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Bethlehem, New Hampshire, United States
E-mail contact: randonneur8@yahoo.com | Facebook: facebook.com/1HappyHikerNH

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28 March 2012

Claw Marks and Partridgeberry: A Hike to Mt. Mist and Webster Slide Mtn.

Perhaps the title of this report is attention-getting, but it might be inaccurate!  As much as I enjoy hiking, I'm far from being an expert woodsman.  While hiking on 27-March to Mt. Mist and Webster Slide Mountain, I spotted markings which I interpret as claw marks from a bear who perhaps used the tree as a scratching post.  However, I'm fully prepared for a reader of this Blog to tell me that those marks resulted from some other source, such as moose or deer antlers.

I also saw a small patch of what I think is known as Partridgeberry.  If that happens to be correct, then I suppose this is a holdover from last season's "crop".  Perhaps this small patch just recently lost its snow cover, and that is why it has as yet to be discovered by the local residents of the forest who would enjoy snacking on them!

Okay, with that bit of trivia out of the way, let's move right along with the rest of my report!  I've been to Webster Slide Mountain, Mt. Mist, and Wachipauka Pond via the route that comes up from the south near Glencliff, NH.  One might think that I've hiked darn near every trail in White Mountain region.  But nope, there are still many trails that I have yet to hike!  In fact, a portion of this particular trek involved a segment of trail that was new for me.

The largest portion of this 6.6 mile (round-trip) hike was on the Appalachian Trail (AT).  However, the 0.7 mile trek to Webster Slide Mountain is done via a spur path off the AT corridor.  Shown below is a map which highlights the route that I followed. (Click on the map to enlarge it.)

While driving to the trailhead, I pulled over to the public shoreline of Lake Tarleton to take a few snapshots.  One of my destinations (Webster Slide Mountain) is seen in the next photo.  Also noteworthy in this photo is the snow-capped Mt. Moosilauke on the distant horizon.

It was windy and cold along the shoreline of Lake Tarleton.  You might have noticed the whitecaps in the photo above.  These chilly conditions resulted in some interesting ice formations where the water met the shoreline (next photo).

Following the short stopover at Lake Tarleton, I drove the remaining short distance to the trailhead and began my hike along the AT.

It won't be long before this hiking corridor has springtime wildflowers in bloom.  Green shoots were beginning to emerge.  However, the only things that I saw that exhibited any color were the red Partridgeberry that I talked about earlier, plus the golden tassel of what I think is Bristly Clubmoss.  Both of these are shown in the next photo.  (Again, please feel free to post a comment and correct me if my identification of these plants is incorrect!)

Within about 45 minutes of leaving the trailhead, I arrived at the wooded summit of Mt. Mist.  Other than the surrounding forest and the sign shown in the next photo, there's nothing really to see.  This mountain was named for the mist that occasionally sweeps upward from nearby Lake Tarleton toward the summit of this mountain.

As you descend the north side of Mt. Mist, there are things to see!  There is a well-trodden side trail which leads to an overlook of Wachipauka Pond (Abenaki Indian name for "mountain pond").  This viewpoint used to have a rather unique sign which unfortunately is no longer there.  No one seems to know what happened to it.  Here is a photo of this sign taken a few years ago when it was still in place.

If you venture just a bit beyond the pathway that leads to this overlook, you can get a perspective that includes both the pond and Mt. Moosilauke, as seen in the snapshot below.

There is also another outlook on the north side of Mt. Mist, however it involves a short bushwhack.  There are some unique views available from there.  However, on this particular day there was just enough ice near the edge of the precipice to make me uncomfortable with working my way to the prime viewing spot.  The photo below was the best I could get.  Webster Slide Mountain is seen at the left of the snapshot.

The ascent to Webster Slide Mountain is moderately steep in spots, but the summit can be reached in about 30 minutes, or less.   There are viewpoints from two different ledges atop this mountain.  The main viewpoint provides a vista looking down at Wachipauka Pond and the surrounding area (next photo).

The other viewpoint is known as the "Southwest View".  One of the vistas from here is shown below.  Mt. Cube is in the distance and on the right is Lake Armington, along with a portion of Lake Tarleton.

Earlier I mentioned a unique trailside sign that has disappeared.  There is another sign that is still present which marks a spot with a rather unique name, i.e. Hairy Root Spring.  This sign is seen in the next photo.  As I understand it, this name was bestowed in the 1970s by a member of the Dartmouth Outing Club because the spring emerges from the ground beneath the hairy roots of an old maple tree! (You will need to click on the photo to read the wording on the sign.)

