Algonquin Trail 7/25/09

Being very interested since I read the description on the Sandwich Dome Algonquin Trail, I thought Ascender/Scott and I would check it out. I drove through Wolfeboro and up Rt. 109 to Rt. 113 coming close to hitting three deer around a bend in the road...glad I was paying attention as I try to do up North with all the wildlife around! The Sandwich Notch Rd. was difficult to find. When you come into Center Sandwich Village from the South end look for a yellow blinking light with a General Store (closed) on the left. 113 bears left while the road you want forks straight ahead. The road changes to dirt and forks (here there is a sign for Sandwich Notch Rd. - Left). Soon the narrow road becomes somewhat rough with large pot holes (which the rain filled up and probably made worse) and some rather steep pitches...(little cars beware - bottoming-out is a possibility!) Continue on for approximately 2.5 miles passing Guinea Pond TR and then the Algonquin TR. The parking is limited to three spots at the trailhead and a couple spots a short distance back the way you came. I backed into my own personal spot between trees and we got the packs on, noticing only one other truck in the lot. Starting at 9:30am the trail begins as an old logging road and turned out to be one of the more pleasant logging roads I've been on. Only a few mosquito's were buzzing whenever we stopped to take pictures of the numerous mushrooms on the, yes, you guessed it, wet trail from the rain that morning and night before. The trail crosses a brook and soon climbs steeply alongside a river and then breaks from the river and up to the South end of Black Mt. Here you will find some open rock areas similar to that of Sandwich Mtn. TR on Sandwich's North end, the difference being that instead of a view up to Jennings Peak you are given a view up to trailess Black Mt. The trail easily makes it's way around the mountain then drops slightly before climbing very steeply. This section of trail reminds me of Wildcat Ridge TR from Glen Ellis Falls. As you make your way up the steep, rocky TR you come to a somewhat tough rock scramble and up/through and around two others. Once atop these we were awarded with our first good views. As we exited the ledge area we ran into three men who belonged to the lone truck in the parking lot. One stated he had never seen anyone on this trail before, claiming it was little used. We joked about the "dry" season we have had this year, complained about the slippery trail and made our farewells. Now we quickly began to climb out onto open rock areas with low alpine trees breaking up the rocky ridge. The one thing that I noticed was that the trail here was narrow and the rocky ridge was not trampled down by heavy foot traffic (confirming that it was a less used TR). We arrived at a rather attractive ledge area where we took a break to take in the view and serenity. Views were magnificent North to the rock sided peaks & ledges of Sachem Peak on Acteon Ridge, Jennings Peak and Welch and Dickey with Tecumseh & the Osceolas in the distance. We carried on to the Black Mt. Pond TR junction at 3300 ft. arriving at 12:15pm with a beautiful ledge with an outstanding view South East to Black Mountain Pond and it's adjacent marsh...definitely visiting that area soon! We determined this was as far as we needed to go as there was a great view and a nice breeze. We also wanted enough energy to get back down the steep, slippery trail. We dropped our bags in some scrub and explored the ridge further, climbing up another 100 ft. or so to a large boulder. We came back for our bags, ran into two other guys and we hiked back down to the ledge with the North view to have lunch. After spending 1.5 hrs. on this beautiful ridge and our stomachs satisfied, we started back down at 1:45pm. To our surprise we met a solo female barefoot hiker on the rock scramble. First time I've seen this species on a trail, we exchanged hello's and she went truckin' on...probably having an easier time on the wet rock than we did! As we got back down to the river we passed a family of five heading to camp at Black Mt. Pond. I mentioned the climb up the ridge was very steep, to which the father replied, "oh, there's a ridge?" After we continued on I began to think, why didn't they take the direct route up Guinea Pond TR? Why are they starting out on this trail so late?? Is he perhaps on the wrong trail??? How are they going to get there young kids (2 of them girls) and a dog with overnight gear weighing them down up the rock scrambles???? I began to worry and was hoping they would have the common sense to turn around if things got difficult. We then came back to the logging road and passed another family of three with nothing more than fishing poles and tackle boxes at 3:15pm, apparently also headed to the pond...WHAT??? After snapping shots of more shrooms we missed on the way up and passing the two ill-informed (I'm assuming) groups we arrived back at the truck at 3:30pm.
<View Pictures HERE>
I must say I greatly enjoyed this hike, it has a feeling of seclusion and affords great/unique views and has the exciting rock scrambling that I love. A trail to re-visit again and again!

