From Missile to Grave: A Trek to Mud Pond (Tunnel Brook)

My wife was unimpressed with the venue that I selected for the hike which I undertook on Valnetine's Day.  Why could I not have included a destination in my itinerary with a romantic-sounding name such as Lovequist Loop, or Hart Ledge?  Where was the romance in my decision to go to yet another spot in the White Mountains that is named Mud Pond?

There was only a roll of the eyes when I proffered that the trail leading to this particular Mud Pond is called the Tunnel Brook Trail.  You know, "tunnel", as in "tunnel of love"!  Ah well! I suppose I'll never be accused of being a hopeless romantic, perhaps just hopeless! :)

In the title of this report are the words "Missile to Grave".   There is a reason for this!!   I started my day with a visit to a missile, and finished the day with a visit to an old graveyard.  The trek to Mud Pond is merely what I did in between!

As to why I began my day with a visit to an old Redstone missile, it just so happens that Warren, NH was on my route of travel to the trailhead for Mud Pond.  I can safely say that Warren is the only New England village to have such an adornment on its town square.   As to why the missile is here, please read the inscription included with the next photo. (And if you're really interested in learning more, then click HERE for more information.)

My day ended with a visit to an old graveyard in the tiny village of Glencliff, NH.  (Shown below is a snapshot of the graveyard which was taken as the sun was setting.)

The majority of the headstones are unreadable since the inscriptions have succumbed to centuries of weathering.  And I do mean centuries!  On one of the headstones that was readable, the year 1813 is inscribed as the date of death. (Clicking on the image will enlarge it.)

As to why I ended my day with a visit to a graveyard, that is a bit complicated.  I wanted to hike to Mud Pond by starting from the southern trailhead for the Tunnel Brook Trail.  However, this trailhead isn't safely accessible due to the intense logging operations that are now in progress on Long Pond Road.   So, to reach the Tunnel Brook Trail, I parked on a widened area on the shoulder of High Street, and from there I launched a short bushwhack through the Benton State Forest.   The area where I parked is close to the old graveyard.  Since I had some remaining daylight at the end of my trek, I decided to visit this spot.

Okay, now I'll finally describe the middle part of my day, which was the trek to Mud Pond.  The short bushwhack (about 0.2 mile) at the start of my hike had an unexpected surprise.  Just before crossing frozen Slide Brook to reach the Tunnel Brook Trail, I happened upon the ruins of what I presume to be an old sawmill (see photo grouping below).
[NOTE: Subsequent to posting this Blog,  some well-founded speculation about this structure was received from a knowledgeable person in Gorham, NH.  There is a strong possibility that this was an early 1900s electric-power plant.  Please click HERE for a discussion about these ruins.]

Upon reaching the Tunnel Brook Trail, there was no evidence of human foot-traffic.  This was no surprise, not only due to the logging operations, but also because this route isn't heavily travelled in the winter months anyway.  The trail was in great shape with no major blowdowns.  The snow depth was minimal and I was able to wear Microspikes for the entire trek.

For those who are unfamiliar with the location of Mud Pond, it is situated in a deep valley (the "tunnel") between Mt. Moosilauke and Mt. Clough.  This area is sometimes referred to as Tunnel Brook Notch.

My previous treks to Mud Pond have all been launched from the northern trailhead, and they have all been done during summer months.  And so, the southern approach route was new to me, as was the trek to this spot during the winter.   As you might expect, the scene at Mud Pond during the winter is quite different from the summertime view.  This stark contrast is shown in the next photo which compares a snapshot taken during this trek versus one taken during one of my summer hikes to Mud Pond.

There is a chain of about 7 other smaller ponds just a short distance to the north of Mud Pond.  These ponds are the result of beaver activity, and the collection is sometimes referred to as simply the Tunnel Brook Ponds.  From many locations along these ponds, there is a view Mt. Moosilauke's South Peak (snow-capped peak seen in the next two photos).

Since there was so little snow in the area around the ponds, and since I had some extra time, I decided to go part way up one of the many slides on the east side of Mt. Clough.  This provided me with a birds-eye view of a couple of the ponds, as well as another look at snow-capped South Peak (see photo below).

To sum it up, my "missile to grave" hike was another one of my rather curious adventures.  Although it was fun for me, perhaps for others, not so much.  :))

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POSTSCRIPT NOTATION (Added 17-Mar-2012):  It just came to my attention that in February 2012, the High Street Cemetery in Benton (photos above) was added to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places.  This cemetery is the last remaining resource that conveys the history of the town’s early High Street area settlement, which was bypassed by most industry and transportation.  Stories of the pioneers who settled this remote, rugged area are told by the cemetery’s 46 grave markers, the oldest of which dates to 1812 and the newest to 1877.