Late
fall is a great time for bushwhacking at lower elevations. This trek
led into the Cold River drainage on the south side of Sandwich Dome,
visiting roaring cascades, two old logging camps, open birch glades and a
remote beaver pond.
One of several excellent rock waterbars on the Flat Mountain Pond Trail above the Bennett Street trailhead.
Leafy
strolling on the Guinea Pond Trail, following the grade of the old
Beebe River Railroad, a logging line that operated from 1917 to 1942.
The Cold River.
The site of Camp 7 of the Beebe River Railroad.
Ironware from the logging days. These logging artifacts are protected by law and it is illegal (and inconsiderate of other history buffs) to remove them from the WMNF.
Leafy bucket.
Looks like part of a harness used for the horses.
Remains of an old glove.
The cascades were rocking.
And frothing.
Multiple drops.
A hidden cascade.
My favorite waterfall in the Cold River drainage.
Triple decker.
Hobblebush haze. Which can leave bushwhackers in a daze.
Nice hardwood whacking on a remote plateau.
Looking back towards Mt. Israel.
Gorgeous birch glades at 2500 ft.
Moose bed?
Reminiscent of The Kilkenny and Rocky Branch Ridge.
Great sky.
Boot shot for the day, in the comfy low 50s.
After some searching, on a tip received from a fellow Sandwich Range wanderer, I found the site of a high mountain camp of the Beebe River Railroad, a good two miles from the railbed.
A tree has grown through these bedframes.
An array of wood stove pieces.
The "Iron Clad" wood-burning cookstove was manufactured by the S.W. Gibbs Co. of New York.
Old tote road running across the slope.
Approaching the beaver pond through open hardwoods.
Black Mountain, the rugged SW shoulder of Sandwich Dome, is seen to the NW.
Late afternoon at the beaver pond.
The confluence of the two forks of Cold River.
