Phoebe's Nable Mt. 6/28/11

"Always Something New at Moose Mountains!" (pictures)

After Scott and I spent time at the Burrows Cemetery Monday I hoped to get back on Tuesday to do a small hike and take more pictures of the flowers along the way. It was another beautiful day so I headed out, bringing my Clippers with me. I also brought some metal moose decorations to mark certain points of interest to see how they would look.

I arrived at the parking lot at 12:45 and began on my way. Horse Fly's were awful today and were driving me crazy as I stopped to take pictures of flowers along the road. I really wasn't paying attention to the daisy's, I mean, you see them all the time pretty much anywhere. But I was on the look out for the Goldenrod Spiders which I call crab spiders. I got lucky and spotted a very large male Goldenrod. You really have to go slow with these guys, they scare very easy. This is easily the largest of these spiders I've ever seen!

Continuing on, I stopped at the cemetery that we cleaned up the day before. I took pictures of all the head stones, something I hadn't done yet. Then I nailed a moose to the tree and continued on up to the top of the field. There was a very pleasant smell filling the air, almost of homemade pie or something. I was trying to figure out what it was, then realized all the wild strawberries were out. A field of strawberries, and boy did it smell wonderful!!

I moved on back into the trees and was startled by a pair of Ruffed Grouse that took off into the woods with their chicks, all the while making their noisy complaint of being disturbed! As I turned onto Phoebes Nable Spur trail I clipped a few branches here and there that were poking out into the trail. It was very warm out and this climb with all the stuff I was carrying was really giving me a work out as it always does!

I arrived at the summit, threw my pack down and had a snack. I nailed a moose to the pine tree and determined I would have to paint these moose's so they show up better. I'll probably go for a bright "SPNHF" green or blue. As I looked around at the overgrown view and around on the summit I suddenly realized all the flowers that graced the summit area. They turned out to be Tall Corydalis or Rock Harlequin. My first time seeing these so I was very excited!

Rested and re-hydrated I made my way back down to the field. Picked 2 ticks off me and headed back down to New Portsmouth Road. I then heard a truck coming up the road. Turned out to be the Forest Society truck with Forester Wendy and her two interns. Great timing. This was the first time I really got to talk about the property with Wendy, who knows the property really well. After about a 15 minute talk they continued on to check things out and I headed back to my truck to head home. The end time was 2:45pm.

Moose Mountains Reservation 6/27/11

"Bringing Burrows Cemetery Back from the Dead!" (pictures)

Thimbleberry Flowers and a Bee

After a lousy week of weather and so-so weekend it was a nice change to finally have the sun out and hot weather. There was no humidity and it was just plain beautiful out! I took a drive to Home Depot and got some clippers to bring up to the Moose Mountains Burrows Cemetery. I decided to wait for Scott to get home from work at three because he never gets a chance to work on the property. So when he got home we headed out!

Hawthorn Flowers

We got to the lot at about 3:45. The gate was still closed from my last visit five days prior and all the signs were still in place. We made the hot walk up the road batting at mosquito's and horsefly's. Wildflowers were still plentiful with Whorled Loosestrife, Hawthorn and Daisy Fleabane making an appearance. Also all along the road was Tall Meadow Rue flowering and standing taller than me at nearly 6 1/2 feet! Awesome!

Scott working on Burrows Cemetery

We took a left at the first road junction for a short cut and came up past the Steven's Cemetery. Through the grass covered road and up to the Burrow's Cemetery. We put out gloves on and went to work. Scott began outside the fence with the large clippers. They turned out to work very well and also extend!

Jason working on Burrows Cemetery

I began inside the fence with the small clippers. A lot of weeds had to be pulled and there were more trees to cut than what we thought. After some time of cutting and throwing piles of brush to the side we switched tools and finished up the work. We even cleared out on the right side (outside the cemetery) where I noticed a large, pretty blue hedge was growing.

White Admiral Butterfly

This done and tired out from the heat and bending over, we headed back to get home for a quick dinner than off to work. On the road walk back I spotted a beautiful butterfly and was able to chase it down for a picture :) Looking good up here! Roads are drying up nicely and the field has grown in nicely! I will probably be back Tuesday to do some more work. We will be picking up paint from the Forest Society on Friday and will be blazing some of the trails soon!



