Rockwell Sanctuary 6/19/11

"A Day of Beautiful Hiking Not Meant to Be" (pictures)

Such a beautiful morning on this Sunday! The sun was shining, we were up on time and all looked well. Aside from a terrible night of sleeping...allergies acting up and an upset stomach which was still lingering as I packed my bag....blah. We headed off heading in the direction of Crawford Notch, "eye balling" Webster Cliff trail or if we were not feeling up to it Mt. Parker or Langdon . As we approached the clear sky's in the White Mountains the wind began to pick up substantially. I decided to snag Bear Notch road off of the "Kanc" to bypass the Conway's. But as my stomach remained unsettled as well as the wind we decided to perhaps try a smaller hike off of the "Kanc". So I parked at the Potash/Hedgehog Trail head in hopes to try the much anticipated Hedgehog loop that's been on the back burner for a couple years now.

The lot was quite with only 3 other cars. We jumped out ready to enjoy this nearly perfect day when I opened the back of the truck to find that my back pack was not there! "What!?" According to Scott the look on my face was that of shock and disbelief! I have forgotten a lot of things in my day-to-day and hiking trips but my entire pack! Are you kidding me!? Well, not having my clothing which would be needed for the windy conditions and not having my oh-so important camera, I was no longer in any mood for hiking.

Just as well I suppose. My stomach was still in knots so we began the long journey back home. Man am I glad we didn't go all the way to the notch to find out I had no pack! LOL! As we turned back onto Rt. 16 we passed a sign for Tin Mountain Conservation Center. I see this sign all the time but never have the time to stop and see what it is and if there are hiking trails of any kind. So after grabbing a hot coffee at Dunkin's we drove up Bald Hill Road to check it out. Just up the hill and on the left the Conservation Center and an 1800's barn sat. The center was closed, and that is where the trail maps were. We did see a sign marked trails and thus we headed off for a walk in the woods.

We started off on a yellow bird blazed trail (blazes on this property were made out of ceramic which was pretty cool!) After passing a granite sitting area we seemingly could not find the rest of the trail. Just as we were ready to ditch this small effort of a hike Scott noticed another trail with signs. This was a woods road with a stone reading "Rockwell Sanctuary". We began on the Maple Leaf loop trail and kept right at the fork then took a right onto Bear Tree loop trail. A few boulders were passed by and the trail drops downhill. Mosquito's began to bother us a little and we tried to keep a quick pace. We passed Pine Link trail and dropped down to Quarry trail. Along this trail one can see Quarry sites from the late 1800's.

After a short climb up this woods road we took a left back onto Bear Tree loop trail which passed the other side of Pine Link and connected back to Maple Leaf loop trail. No "bear tree" seen and trails were intersecting in several spots. Unsure of the trail system and having enough of mosquito's we headed back to the truck figuring we would have to come back when they were open for a map. At home I found the site for Tin Mountain Conservation Center and found the map to find we missed the seemingly best part of the trail system, that being the pond and bridge/boardwalks. Ah well, we would have to return to check it out! We did a walk around the Conservation building and spotted a butterfly on a butterfly bush. The most exciting part of the day....sad.....but I'll take it!