Hanging Out on the Side of Vose Spur

The title of this report might conjure up the image of me hanging off the side of a cliff on Vose Spur, or something of that nature.  Most assuredly, that was not the case!  Instead, I paid a visit to the massive talus fields on the south side of Vose Spur, and hung out there for a while to enjoy the views and take a few snapshots.

Circumstances were such on this particular day that my available time for hiking was compressed.   However, a visit to the talus fields on Vose Spur seemed doable (barely), and so a decision was made to give it a try.   I left home at near 1 PM and was back home by 7 PM.   This was made possible by averaging about 3 mph on the lower end of Signal Ridge Trail and on the Carrigain Notch Trail.  Also, living within a 40 minute drive of trailhead is very helpful!

For anyone who might be unfamiliar with these talus fields, perhaps the photo shown below might be helpful.  This image was taken a couple years ago from  Signal Ridge while en route to Mt. Carrigain.

Encircled on this photo are the talus fields on south side of Vose Spur

The route that I used to the talus fields was different from what I understand to be the traditional route used by most peakbaggers who are intent on conquering the summit of Vose Spur.  I think that particular route leaves from a point not far from  the boundary of the Pemigewasset Wilderness and then heads up the east side of Vose Spur.  However, I could be wrong about that.  Regardless, I left the Carrigain Notch Trail at about 1.3 miles, and then headed up a ridgeline on Vose Spur's south side.

A rough depiction of my bushwhack route is shown in the map below.

Rough depiction of my bushwhack route to talus fields on Vose Spur

The climb to talus fields covered a distance of about 0.75 miles.  It was generally a gradual climb, but became moderately steep on the final approach.  The forest was predominately hardwoods for the entire distance.  There were some obligatory patches of hobble bush lower down. :-)

So what did I see once I arrived?  The next 5 photos will hopefully provide some general idea of the vistas that can be seen from this location.

If I'd taken the time to work at it, I probably could have done a better job of composing a shot which more accurately portrayed the vastness of the talus fields.  Nonetheless, the next photo will perhaps at least provide some idea, even though it shows only a small corner of these massive piles of boulders.

One small corner of talus field on Vose Spur

The next photo shows the main view looking southward.  In the center are peaks such as Bartlett Haystack, Bear Mountain, Mt. Tremont, with pointy Mt. Chocorua on the distant horizon.  On the far right is Mt. Passaconaway.

Un-zoomed photo showing the main view looking southward

The next photo is a zoomed shot which features peaks such as Bartlett Haystack, Bear Mountain, Mt. Tremont, Owls Cliff, and pointy Mt. Chocorua on the horizon on the right side.

Jumble of peaks surrounding Mt. Tremont, plus Mt. Chocorua is on far right

The vista shown in the next photo is looking nearly due south.  Some of the prominent peaks are Mt. Chocorua (at top on far left), and the backside of Green's Cliff (center, right) with Mt. Passaconaway to the right of it (on the horizon).   

Prominent peaks include Mt. Chocorua; backside of Green's Cliff ; Mt. Passaconaway

Looking due west of the talus fields is the prominent view of Signal Ridge leading to Mt. Carrigain.

View of Signal Ridge leading to Mt. Carrigain

To sum it up, this was very enjoyable romp.  The views were unique, and it was a fun challenge to accomplish this hike within the time frame available to me.