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31 December 2011

A Trek to the Past: Charcoal Kilns of the Late Nineteenth Century

Many folks, including myself, have an interest in the history of the White Mountains.  One historical aspect of this area that is sometimes overlooked is the charcoal industry of the late 19th century.  This product had a ready market for the iron industry, and also as a cooking fuel for the numerous tourist hotels in the region.  In fact, charcoal sales exceeded those of lumber, at least according to an 1880 Industrial Census which showed that the firm of Henry, Joy and Baldwin sold $75,000 worth of charcoal, and only $25,000 worth of lumber.

There are several books that contain a lot of interesting information about the kilns, along with copyrighted maps and photos.  Two particularly outstanding books are written by Bill Gove, as follows:

1) "Logging Railroads of New Hampshire's North Country"
2) "J.E. Henry's Logging Railroads"

From descriptions contained in these books, it's my understanding that kilns were built against a hillside which facilitated the loading of short hardwood logs through an opening in the top portion of the kiln.  To produce the charcoal, combustion within the kiln was controlled so that the wood was thoroughly charred, but not burned.  Adjacent to the bottom portion of the kilns was a railroad which made it convenient to load the charcoal onto railcars and transport it to markets.

There is at least one photo of the kilns at Zealand (shown below) which is not copyrighted and is available on the Internet.

There were several charcoal kilns within a several mile radius of the current-day Mt. Washington Hotel. On 29-December, I set off to visit the general locations of two of the many spots where kilns were known to exist. One location was along the west bank of the Zealand River (a few tenths of a mile south of the Ammonoosuc River). And, the other location was near a former farm settlement known as Twin Rivers (a short distance off the current-day Mt. Clinton Road).

Although I'm a bit uncertain, it is my understanding that at both the Zealand and the Twin Rivers location, the only existing remnants of the kilns are some scatterings of bricks at or near the surface of the earth.   Regardless, I did find some bricks strewn on the ground at the Twin Rivers location (shown below).

No bricks were found in the Zealand area.  It could have been because I was at the wrong location, or simply that the light-covering of snow was just enough to obscure the bricks.

Even if I was at the wrong location, some of my findings make me think that perhaps I was at least close to it!  At a couple of separate spots, I found sections of railway track, such as shown in the next two photos.  (The first snapshot is easily recognizable as rail track.  In the second photo, the segment of track is laying on its side and only the bottom of the rail is visible.)


Also spotted at the Zealand location is what might be strapping (hoops) for wooden barrels (photo below).

And finally, there was yet another metal object found at this location, but I have no idea what it might be (photo below)!  I'm still kicking myself for not taking time to properly assess this object.  I fully intended to go back to it and at least make some rough measurements.  However, I got distracted by looking for bricks from the kilns, and then forgot to double-back to it.  Just to give some rough idea of its size, my guess is that the diameter was probably at least 8 inches, and the visible height was at least 6 inches.

To sum it up, my discoveries were small compared to relics found by others.  Nonetheless, it was still thrilling to find these few remnants of the past.  I owe a debt of gratitude to my friend Joanne Jones for rekindling (no pun intended) my curiosity about the charcoal kilns of the late 19th century.  And, I'm most appreciative to David Govatski for his advice regarding the general locations of the kiln sites.   


24 December 2011

Christmas-Present: Cannon Mountain

In Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol, the character named Scrooge encounters the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.  None of my hikes have been "ghostly", and there is certainly no "Bah, humbug" attitude on my part about Christmas Holiday trekking!

