Phoebes Nable Mt. & Burrows Farm 7/24/11

"Crispy With a Chance of Being Stung!" (pictures)

With another humid day Saturday and the promise of a slightly more comfortable, sunny day for Sunday we opted to work Saturday and hike Sunday. We planned for Garfield but decided to see if we got up early and how we felt. Scott got up at 6am and watched the weather report. The forecast called for morning showers and it didn't look promising outside! I also woke up at 6am, turned the alarm off and rolled back over and was back out in no time! I crawled out of bed at 7:30, woke Scott who was now back in bed also and we dragged ourselves downstairs. We then spent the morning doing yard word and running errands ... so much for hiking, LOL!

3pm rolled around and simultaneously we both thought about doing a small hike on Moose Mountains Reservation! I've said it once and I'll say it again, as much time as I've spent up there it still hasn't gotten old! There's always something different! So we arrived at the empty parking lot at 3:30pm. We checked the map box to find 3 maps had been taken since Friday! That's about 16 maps total in the 3 weeks I've been printing them off :^) We parked further up the road and began our hike. I wanted to hike to the junction below Phoebes Nable and down to Mountain Road hoping to finally find Moose Mountain!

We passed through the field and checked on the Burrows Cemetery. The Lily's we planted were still blooming despite the obvious burning they had received from the excessive heat we had! The field was lined with flowering Meadowsweet and Steeplebush, there seems to be something different flowering up here every week! We took a left across the field to continue on Burrows Farm Trail and up to the height-of-land at the Phoebes Nable junction. Here the blueberry bushes and trees were notably dried-up, yellow and very crispy!

We headed on down the other side to the corner. Here I looked my map over and realized just how long Mountain road was as it looped around near the Moose Mountain Summits and back to the field. So I thought we should head back and start out at the field and try and find our way to the mountains from there. As we passed the Phoebes Nable Trail we looked around for a sign of a skid road. By the looks of the satellite maps there is a skid road that possibly connect from the kiosk parking to just above this junction. We walked the woods up to the summit of Phoebes Nable with no luck. Brush was dried-up here too and we headed back down deeper in the woods looking for a road of some kind.

With no luck again we continued through the woods past several ledge outcrops and we came out on Burrows Farm trail below the Phoebes Nable junction. From here we walked back down to the field and up another woods road that connects to the road behind the Burrows Farm site and up past the mountains to Mountain road. After passing the road junction we soon lost the woods road. It was just too overgrown to make out it's route. So we turned back and headed down the other road back out to the Burrows Farm site. Confused yet!? Here there were Bouncing Bet (soapwort) flowers in bloom. Always something new!

Just past the large rock I walked in the thicket of plants to take a picture of the apple tree. I looked down next to my left foot to see a hornet nest. Yikes! Glad I didn't step on it!! They turned out to be Bald-faced hornets! The paper nest was the size of one of those mini-basketballs. Careful should you walk off trail in a thicket! That was it. We headed back down and finished our explorations at 4:30pm.

Mt. Cannon 7/16/11

"A Switch-backin', Pine Bramble" (pictures)

With beautiful weather on tap for the weekend we had our eyes set on a 4000 footer! We planned on doing a peak to get Scott caught up to me. Thus the options were Garfield, Tecumseh, Cannon and Eisenhower. Tecumseh is an easy hike I'd like to save for winter so that one was out. Eisenhower I feared would be very busy as it generally is in the summer. Not to mention the trails to the summit aren't the most exciting. Next on the list, Cannon. Again a very busy mountain particularly with the gondola. But, one that I hadn't been to in over 10 years and it had several trail options. Garfield is one I have been really wanting to hike too. I haven't been on this mountain in close to 15 years! We planned on getting up really early so I waited to see how early we managed to head out, how we felt and how the weather was in the morning to determine the mountain.

We awoke early as planned and headed out the door feeling ready and excited for a great day of hiking! Cannon was our pick for the day. Perhaps with the early start time and with the races going on in Loudon perhaps it would be on the quite side. We arrived at the trail head and got front row parking at the hiker parking lot! Awesome! I mentioned to Scott this lot will be overflowing out to the road when we get back! We got our boots on trail at 7:30am. The trail cuts through the campground, people were just getting up and getting there breakfast going and what-not. Once past this the trail climbs a wide gravel path up to the junction for Lonesome Lake trail. We took a right here on Hi-Cannon Trail.

