mountain Club (RMC) trails between Randolph Hill Rd. and Durand Rd.: Diagaonal, Wood Path and Pasture Path.

 

 

 

I hiked another short loop in Randolph via Carlton Notch Trail, Castleview Loop (shown here), Mt. Crescent Trail and Peek Path.

The highlight of the loop is the view of Madison and Adams from Castleview Ledge, the easiest viewpoint to reach in the Randolph area. The loop is 1.2 miles with 350 ft. of elevation gain.

Classic RMC trail signs.

 

Peek Path is one of the rockiest trails around! 

 

 

 

 

 On another day I headed down to Waterville Valley to check on some work done on the WVAIA's Goodrich Rock Trail.

In addition to a short relocation around an eroding spot, some new rock steps were installed by the Trail Fixing Collective.

 

 

The Goodrich Rock Trail is always fun as it weaves through the collection of glacial erratics known as the Davis Boulders. The trail leads you right through the crevice in this split boulder.

These are some big rocks!

The passage through this narrow, slanting cave is optional.

 

Climbers have dubbed this "The Old, Old Wooden Ship." 

 

 

 

 

Approaching Goodrich Rock, the biggest of them all. 

Cool old style WVAIA sign.

The airy 20-foot ladder that accesses the top of Goodrich Rock.

The flat top of the rock offers a framed view of Mt. Tecumseh (and also of Sandwich Dome).

The first step down is always the hardest part of the ladder descent. The hike to Goodrich Rock is 4.0 miles round trip with 750 ft. of elevation gain.

 

Another hike brought me to a favorite loop around the East Ponds on the south side of Scar Ridge, to check on the results of last winter's logging to harvest trees infected by the Emerald Ash Borer. The results are not pretty as six slash-filled skid roads were run across the Little East Pond Trail in a space of 0.4 mile. Oh well. 

 

 

Little East Pond, with its view of Scar Ridge peaks, is always a serene spot. The water level was up.

 

 

East Pond Loop, which rolls along at the 2500-2700 ft. level, is one of my favorite trails.

 

Sky and water patterns at East Pond. The loop to the two East Ponds is 4.8 miles with 1000 ft. of elevation gain.

 

 

 

 

One evening, after thunderstorms dumped two inches of rain in a short time, the East Branch was raging.

 

 

 

I spent a full day over in the eastern Whites checking a few trails east of Evans Notch. On the drive along Flat Rd. in West Bethel, ME, I paused to admire this view of Pickett Henry Mountain and Pine Mountain. The ledges look inviting, but this area is almost all private land.

 

Heading up the trail to Albany Mountain, a quiet little gem.

The former adopter, Eric Rathbun, did an incredible amount of good work on the northern section of Albany Mountain Trail.

 

An interesting beaver dam crossing.

 

More good work by Eric. Many thanks!

 

 

 

A short distance above the junction of the summit spur and the main Albany Mountain Trail, a side path leads to this excellent view SW to Kearsrage North and the Baldfaces. 

 

The pleasant summit spur path meanders across ledges and through stands of red pine. Albany Mountain is sort of an eastern version of Blueberry Mountain in the Benton Range.

A near-summit view to the east, including Broken Bridge Pond.

 

The official trail ends at a cairn atop the viewless summit (1,934 ft.). The hike to here is 3.8 miles round trip with 1100 ft. of elevation gain.

 

 An unofficial but well-used path runs 1/4 mile out to the mountain's SW ledges and wide views. I met the current adopter for Albany Mountain Trail (thank you!) who lives nearby, but didn't get her name.

 

 

 

I drove a short distance down the road to re-visit Albany Brook Trail, a rolling one-mile route to secluded Round Pond. 

Views of Crocker Pond through the trees. 

There is much evidence of recent logging along this trail, most notably near the end, where there's a 100-yard section through the middle of a brushy clearcut. Yuck.

Round Pond is a pretty spot, though the shores are densely grown.

 

Crocker Pond from the boat launch near the trailhead.

 

On the way home I made a side trip down Rt. 113 to climb to the little viewpoint known as The Roost. I used the slightly longer bur more moderate southern approach on the Roost Trail.

Most of the trail leads through a pleasant hardwood forest.

 

 

The summit of The Roost (1,371 ft.) is ledgy but viewless.

A side path descends 0.1 mile and 130 ft. to the views, steeply at first, then more moderately.

 

The ledges at the bottom of the side path have good views over the Evans Brook and Wild River valleys. Unfortunately rain showers had moved in while I was climbing and the view of the Carter Range was obscured.  It was still a nice spot to hang out at for a few minutes before heading home. The southern approach to The Roost is 1.6 miles round trip with 650 ft. of elevation gain.