For anyone who follows my Blog, you'll recall that just a few days ago I posted a report about a "Christmas Past" hike on Christmas Eve of 2009 (Click HERE).  At the time of posting that report, it appeared that circumstances would prevent me from doing a hike on Christmas Eve of 2011.  However, at the last minute, a 5 hour window became available to me for a Christmas Eve hike.  Having the opportunity to do a "Christmas-Present" hike was a terrific gift. 
(Call it a "Christmas-Present" Christmas present, if you will!) :)

The 5 hour window was all I needed to drive 20 minutes down the road to the trailhead for the Kinsman Ridge Trail for a short (4.4 mile round-trip) trek to the top of Cannon Mountain.  I knew from reading recent reports of trail conditions that snowshoes were unnecessary.  Some had reported using Microspikes but still experienced some slippage on a few segments of the steep and icy trail.   I opted to use Kahtoola's KTS crampons which are more aggressive than the Kahtoola Microspike.  As it turned out, this traction device was perfect for the conditions on this particular day.

The trek up the mountain was uneventful.  Although I saw no other hikers, there were recent footprints in the light layer of snow, and it appeared that crampons of some type were also worn by whoever had proceeded me.

Christmas Eve 2011 was a beautiful day, and of course this produced some beautiful views! Especially nice were the vistas looking across the Franconia Notch toward the Franconia Mountain Range.  As an added bonus, there were just enough wispy low-level clouds to further enhance the view.   A couple of snapshots are shown below.


Even the Cannon Tower took on a certain beauty on this marvelous Christmas Eve day (photos below).


My 5-hour window for hiking prevented me from lingering on the mountaintop.  However, in the brief time I was there, the short days of winter quickly transformed the views such that shadows were appearing in the ravines, and the ridges were tinted with muted shades of brown and red (see photo below).

To sum it up, I am very appreciative of my "Christmas-Present" hike, as well as my "Christmas-Past" hikes.  Hopefully, for each "Christmas Yet to Come" my gifts will include an opportunity for yet another yuletide hike!

23 December 2011

Ghost of Christmas Past: Franconia Ridge (24-Dec-2009)

(Full Disclosure:  Please read the title carefully!  This hike was done on Christmas Eve back in 2009 when we were blessed with a nearly perfect winter day.)

The weather conditions for the higher summits as predicted by the Mt. Washington Observatory were simply too irresistible to pass up. By mid morning, I could no longer resist the urge to spend a portion of Christmas Eve in the mountains. So, I opted to head up the Franconia Ridge via the Falling Waters Trail.

Before reaching the area around Cloudland Falls, I had already peeled off all my layers and was down to shirt sleeves.  Although perspiration was dripping off me, the liquids around me were suspended in a frozen state.

Ice Display Along Falling Waters Trail

As I began gaining altitude, I kept glancing up to admire the cobalt-blue sky and to take an occasional snapshot. In the photo below, I presume the tree with red berries is Mountain Ash, and I presume that the white streak seen through the branches is probably Santa on his way? :)

Blue Sky Through the Trees

Once I was on the ridge, it was obvious that a clear day was not being enjoyed by everyone!  Looking to the west and to the north, my "undercast" was an "overcast" for folks at lower elevations. Cannon and the Kinsman Ridge were visible, but were surrounded by a sea of clouds.

Cannon & Kinsman Ridge Surrounded by Clouds

Looking northward toward Garfield, there was also a fair amount of undercast.

Northward View Toward Garfield

However, there was no undercast when looking northeasterly toward the Twin-Bond Range with the Presidentials in the background.

Twin-Bond Range with Presidentials in Background

And, there was also a perfectly clear view looking eastward over Owl's Head toward the Bonds and Carrigain.

East View Toward Bonds & Carrigain

Oh! And, the view southward was also good, but with some haze and some signs of undercast particularly to the southwest.

Southward View

This hike was done for pure enjoyment, with no list or other goal in mind. And, with a mid morning start-time, I was uncertain how far along the ridge I'd actually get.

By the time I got to Mt. Lincoln the wind had picked up and there were some pretty impressive gusts. Also, it was nearly 3PM and I had Christmas Eve plans. It was tempting to complete the classic loop which would have not been all that much longer to do. However, considering the time and the increased wind, I thought it best to just take the shortest route and head back the same way I’d come. Besides, why be greedy?! I'd already had a marvelous day!!