Mt. Meader & Eagle Crag 7/19/09

The day began with the usual drive up Rt.16 with a lot of traffic for 7:00am on a Sunday. The only break of the monotony on this stretch of highway was a turkey making a mad dash across the road, neck stretched out, just barely being missed by a driver who didn't see the bird until the last minute! Turkey's along side the road were plentiful today. Then of course the classic view as you crest over and down a hill section in Wakefield, with an exciting view towards the White's with a quick view of Chocorua close by. We soon broke off 16 and onto Rt. 302 and soon Rt. 113 in Maine. As I have said before, I love 113 as it passes by and through many farm's and farmland. The only difficulty is following the very confusing Road as it makes abrupt turns, especially when heading back in the Southerly direction. We arrived at the Baldface Circle Parking area and to my surprise a half full parking lot. We geared up and headed out at 9:00am sharp. We hiked North up the road and at .1 miles crossed the street to the trailhead. Soon we were passing several groups of people, many with children (coming down) and a man in his late 60's/early 70's who commented on how busy the trail was today. That's OK, we were heading for a less visited peak. We took a picture break at some falls, got viciously barked at by an unleashed dog who scared the heck out of us (thank you to the irresponsible dog owners out there!) and continued on. A man passed us whom we soon caught up with, as he was taking pictures of some attractive funnel mushrooms. I joked, "you beat us to 'em", to which he replied, "don't worry I won't eat them!" We conversed quickly about the shrooms and soon we departed at the junction with Bicknell Ridge TR. Figuring Baldface Circle TR. (South side) and Bicknell Ridge TR were the more popular TR's we kept on Baldface Circle TR (North side). I began to think of how ironic it was, this TR is supposed to be the loop section for the Baldfaces but is little used. Perhaps it should have been called Eagle Crag Trail! This trail begins to climb over rocky terrain and was pretty wet (no surprise that it was wet...seems to be the word of the year!) as it followed the river which contained several flumes, cascades and falls. Once we passed Eagle Cascade Link the trail clearly becomes even less used than the lower section. Overgrowth has overtaken many sections. We took a quick snack stop at this point and continued on our way. Oh, did I mention the mushrooms? They are out in full bloom right now! There were so many varieties. I always "hate" this time of year as we are stopping every 10 ft. to take pics of the shrooms...I love searching for them, keeps you occupied on the trail. I even noticed two wood beatles mating on a tree mushroom...and of course took a pic of them. The forest floor now opens up with large, old trees dotting the landscape. And at about 1900 ft. the trail (which was pretty gradual at this point) began to climb steeply. After some climbing we soon came to rock ledge's and two somewhat tricky rock scrambles. After climbing these with some limited views we broke from the trees and onto the edge of Eagle Crag, a beautiful granite paradise. A short walk and we soon found ourselves on the summit at 12:30pm. Views to the Baldfaces (an exposed granite batholith) was wonderful, to the West was the Carter-Moriah Range (with cloud covered Washington just to the left of the Carters), views North to Evans Notch and Caribou-Speckled Wilderness and finally a crystal clear view East into Maine. We spent a 1/2 hour here without seeing a single soul (except for the tiny specks poking out on top of the baldfaces. We studied our 2 mile long ridge walk to Mt. Meader and headed across on the Meader Ridge TR. The ridge, like most others consists of annoying puds and muddy col's. The only views were after the large middle knoll (which I have named the Eagle's Nest), were a spur path on the West that contains a ledge (which we passed by) and a small ledge on the East. An hour later we found ourselves at the Mt. Meader Trail Junction, passing at some unknown point the true summit. A quick stop with no view and we headed down Mt. Meader TR at 2:00pm. We slowly dropped down some ledges with views to the Baldfaces and to Maine and quickly dropped back into the trees. We passed by four happy ladies (and a LEASHED dog) who exclaimed that we were the first human life forms they had seen today...same with us! We continued on as the trail dropped steeply off the heel of the ridge. This doesn't last to terribly long and the trail becomes pleasant and gradual. Found more shrooms and soon we were on an old logging road following Mill Brook. We came out to Rt.113 once again and made the trek up the road .7 miles back to the parking lot, arriving at 4:00pm. Temps. throughout the day remained in the low to mid 70's under partly to mostly cloudy skies and a light breeze. Black flies present on the ridge and mosquito's along the lower parts of Mt. Meader TR, but were not too bad. This was a beautiful, little traveled loop which I greatly enjoyed! View pics on Flickr> http://www.flickr.com/photos/excape1/sets/72157621750306416/

2009 Flags on the 48!

2009 Flags on the 48 registration is in progress! Just learning of this event this year, I was hesitant to register as a cooridinator. But I decided to accept the challenge and responsibility and accuired North Tripyramid in Grafton County located near Waterville Valley. The event will be on September 12, 2009 from 12:00pm - 2:00pm on all of NH's 48 4000 Footers. It is great to see even the hiking community come together to remember America's most tragic and world-changing event 9-11. And also in honoring our soldiers who have and continue to fight for our freedom. To become a coordinator or join a group click on the links at the top of the post. Support our nation and enjoy the freedom of hiking in the beautiful White Mountains of NH! "Oh beatiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties, Above the fruited plains, America! America! God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood, From sea to shining sea!" America the Beautiful

Crew List: Jason Morris (Peak Coordinator), Scott Lavoice, Tracey Morris, Jeremy Morris, Brian Philbrick, Ian Dubi, Brian Keane & 3 friends.

