HEDGEHOG MOUNTAIN TRAIL WORK: 5/24/11

Time for our annual spring trail work trip to the west half of the UNH Trail, which leads from a parking area off the Kancamagus Highway up to the summit of 2532-ft. Hedgehog Mountain. Two guys who help every year with this trail - Rick Neville and Dave Stinson, both from the Seacoast area of NH - joined me on a generally cloudy day with occasional dark and threatening moments but no rain or thunder.

Along the way we cleaned about three dozen waterbars - most of which are located along the lower half of the trail, below Allen's Ledge - and removed about a dozen blowdowns of various sizes. I didn't take a lot of pictures today (a rarity) as work was the primary focus, but here are a few.

Before: Dave gets his folding saw ready for work on a double blowdown at 2300 ft.

After: The trail is cleared for passage.


From the summit of Hedgehog, we could see spring greens spreading through the Oliverian Brook valley. Mt. Paugus on the L, Square Ledge and Wonalancet Hedgehog (the "other" hedgehog on the Sandwich Range) on the R.


Mt. Passaconaway looms large, as always.

Looking down from the brink of the Hedgehog cliffs.


Looking east to Mt. Chocorua.

West to the Tripyramids.

On the way down, we cut back some old blowdowns that were crowding the trail. Dave is using one of several vintage crosscut saws that he has lovingly restored over the last few years. This one is nicknamed "Gram," because its blade features the "Great American tooth" pattern, with a series of three-pronged cutting teeth. Dave is certified as a crosscut sawyer by the U.S. Forest Service, and frequently takes part in crosscut saw workshops over on the Green Mountain National Forest.

On the way down, I made a quick trip up to Allen's Ledge to check the side trail and have a look at the expansive view over the Albany Intervale.

Thanks to Rick and Dave for their dedicated work on this trail!

HURRICANE COUNTRY: 5/20/11

On a day that had a few rare breaks of sun, I drove over to one of the most scenic trailheads in the Whites: Breezy Point, the one-time site of the Moosilauke Inn at the southern base of Mt. Moosilauke. This area, located at the end of Breezy Point Rd. off NH 118, is the trailhead for the Moosilauke Carriage Road. It was acquired by the Forest Service a few years ago and features open fields with fine views. Behind the sign is the South Peak of Moosilauke.


The long ridge of Mt. Kineo is seen to the SE.

To the south is the hulking mass of Carr Mountain.


I did come here to hike as well as admire the roadside views. The plan was to check out the lower section of the Carriage Road, take the Hurricane Trail to the crest of Moosilauke's south ridge near the little bump called Hurricane Mountain, and poke around a little bit in the valley of Big Brook.

The Carriage Road is a "trail of many uses."

Parts of the Carriage Road up to the first Hurricane Trail junction provided very nice walking through the freshly greening hardwoods; other stretches were unpleasantly mucky, not surprising given the late snowmelt this year and recent soggy weather.


There were many of these [northern?] white violets in bloom.

And trout lilies were still on display at this 2000-ft. elevation.


I turned L onto the Hurricane Trail (opened about 1935 by the DOC) after 1.3 mi.


The first short section of this route was smooth and level, leading to a meadow-like area.


Clusters of wood anemone were in flower here.


Above the meadow the Hurricane Trail climbed moderately; higher up it passed through a Kilkenny-ish birch patch.

The trail ran alongside Litttle Brook for a while, crossing it twice.

There was a lot of wet footing on the second half of this climb, some of it probably chronic, and some perhaps due to the late, wet spring.


The upper part of this trail had a wild, remote feeling, enhanced by some rumbles of thunder that were rolling around the hills.


The trail leveled at about 3000 ft. and ran across the mossy, densely conifered ridgecrest.



Based on a Google Earth study, I went in search of an open ledgy patch near the "summit" of Hurricane (I never did hit the off-trail high point). I found the ledges about where expected.

The view was limited, but interesting, looking to the south.

The main features visible were nearby Chokecherry Hill in the foreground and a socked-in Carr Mountain in the back. With the thunder continuing to sputter, my visit to the ledges was very brief.

After descending well down from the ridgecrest, with the thunder subsiding, I bushwhacked across to Big Brook, which drains a basin on the south slope of Moosilauke. Here I found a suitable sitting rock for a late lunch.

Upstream I came upon a nice set of cascades.


Then I whacked up to the Carriage Road through a spectacular open hardwood forest.

In places the forest floor was carpeted with wood anemone and bellwort. I skirted around these luxuriant patches and placed my steps carefully in less-populated spots to minimize plant trampling.