With the firmly consolidated snow pack on the Falling Waters Trail, the return trip went very quickly. Just as the last ounce of daylight faded away, I was back at the trailhead. More importantly, I was home in time to hang my stockings by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there!

Happy Holidays!

17 December 2011

Perched on a Boulder

About 3 years ago, I bushwhacked to a spot known as Mud Pond.  As can be seen in the map below, this little pond is located in the Franconia Notch area. (Click on the map, if you want to enlarge it.)

On that day 3 years ago, I got a fabulous view of the Franconia Mountain Range looking across Mud Pond (photo below).

Photo Taken in March 2009

My friend Marty had never been to this spot, and so I'd hoped to share the above view with him.  The weather gurus indicated that by about noon, the overcast should lift and it would be a mostly sunny day.  Therefore, things looked promising for a possible repeat of the views that I had experienced at this spot a few years ago.
Somewhat through design, and somewhat through extenuating circumstances, we didn't actually get on the trail until nearly 10:30 AM on this 17th day of December.  We hiked up the Mt. Pemigewasset Trail to a point about 0.2 mile from the summit and then left the trail to bushwhack in a NNW direction toward Mud Pond.  This is a very easy bushwhack which took less than an hour.  The route took us through predominately open woods, such as shown in the snapshot below.

Along the way, we came across some very fresh moose prints in the snow.  It was against all odds, but we were hopeful that we might actually spot a moose at some point during our trek.  That didn't happen!  However, we did come across a moose antler that had been gnawed by mice and other critters of the forest who savor this rich source of minerals, especially calcium.

It was slightly past noon when we arrived at Mud Pond.  Surprise!  The weather forecast was a bit off.  The Franconia Mountain Range was still socked in by a heavy cloud cover.  At least the pond was visible, and there were a few patches of blue sky overhead.  The next snapshot shows the view that we had.

The air temperature for the preceding few days had not been quite cold enough to solidly freeze the marshy shoreline surrounding the pond.  As a result, we frequently broke though the thin crust of ice as we tramped around the periphery of the pond in search of different view perspectives.  We were also searching for a dry place to have lunch!
For our dining spot, we finally ended up clearing limbs and debris from the top a large boulder along the shoreline.  So there we sat, munching our sandwiches while precariously (and hilariously) perched atop a boulder which was surrounded by partially frozen water on three sides. The next snapshot is a view taken from "our boulder".

After our lunch, we lingered on our boulder for awhile hoping that the overcast might lift, as it had been predicted to do.  However, it showed no signs of lifting anytime soon, and so we retraced our footsteps in the snow back to the point where we had left the Mt. Pemigewasset Trail. 

Upon reaching the trail, we hiked the short 0.2 mile segment to the summit of Mt. Pemigewasset.  As might be predicted, the cloud cover had lifted by the time we reached this spot. The next two snapshots provide a sampling of the views from the top that we experienced.
Mt. Liberty and Mt. Flume

A Southwesterly View

After enjoying the views and snapping our photos, we descended Mt. Pemigewasset and were back at the trailhead within 5 hours of the time that we had left.   Since there were still a few minutes of daylight remaining, we strolled to the far end of the parking lot and took some snapshots of Mt Liberty and Mt. Flume as viewed over the Flume Visitor Center building (see snapshot below).

There is a signboard posted near the Visitor Center which is shown in the next photo.  The wording provides a brief summary of the geologic history of the Franconia Range and the White Mountains in general.  Reading this sign provided a reminder of how fortunate we are to hike in such a fascinating area of the country, regardless of whether the day is cloudy or bright!

To sum it up,  although the weather was uncooperative with providing the terrific view of the Franconia Range from the shoreline of Mud Pond, it was still an enjoyable 5 hours spent roaming the woods in this scenic area.   And besides, Marty and I will have a good chuckle when we reminisce about our "perched on a boulder" luncheon experience.