Before and After Photos>
                                                                              

All Work No Play 6/22/11

I spent an hour or this warm Wednesday doing some work on the Burrows Farm area. Wanting to keep a presence known I thought it would be good to mow the overgrown Burrows Farm site and Cemetery. I figured too it would just look nice and taken care of, and would lessen the amount of ticks one would get traveling through to the spots! First things first though....the drive. I began my drive up New Portsmouth road past the parking lot (No unauthorized wheeled/motorized vehicles past this point!).

New Portsmouth Rd. EXD

After passing the North View road to the right I began up the hill to notice the two "no wheeled vehicle" signs I had placed on trees a while back were torn off. Grrr! I can't believe someone would tear a State sign down! That's OK, plenty more where that came from! I backed my truck up to one of the trees and climbed onto the roof. This allowed me to get the sign up way above anyone's reach! I couldn't do this with the other tree and just replaced it in the same spot. I'll be back with a ladder!

Dried-up River Crossing

Continuing on I came to my usual parking spot where a springtime river flows across the road. FYI, I only drive up to here when doing work on the property :)Washed out, I was nervous to cross this section with my little Ford Escape! I moved some rocks around and tried to build up where the tires would cross. Then I slowly made my way across with success! The next risky spot would be the left at the next junction where I had to cross a wooden bridge that was also a low clearance for my truck. But again, I charted out the best crossing point and took it slow.

Burrows Farm Site

I arrived at the field and parked. I dragged the lawn mower out and began my work. Not so easy with the uneven ground, very tall and thick grass and a tiny little mower! But the job was accomplished! I left a few patches of nice tall grass just for the heck-of-it. Then it was down to the cemetery where there were more small trees than grass. I mowed over as many as I dared and will have to return with clippers to rid the overgrown cemetery of the rest of them! I also hope to repair two broken stones at some point.

Black Eyed Susan

Sweaty and hot but otherwise tick free (amazingly) that was it for today. I did manage some flower pictures before I left, can't go without that up here in wildflower paradise! I made the long drive back down the rocky road and at the parking lot I put the gate back up. I noticed the "no wheeled vehicle" sign on the Moose Mountains sign post was bent, apparently tried to be torn off like the other two. I placed a few extra nails. The other ones in that area remained untouched. I got news for y'all, things are gonna change on this property and I ain't going know where! Hopefully soon Scott and I can start marking some trails and getting this place more well know to hikers!

Mts. Straightback, Anna and Major 6/26/11

" A day on the Southern Belknaps" (pictures)

Difficulty: Brook Trail, Major-Belknap Trail, Boulder Trail - Moderate (loose footing and moderate ledges in spots)

Directions: From Alton, NH take Rt. 11 West and follow it for about 6 miles. Trail head parking lot is on the left (blue sign)

Report: Yet again, another weekend with reports of unsettled weather. We were hoping to bag a 4000 footer to get back going on the list but with the chance of rain and thundershowers increasing the further North you go, we cancelled those plans! We watched the weather again in the morning and moped around trying to get somewhat motivated and figure out what to do. Finally we just packed our lunches and headed out to somewhere, anywhere! As we approached Alton it was decision time as to which way to go. The sun was poking out a bit so I decided to head for Mt. Major to take advantage of this sliver of sun before it was too late! I thought we could try and find Mt. Anna and maybe make it over to Mt. Belknap. The lot was already filling up at 8:30am and already plenty of unleashed dogs barking and running around in the parking lot. Grrr!

The humidity was going up quick so we took the long sleeves off and headed up Mt. Major Trail (blue blazes). At the junction we kept straight along Brook Trail (yellow blazes). Blazes had been freshly painted. We made our way along the gradual woods road and up the washed out hillside along the brook bank. A boring trail this time of year but was void of all but a couple hikers descending. Trails today were wet and teaming with Northern Red-Spotted Nutes! Mushrooms were also making an appearance, YAY! I LOVE mushrooms, for those who don't know!

Once we hit the junction on the ridge (Major-Belknap trail I think) we took a right and followed the trail along ledgy pine forest. A pair of Mourning Doves were hanging out along a trail section and I was excited to be able to snap a couple good pictures of one! After some time we arrived at the Mt. Straightback summit. Our third time on this peak. After pics Scott kept the lead headed in the direction for Mt. Anna. We passed the open ledges below Straighback and began to descend down other ledges. Then the trail dropped steeply next to broken ledge.