The trail now climbs moderately up eroded switchbacks, passing various boulders. Many large/mature birch trees grace this hillside. Scott spotted a large toad in the sandy trail and Northern Wood Sorrel was blooming here-and-there. We stopped at a fallen down tree that had it's entire root system pulled halfway out of the ground looking like bars in a prison. Mushrooms were plentiful and the day was starting off very pleasant!

Past the Dodge Cutoff the trail climbs more steeply and the trail seems to become less eroded. It would appear hikers stick to the trails to Lonesome Lake and probably ascend Cannon via Lonesome Lake trail. After a couple large switchbacks you then must climb a rather rickety ladder along-side a steep ledge face. We've been on plenty of ladders in the Whites, many steeper and higher than this one, but something about it leaning to one side and the steps looking a little worn made this climb a little creepy!

Continuing on the trail follows the crown of the ridge with views across the notch to the Lafayette Range. Then you arrive at the first of several fine ledges. We sat down on this ledge and took a nice long break enjoying this fine day and beautiful view. From the left you could see the Eagle Cliffs, the impressive Lafayette/Lincoln peaks and down to Mt. Flume. The view continues across the notch and around to Lonesome Lake. After some time we were joined by a young couple and we packed up and got back to the trail. The pine trees along this section had grown in and were brushing up and poking at us as we passed through. We checked out two other ledges along the way, with the added view to the Kinsman Mountains.

The trail moderates some as you pass through and over several ledges and rock formations.We soon arrived on the Kinsman Ridge trail and made the easy climb to the observation tower on Cannon's summit. Number 25 for Scott, still 28 for me! The summit was still surprisingly quite, but it was only 10:30am! Perfect time to be up here! We took our break and took in the view. Not all that better of a view than from the ledges, but a 360 degree view none-the-less. We then headed down and explored the rim trail a bit. We discussed hiking down to the profile clearing but it was much further than we wanted to go and snooty city folk were beginning to clog the summit trails. So we decided to head back down.

On the way down from the summit we passed a couple dressed for a walk in the park, the man carrying a small business type bag slung over his shoulder. They were having a hard time negotiating the rocks and I wondered were the hell they thought they were going. Were they trying to hike down to the pond?? Some people just don't realize that 2 miles on a street is not the same as in the mountains. There's elevation, rocks, loose footing, etc. Ah, well! Perhaps they would figure that out before they got themselves into a mess!

We climbed down quickly to the ledges and took another break here. Then we hustled down and carefully descended the ladder and the loose, eroded switchbacks. We arrived back at the campground, snickering at the campers sitting in there cars at the campsite and one lady who had her lawn chair plopped down in the parking lot reading a book. Ummm, OK! Looks like fun, LOL! The parking lot was as I figured it would be, full and overflowing to the street side. We finished our hike at 12:45pm. A great hike with lovely views and ledges. The first mile is eroded and not the best footing. But get past this and the trail turns into a pleasant hike. This trail really needs some attention; erosion, overgrowth, faded blazes, and worn/faded/broken signage plague this trail.

Burrows Cemetery Work, Burrows Farm & North Road 7/14/11

"A busy day at the MMR" (pictures)

I dug up some old fashioned lily's from an overflow garden of ours a few days ago and had them sitting in a 5 gallon pale. After spending two afternoons at the MMR I figured it wouldn't hurt to make another trip and get these lily's planted in front of the Burrows Cemetery. It was lacking color and was in need of some attention now that the overgrowth is all cleared away. So I packed up my truck and headed out. There was a car in the parking lot so I figured I would see another hiker today. I checked the map box to find another map had been taken. I drove up to where the seasonal river crosses the road and parked in my usual spot. The second I stepped out of my truck the horse/deerfly's were on me! Dozens of them ... "quiver". I carried the pale and shovel up the road ... a little heavy but not too bad. I cut across the Stevens Cemetery road stopping to spray myself down with bug spray as the horsefly's were REALLY getting on my nerves!! I climbed the hill and plopped my stuff down in front of the cemetery. I then proceeded to plant a group of lily's at each of the 4 posts.

It was then I spotted the hiker! She came up the road and asked if I was Jason? Her name rang a bell and turned out she was a facebook friend from the hiking community! We chatted a bit and she asked how to get to Phoebes Nable Mt. I pointed her in the right direction and off she went! The SPNHF sign workshop is this coming week on 7/19&20 and we hope to get some signs in place at the junctions to lessen the confusion! I returned to the cemetery and decided to haul some large stones over to cap off the inner lily's at the entrance. I enjoy landscaping and building rock walls and the stones I brought over fit perfectly together as if they were meant to be! After I got 4 stones down and tucked in I took a break and just relaxed. This is always such a relaxing, quite area. After my break I headed back down to the truck.

