In current times, there are two trails that hikers can use
to launch treks to the peaks named Mt. Martha and Owl's Head, both of which are located on
Cherry Mountain. There is the Owl's Head Trail located on Rt. 115. In addition, there is the Cherry Mountain
Trail which also has a trailhead on Rt. 115 on the west side of the mountain, plus
another trailhead which is on the east side of the mountain off the Cherry
Mountain Road (closed in winter).
In days gone by, the Black Brook Trail provided yet another
option for hiking to Cherry Mountain. This now-abandoned trail began at a trailhead
off Route 302 about a half mile west of Zealand Road. The trail headed nearly
due north to intersect with the portion of the current-day Cherry Mountain
Trail that comes up from the east side of the mountain.
There’s still a short access road off of Route 302 to the former trailhead, but
of course it’s unplowed in winter. So for my trek, I parked at the Zealand Road
winter lot and did a short two minute bushwhack from the parking lot up to the
railroad bed (also a snowmobile route). Then, after about a ten minute westward walk,
I arrived at the old trail.
The Black Brook Trail still shows up on some topo maps
since many of these are generated from USGS maps which often have not been
updated in years. Therefore, it’s not
uncommon to see some abandoned trails still show up on maps. The corridor for the old Black Brook Trail is
highlighted on the map shown below. I've
also included two labels which will be discussed later in this report.
Map showing Black Brook Trail |
On previous adventures in this area, I have hiked to a
point about 1.5 miles from the old trailhead on Rt. 302, and then veered off
the trail and headed eastward onto an obvious logging road which leads to a
nice viewpoint. For my trek on
27-Jan-2013, I had two rather simple goals.
One goal was to revisit the previously discovered viewpoint that I just
mentioned. The other goal was to try something
new for me by following the Black Brook Trail beyond the point where I've
departed from the old corridor on my
previous hikes.
The old trail is quite obvious for about the first 1.5
miles. In the past, portions of this
corridor have been used as a logging road, as well as a snowmobile route. I think this causes a trail corridor to
remain obvious for a longer period than trails that were used solely for
footpaths. Shown below are a couple of
snapshots of the trail corridor.
Portion of Black Brook Trail Corridor |
Another segment of Black Brook Trail corridor |
When I came to the spot along the trail where an old logging
road veers sharply to the east, I did as I've done in the past and followed
that road to the viewpoint which is mentioned above (and is labeled on
the map shown earlier). While travelling to this viewpoint, there is a meadow which provides a picturesque vista of Cherry Mountain's southern
ridgeline.
ve |
Cherry Mountain's southern ridgeline, as viewed from a meadow |
Upon arrival at what I'll call the main viewpoint, there
is a nice southward vista looking toward the Twins and the Franconia Range (see
photo below).
Twins and Franconia Range as viewed from a spot located off the old Black Brook Trail |
After
my visit to the viewpoint, I returned to the point where I'd left the Black
Brook Trail. And so, the second part of
adventure began. In the past, I had
never ventured beyond this point since the corridor for the old Black Brook
Trail is very obscure at this particular spot.
However, with a bit of meandering zigzags, I was able to locate the corridor which then remained
obvious all the way to point where I stopped.
My stopping point for this trek is labeled on the map
presented earlier. From the outset of
this hike, I had no preconceived notions as to how far I would trek along the
old Black Brook Trail. And actually, I
was unsure if it would even be possible to find the old corridor! Regardless, once I found it, I simply enjoyed
hiking on it until I reached my turnaround time for arriving back at my car
before nightfall.
I took a GPS waypoint at my stopping point. At some point when I'm hiking the eastern
portion of the Cherry Mountain Trail, I might diverge from that trail and hike
down to my stopping point. If you know
where to look, the old Black Brook Trail is quite obvious at the point where it
joins the Cherry Mountain Trail.
You might ask, just how obvious was the portion of the old
Black Brook Trail that I followed when venturing beyond the 1.5 mile mark? Well, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a
thousand words. So, just for good measure,
shown below are two pictures.
The first photo shows the corridor, along with one of the
yellow blazes. These blazes are few in
number, but just enough to provide reassurance that you are actually on the old
trail. The second photo shows evidence of past trail maintenance
along the corridor.
Black Brook Trail corridor, along with one of the very few remaining blazes |
Evidence of past trail maintenance along the Black Brook Trail |
Lots of moose poop was seen along the route. Also, I saw a bird's nest that was positioned
low to the ground, and directly at the edge of the trail's footway. Maybe
some knowledgeable reader can enlighten me as to the type(s) of birds that
might build their nest at such a location.
Lots of moose poop was seen along the route |
Bird's nest seen right next to trail corridor and down low to the ground |
It was getting late as I was making my way back to my
car. I was surrounded by woods and
therefore was unable to see any alpenglow on the mountainsides. However, as I looked overhead, there was a
definite reddish-golden glow that was illuminating the treetops. I can only imagine what it must have looked
like on the slopes of the surrounding mountains.
Late evening in the woods as the sun was setting |
Before concluding this report, I should mention that (in
my opinion) the abandoned Black Brook Trail is just marginally suitable for
summer travel. I once tried hiking this route during that
season of the year. The footway had many
spots that were wet/boggy, and briar patches were encroaching into the trail's
corridor. And to top things off, I was
covered in ticks!! For those reasons, I
think it's best enjoyed in late autumn and during the winter season.