8/10/09 Update: I am excited to say that registration for this peak is full! Just waiting on some names for registration. It should be a fun filled day with a lot of climbing in the process! I have the rope purchased and will be getting the flag soon. Also a friend of mine Donna (Donna's Home and Office Improvement) is working on a pole that will be connected with cuplinks for easy set up and break down. Look forward to spending the day with what is turning out to be a great group!

Wildcat D & E Peaks 7/5/09

I chose to hike Sunday this weekend as it was the better day of the holiday weekend and probably least busy. I picked Wildcat originally planning on bagging all 5 peaks, 2 of which are 4000 footers. Scott & I started at the Ellis Falls parking lot hoping we would be able to cross the river (said to be difficult) despite the high waters from all of the rain. Well it was near impossible and we did not want to take a chance in falling in the raging waters. We checked a short ways up and down river with no possible crossings. A couple doing the same gave up on this start point also and we both made way for the Pinkham Notch VC. Half this full lot is closed for construction so we parked in the overflow across river. We hiked across the highway and started on the Lost Pond Trail at 9:45am. The trail immediately crosses over a marsh pond (Ellis River) above a beaver dam. The trail follows the river and then breaks away from it making it's way to the East side of Lost Pond. The trail was wet and muddy, making it's way over rock hops and wooden foot paths. We made a short scramble up some wet rocks, leveled again and arrived at the edge of Lost Pond. This pond is beautiful and well worth the extra mile (one way) detour. With views across the pond to East side of Mt. Washington this makes for a very picturesque area. On the other end of the pond you begin to make your way through and around large boulders and in the case for today, water overflowing into the trail (from rain and beaver dams). Soon after we arrived at the Wildcat Trail Junction. This trail immediately climbs very steeply on broken rock. We were glad to have a nice warm up on Lost pond which is what I would recommend for this trip. The trail climbs reminding me of Desolation trail on Mt. Carrigain and continues this steep pitch until you reach the first ledge area. First you make a tricky, steep climb along the front/bottom of the ledge and makes it's way around the left of it and soon topping it with a magnificent view of Washington and it's massive East side of Ridges and Ravines - though Washington's upper ravine areas and summit cone were covered in bright heavenly clouds for the entire day. We passed by two people sitting on the ledge and continued on. The trail goes through some minor up's & downs and comes to an attractive South facing Ledge with views south and also up towards Wildcat E Peak. Continuing on we dropped down into a couple PUDS and began to climb steeply again up E Peak. This section of trail passes several small Boulder Caves, one of which was open above with a large rock that broke and fell, wedging itself in between. Flora grew on top of this rock chunk creating a "hanging garden". At the top of this knoll you pass a trail to the left with a "water" sign and drop once again before making a final climb to E Peak, with one final rock scramble and steep rock ledge with wooden steps. We made our first lunch break here in the wonderful light breeze. After lunch we topped this ledge area and the trail immediately drops off the rock and along a ridge connecting to the D Peak, with a minor Col. in the middle where the very loud, very unattractive gondola area is. The sights and sounds of this area disgusted me. Certainly not welcoming like Washingtons summit, the building looked as though it should be in a Western Ghost Town (and the observation deck off the building was closed probably because it wasn't safe), and the loud noises and beaps of the gondola sounded like a construction site. I was very dissapointed in the way Wildcat Mountain Ski Area kept this area. We made our way through the small crowd of "city folk" and easily topped Wildcat D (another checked off the 4000 footer list)! Again Dissapointed to find the observation tower closed and in terrible looking shape. The time was 12:45 and we debated on whether to continue on to the other 3 peaks. We checked out the trail beyond to find that it steeply drops as described in trail descriptions. Both a little sore (and Scott not hiking for the past 3 weeks) and with a steep, slippery decent back the way we came with the minimal clouded view of Washington, we decided to head back. Quickly and easily we crossed back over D Peak, down to the Col. and across the gentle ridge to E Peak. We took another lunch break in the same spot on the way up. Then carefully made our way down the trail following two guys who did the same trip, stopping briefly at the ledges. We arrived back at the start point at 2:45. All-in-all this was a rugged steep trail with excellent views to Washington. Views from the peaks (atleast at this point in time) were minimal. The trail was much busier than I had expected (4 groups of 2, 3 solo hikers, 15 tourists at Col.) probably because it is the most direct route to the peaks. The view and noise of the highway for much of the day (noise possibly due to the wind?) and the noisey, unkept gondola area was almost enough to ruin the soiltude I was looking for on this section of trail. If looking for a short but difficult hike with views, the trail to E Peak is outstanding though and should be attempted atleast once. View pictures HERE!