Below the ledge the forest changed dramatically to a beach tree forest and lovely mosquito's! They weren't too bad so bug spray was not needed all day. A long journey took us to an interesting ledgy climb up to a pine forested ridge and across to a junction sign. Here we were startled by a man who came out of the woods with a chain saw! Apparently he was just as startled! He noticed my Forest Society hat and asked if we were members. I told him we were new stewards for the Moose Mountains Reservation. Turns out he was a trail maintainer for the Belknap trails and used to work for the Forest Society as a Forester. A great person to meet on the trails! We asked where Mt. Anna was to find out we were standing on the summit! He pointed us to a view that was just down the trail a little more ways. He said he just topped some view obstructing trees and said we had to go check it out!

So off we went! And sure enough there was a wonderful ledge view to the South and West. Particularly of the nearby pond and on a clear day he said you could see Monadnock from this point. It was a nice and quite spot. The sky's remained overcast but otherwise rain free and it was turning out to be a pretty good day. We decided not to push our luck and head back.

So after a quick break we headed back past Anna and back up to Straightback. A young couple was taking a break at the summit and the guy was asking all sorts of questions about the trails and peaks. He was rather intrigued when I told him the mountain in the distance with the building on it was Gunstock. He was excited to learn there was a trail all the way through to it and said he would head that way.

We continued onto Mt. Major. The summit was very busy, not surprisingly. People, kids and dogs! 40 or so people, yuck! We took a quick look over Lake Winnipesaukee and the barely visible Ossipee and Sandwich Range hazed in with clouds. We weaved around the people and around the backside of the summit foundation. From here we decided to head down Boulder Trail (orange blazes).

We continued to pass people coming up and heading down. Many were making there way up the steep ledge section. I have to say, some looked like they were ready to drop dead. Some had young kids who were having a hard time and some adults were even annoyed by the onslaught of climbing. Some people just don't know what they are getting into! Then again, this very busy summer mountain has no kiosk or trail map at the parking lot. A shame considering all the tourists that visit this mountain. Many out of shape and many with children who would benefit from a sign showing the trails, distance and difficulties. We arrived back at the parking lot at 2pm, the parking lot full and cars parked down along the road.

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!

Swasey Parkway 6/17/11

"A Relaxing Walk Along Squamscott River" (pictures)

As I entered into Exeter I passed by Swasey Parkway. I've passed this small park often but never stopped to check it out. The view down the Squamscott river to the town of Exeter and it's mills, smoke stacks and steeples is very neat looking and I always wanted to take some pictures of it.

Today the clouds and lighting looked rather good for some photo's so I parked at the public parking lot and walked down to the park. Probably the most striking (and I believe one of the oldest) buildings along the waterfront is the yellow mill that sits below the dam. Such a beautiful building that elequintly sits in the center of the line of buildings.

In 1930 Abrose Swasey donated this land and the funding to clean up a trash infested river side where a shipyard used to operate. Since then it has been a relaxing 1/4 mile walk with beautiful trees and shrubs, a pavillion, benches and a couple interpretive signs.

There is also a view across the river to the Old Powder House which used to store the towns gun powder during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Powder captured from the British in New Castle was also stored here and used at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Incredible the history that surrounds us in NH, right under our noses sometimes without us even realizing it!

Phoebe's Nable Mt. & North Trail 6/15/11

"Trash and Wildflowers, and a Double Whammy of Moose!" (pictures)
(Moose Mountains Facebook Group)

Well I finally got myself in the mood for picking up trash at Moose Mountains Reservation. After a wet and cold week, a nice day on Wednesday had me wanting to get out and do some hiking. So I finagled an old hiking pole with an unused bowie knife to create my bad-ass trash picker! And off I went....hold on, gotta have trash bags....OK, now I'm ready! As I rounded a corner on Ridge Road I spotted a fawn in the road. It crouched down against the pavement as I passed. Not sure if it was hurt or just scared I parked. I began to jump out for a closer look and it jumped up and darted into the woods. Off you go Bambi!  I parked in the parking area and put the gate back up. Then beginning on the right side of the road I began the search for trash.

Along the way wildflowers that had passed, where replaced with new kinds. It was an interesting balance holding a trash bag in one hand, a pole in the other and taking out my camera constantly to snap pics of the flowers! A few bugs made there way into my lens as well but the flying insects would have to be on hold today as I didn't have the time or patience for them! At one section of the roadside I passed by a beautiful colony of Bird's-Foot Trefoil and found a small bunch of Larger Blue Flag Iris's. Spectacular! I continued my walk up to the Burrows Farm site, took some pics and continued on.

