OLIVERIAN BROOK VALLEY: 10/15/09

The snow that fell earlier this week coated the woods from 2500 ft. up. John Compton and I agreed that it was too early in the season to deal with that, so we opted to stay low, where it was still autumn. John had never been in the Oliverian Brook valley, a broad and remote basin between Square Ledge and Mt. Paugus in the Sandwich Range Wilderness, so that was our choice for the day. This is the middle of the valley, seen from Square Ledge.

Our objective was a small cliff on the west slope of "The Overhang" (a spur of Mt. Paugus) that I visited two years ago. The cliff is densely grown on top, but still affords some unique views.


The Oliverian Brook Trail is a gentle and pleasant route up the valley, with many brook vignettes along the way. This spot is a few yards off a section of trail that follows the bed of a branch of the Swift River logging railroad (1906-1916).


New signs at the junction of Oliverian Brook Trail and Passaconaway Cutoff.

Farther up the valley we stopped to admire this big sugar maple.



Parts of the trail were colorfully carpeted.


A gravelly spot in Oliverian Brook where the trail crosses it, 2.7 miles up the valley.


Another face of Oliverian Brook. A fine sense of remoteness in here.


We left the trail by another crossing and headed into woods both thick and thin. This open conifer grove was a nice stretch of whacking.


At the top of the cliff the vegetation was rather dense.


But the standing view was worth it, looking across the valley to snow-speckled Mt. Passaconaway rising behind the great rock face of Square Ledge.

Square Ledge is one of the more impressive cliffs in the Whites, the more so for its remote setting. In his 1916 book, Passaconaway in the White Mountains, Charles Edward Beals described it as "a gigantic scarred face of perpendicular ledge." The 1901 Wonalancet guidebook to the Sandwich Range said "The rock splits in great rectangular blocks and breaks away from below so that the upper part of the cliff overhangs the base. Facing the east it is dazzlingly beautiful in the morning." While eating lunch in the scrub, we were surprised to see several hikers emerge at the outlook atop the cliff. Square Ledge is not a popular destination, and it was midweek after Columbus Day. We met that quartet of hikers later back at the trailhead.

In ascending to the clifftop, the Square Ledge Trail traces a bold route through the diagonal belt of woods to the left of the main cliff face.


Our vantage also offered a view north to Mts. Hancock and Carrigain beyond Hedgehog Mtn. (right) and Potash Mtn. (left).


Hancock looked quite wintry in the dull, gray, November-like light, with some late foliage in the foreground.


John spotted a lower ledge on a nearby spur, so after lunch we headed across this minor ridge through prickly woods. Partway across our traverse, an opening provided a nice view up to Passaconaway and its SE spur, Nanamocomuck Peak.



The spur proved to be surprisingly steep and rugged, with several cliff bands to work around. After a slow, careful descent, John found the ledge down below. It was a nice spot, though the view was restricted.


Looking up, Wonalancet Hedgehog loomed large.

A glimpse south to the head of the valley at Paugus Pass.


By mid-afternoon we had descended back to the trail. At this crossing of Oliverian Brook there is an old log staircase on the west side. We poked around the area in the hope of stumbling on an old logging camp, but no luck.

Returning down the trail, we heard rushing water down to the left. A short bushwhack led us to this pretty little cascade.




Farther down the valley we made another bushwhack to this cascade on a tributary brook.



We made it out with daylight to spare, having enjoyed a mellow valley ramble with some interesting exploration, all below the snowline.

AUTUMN GLORY ON TRIPYRAMID: 10/6/09

It's been a great year for foliage, and right about now is the proverbial "peak" in the southern White Mountains. The loop over Mt. Tripyramid from the Waterville (west) side is a favorite of mine at this time of year - you walk through hardwood forest for miles to and from the mountain, and up top you have great views over the colorful valleys.

I got an early start from the Livermore Trail parking area. There had been a few morning showers, but North Tripyramid had emerged from the clouds as I crossed the Depot Camp clearing.


About a mile in the trail crossed a clearing, with a colorful hillside ahead.



The leaf-strewn, winding Livermore Trail is an easy approach and it shines at this time of year.



A cascade on Avalanche Brook.

Three miles in the trail passes the site of Avalanche Camp, an old logging camp, on the left.



I spent a few minutes poking around the area and found what looks like an old boiler of some sort.


A bunch of bed frames had been dumped over a bank.


After 3.8 mellow miles, I turned right on the Scaur Ridge Trail. This provides a much easier approach than the steep and difficult North Slide. The lower slabs of the slide would have been wet and very tricky today, and Scaur Ridge is one of my favorite woods walks, especially in the fall. (The prevailing wisdom on the Tripyramid slides loop is that you go up the North Slide, which has very steep, slippery slabs in its lower part, and go down the looser, gravelly South Slide. The North Slide fell in 1885; the first South Slide came down in 1869, and a second parallel slide cut loose in 1885.)