10 December 2011

Interesting Things You Find at the Bottom of the Moats!

There might be many interesting things to be found at the bottom of the moats surrounding medieval castles.  However, the things of interest that I found were near the bottom of the Moat Mountain Range near Conway, NH.

On a crisp 10th day of December, I did a low elevation exploration at the base of the eastern side of the Moats.  The idea for this adventure was sparked by a report by Steve Smith that is posted on his Mountain Wandering blog (Click HERE to read his report.)

Steve's report, as always, has a treasure trove of interesting information.  One item that was of particular interest to me was a waterfall that Steve visited which is called Thompson Falls.  This one is located on Moat Brook at the base of the Moat Mountains, and is not to be confused with another Thompson Falls at the base of Wildcat Mountain.  In addition to Thompson Falls, my "bottom of the Moats" adventure also included a visit to a low-lying ledge at about 1,450 ft elevation (more about this later in my report).

My trek was launched from a Forest Road designated as FR 379.  Access to this road is now gated at the north end of High Street.  (During the summer months you can drive and park at an access point that is closer.)  I don't know what factors trigger the closure of a road for winter travel.  However, I can say that on the day of my hike, there was absolutely no snow on the roadways or surrounding forest floor.  The photo below shows these snow-free conditions.

There are two spots along FR 379 where you can leave the road and reach Thompson Falls  via an unmarked trail.  As I've attempted to depict on the map below, there is what I'll call an eastern and a western trailhead.  The eastern trailhead is difficult to locate, whereas the western trailhead is a very obvious (but unmarked) path on the east side of FR 379.  (Clicking on the map, or any photo, will slightly enlarge it.)

As you trek northbound on FR 379, you will know that you're within about 5 minutes of reaching the unmarked "western trailhead" for Thompson Falls when you see the sign shown in the photo below.

Once the unmarked trail is located, it is only a very short distance (1,000 ft or less) before you reach Thompson Falls.  Below are several photos taken of the falls.   As Steve Smith states in his blog, this was a favorite location of 19th century artist Benjamin Champney.  "Thompson Falls and the Saco Valley" is considered one of his finest paintings.



After visiting Thompson Falls, I returned to FR 379 and crossed to the other side of the road to begin a short (0.7 mile) bushwhack in a westerly direction to access some ledges at about 1,450 ft elevation.  In planning for this hike, I had seen these ledges on Google Earth and thought they would make a nice addition to the trek to Thompson Falls.

Although my trek to the ledges was technically a bushwhack, I was able to move as quickly as I could on a hiking trail.  The entire route up to the ledges consisted of open hardwood forest  with very little undergrowth. I arrived at the ledges in less than 45 minutes from the time that I left FR 379.

These unnamed ledges are located on an unnamed ridge that is just one ridge over (to the south) from Red Ridge.  Due to their close proximity to each other, these two locations have many similarities. For one thing, the unnamed ledges have a reddish coloration similar to the ledges on Red Ridge.

Also, the views from the unnamed ledges are similar to those from Red Ridge. The next 3 photos show a sampling of the views from the unnamed ledges.

Shown below is a northeasterly view overlooking White Horse Ledge (immediate foreground).  A few of the other more recognizable landmarks are Kearsarge North (right side of photo), and the massive bare ledges on South Baldface (on distant horizon, just left of center).

The next photo is an eastward view showing the bare ski slopes of Cranmore Mountain, along with Black Cap Mountain, plus other peaks in the Green Hill Preserves that overlook North Conway, NH.

The northwesterly view toward the Carter Range was mostly obscured by clouds, however I zoomed in on Carter Notch as it briefly emerged from the cloud cover.