To sum it up,  this hike along a segment of the Appalachian Trail had a little bit of everything, including some fine vistas, plus animal scratch marks on a tree, as well as a visit to Hairy Root Spring! :)

23 March 2012

Cresting Mt. Crescent on an Early Spring Day

Considering our unusually warm (okay, hot!) springtime weather, I'd hoped to spot a few early-blooming wildflowers on my way to Mt. Crescent.  No flowers were seen, and so it must be just a bit too early for them at this particular location in northern New Hampshire.  However, the other item that wasn't seen along my route was snow!  Well, at least nothing of any significance.  There were a few widely scattered patches near the top of the mountain (such as shown below).   Overall, I'd judge this to be a snow-free hike!

This week has been busy for me, and as a result, I've only been able to squeeze in a few short hikes and walks.  To give some perspective, this 3.4 mile (round-trip) hike was the longest trek I've done this week!  Regardless, this is a hike that I enjoy doing, especially during periods such as this when time is limited.  Although there are ways to make this into a longer loop hike, I normally do a simple "lollipop loop" that involves the Mt. Crescent Trail and Crescent Ridge Trail (map below).

For my 23-March trek to Mt. Crescent, I opted to do the loop in a clockwise manner.  However, on other occasions, I've done it counterclockwise.  Although some hikers might have a preference as to the direction of travel, it has always seemed to me like it's six of one, and half-dozen of the other.

Located on the Mt. Crescent Trail (very near to the summit of Mt. Crescent), there is a small ledge which is known as the "South Viewpoint".  The vista from here stretches from the Carter-Moriah Range to the Franconia Range.  However, the star-attraction is the view of the Northern Presidential Range which is nearly right in your face!

Although the next photo is obviously a zoomed shot looking into King Ravine, you can pretty much see this same level of detail with the naked-eye while perched on the ledge of the South Viewpoint.

It's only about a 5 minute walk from the South Viewpoint to an outlook on the north side of the mountain where you can get a sweeping view of peaks in the Pliny and Pilot mountain ranges. (photo below).

Another feature that can be seen from this outlook are the talus fields on Black Crescent Mountain (circled in yellow on the next photo).  Each time I see this feature from where ever I might be, it brings back a flood of memories from bushwhacks that I've done to this location.  Particularly memorable was the adventure that involved an encounter with a moose (click HERE to read about this).

On my way back to the trailhead, I took a very short side-trip to visit two viewpoints at the northern end of the Castleview Loop Trail.  In the past, these viewpoints might have provided a wider vista.  However, the surrounding forest has matured, and as a result, the views are now limited. 

The view from the spot known as Castleview Ledge is the better of the two (photo below).

Whereas, the view from Castleview Rock is all but gone (photo below).

Also on my way back down the mountain, I continued to look for wildflowers.  Once again, I saw none, but I did notice that high up in the canopy of the forest, many of the trees are just starting to bud (next photo)!

To sum it up, the short hike to Mt. Crescent is nice to keep in mind for those occasions when you only have limited time for hiking.  It provides a decent-size payoff for a very modest amount of time and effort.

18 March 2012

Iron Mountain: Know When to Fold 'Em

Warning!  This particular Blog entry contains no stunning photos.  It is mostly just "yada yada" narrative! 

To continue with the theme of cautionary statements, some words of advice came to my mind while bushwhacking in the area of Iron Mountain (Jackson, NH) on 18-March.  The advice is contained in the lyrics from the song entitled "The Gambler" as recorded by the American country music artist Kenny Rogers.  Here are the words that came to mind:
"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away, know when to run."

Before continuing, perhaps it might be helpful to set the scene with some maps (to enlarge, click on the maps).

_ The first map shows the current trail system on Iron Mountain.  I've hand-drawn a blue line which approximates my bushwhack route which began from Jericho Road at the point where the road becomes gated.

_ The second map is a topographic map which shows a trail that leads in the direction of Green Hill, but stops (for whatever reason) before it actually reaches Green Hill.  Vintage editions of the White Mountain Guide indicate that this trail did not stop as shown on the topographic map.  Instead, the trail once ran from Jackson, NH (vicinity of current-day Red Fox Bar and Grille) to link up with the current-day Iron Mountain hiking trail.


And so, now that the scene has been set, here is the rest of the story.  As many readers of my Blog know, I easily become bored if I do the same hikes over and over again.  Although I do repeat some hikes, I'm always on the lookout for new destinations, or new routes to places that I've visited.

Iron Mountain is a destination that I've visited many times (via the conventional hiking trail, as well as bushwhacking).  However, I've never visited the ridge that extends due south from the point where the conventional hiking trail heads southwesterly to the viewpoint called South Cliffs.  I chose to hike to this ridge for several reasons.  My first and foremost reason was because it would be a new destination for me.  Secondly, the route up to the ridge was south-facing and I anticipated a nearly snow-free trek.  And thirdly, I love bushwhacking.  To me, it is the purist form of hiking that has been practiced well before trails were built.