I then drove down to the North Road landing and parked. I threw my bag back on and was going to do a walk down to Bowser Pond to inspect my blazing from the previous day. Instead I spotted a beautiful Twelve-spotted Skimmer Dragonfly! I chased this guy around for nearly 10 minutes and he just would not let me get a picture! He finally perched way up on a twig from a tree that was hanging over a banking. I crawled underneath and got a picture of him from below.

At this point I scrapped my hike down to the pond and figured I would save it for when Scott got home from work, perhaps he would like to take a walk. So I picked up the beer cans and other trash lying around and put it in a pile for pick up at another time. I then began to hear voices and a rumbling noise. I thought perhaps it was ATV's but it turned out to be a helicopter passing over head. As I rounded the corner heading back down the voices were a father and his kids coming up the road. Another person who knew who I was! He said he took my last map and I pointed him down Bowser Pond Trail.

Back at my truck I ran into the lady I met earlier and another woman coming up the road with a young kid. She also knew who I was and was very thankful for the work we have been doing up here. She said she has been hiking the trails for 5 years and was excited to see the work being done and the information and reports online. So many people we've met these past couple weeks, all very happy with the work being done ... makes me all the more excited and determined to keep at it!

When Scott got home he said he was up for a walk. I printed off 5 more maps and off we went. Good thing it's close by for us with all the times I've been up there! We parked at the lot, put the maps in the box and battled the horsefly's along the road. Scott wanted to see the work I'd done at the cemetery so we passed the turn for the pond and headed up towards Burrows Farm. Mushrooms are coming out now much to our excitement! I love taking photo's of shrooms! We passed the lady I had talked to earlier with the child, whom was passed out on her back. Good job mom! It is always so nice to see parents bringing there kids hiking! It's how my parents raised us kids and it is a wonderful thing!

We arrived at the cemetery and then walked up to the farm site. Scott decided he wanted to do some exploring in the woods and we stumbled upon stone foundations! Awesome! I thought the farm was filled in, but turns out the foundations are hidden in the trees! We looked around at all the old rotted beams and broken bottles and metal. Scott also spotted an old Automobile cab frame back behind the foundations, cool! After our little exploration we headed back down, making a stop at the North Road landing to pick up the pile of trash and we scoured the area and picked up more. Back at the parking lot another car was parked with a man in it. He asked a couple questions then asked if we had passed a guy. Apparently we must have missed him when we were up on North Road. Another map was already taken so I am assuming the guy was doing a quick hike or something. That was it for the day. Hope to get back up there soon to do some more blazing! Nice meeting all of you on the trails!

Piper Mountain Trail & Bowser Pond Trail Blazing 7/13/11

"Two Hours of Time, One Mile of Yellow" (pictures)

After two days of humid weather it was a rather nice day Wednesday ... hot, but a nice breeze blowing. So I decided to head back to Moose Mountains Reservation to work on some more trail blazing. I decided on blazing the Piper Mt. Trail to Bowser Pond. I drove up past the kiosk, checked the new map box to find 2 more maps had been taken! Guess I better print some more up! I continued driving taking a right at the North Road junction and parking at the landing where Piper Trail enters on the right. After some thought on the trail names on the property I am thinking this trail should be called Piper Link Trail as it doesn't actually climb the mountain, rather it links over to Piper Mt. Road.

Anyhow I clipped some trees leaning over in front of the snow mobile trail information signage and began my first blaze at about 12:45pm. The sun was hot but the breeze kept things mostly comfortable. I was thinking about the SPNHF crew on Mt. Monadnock doing trail work the past few days in the horrible heat! I would have liked to join them but the drive is way to long, especially having to head right to work when I got back. Besides, I have plenty to still do here!

After finishing the first two blazes at the entrance point I noticed a dragonfly landing here-and-there on the tops of dried up flower stems. It was so beautiful! I kept trying to get close so I could get a macro shot of it but it just wouldn't sit still. I chased this guy (and it is red, so litterally a guy!) around for 5 minutes thinking I was supposed to be blazing trails, not chasing bugs around with my camera! The dragonfly then hovered and circled around my head several times as if to say, "get lost! This is my territory!" My patience finally paid off though and I got a beautiful shot of this Calico Pennant :)

Then it was down the road spotting ahead for a good tree, cutting the brush back, and slapping on a blaze. This continued until I reached the banking high above Bowser Pond. From here there is a grown-in woods road on the right. I cut the overgrowth back just enough for a visible trail and conitnued my blazes about 100 feet. Here there is somewhat of a clearing down the banking to the pond that Scott and I had found before. I built a small cairn here with nearby rocks and decided to put my "Blue Moose Marker" here.