During my short bushwhack to and from the unnamed ledges, I passed directly over one of the many mountain bike trails that are located in this vicinity. It was tempting to incorporate the bike trail system into my return route.  However, as mentioned at the beginning of this report, there was no snow in this area, plus it was a beautiful sunny day.  As a result of these ideal conditions, there were several bikers on the trails, and I certainly did not want to be involved in a hiker-biker collision!  And so, I ended up taking the same route back to the car that I had used on the outbound portion of my trek.
For anyone interested, there is an excellent map that shows the bike trails in this area.  This map was newly revised in 2011 and is called Conway Area Mountain Biking Trail Map, and it's published by Mountain Cycle Guide Service.   Among other places, this map is available at The Mountain Wanderer Map & Book Store in Lincoln, NH.
To sum it up,  this was an enjoyable trek, especially since I visited a waterfall and ledges that were both new to me.  And, as I've indicated in some previous blogs, I love doing things that are new to me.  Admittedly, this was not an epic undertaking such as a winter trek to the high peaks.  About the only thing of an epic nature was the amount of road-walking that was involved.  My overall trek was nearly 8 miles (round-trip). I'd guesstimate that about 6 of those miles were spent walking along forest roads.  But it didn't matter to me.  It was still a fun adventure!
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ADDENDUM (added 13-Dec-2011)

The comment posted by Rita Wechter prompted me to gather some more information about Benjamin Champney and his connection to Thompson Falls (the waterfall located at the base of the Moat Mountains, not the one at the base of Wildcat Mountain).  Champney describes the discovery of Thompson Falls in his book Sixty Years' Art and Artists (Click HERE for full text.)
"One day, Mr. Thompson, the landlord, said he knew that there was a waterfall behind the White Horse Ledge because he had heard its roar while he was in the logging camp in that neighborhood in winter. He gave us directions for finding it, fitted us out with a mountain wagon, loaned us his son William for a driver and guide. We drove through all the wood roads in vain, and were about to give up the search, when young Durand and myself determined to make a last effort, and after traveling through the dense woods for half a mile we found the stream, and following it down heard the rush of waters, and soon caught a glimpse of the chaotic masses of broken, ledgy rocks. We at once named it Thompson's Falls, and, hastening back to our comrades, we gave them such glowing accounts of our discovery that we all wished to return the next day for sketching, and we did, and every day for a week William drove us over, and we painted the wild scene. It was, however, a hard place to find until we had blazed the trees, and cut away many impediments."
Shown below is Benjamin Champney's oil painting of 1855 that is entitled: "Thompson Falls and the Saco Valley".  (This image is in the public domain on the Internet.)

The view depicted in Champney's painting is now obstructed by trees.  And it's questionable as to whether this exact view was ever available since artists of the era were know to sometimes embellish the views in their artwork.  However, by using the "magic" of Google Earth, I can see that an unimpeded view could result in a scene that is somewhat similar to Champney's painting.
Shown below is a collage that includes two snapshots taken on my trek, as well as Champney's painting.  One of my snapshots was taken from a 1,450 ft ledge which sits high above Thompson Falls, and my other snapshot was taken from the top of Thompson Falls.  By looking at my two snapshots in conjunction with Champney's painting, maybe you can sort of get an idea of the vista that might have been available to Champney in the mid 19th century.

04 December 2011

Mt. Jasper and Pine Mountain: Trails of Two Cities (Berlin & Gorham, NH)

It's not always possible, but given the choice, I'd rather fail at an attempt of doing something new rather than succeed in repeating something I've already done.  My friend Marty was kind enough to accommodate my craving for doing new things by hiking to Mt. Jasper from Berlin, NH, followed by a hike later in the day to Pine Mountain from Gorham, NH.  Having never hiked to Mt. Jasper, this was a completely new experience.   And although I had previously hiked to Pine Mountain, it was a new experience to launch the trek from the trailhead at the end of Promenade Street in downtown Gorham.