Spring might be the most beautiful season in these woods, though a fall foliage visit, or a winter snowshoe ramble, might be equally rewarding.

The Carriage Road passes through the heart of this forest, with trout lilies growing right in the trail footbed.

A wonderful stretch of walking.

On the way down I made a side trip most of the way along the section of the Hurricane Trail that leads towards the Ravine Lodge.

Most of this mile is easy, smooth walkin'.

Near the Lodge, the trail briefly dips beside the Baker River, which was rocking today from snowmelt up high and recent rain.

Just upstream is the confluence of the Baker River (R) and Gorge Brook (L).

Back on the Carriage Road, this bridge led across Big Brook. It was named for a DOC lean-to located near here from 1932 to the early 1940s. Don't know what was so miserable about it.

Near the trailhead was this old foundation - perhaps an outbuilding for the Moosilauke Inn?
This is an interesting area with a lot of history, and merits additional exploration in the future.

SOUTH LANDAFF ROAD: 5/16/11

I'd often read the intriguing side note about the South Landaff Road in the White Mountain Guide description for the Cobble Hill Trail, written by longtime editor Gene Daniell. But I'd never walked this old road, which in the late 1800s served the remote hill farm community of South Landaff. The only report I've ever seen on this walk was posted on Views from the Top by John "1HappyHiker" Compton in the fall of 2009.

With generally dreary weather forecast for the week, it seemed a good time to investigate this historic lowland route. To get to the South Landaff Road, you walk 0.7 mi. up the Cobble Hill Trail, which is itself a succession of woods roads. There is parking space and a sign for this trail beside Rt. 112.



Just a minute or two up the trail there is a fine cascade on Dearth Brook. To get the view pictured here you must bushwhack a very short distance down the bank. You can also see the cascade from above right along the trail.

The walk up the Cobble Hill Trail is quite pleasant, as the road is older and grassy.


Looked like there was a healthy-sized bear in the neighborhood.

Initially, the South Landaff Road was a big disappointment. It started out briefly wet and rocky, then deteriorated into a muddy mess. This section was probably wet to begin with, but illegal ATV use has greatly compounded the problem. It's no wonder the WMNF Forest Plan excluded them from the trails, after initially considering the Landaff and Moat areas for a trial run allowing ATV use.

In just 0.2 mi., though, the first interesting feature appeared on the R - an apple orchard, released from tree competition by the Forest Service 12 years ago and maintained since then as a wildlife food source. There are several such orchards along the 2 miles of South Landaff Road within the WMNF. From this one you get a glimpse of flat-topped Cobble Hill.

There was also a cellar hole here, perhaps corresponding with a building shown in this location on the 1929 USGS Moosilauke 15-minute quadrangle.

After about a half-mile the road dried out and offered pleasant grassy walking. There were a few other muddy stretches, but none as bad as that first one.

Nearly the entire length of the road was lined with stone walls - more than I've seen anywhere in the WMNF that I can recall. It gives the area a neat rustic, Robert Frost-ish feeling. I especially liked the hardwood glade that has grown up behind this wall.

Where the road crossed a couple of adjacent brooks, there was a small cascade.

Another open orchard.


I wondered what this stone pillar was used for - some kind of gate?

This was my favorite part of the road, lined with hardwoods, and orchards on either side.

Off the road here was a large cellar hole with an assortment of rusting stuff inside.

A big coffeepot? (Visitors should remember that these are considered historic artifacts, and removing them from the WMNF is illegal, with hefty fines for offenders.)

Bonsai apple trees.


Could be an interesting story here.

At the two-mile mark, shortly before it leaves the WMNF, the South Landaff Road crosses Petty Brook.
On the way back I took a lunch break on a log and spotted this big hoop.

From the edge of one orchard there's a view of Black Mountain in the Benton Range.

I made a short bushwhack to a beaver meadow shown as a water body on some maps. A random wild spot in a lonely corner of the WMNF, with no mountains in sight.

Back at the trailhead, I crossed Rt. 112 and followed an old dirt road 100 yards to a scenic spot on the Wild Ammonoosuc River.


On the way home I stopped at Agassiz Basin on Moosilauke Brook (Lost River), an interesting gorge accessed by a short path and bridge just east of Govoni's Restaurant on Rt. 112.

A path leads upstream to where another bridge used to lead across to the restaurant; this has either been dismantled or washed away. Here is the famous Indian Leap, a finger of rock projecting partway across the gorge. Supposedly the jump across the gap was a test of courage for Indian braves. I wouldn't have made the cut.