At the start the Scaur Ridge Trail passes through a fine stand of sugar maples.


Farther up there were several octopus-like beech trees to the right of the trail.


"Mellow" is an apt description for the Scaur Ridge Trail.



From one spot you get a peek at the imposing North Slide.


At five generally easy miles from the start, you meet the Pine Bend Brook Trail on the level crest between North Tripyramid and Scaur Peak.


After traversing the shoulder, the Pine Bend Brook Trail wanders through nice woods to the base of North Tripyramid.


Then there's a steep, rough, winding climb with a number of ledge slabs and steps to negotiate. This north-facing slope is always damp, and the rocks were cold and wet on the hands today.



The summit of North Tripyramid offers only limited views. The best is found via a short beaten path on the NE side, a stand-up vista looking across the Albany Intervale. Church Pond sparkles on the flats, with Bartlett Haystack and Bear Mountain beyond.

By far the best view from North Tripyramid is at the top of the North Slide. It's well worth the steep (almost 300 ft. in less than 0.2 mile) descent from the summit via the Mount Tripyramid Trail. Here's the view towards Mt. Osceola upon emerging at the top of the slide. I made my way down to the boulder seen below on the left, a fine spot to take in the scenery.


Looking back up at the top of the slide. The trail exits left at the large cairn.


Looking down, the slope seems to fall off the edge. Two young guys - the only hikers I met on the mountain - came up and advised me not to go down that way. I assured them that was not in the plan!



Looking north, Mt. Carrigain had a tail of fire.


For a minute the sun lit up the slopes of Osceola. It was cold and windy on the slide, prompting me to add all my layers plus hat and gloves.

You look down on Scaur Peak, with Hancock and the Bonds beyond. Some of the higher summits to the north were socked in all day.


Mt. Kancamagus is seen from an interesting angle, with its southern arms enclosing the isolated basin of Kancamagus Brook.



After enjoying these views, I climbed back to North Tripyramid and continued across the ridge to Middle Tripyramid. The summit of Middle is an uplifted ledge with a good standing view east to Passaconaway and Chocorua, with some color bursts down in the Sabbaday Brook valley.


I took a long break at the west outlook, where you can sit and enjoy the vistas. As I had hoped, there was a bonanza of color in the Waterville Valley.



Mt. Moosilauke is perfectly framed by Thornton Gap.

From this ledge you peer down into the broad lower basin of Cold Brook, which spreads out between spurs of North and South Tripyramid. The lower valley is almost pure hardwood, good for both foliage viewing and snowshoe wandering.



There was good color on the low ridge leading across to "The Scaur," with Osceola beyond.



Heading south, you drop down through a rocky chute off Middle Tripyramid.


Cozy fir woods along the ridge.



Near the top of the short, steep climb up South Tripyramid, I looked back for a vista of North (left) and Middle (right), with Mts. Carrigain and Willey between them.


From the top of South Tripyramid I bushwhacked down to a ledge with some unusual views. This may be the same ledge referred to in Moses Sweetser's classic 1876 guidebook, The White Mountains: A Handbook for Travellers. In those days there was only the first of the two South Slides, referred to as "The Great Slide," and Sweester noted that the South Peak was the only Tripyramid summit that was regularly climbed. "There is no view from the peak itself," he wrote, "except for such as may be pleased to clamber up a tree and hold on.... On the S. side of the S. peak is a projecting ledge which commands a fine view over the lake-valleys."

Through a break in the trees I found this view of Flat Mountain Pond and Mt. Israel.



A profile of Passaconaway and the Rollins Trail ridge leading across to Whiteface.




A view east to the Moats and distant Pleasant Mountain.


A look down into a DEEP hole between parts of the ledge - like a natural well.



Lake Winnipesaukee seen over the long SW arm of East Sleeper.



The wild heart of the Sandwich Range: Whiteface (left) and its West Spur (right) seen over the broad domes of The Sleepers.


Peering down into the valley of Sabbaday Brook.



Back on the trail, I made a very steep descent to the South Slide.


Near the top a great rock seat beckons.


Unique to the South Slide is a wonderful vista over the remote area of Lost Pass and the northern Flat Mountain, with Sandwich Dome presiding above. Tough lighting late in the day.

Distant visibility was excellent - Mt. Monadnock is clearly visible on the right, over the shoulder of Sandwich Dome.


Descending the South Slide.



Looking back at the upper part of the slide.



Partway down, a view of the long SW arm of East Sleeper.


A fairly tricky scramble in between the upper and lower parts of the slide.


The walk out from the base of the slide is one of my favorites - easy to moderate grades, good footing, and gorgeous hardwood glades.


Farther down, there was a tantalizing glimpse back at Black Cascade.


I paused briefly at this favorite rest stop beside Slide Brook, but had to keep moving. For once, I made it out - barely - without breaking out the headlamp.