Part 1: Mt. Jasper

My curiosity regarding Mt. Jasper was piqued after reading about the trail work done in 2011 by young workers in the Jobs After Graduation (JAG) program.  Trail experts from AMC's Camp Dodge provided leadership and tools to assist the program participants with the rock staircases, improved drainage, and treadway definition on a mile-plus segment of trail leading to the ledges atop Mt. Jasper.  This hiking trail is accessed from the Berlin High School's parking lot at the end of Madison Avenue.  The blue-blazed trail is on the right immediately after entering the corridor for the snowmobile trail at the north end of the athletic field.

Upon reading some history about the Berlin, NH area, I learned that the Androscoggin River back in the day, was a massive highway for the Abenaki Indians.  Mt. Jasper is a rich source of rhyolite which is a material that the Indians used as a substitute for flint in making tools and weapons.  Evidence suggests that at least every few years and perhaps every season, the Abenaki would stop at Mt. Jasper to gather a supply of rhyolite.

And so, with that brief introduction, here are some details and photos about our trek to Mt. Jasper on 03-December.  First of all, it must be stated that the hike to the ledges is extremely short, and very easy.  Within 20 minutes of leaving the trailhead, we were standing atop the ledges!!

Speaking of the trailhead, you can see the ledges on Mt. Jasper as you begin your hike.  The photo below shows the current-day view from the trailhead and it is juxtaposed with a similar photo taken (not by me) about 40 years ago.  (Click HERE to link to the website location for the old photo.)

Regarding the views from the ledges on Mt. Jasper, as would be expected, there are views of downtown Berlin (as seen in the next photo).

Besides the cityscape views, there are other vistas which are very nice.  One vista that I found particularly impressive was the extensive lineup of mountains in northern New Hampshire that can be seen from this location.  This lineup is shown in the next photo.  A portion of the Weeks Range is on the left and the twin-humped Percy Peaks is on the right.

Another impressive view is seen looking eastward toward the Mahoosucs where Goose Eye Mountain is a very prominent feature (seen just beneath the small image of a hawk flying overhead).  Just as a reminder, any photo can be enlarged by clicking on it.

The next photo also shows a portion of the Mahoosucs (far right background), along with a portion Mt. Jasper's attractive ledge in the foreground.

Part 2: Pine Mountain

Invariably, there is some new tidbit of information that is learned from every new hiking adventure.  Here is what I learned as a result of this particular quest.  While hiking the Pine Mountain Trail, Marty and I noticed sporadic white blazes on trees along the trail.  They were faded, and there weren't many, but there were enough for us to take notice.   We even joked about someone getting mixed-up and using the wrong paint color for blazing the trail.

After our hike, I read in AMC's White Mountain Guide that the Appalachian Trail (AT) once followed the same general corridor as the current-day Pine Mountain Trail, and thus I presume that this might explain the white blazes!  I also did some snooping around on the Internet and came up with an article in the Conway Daily Sun that was written by Ed Parsons.

In this article Ed also mentions that the AT once followed the corridor of the current-day Pine Mountain Trail.  As I understand it, when the AT followed this corridor, the Pine Link Trail did not terminate at Dolly Copp Road (as it does today).  It continued northeasterly over Pine Mountain and down to the village of Gorham.  The lower section of the former corridor of the Pine Link Trail is now known as the Pine Mountain Trail.

Shown below are a few snapshots that were taken during our hike.

View of Carter Range as seen from Chapel Rock

View of Chapel Rock and surrounding area (from spur path off the  Pine Mountain Trail)

View of Carter Range as seen from the South Cliffs area of Pine Mountain

View of communication towers atop Pine Mountain (If you use your cell phone when hiking in this area of the White Mountains, chances are good that your signal passes through here!)

Trailhead Sign at the end of Promenade Street in Gorham (We squeezed every ounce of sunlight out of the day, and it was nearly dark by the time we arrived back at the car.)

To sum it up, I can think of little else to say other than something new often equals something good!  Not only was it fun to experience the thrill of two new hiking adventures, but it was equally fun to learn new information about the areas where we hiked.