Then I trimmed the trees and blazed down to the waters edge. I was a little dissapointed to not see any herons or ducks. Probably not a good time of day for them and perhaps the noise scared them away! The pond is pretty just-the-same with a few dots of yellow water lily buds on top of the water. I also spotted a couple turtles sun bathing on some logs further up along the shore.  I stood here for a few minutes relaxing and scanning the pond. I watched as half-a-dozen swallows catching bugs swooped over the water. Then I climbed the banking, clearing the rotted logs and what-not from the foot path.

Indian Pipe is coming up and blooming right now, so I had to take a picture of one. It was so cute there next to the trail. And they are my mothers fasvorite. My mission half complete it was now time to blaze back to my starting position! It was getting hotter out and I was already getting a little exhuasted, sticky and hot. And it was nearly all uphill going back. I spotted a very bright yellow Clouded Sulpher Butterfly and really wanted a picture of it! It was very quick and would not sit still for more than a second. It kept making it's way back down the trail. I was getting tired and was not about to go back the other way, so I gave up on this one. Better luck next time! I ended my day at 2:45. I have been surprised at just how long such a simple looking task can take ... A total of 1 mile of trail blazing in 2 hours! It is very rewarding and exciting though to be putting the first blazes on this property!

Updated MAP 7/13/11

Burrows Farm 7/11/11

"Bad Bugs, Good Bugs" (pictures)

Scott being sick over this past beautiful weekend we had, we didn't get around to hiking at all. Come Monday morning I was itching for a hike. Scott had bought a mailbox Sunday evening for me to paint and to put my Moose Mountains maps in for the kiosk. So I figured I'd get our "snazzy" looking map box up and take a quick walk up to the Burrows Farm area. There was a truck parked in the lot and I wondered if it was an ATV user or a hiker. I placed the box and drove up the road, parking where the river crosses over the road. I generally just walk the road but if I'm doing any trail work or just checking on things I like to drive up to this point and avoid the long, buggy walk!

I strapped my little cooler on me, it was all I brought as it was very humid out and I would not be venturing beyond the field. The horse fly's and deer fly's were out in full force. I had about 15 of them all around me...no exaggeration! I enjoyed the wildflowers along the road as always, finally catching a golden rod spider on a black-eyed susan. Good bug, at least to me! They are harmless after all. I also risked my life stopping to take pictures of the wood lily's along the way, getting swarmed and bit by the horse fly's.....BAD bugs! I continued on, stopping at a section where two red squirrels were chasing each other all over the place. Across the road, around the tree, up the tree, down the tree, back across the road, around some more trees, through the shrubs......it was funny to watch and listen too!

At the field I checked on the Burrows Cemetery, then spotted a hiker with his dog. He was headed across the field for the Burrows Farm Site. I hate to bother people when there out enjoying themselves but I really want to introduce myself to as many people as I can who visit this property. More-or-less to let them know improvements are being made to the trails and to answer questions. Or better yet to find out any information they may have on the property, as I haven't been up here enough yet to hike all the different areas.

He said to me "you must be Jason?" I was a little surprised that someone knew who I was, LOL! Turns out he found my blog! Good to know I'm reaching people out there! He said he has been up here a lot on his snow mobile but never been here in the summer. He visited Phoebes Nable and is hoping to build up stamina for a Chocorua hike. We talked for a good 10 minutes about the property and other mountains. Very nice to meet you, enjoyed talking with you!

I "dilly-dallied" around the field taking pictures and just enjoying this beautiful spot. There's something about it that is just so peaceful and calm. I chased a butterfly around for a bit but it wouldn't let me shoot a picture of him. I stopped up at the farm site to find a turkey feather lying in the grass! A hawk feather on Phoebes Nable last week and now this! Must be a good omen or something! Heading back down and just leaving the field I spotted another butterfly. A White Admiral who seemed happy to let me take pictures of him. He even landed on my hand and was chilling out, I think I made a friend!! Poor little guy was pretty beat up. He eventually took off and I continued on my way. GOOD little bug!

