INTRODUCTION:
trail follows the approximate corridor of a former road in eastern New
Hampshire that ran between Tamworth and the Albany Intervale via the valley
between Mt. Chocorua and Mt. Paugus. The
road was destroyed by a hurricane and later rebuilt as a trail by Frank Bolles
in the late 19th century.
The location of this bushwhack is shown on the Google
Earth map presented below. (NOTE: This image is oriented with EAST at top,
rather than more conventional north at top.)
My
primary goal was to visit the little speck of a ledge labeled as “1” on the
image shown above. Based upon its positioning, I felt it stood a good chance of
providing a sweeping vista of mountains located west and north of the
ledge. This vista would include peaks within
the Sandwich Range Wilderness, plus the Pemigewasset Wilderness, as well as the
Presidential Range – Dry River Wilderness.
As
an ‘add-on’, I ended up visiting ledge “2” as well. My inspiration for visiting this ledge came
from a blog posting by Steve Smith in November 2015 (click HERE to view that
report).
This zoomed photo, also taken from Ledge 1, shows Bear Mountain in the foreground with Mt. Washington in the background. |
Much of the bushwhack to these ledges was through open woods, such as shown here. However, there were some sections with patches of hobblebush and other undergrowth that were mildly annoying. :-) |
ADDITIONAL READING:
This hike took place in the general vicinity of Mt. Chocorua. Click/tap this LINK for more information about this area.
This hike took place in the general vicinity of Mt. Chocorua. Click/tap this LINK for more information about this area.
4 comments:
Looks like you got some great views from those ledges! You seem to know of all these cool bushwhacks and ledges, so what is the easiest bushwhack you know of in the Whites? I've wanted to start bushwhacking for a while, but I want to start out on an easy one. Thanks in advance!
Hi Evan,
Like so many things in life, what is easy for some folks is difficult for others, and vice-versa. And so, perhaps the best advice I can give is to begin by learning the basics of off-trail travel. There are several online resources about basic bushwhacking skills. One such resource is at this link: https://sectionhiker.com/53-bushwhacking-tips-for-off-trail-navigation/
Once you have studied the basics of bushwhacking, then start out small by doing several short off-trail hikes. The destinations don’t need to be anything special. They can be any land feature shown on a topographic map, like a brook, a beaver pond, etc. Then, once you feel comfortable with off-trail navigation, you can set your sights on more distant and complex off-trail targets.
John
I enjoy reading about, and seeing, all the photos from those ledges. You've been to so many of them!
The views from these ledges—and your photos—are inspiring. It was nice to see that Mt. Washington still sports a few snowfields.
I also like your advice to Evan about bushwhacking. It's definitely best to start out small, as it's easy to become disoriented in the dense woodlands of the northeast!
As always Rita, my thanks to you for following my blog. I appreciate your thoughtful comments, and the feedback you provide.
John
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