Views from Ledges at North End of Bartlett Haystack Mountain Range

In the title of this report, reference is made to the "Bartlett Haystack Mountain Range".  Perhaps "mountain range" is a technically incorrect term to use for the chain of lumps and bumps that parade northward from the peak known as Bartlett Haystack.  But for the purposes of this Blog, I'll use that terminology.

Recently, I did a bushwhack to several ledges at the northern end of the Bartlett Haystack mountain range.  I parked just a bit west of Bartlett, NH at the Sawyer Rock rest area on Rt. 302.  From there I trekked south along the west side of an unnamed brook for about half a mile, then headed east for about a third of a mile to the top of the ridgeline.  Once on the ridgeline, I explored ledges located a few tenths of a mile to the left (north) and to the right (south) of my point of entry.   The vast majority of this trek was through open woods.  Very little "whacking" of bushes was required! :-)

Presented below is a composite picture which shows a topo map on the left panel, and a Google Earth image on the right.  My approximate bushwhack route is shown on each panel.

Graphics showing my bushwhack route

The remainder of this report consists of several photos of the vistas that were seen during my trek.

Looking north up Crawford Notch: Prominent landmarks include Mt Carrigain (left); Mt Willey (right)

Another northward view up Crawford Notch: Prominent on right side is Hart Ledge

Yet another northward view up Crawford Notch (similar to two previous photos)

Hart Ledge (foreground); Razor Brook Valley (right); Mt Resolution and Presidentials (background)

Zoomed photo of Mt Resolution and Presidentials

LEFT: Bear Mtn (looks pointy from this vantage point); RIGHT: middle peak of Bartlett Haystack Range

Mt Tremont

Mt Carrigain

Cliffs on Iron Mountain

Okay, in the center of the next photo is a tiny ledge.  This will mean nothing to you unless by some odd chance you happen to recall reading an old Blog report that I wrote about visiting this ledge while en route to Table Mountain. (Click HERE to access that report.)

Ledge located near Table Mountain

All the ledges I visited on this trek were spacious and flat enough to sit and enjoy the vistas.  The next photo shows one of the ledges.

One of several ledges visited on this trek

At the beginning of this report, I mentioned that my route took me along an unnamed brook.  There was very little water flowing, but at one point along this brook there was a rocky chute which looks like it might have potential for a picturesque cascade at times of high water.  The next photo was taken from the top of the chute looking downward.

Looking downward from top of chute which might become a cascade at high water

The next photo shows the light flow of water at the bottom of the chute.

Light flow of water at the bottom of the chute . . . sort of a mini-cascade

To sum it up, there were some very pleasant views from various ledges at the north end of what I've chosen to refer to as the Bartlett Haystack Mountain Range.  This was a relatively short trek of less than 3 miles round-trip.  And although there was an elevation gain of about 1,400 ft., there were no spots that I would consider to be overly steep.