At the bridge I jumped down to the water to dip my bandanna into and scared a green frog. I annoyed him for a minute or so taking all sorts of pictures. Gotta love us humans! After I cooled down and picked a tick off me...BAD bug, and got back on the road I soon found myself in a wonderland of aphrodite fritillary brushfoot butterfly's! GOOD bugs! They were all over the flowers and I was all over them snapping away at my camera! It was probably the highlight of the day for me! Once I had my fill of pictures I headed back to my truck and finished another lovely visit of Moose Mountains Reservation :) I talked Scott's ear off when he got home from work, guess I was all hyped up and energized! What can I say, I love the outdoors!

Moose Mountains Revised Hiker Map

Revised 7/8/11

For clearer, larger format view map on flickr> MAP

Phoebes Nable Mt. 7/7/11

"Just a Quicky" (pictures)

Just an afternoon hike. When Scott got home from work we headed for Moose Mountains. Funny, as much as I've been here it hasn't gotten old yet. There's always something new each time! We parked at the kiosk next to another truck. I left one of my new SPNHF cards on the window in case we didn't run into the person on the trails. As we headed up the now blazed trail/road that we completed July 4th and 5th we were encircled by dozens of deer fly's. As we passed the junction with North View Road we saw a lone hiker coming down the road. We introduced ourselves and turned out he was with the Moose Mountains Regional Greenways! We chatted a bit and answered questions he had about the property.

We continued on, spotting a butterfly which let me take a picture of it. We passed the aromatic field of wild strawberries, crossed it and headed up the trail to the summit of Phoebes Nable. I ate a couple of the sweet blueberries that were ripening all over. We explored around the summit checking out some ledges and partial views. Scott spotted a Hawk feather on the ground. A pretty cool find I think! The wing feather is 1.5 ft. long and is missing the tip.

Found another butterfly hovering around and got some pictures of it. After a break on the summit we headed back down. We passed two four wheelers coming up the trail. They said hello as they passed. They weren't abusing the property or anything like that so we didn't bother saying anything (as ATV use is technically not allowed on the property).

As we got back onto New Portsmouth Road we spotted a couple Wood Lily's! Awesome!! You don't see these beautiful lily's very often! In fact, of all the hiking I do in the lakes region and White Mountains I've only seen one on Sandwich Notch Road. So it was very exciting to see a handful of them here at Moose Mountains! The wild raspberries are also ripening and I tasted one of these as well, and it was yummy! We finished our hike clocking in at about 1.5 hours. There's always an animal or new flower to see here. Keeps things interesting!

Moose Mountains Reservation Trail Blazing 7/4&5/11

"Moose Mountains First Trail Blaze!" (pictures)

After a long and exhausting but beautiful day on Webster and Jackson Saturday, then work on Sunday we canned the Mt. Major firework hike for Sunday night. It was wet and drizzly anyway. We decided to save our energy for trail blazing on Monday. We took our time in the morning getting things done and what-not then packed up a lunch and some snacks and headed down the road to Middleton. We parked and got all our supplies and equipment together and started out at 12:15pm.

The first blaze went up a moment later. It was very exciting for us. We always thought about how cool It would be to buy land with a pond and mountain and build hiking trails on it. When we signed up for the SPNHF Land Steward class we never thought we'd get that opportunity. We don't own the land but it's basically a clean slate as far as trail blazing and building! And so many scenic, historic and interesting features too! It's a perfect fit for us!

We battled the horsefly's and mosquito's up New Portsmouth road (Burrows Farm trail), Scott cutting the brush and small trees and I did the blazing. We made a great team! This and most of the trails on this property are woods roads so blazing could be kept to the minimum. Basically we looked for the most prominent trees and stuck to blazing on the corners of the roads and at junctions. As easy as this sounds or even looks on a tree, it actual was pretty tough work in the heat. I think it was around 90 degrees! But at least it wasn't humid.

When we finally got to the Burrows Cemetery we were hot and tired and my hands were covered with paint. We sat here and ate our tasty lunch. It was so quite and peaceful. No signs of truck or ATV use. It was such a nice moment together, just the two of us! I removed the moose sign I had on the tree and replaced it with a new "blue" moose that shows up better. Then we continued on.

Here the actual trail crosses the top of the field. This is an unused spot as most hikers continue straight and take a left farther up. This is actually private property. I'm glad I saw that on the map before we blazed because that is the way I had been going! So we wanted to be sure to blaze this area well! A big pine tree lay in the perfect spot for both directions and so I blazed this tree well! Then we headed across the field and cut and double blazed at the rock pile in the middle. Then at the edge of the woods we cut and double blazed here as well.

