This was one of those adventures where the driving-time
and hiking-time are nearly equal! Over
the Labor Day weekend, my wife and I spent a day traveling to some of
the northernmost regions of Vermont (VT) and New Hampshire (NH). It was sort of a combination of roadside-sightseeing
and on-trail hiking. In VT, we hiked to
Brousseau Mountain, as well as a very short "hike-ette" to a location
known as Hanging Rock. In NH, we hiked the
Falls in the River Trail which is located in the area of the Second Connecticut
Lake (north of Pittsburg, NH).
Perhaps the map below will provide an overview to get you
oriented as to where we hiked. (Depending on your browser, clicking on the map might provide an enlarged image.)
Overview of hiking locations
On our road trip up to Brousseau Mountain, we crossed
over into VT at Guildhall in order to follow VT Rt. 102 northward on the west
side of the Connecticut River. This
route provides many scenic vistas looking across the river into NH
(see next two photos).
Looking at Cape Horn Mountain (near Groveton, NH) from
Vermont Rt. 102
Looking at North and South Percy mountains (near Stark,
NH) from Vermont Rt. 102
In Canaan, VT, we headed west on VT Rt.114 for about 11
miles and then made a turn onto Brousseau Mountain Road which took us to the
trailhead for the Brousseau Mountain Trail after about 0.8 miles of travel on a
nice gravel road.
Just a few steps from the trailhead is a huge open field
which provides excellent views looking westward toward Jay Peak, as well as other
high peaks at the northern end of Vermont's Green Mountain Range.
Jay Peak and other high peaks at northern end of
Vermont's Green Mountain Range
This same open field also provides an equally nice view
looking northward toward the Eastern Township area of southern Quebec, Canada.
Northward View toward Eastern Township area of southern
Quebec, Canada
After having been very impressed by the views at the
trailhead, we headed for the trail that leads up to the cliffs on Brousseau
Mountain. The next photo combination
shows the map that is posted at the trailhead, as well as the sign directing
you to the trailhead.
Trailhead map and sign
The hike up to Brousseau Mountain's cliffs is only 0.8
mile with an elevation gain of 623 ft.
The trail is well-maintained and was in excellent condition on the day
of our hike.
Upon arrival at the viewpoint, there is a stunning vista
over looking Little Averill Pond (see next photo).
Vista from Brousseau Mountain overlooking Little Averill Lake
In the lower left corner of the photo shown above, you can
see a portion of the huge cliffs on Brousseau Mountain. These cliffs provide an environment that is
well suited for Peregrine Falcon nesting.
There are times when the trail to Brousseau can be closed to hikers
during the incubation period from March 1 through August 1.
In addition to the view over Little Averill Pond, a wide
array of mountains can be seen in NH and VT.
Conditions for distance-viewing were not ideal on the day of our visit,
but through the clouds, we could see faint outlines of peaks in NH mountain
ranges, including the Franconia Range and Pilot Range. Also, many peaks in Vermont's Northeast
Kingdom were visible, as well as several high peaks at the northern end of the
Green Mountains.
Barely visible with the naked eye was the windmill farm
on Dixville Peak in NH. Below is a
zoomed photo which shows some of the windmills.
Zoomed photo of windmill farm on Dixville Peak in NH
Before leaving Brousseau Mountain, I carefully positioned
myself to take a snapshot looking straight down to the bottom of the cliff
where there is a huge talus field (next photo).
Talus field at bottom of Brousseau Mountain cliffs
After descending Brousseau, we jumped in our car to head
eastward to NH in order to hike a trail named Falls in the River. However, shortly after leaving the trailhead,
we decided to take a short drive down a road named Little Averill Lake Road,
just for the heck of it. The road hugs
the western shoreline of the lake, but no lakeside views are available since
private land and cottages occupy this space.
However, on our ramble down Little Averill Lake Road we
made an unexpected discovery. On one
little section of what we presumed to be public land, there is a signed trail
to a place called Hanging Rock. There
were two vehicles parked on the shoulder of the road at the trailhead. A group of hikers were just coming off the
trail and they confirmed that the trail is open to the public.
This trail is very short, probably just a bit over 0.1
mile. At the end of the trail, there is
indeed a "hanging rock". I
think it's fair to say that this is one of those places which can be
categorized as being nice to visit if you happen to be in the area, but
certainly not worthy of a special trip.
