Black Mountain Pond: 1/21/20

Great day of snowshoeing to this remote backcountry pond with Mark Klim and Ray "Jazzbo" Caron. By pure happenstance, at the start of our bushwhack off Sandwich Notch Road we ran into Fred Lavigne, longtime stalwart of the Wonalancet Out Door Club. It was our lucky day - Fred joined us for the trip to the pond and shared his extensive knowledge of the Sandwich Notch area and the Sandwich Range.

Ray heads up the Sandwich Notch Road on a chilly morning with the temp at 3 above.

Bushwhacking buddies.

Faded sign at the Notch height-of-land.

Fred (center) was planning to bushwhack to a favorite spot in the Notch, but quickly decided to join us for the trek to the pond.

Fred breaks trail on the historic Old North Road, dating back to the early 1800s hill farm settlements in the Notch. Fred is a noted authority on the history of the Notch and is adept at "reading the woods." He was also a driving force in the expansion of the Sandwich Range Wilderness in the mid-2000s. He is both a logger (mostly retired) and a self-professed tree-hugger.

Fred pointed out this horseshoe in a tree.

Snowshoeing up an old woods road. The dry powder provided some of the best snowshoeing of the season.

A stout old yellow birch.

A leisurely trek with lots of interesting conversation.

 

A hard-packed moose bed.

Fred spotted what appeared to be tooth scrapings - perhaps from a moose - on this bracket fungus.

Heading up towards the pond.

At the end of our bushwhack we dropped in on the Black Mountain Pond Trail.

Emerging at the south end of Black Mountain Pond.

Ray crosses the open expanse of the pond. We took a lunch break in the warmth of the sun at a ledge outcrop on the shore.

Looking up at Black Mountain (3500 ft.), the craggy SW shoulder of Sandwich Dome.

Ice cliff on the flank of Black Mountain.

Fred, Ray and I headed across the pond to the woods on the north side while Mark started back down on the return trip.

We snowshoed a loop through gorgeous open hardwoods on the slope north of the pond.

Hardwoods + powder = snowshoe heaven on a sunny winter day.

Heading across the top of our loop.

Down through more glades.

A beech tree with many offspring.

Could have wandered out here for hours.

Back across the pond, into the sun. In winter it seems broader than its listed six acres.

Ripples and ledges.

Parting shot, looking back at the SE ridge of Sandwich Dome.

Upper Greeley Pond: 1/17/20

A mid/late afternoon snowshoe into cold winter beauty. Broke trail up the Greeley Ponds XC Ski Trail, as the Greeley Ponds hiking trail parking lot is not being plowed this winter, and the walk up the narrow Kanc, with cars whipping around a curve, is unappealing. Due to the parking situation, this trail is seeing more use this winter - there was a solid snowshoe track under the 8" of powder, along with parallel indentations from old ski tracks.

Barebooting is a no-no.

Not much warmth from the sun in here.

A small slide from Tropical Storm Irene.

A familiar trail junction in Mad River Notch.

Wintry scene in the Notch.

Looking down Upper Greeley Pond from the north end. Note the small Northern White Cedars on the left

Making tracks along the east edge.

Snow-caked spurs of East Osceola.

The rest of East Osceola's massive spread.

West Huntington to the north.

Last sun on the K2 Cliffs of Mt. Kancamagus.

Parting shot at a brisk four degrees.

Acteon Ridge: 1/14/20

After the thaw, bushwhacking had more appeal than icy trails with frozen postholes and sketchy stream crossings. Off-trail conditions were "variable" on this trek to several viewpoints along a favorite ridge, culminating in cliff-faced Sachem Peak.

Where's the snow? Not on this hemlock slope.

Higher up there was enough crunchy snow for decent snowshoeing.

 In a few places I came across snowshoe tracks from "timbercamp," who came up here three days earlier. The tracks were distorted by the snowmelt.

Nice woods approaching the col on the east side of Middle Acteon Peak.

Neat boulder in the col.

Heading up the ridge.

A tiny ridgetop pool.

Steep climb to the first view ledge.

A lofty perch with a wide view south and west. Middle Acteon Peak on the right.

Stinson and Carr Mountains, with Smarts Mountain in the distance between them.

The Campton Range beyond the lower Smarts Brook valley.

The two Black Mountains across the valley.

 Another view ledge farther up the ridge.

Mossy overhang.

A steep, scratchy climb lifted me to the ledgy western shoulder of Sachem Peak, with a view up the valley to Sandwich Dome.

Looking across the middle of Smarts Brook valley.

Westward ho.

 More cliffs.

Jennings Peak ahead behind the summit of Sachem.

 Northward to Tecumseh, Osceola and Kancamagus, with their heads in the clouds.

The headwall of Smarts Brook valley from the summit cliffs of Sachem.

Down-look.

Sachem's summit. Acteon Ridge was named in the late 1800s by AMC stalwart Charles E. Fay for the last sachem, or chief, of the Pemigewasset tribe. Since this is the highest peak on the ridge, Fay logically applied the name "Sachem."

Looking back along the summit crest. Moses Sweetser, 19th century guidebook editor, wrote of Sachem: "The third peak is one of the finest in the mountains and has been called 'Chocorua in miniature.' It is a needle of white rock accessible only on the W and E sides and girt with overhanging cliffs above. It is inaccessible on the N or S."

Wide-spreading Sandwich Dome.

Welch and Dickey.