My route was entirely on public land (USFS).  The trek up to the ridge was indeed basically snow-free, and the woods at that location are mainly open hardwoods.  This made for a relatively quick journey to the ledges that are located on whatever you want to call it, i.e. Iron Mountain's south ridge, south spur, south arm, whatever!  Also, I was pleasantly surprised that the climb didn't seem as steep as one might expect from the tightly compacted contour lines on the maps shown above.  Once on top of the ridge, there were some scattered patches of snow, but nothing of significance.

The views are abundant for nearly the entire length of this ridge since there is just one ledge after another.  These views are somewhat similar to those that are seen when you follow the conventional hiking trail to the South Cliffs.  Shown below are just a few snapshots from my trek along the ridge.


If you've read this far, then perhaps you might be wondering about the song lyrics that I mentioned earlier, you know, the bit about knowing "when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em"!   Okay, fair enough, here goes.  Since it was such a delightful day, I decided to do an "add-on" hike by continuing northward along the ridge to see if I could possibly locate the point where the abandoned trail (heading eastward toward Green Hill) diverged from the current-day hiking trail.

Things went pretty well . . . kind of!   As I headed northward along the ridge, I eventually hit a persistent layer of snow which was 8 to 10 inches deep.  My very unscientific theory is that not only had the forest canopy thickened, but also the angle of the slope was such that it did not receive the direct rays of the sun.  The bad news is that I had not bothered to bring snowshoes.  The good news was that I found what I presume are the remains of an old cairn which perhaps marked the beginnings of the now abandoned trail toward Green Hill (see photo below).

Not only did I locate the cairn, but there were definite hints of an overgrown trail corridor.  Even though it was slow going without the aid of snowshoes, I decided to follow the corridor.  It would have been so very nice to continue onward to Green Hill, as well as to the knob beyond it.  But as the snow got deeper, and my available time grew shorter, the words of Kenny Rogers finally kicked in.  It was indeed time to "fold 'em"!!

At the point where I stopped, the trail corridor had disappeared.  I pulled out my GPS and took a waypoint.  When I got home, I plotted this waypoint onto the topographic map shown above.  Remarkably, my waypoint corresponded exactly with the point where the map shows the trail ending!

Perhaps in the Autumn, I'll make a return visit with the anticipation that without snow, I can better see any faint signs of the abandoned trail and more easily bushwhack all the way to Green Hill, and beyond!

My trek back down the mountain was uneventful.  However, it was getting late.  I very much dislike coming out of the woods by headlamp, not only for some personal reasons, but also because darkness can complicate any unanticipated problems that might arise.   Regardless, there were some pleasant mountain vistas as evening started to settle in.  Shown below is one such scene.

For anyone wishing to read about the history of Iron Mountain, my fellow Blogger name Karl has an excellent report on his Blog (click HERE).

To sum it up, as I've frequently said in wrapping up many of my Blog reports, this was a very enjoyable adventure!  The only thing that would have made it even more enjoyable would be if I could have continued onward to Green Hill and beyond.  However, the decision to "fold 'em", was probably wise, plus it provides an opportunity for a new adventure on yet another day.

15 March 2012

South Moat Mountain: An Overcast that Persisted

It was nearly 11:00 AM on 15-March and the day was beginning to slip away.  There were no signs that the overcast conditions would soon lift, as had been predicted.  Finally, I decided to venture out for a hike despite the weather. However, with getting such a late start, my options were now quite limited.  There was still enough time to do a short hike up to South Moat, and besides it had been quite awhile since I'd made the 5.4 mile (round-trip) trek to this 2,749 ft peak.

As I was driving along Rt. 302 headed toward the trailhead in Conway, NH, I caught a glimpse of the Crawford Notch area.  The overcast conditions added a charming quality to the overall scene.  I decided to pull over and scamper up that little hill at the Eisenhower Memorial Wayside Park in order to snap a photo (see below).  My thought was that, given the conditions, this might be my only worthwhile photo for the entire day!

The Moat Mountain Range is interesting in many ways.  First of all, the name alone conjures up images in my mind of a castle surrounded by a  moat.

And actually, the "castle and moat" thing isn't too far off the mark, at least according to Robert and Mary Julyan in their book "Place Names of the White Mountains".  To paraphrase what the Julyan's say in their book, the name Moat Mountain was given by early settlers because of the many beaver ponds around the mountain's slopes.  The locals likened these ponds to moats, and a visit to the region was termed 'going over the moats'.
For those readers who might be a "rockhound" (or petrologist, if you prefer), the rocks that compose the Moat Mountain Range are somewhat unique and have been the object of much scientific study.  If you want to read more about this aspect, a fellow Blogger posted an in-depth article that is chock-full of interesting information and photos (click HERE).
So, getting back to my report about my trek to South Moat, I had read reports of conditions on the Moat Mountain Trail.  However, the reports were several days old, and at this time of year, conditions can change rapidly.  I was uncertain what to do, and so I strapped snowshoes onto my pack and off I went.  The snowshoes never left my pack (of course!), but Microspikes were needed . . . well sort of!  By "sort of" I mean that the trail conditions were extremely mixed.  There were sections that were completely free of snow and ice, whereas other segments were quite icy and Microspikes provided some reassuring traction.
The next two photos were taken to illustrate the mixed conditions that I encountered.


