INTRODUCTION:
There is
a quote by Pearl S. Buck which reads: “Many people lose the small joys in the
hope for the big happiness.” As with any
quote, there can be a variety of interpretations. My take on this is that one can miss out on
the joys of doing small things by choosing instead to do bigger things with the
hope that it will bring bigger happiness.
Regardless,
the above quote will often come to mind when considering various options for an
upcoming hiking adventure. It has
allowed me to discover that there are many instances when a hike that is short
and leisurely can provide just as much joy as a hike that is long and intense.
And so,
rather than doing a long hike, I
recently opted to do a mini-adventure in the Evans Notch area which is located along the border
between New Hampshire and Maine. It
included an on-trail hike to visit the waterfalls along the Bickford Slides
Loop trail, and it also included a short bushwhack to a ledge at the southern tip
of nearby Sugarloaf Mountain.
It is
guesstimated that the combined mileage for the on-trail portion of the hike,
plus the bushwhack segment, was about 4.5 miles round-trip.
Presented
below is a map which shows my route highlighted in orange.
 |
The
route for this trek is highlighted in orange.
|
PHOTOS:
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| My favorite waterfall along the Bickford Slides Loop is this one which is named Middle Slide. |
 |
| Shown here is Upper Slide which is another attractive waterfall along the Bickford Slides Loop. |
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| A bushwhack to a small ledge at southern tip of nearby Sugarloaf Mountain provided this view toward the Baldfaces, Meader Ridge, plus a portion of The Basin, and Basin Pond. |
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| This photo shows a little closer view of The Basin and Basin Pond, as viewed from a small ledge at southern tip of Sugarloaf Mountain. |
TO SUM IT UP:
This hike was short, and so too is this blog posting! But perhaps the reader will derive as much
pleasure from reading it as from a longer posting about a longer hike. Oftentimes, less is more! :-)
