SOUTH BRANCH, WALKER BROOK: 11/13/14

Continuing a series of explorations of brooks around Mt. Moosilauke, on this cloudy November day I followed the south branch of Walker Brook from the end of the Walker Brook logging road up to near its source on the steep east slope of Mount Braley (the peak just south of Mount Waternomee, named for a Dartmouth Outing Club notable). Then I visited the two remaining open patches on an old slide - a place on my to-do list for years - and enjoyed good views to the southeast before heading back down along the stream.

The trek began with a 1.3 mi. walk up the Walker Brook logging road from Rt. 118, which is normally used as the access to the unofficial path to the B-18 bomber crash site high on the side of Mt. Waternomee.

 

 I continued on the overgrown extension of the road across the north branch of Walker Brook, which flows down from the east side of Mt. Waternomee. (Click here for a report on an exploration of the upper part of this brook.)

Not far beyond, I began my bushwhack up along the south branch, through gentle terrain at first.

A nice quiet area out here.

November is a great time for bushwhacking in the hardwood forest.

I alternated picking my way in rougher terrain right along the brook, and in the easier woods a bit up and away from the streambank. In one section I followed what appeared to be an old logging sled road.

In one steep section along the brook I crossed an old mudslide.

I hoped to find some cascades on the south branch, but this stream turned out to be more of a tumbler than a cascader. This was a nice spot, though.

Higher up, where the brook was quite small and split into branches, I wandered off through the woods on the north side. This boulder displayed an especially rich carpet of moss.

This lovely birch glade at 2600 ft. was one of the highlights of the bushwhack.

This was a particularly idyllic spot with the little brook meandering along the edge of the glade.

The best whacking of the day!

A cascade in miniature.

From the glade I followed a hogback with open woods up towards the old Braley slide.

After a bit of wandering around I found the lower of the two open gravelly patches on the slide.

The old slide still offers a fine view to the east and southeast, including Mt. Tecumseh, Sandwich Dome and Elbow Pond.

This is the best view of Elbow Pond I've found. On the horizon in the center is Mt. Shaw in the Ossipees rising above Mt. Israel.

The Tripyramids and Mt. Tecumseh.

Revegetation is underway on this remnant gravelly patch. Most of the slide is cloaked in very dense small spruce.

To reach the upper slide patch at 3060 ft., I bushwhacked up a steep slope next to the slide through surprisingly open woods.

The upper and slightly larger slide patch. I have not been able to date this slide, but it must be fairly old, perhaps from the November 1927 storm or the 1938 Hurricane.

At the upper end there was a ledge suitable for reclining.

Mt. Cushman and sharp-peaked Mt. Kineo, with a bit of Rt. 118 visible.

Heading back down the valley, I passed this boulder displaying various shades of moss.

The whack back was almost entirely through hardwoods.

After winding down a steep leafy slope, I came by this spot where the brook dances down through the rocks.

BLUE RAVINE CASCADES: 11/10/14

On a fairly warm November morning I bushwhacked up a nameless brook on the lower slope of Mt. Blue (on the north side of Mt. Moosilauke) to some lovely cascades. I learned about these from fellow bushwhacking enthusiasts John "1HappyHiker" Compton and Chris "NeoAkela" Whiton, who have both explored this ravine in recent years. Thanks, guys!

Before embarking on the trek, I stopped at the Wildwood Picnic Area on Rt. 112 for a look at the snowy north ridge of Mt. Blue.

I found a parking spot on Rt. 112 and whacked along the Wild Ammonoosuc River until I reached the spot where the nameless brook comes in.

Not far up, the brook already showed signs of getting cascade-y.

Burls on an old yellow birch.

Nice woods on the floor of the valley.

The first significant cascade.

Looking down at the first cascade and its picturesque pool.

Just upstream was the second cascade.

Even when just sliding long, this brook is pretty.

Mossy rock walls abound in this little ravine.

A double cascade - the biggest drop in the set.