As I climbed higher along the Moat Mountain Trail, the trees and other vegetation were covered with a light coating of hoarfrost.  This provided an added dimension to the beauty of the surroundings.  The next two photos show just a few of these delightful scenes.


Once I arrived at the top of South Moat, the overcast conditions persisted.  Therefore, the awesome views of distant peaks was simply not going to happen while I was there.  However, the overcast/hoarfrost combination produced some nearby views which were quite picturesque. 
The next three photos were taken from the summit area of South Moat.



By the time I was ready to begin my descent back to the trailhead, there was some marginal improvement in the views looking eastward (see next two photos).  However, I think that might have been as good as it got.  By the time I arrived at the trailhead, the overcast had thickened considerably.


To sum it up, despite the persistent overcast, I actually enjoyed my trek to South Moat.  It really didn't matter to me that the distant views were obscured.  I've seen and enjoyed those views on previous visits to this mountain.  However, I had never experienced the misty and ethereal views that were present during this visit.

11 March 2012

The Doubleheads: Signs of Winter Coming to an End


The snowfall in New Hampshire during this 2011-2012 winter season has generally been disappointing, and so I'm ready to say good-bye to this winter of discontent.  Some early signs of Springtime are beginning to emerge here in the northern part of the State.  Many low-lying hillsides, especially those with a southern exposure, have only a patchy (if any) snow cover.  This can be seen in the photo below on the hillside above the covered bridge in Jackson, NH which I crossed en route to my trek to the twin-peaked mountain known as The Doubleheads.

During my hike, there were other signs of winter's end.  For one thing, the temperature was nearly 50 degrees!   In the following photo you'll note that I was wearing a T-shirt.  This image was reflected from a window on the Doublehead Cabin located atop North Doublehead (3,053 ft elevation).

The next photo is a collage showing the front and rear of the Doublehead Cabin. Details of how you can arrange to spend the night here can be found at the Recreation.gov website (Click HERE.)

The next photo shows a gathering of snow fleas which sort of resembles pepper sprinkled on the snow!  This is yet another sure sign of the approaching spring season.  These tiny insects are not actually fleas but rather are a type of springtail with a scientific name of Hypogastrura nivicola.  (Click HERE, to read more about the snow fleas.)

Okay, that's quite enough about the signs of winter's end!  And so, here are some brief details about the hike itself which occurred on a sunny 11th day of March.
On the way to the hike, I pulled over to the side of the road to snap a photo of my hiking destination, the Doubleheads!  (North Doublehead is on the left and South Doublehead on the right.)

I opted to do a counterclockwise loop hike over the Doubleheads.  This meant ascending via the Old Path and using the Doublehead Ski Trail for my descent.  From start to finish, the trails were snow-covered.  Previous hiker-traffic had compacted the snow such that you could do the hike without snowshoes.  Many hikers had done this which resulted in a choppy surface, but with only occasional postholes.  Due to the warm temperature and softened snow, I opted to wear snowshoes to lessen the possibility of creating more postholes.  On my descent, I had a backcountry skier stop and thank me for wearing snowshoes on the Doublehead Ski Trail.
The following snapshot is representative of the trail conditions encountered throughout the hike.

It took just slightly over an hour to reach the first ledge on South Doublehead.  From here, there are expansive views of many high peaks in the White Mountains, but the starring-role in my opinion belongs to the view of the Presidential Range and the distinctive U-shaped Carter Notch.

And of course, a Presidential view would be incomplete without a zoomed photo of Mt. Washington!

The next series of photos show some of my other personal favorite views, which all happen to be from South Doublehead.
Shown below is the top of one of the knobs on South Doublehead.  I don't know why it merits two large cairns!?  The view is looking eastward toward the State of Maine.

The next snapshot highlights a picturesque body of water known as Mountain Pond, which seems like an appropriate name for any pond located in the mountains!

The next photo is a zoomed image.  In the foreground is a tiny range of mountains in NH (Mt. Shaw is on the left, and on the right are two peaks collectively called the Gemini).  Looming directly behind those mountains is Pleasant Mountain which is located in Maine.

The next snapshot is looking northward toward peaks in the Baldface-Royce mountain range.

To sum it up, this is by no means an all-day hike.  Nonetheless, the views are rewarding, and the loop does provide a respectable workout with just over 1,800 ft elevation gain, and a round-trip mileage of just over 4 miles, assuming you include the spur-trail viewpoints on South Doublehead.