Toward
the end of July 2015, I made an off-trail trek to the base of a slide on the
north-facing side of North Twin Mountain (NH). Unfortunately, only a half-day was devoted to
this adventure, and so I ran out of time before making it all the way to the
top. Not a big deal! On another day on another adventure, I'll allow
a full-day to reach the top. :-)
This
trek was launched at the junction of Haystack Road and FR 304A (same starting
point as some hikers use to access PATN).
FR 304A was followed for about 1.3 miles; then an old logging road was
followed southwesterly for about 0.7 miles; bushwhacked up the unnamed brook
bed for about 0.8 mile.
Please note, you should cross the unnamed brook that comes down from
the slide and then continue onward for about a tenth of a mile where a sharp
right turn is made onto an old logging road.
This old corridor will lead you up the valley to a point high up on the
brook bed. Before discovering the
logging road, I tried bushwhacking up the brook where it meets FR
304A. Not good . . . don't do it!!
For
readers who are familiar with this area, the following annotated Google Earth
image might give a better perspective of this trek.
 |
| Annotated Google Earth image showing route taken |
The
slide on North Twin Mountain is also shown in the next photo which was taken a
few weeks ago when I hiked to the trail-less mountain named Peak Above the
Nubble (PATN). The photo also identifies my stopping point.
 |
| Slide on North Twin Mountain as viewed from Peak Above the Nubble (PATN) |
The next photo shows the conditions at the point where I ended my trek. The wet slabs were very slick! I had no idea
how gnarly the adjacent woods might be, nor how long this "slick spot in
the road" would last. Sooo . . .
since time was running short anyway, it was decided to call it a day. This will be a challenge to be conquered on
another adventure!
 |
| Photo taken at point where I ended my trek |
One
of the photos taken on my trek was a northward view looking down the slide
corridor (see photo below). The Peak
Above the Nubble (PATN) is the nearest mountain on the left. Regarding the distant mountains on the
horizon, they are peaks in the Pilot/Pliny Range, and I think Cherry Mountain
is in there as well.
 |
| Northward view looking down the slide corridor |
The
next photo was taken while trekking toward the slide.
 |
| Photo was taken while trekking toward the slide |
And
shown below is a zoomed view of slide as I got even closer.
 |
| Zoomed view of slide as I got even closer |
If
you're a backcountry skier, then this slide looks like it's also an exciting place to
visit in winter!! The next photo shows
the view from the slide during winter conditions. The credit for this photo
goes to the author of a backcountry ski blog (click HERE.)
 |
| If you're a backcountry skier, this slide looks like it is an exciting place to visit in winter!! (See link above for photo credit.) |
And
lastly, along my route I came upon an inscribed moose antler (next photo). On other off-trail adventures in this general
vicinity, I have seen other antlers such as this with a variety of
inscriptions. The inscription on this particular
one appears to read as follows:
"Wouldn't it
be odd if there really was a God and he looked down on Earth and saw what we'd
done to her. Wouldn't he be just if he
pulled the plug on us and took away the sun."
 |
| Inscribed moose antler seen along my route to the slide |
To sum it up, even though too
little time was allocated to reach the top of the slide on North Twin Mountain,
this was still a very rewarding adventure. Also, it's gratifying to know that reaching the top is yet another challenge out
there waiting for me!
6 comments:
Excellent. So after the logging road ends, is it just a matter of following the stream bed up to the bottom of the slide?
Ken . . . Yes is the quick answer to your question , and actually the logging road ends just a few yards from the antler shown in this posting.
But, as oftentimes happens, there are a few caveats as follows.
1) From the antler (N44 13 12 W71 33 24), you can most definitely begin traveling in the corridor of the unnamed brook. However, trekking is a bit smoother if you ascend slightly away from the antler on the east side of the brook and travel a bit further through the open woods, and then drop down to the brook bed. There's nothing magical about it, but here is the GPS coordinate where I chose to drop down (N44 12 53 W71 33 30). When traveling through the woods beyond the antler, you might occasionally come across some orange flagging. I didn't remove it. Presumably it was put there by backcountry skiers, and I didn't want to spoil their fun! :-)
2) The old logging road is faint but fairly easy to follow until it comes to a small feeder stream. From that point onward to the antler, it becomes even more faint. But, it's not much of problem since you basically just keep trekking in a southward direction through woods that are fairly open.
John
Very nice! What caused this slide? How long has it been there? It looks like an interesting place for a trek, or for an adventurous ski!
I love the inscribed moose antlers. What an inspirational idea! I'm afraid those antlers wouldn't last long here in the west—people would remove them and try to sell them!
Thanks for another interesting post, John. Great photos (so clear), too!
Hi Rita . . . as always I enjoy your comments and perspective on my blog postings.
As I understand it from my friend Steve Smith, the slide on North Twin occurred in 1995. Presumably, it was caused by a severe weather event.
Regarding the inscribed antlers that I’ve happened upon, they are probably less prone to thievery since they are in rather remote off-trail locations where very few people travel.
John
Do you have the locations of the other antlers in that area? I would love to track them down!
I’m not the best person to ask about good locations for finding antlers. It just so happens that I’ll occasionally run across some now and then in the course of my travels. I’ve heard tale of antlers being prevalent in the vicinity of Big Bickford Mountain and Scarface Mountain, but have never been to either location to actively seek out antlers.
Sorry I couldn’t be of much help.
John
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