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

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11 February 2016

Meandering in Maine: Trek to The Roost, plus Ledges on Mt. Hastings

INTRODUCTION:

A "Maine meander" is perhaps the best way of describing a trek that was done near Gilead, ME in early February 2016.

I parked at the north end of Maine's Rt. 113 (where road is gated during winter months), then walked 1.3 miles southward on the unplowed roadway to The Roost Trail's north trailhead, and then hiked the trail to its south trailhead.  From there, an impromptu bushwhack was done to the lower ledges at the north end of Mt. Hastings.  I find it so refreshing to intersperse some occasional "coloring outside the lines" by traveling off-trail to destinations of my own choosing, rather than following an established trail to pre-selected locations.

Shown below is a map which provides a general idea about the scope of this mini-adventure.  (And just as a point of interest, you'll note the word "Hastings" near the top/center of this map.  Hastings was a  thriving lumbering community from the early 1890s until the town was abandoned in about 1918.  Click HERE for more detailed information.)

PHOTOS:
The road walk from the gated area on Rt. 113 to The Roost Trail's north trailhead took about half an hour.  Along the way, I was entertained by the beauty of Evans Notch, and by dog sled teams!  Never did get a good photo of them.  They are fast!
As those who have visited The Roost know, the usual principle of "views from the top" is turned on its head, since here it is "views from the bottom".  To get the renowned views, you need to make a steep descent from the top via a spur path that leads you about 0.1 mile to spacious ledges.
Upon making the steep descent on a spur path from the top of The Roost, you're rewarded with this view.  (Mt. Hastings is nearby at far left, and at center of photo is the Wild River Valley with the Carter-Moriah Range in the distance.)
This view from The Roost is similar to one shown above.  However, the foreground in this photo includes a portion of The Roost's ledges.
While standing on the ledges of The Roost, I zoomed in on ledges at the northern end of Mt. Hastings.  Since they appeared to be easily reached via a short bushwhack, I decided to add this to my afternoon agenda.
The bushwhack to the ledges at the north end of Mt. Hastings was under 2 miles (round-trip), and was easy-going through open woods.
From the ledges on Mt. Hastings, there is a nice eastward view that includes Gammon and Caribou Mountain (at left), followed  by Butters, Durgin and Specked Mountain (at right).
From the ledges on Mt. Hastings, I zoomed in on the bare ledges atop Caribou Mountain (another terrific hike in the Evans Notch region)
On the return trek back to my car, I stopped by the steel bridge over the Wild River at the north end of Highwater Trail.  It replaced the suspension bridge lost in 2011 during Tropical Storm Irene.
~ THE END ~

06 February 2016

A Bushwhack to Cone Mountain (near Thornton, NH)

INTRODUCTION:

Since the mid 1800s there have been hiking trails in the Waterville Valley area of New Hampshire.  One very popular trek is a loop hike via the trails that go over Welch Mountain and Dickey Mountain, which are known collectively as simply "Welch-Dickey".

Located very nearby is a lesser-known peak named Cone Mountain which is separated from Welch-Dickey only by the narrow corridor named Dickey Notch.  A visit to Cone Mountain entails a bushwhack which unto itself is relatively easy.  However, special care should be taken to do this trek by staying on National Forest public land, and avoid trespassing on the parcels of adjacent private land.

Over the years, I have bushwhacked to this destination several times, and have used a different route on each outing.  All of my treks were launched from the Welch-Dickey trailhead.  The Brown Ash Swamp XC-Ski/Bike Trail was followed northward into the Dickey Notch to a point where I could head westward on public land to reach Cone Mountain.

If you are a hiker with off-trail experience, perhaps the map shown below will be useful in planning a route to explore Cone Mountain. (The red and orange shading indicate slopes that have a particularly steep/rugged gradient.)   

PHOTOS: 
(These photos were taken in early February 2016 during my trek to Cone Mountain and surrounding ledges.)

Although Cone Mountain has no official trail leading to it, the summit has a very impressive cairn.  There must be an interesting story behind the construction of this masterpiece.   The cairn can even be seen from "outer space" in Google Earth images (left panel).
From the ledge with the large cairn, the vista includes the Welch-Dickey mountains with their famed bare rock ledges, as well as other prominent mountains such as Jennings Peak, Sandwich Mountain, etc.
By moving around to other ledges off the summit area of Cone Mountain, there are other less-obstructed views of Welch-Dickey, such as this one shown in this photo.
From a ledge on the northeastern end of Cone Mountain's ridge is a view of the Franconia Range.  When viewed from this angle, I'm always amazed to see how far Mt. Flume is set back from the other mountains in this range.
Also visible from the northeastern end of Cone Mountain's ridge is this view of Mt. Moosilauke.
Along my route, there were several picturesque displays of ice clinging to cliffs.  This was one of the more impressive displays.
Despite the impressive displays of ice clinging to cliffs, the ground cover of snow was rather sparse for large portions of my trek.  Very unusual for February in New Hampshire!
~ THE END ~