I took a left onto Phoebe's Nable spur trail, collected bottles we had stashed from picking them up on a previous hike and continued up the hillside. Temperatures were rising and I was getting pretty hot up this steep section of trail. This area was apparently where the ticks had moved too as I began to find them on my legs. Ah the beauty of hairy legs! They have trouble climbing and I can feel them when they disturb a hair follicle, LOL! I arrived at the summit, took a picture and headed back down quickly to get back home for 3.

I did have to stop a few times for more flower pics. I just can't help myself! They were so pretty! One flowering plant on the picture to the left was all over. I've yet to figure out what it is, but very pretty! The task completed I had one 33 gallon bag of trash! I passed a couple my age coming up from the parking lot whom I introduced myself too and spoke with shortly. Nice to see people hiking this area each time I'm here, more than I had previously thought!

I got back home just before Scott arrived from work. He wanted to go for a hike and I was totally down for another hike! It was after all, a beautiful afternoon! We threw some peaks around but really didn't want to drive to them. Doesn't help that we have to head to work at 6/6:30. So it was back to Moose Mountains. I decided we would try the North trail as I recall reading there was some sort of view up there. We got a slight view South from a banking along a landing area where two birds were making noise and flying about. Not sure what they were, Northern Rough-Winged Swallow was the best I could come up with.

We passed by more wildflowers, tiger beetles along the road and dragon fly's. We passed by some open rock ledge with a pretty good view of Piper Mt. and arrived at a large landing zone. It was here I believed we were to take a left but everything looked to be grown in. So we continued on the only open road to the right over a gated bridge which we re-gated. Tick checks kept turning up a couple of the little buggers. Ticks...ick! We continued for a ways upward then as the trail began to drastically descend it was getting too late so we turned back. Another trip not finding the views we had heard about, ugh! Soon we WILL find what we are looking for and can mark and trim these trails!

Piper Mt. 6/13/11

"Off Roading and Some Hiking" (pictures)
(Moose Mountains Facebook Group)

A busy weekend with hosting my sisters baby shower, work and an otherwise rainy/dreary weekend we never made it out to hike. Scott asked if I wanted to go for a small hike when he got home for work, and I never say no! He mentioned Blue Job but I hate the drive there with such short time, having to leave for work at 6:30 and getting dinner in before that.

I had been wanting to check out another corner of the Moose Mountains Reservation over by Piper Mt. So off we went. I found the Access Road, a secondary dirt road and we followed it to a fork where I took a right onto Piper Mt. Drive (not signed). Now a class six road the going gets a little rough. Along this section of road signs were here-and-there warning that these areas were under surveillance. I slowly made my way over rocks and partly washed out road sections, but my Ford Escape was doing just fine.

We passed another truck on a flat section and we asked them if they new where Piper Mt. was, they said we were headed the right way. Soon we came to another fork in the road, the right side being gated. Piper Mountain Drive continued but was not suitably maintained for regular SUV's. So we parked here and got our 'walk on'! FYI, the gated road I found out later on is a trail down to Lily Pond. Dragon fly's were prevalent again and one (6 Spotted Skipper I believe) allowed me a beautiful picture I am very pleased with!

We climbed up the hill and after some time found another road intersection. Following my vague map of hiking and snow mobile trails I determined to make a left here onto Moose Mountain Road (not signed). From here we continued a climb up to a flat area where a trail leads off to the left just before the road steeply drops. We climbed this trail up to Piper Mt. Mostly over-grown ledges where seen here and we were not sure where the view ledge exactly was. Rather than follow the trail downhill we walked back to Moose Mt. Rd. Looking at a report and map now I believe the ledge was lower down on that trail and has a nice overlook across the pond.

Back on the road I wanted to keep exploring, so we walked down the steep road and a view opened up to Phoebes Nable and Moose Mountains. Continuing on we arrived at another intersection where to the left the snow mobile trail runs down Piper Mt. trail to Bowser Pond and over to the rest of Moose Mountains Reservation. We noted a massive fire pit littered with old wheels, dozens of beer cans, lighters and other trash that will need to be cleaned up at some point...if at all.

On our way back we where attacked by a ruffed grouse, the second in two weeks. These little birds are brave little creatures! After the scare and subsequent laugh we climbed back up the hill and back down to where I parked. For future reference I would recommend parking at the Moose Mountains parking lot on New Portsmouth Rd. and take the route up this road, take your first right onto North trail, the next right onto Piper Mt. trail which brings you by Bowser Pond and then at the road junction take a right and at the top of the hill another right onto the spur trail to Piper Mt. I will hike this route soon so I can get better info. for this trip.