I clambered up the ledges on the side of the cascade.

Looking back down.

This may be the prettiest of the group. A much better image of this one is in the 2015 White Mountain Images by Chris Whiton calendar for the month of May.

Still more cascades just above.

A fine double cascade at the top of the series.

The upper drop.

A commanding perch looking downstream.

The brook levels out above here for a bit, but more cascades may await higher up in the valley. Looking forward to coming back in the spring.

HURRICANE MOUNTAIN & CHOKECHERRY HILL: 11/4/14

The south ridge of Mt. Moosilauke is a quiet and wild side of the mountain. The lightly-used Hurricane Trail, built in 1935 by the Dartmouth Outing Club to link Glencliff with the Ravine Lodge,  runs over the ridge just north of the nubby little summit of Hurricane Mountain (3015 ft.). From there south to Chokecherry Hill (2971 ft.) and Bald Hill (2397 ft.) the ridge is trailless. Over the last year I've enjoyed several explorations in this area.

For the hike on this drab November day I wanted to link the summits of Hurricane and Chokecherry with a bushwhack along the ridge, a trek done previously by several bushwhacking friends but new to me. I started at beautiful Breezy Point, a strong contender for title of most scenic trailhead in the White Mountains with views of Mt. Kineo and Carr Mountain from its expansive fields.

At the trailhead was a note posted about George, a Norwegian Elkhound who had become lost on Gorge Brook Trail two days earlier. Happily, at the end of today's hike I found a note from a friend on my car with the good news that George had been found at the Ravine Lodge that morning.

It looked like some illegal four-wheeling had been taking place on the lower Carriage Road.

Definitely the look of November along the Carriage Road.

I turned left onto the Hurricane Trail at its lower junction with the Carriage Road.

I haven't been able to figure out what this artifact is at what I believe to be the site of Camp 1 of the William R. Park, Jr. logging operation in the late 1890s and early 1900s. This is located at a clearing where the Hurricane Trail turns left not far up from the Carriage Road.

I made a short bushwhack diversion for a break alongside Big Brook.

An attractive section of the Hurricane Trail. There are some wet and eroded sections, but also some very pleasant stretches. It may be getting some attention from the DOC trail crew in 2015.

A rustic bridge for a crossing over aptly-named Little Brook.

Where the trail levels out on the broad height-of-land, it becomes wild and mossy.

I started the bushwhack with a visit to a familiar ledge 100 yards off the trail with a humble southward view.

The little framed vista revels Carr Mountain rising behind nearby Chokecherry Hill. Nice spot for a lunch break.

Then I whacked up to the tangled little nub that is the summit of Hurricane Mountain.

After some initial thickness, the woods heading south along the ridge were generally pretty open. On the advice of a fellow bushwhacker, I stayed mostly on the east side for the best going.

I found this more recent "artifact" along the way. This one I did remove from the forest.

A nice open glade area on the approach to Chokecherry Hill.

As I remembered from a visit here exactly one year earlier with John "1HappyHiker" Compton (in which we approached from the south via Bald Hill), the summit of Chokecherry was choked with blowdown.

A fir graveyard on the shoulder south of the summit.

One of the incentives for a revisit of Chokecherry was the chance to return to hardwood heaven on the hill's south slope, starting at an unusually high elevation of 2800 ft.

A yellow birch bending over backwards.

Grizzled veterans of many harsh winters.

Swaying maples.

Here I took the longest break of the day, and enjoyed a rare spot of sun.

Bushwhacking doesn't get any better than this. These are Catskill-quality hardwoods.

A peek at Carr Mountain.

Down at the base of Chokecherry Hill, by the beaver pond at the head of Merrill Brook, are the remnants of a ramshackle lean-to.

A leftover relic from the lean-to.

Looking back at Chokecherry Hill rising above the beaver pond.

A beaver meadow just east of the pond. From here I followed an obscure herd path and then an old logging road back down to Breezy Point, completing a leisurely 6-mile loop.