Shown below is composite photo showing the trailhead sign, plus a couple
of scenes at Hanging Rock.
Trailhead sign, plus a couple of scenes at Hanging Rock
After Hanging Rock, we drove directly to the Falls in the
River Trail. It took just under an
hour. As can be seen from the map that
is shown below, there is parking at either end of this trail. At the western end, parking is only
available on the shoulder of the road.
At the eastern end of the trail, there is an actual parking lot at the
Second Connecticut Lake dam.
(Please Note: The purple highlighting on the
map only shows the approximate corridor of the Falls in the River Trail. An actual trail map, and trail
description, can be found in Kim Nilsen's book entitled "50 Hikes North of
the White Mountains".)
Map of Falls in the River Trail
In August 2011, Steve Smith filed a terrific Blog report
which included a trek on the Falls in the River Trail (click HERE to read Steve's
report).
It's a long and uninteresting story, but my wife and I
worked out a plan whereby we wouldn't need to hike this 2-mile trail, and then
turn around and re-hike the 2-miles back to our starting point. My wife was most willing to only hike a portion
of the trail, and drive to the trailhead at Second Connecticut Lake to wait for
me while I completed a one-way journey of the entire 2-mile distance.
And so, with no further ado, presented below are a few
snapshots taken while hiking the Falls in the River Trail. I'll be brief in saying that this is a
beautiful trail which is well-blazed and well-maintained. Besides the attractive "Falls in
the River" destination, this trail
leads you past several gorgeous vistas of the Connecticut River.
Composite photo showing trailhead sign, plus a typical
section of well-blazed trail
Not the best shot, but it does show the "Falls in
the River"
Wide spot in river with slow moving water
Narrow spot in river with rapidly flowing water
To sum it up, both my wife and I were extremely pleased with
our Labor Day holiday journey to the far northern regions of VT and NH. The drive to and from the area was scenic, plus
the views we experienced on our hikes truly exceeded our expectations! And, with neither of us ever having done
these hikes, this was a brand new adventure which made the experience even
sweeter!
10 comments:
Great report, John! I've seen those cliffs on Brousseau in the far distance from various viewpoints. That vista over the lake is a stunner! Falls in the River Trail is a gem. Nice exploration!
Steve
Great report. Loved that little trail of Falls in the River.
Thanks Steve! You have such an incredibly keen eye! It’s highly unlikely that I would’ve ever recognized the Brousseau cliffs when viewing them from some other location. You are gifted with a superb sense of perspective.
And yes, the Falls in the River Trail is indeed a gem. A marvelous job was done with constructing the trail.
It’s pure speculation, but I wonder if some folks make a loop out of it by walking US Rt. 3 between the two trailheads. Cheri and I noticed two separate groups of folks walking the shoulder of the road.
John
Hi Ann,
It’s good to know that you enjoyed reading my report, and that you also are a fan of the Falls in the River Trail!
Perhaps you’re already aware of a somewhat similar hike that is also in the far upper portion of NH. This one is located north of Errol at the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge. It’s called the Magalloway River Trail. A map and trail description is contained within Kim Nilsen’s book: “50 Hikes North of the White Mountains”.
John
We are hoping to hit that trail sometime this fall when we are up there. We had a delightful lunch at Happy Corner Cafe. I love that book, so happy Steve recommended it to us. We did Mud Pond from that book for a quick hike before our 4 hour car ride home, two weeks ago.
Ann
Thanks Ann for your follow-up note. Greatly appreciated!
John
Your photos are stunning!
tomhikesthewhites.blogspot.com
What a fun Labor Day outing for you and Cheri.
The views from VT 102 and from the Brousseau trailhead are wonderful. Love the clouds reflected in the lake on the first shot.
Vermont and New Hampshire have an abundance of roads for scenic drives. I would love to take a backroads tour of your state and of Vermont during fall color season. Maybe some year...
The hikes sound like fun too.
This post sums up an all-around nice getaway, John!
Thanks Tom!
I just accessed the two Blogs that you operate at http://tomstandley.blogspot.com/. You do some fine photography work yourself!
John
Hi Rita,
Cheri especially likes hiking destinations where the road-trip to the trailhead has as much scenery to offer as does the hike itself. This adventure seemed tailor-made to fit that criteria!
John
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