This was our stopping point. We'd had enough for one day and were getting tired. Not to mention we had to blaze back in the other direction! So we headed back. Good thing too because as we passed the cemetery we began hearing loud rumbles of thunder and saw black clouds to the North! We decided to chance it and continued to blaze but at a quicker pace! We passed a parked truck on the upper landing at the North Road junction and arrived at our truck with no rainfall, phew! As we packed up the truck we had seen passed by and an older couple waved as they passed. We finished at 3:00pm and were surprised at just how long we were blazing! "3 hours, really?" "That takes longer than you think!" But now that it's done it just has to be easily up-kept! We will keep-at-it with the blazing of trails and mid-July we will be getting some signs made and put up and MMR will be hiker friendly for all to enjoy :)

"Part Two"

I finished up the trail blazing from the field up to the summit of Phoebes Nable Mt. All went smoothly. It was very hot out, and a small tree I cut down went straight for my paint can and landed on it, spilling most of the contents! Other than THAT, it went smoothly, LOL! I replaced the moose marker at the summit with the new blue one. Then blazed back the opposite direction. One trail done, many more to go! As I headed out the whispy clouds that hung over Phoebes Nable looked pretty cool, I snapped some pics and continued on down the road. Half way back to my truck a large pheasant in the road took flight giving me sudden scare. Pesky birds, always scaring the crap out of an unsuspecting hiker!

Mts. Webster & Jackson 7/2/11

"The Perfect Day to be Out on a Ledge!" (pictures)

Difficulty: Very Hard/Expert (Steep ledgy trails and ledge scrambles/climbing)

Directions:  From North Conway take Rt. 16N/302W. Continue straight on 302W and follow it for 17 miles. Park at the Willey House Station Rd. on your left. The trail head and signs are across the street.

Stats (round trip): Mileage> 9.4  Elevation Gain> 3,250'  Book Time> 8hrs. Our Time> 8.5 hrs.

 Report: It was to be a beautiful day on Saturday and we made our hiking plans very excited! It was time to check off a 4000 footer from the list. We wanted a trail that would be full of views and exciting. After throwing some ideas around we decided on Webster Cliff trail. We were fogged in on our last Webster hike and I really wanted to see the views from this peak. Webster Cliff trail is a trail I'd been really wanting to hike. And we could continue on from Webster to Jackson if the weather and our legs would let us! Thus we made our way very early the next morning to beat the crowds. I made the mistake again of not bringing my trail book or map, and parked at the Willey House site. We took some pics of the beautiful scenery including a gorgeous view of Mt. Willard over the pond. We soon learned this was not the correct trailhead as we looked at the trail kiosk here.

So we jumped back in the truck and turned around and back to a sign I'd seen a mile South. Apparently we were to park at the Willey STATION road not Willey House! And not to mention this was marked as the Appalachian Trail which crosses these peaks. So we parked, threw our packs on and headed across the street at 8:00am. We passed the Webster Cliff Trail sign that we hadn't seen from the street and headed down the trail. We crossed a foot bridge and a rock to the left with a memorial plaque on it.

The trail quickly begins to climb. After passing two trail junctions the trail passes through many rock boulders and broken rock ledge. I spotted a beautiful yellow mushroom around here and is thus far my favorite of the year. But more to come I'm sure! The trail now begins a moderate steady climb until crossing a grown-in rock slide. After crossing you must make a rock scramble across a wet ledge section.

The trail then climbed more steeply with a partial view to the West and South. We passed a group of 3 French (I believe) hikers and continued the steep climb. Finally we arrived at the first of many ledges with a magnificent view of Mt. Willey across the notch. WOW! We continued on to a more open ledge and sat down to enjoy the view and take a snack break. After a few minutes the other group arrived on the ledge with the same reaction and sounds we had! They sat down also and took a break. One of them asked what a couple of the mountains were, namely Carrigain and Willey. Once revived we parted from the group and got back on the trail.

From here to the summit of Webster it's a little blurry! You climb down into the trees and back out onto ledges so many times I lost count! It was a wonderful experience to keep popping out on the ledges with slightly different views each time! We reached an open knob at one point with beautifully colored rock and flowers all along the trail. The Alpine flowers were in bloom and everything was just so pretty. Clouds were White and puffy and at other times dark and ominous. Temperatures remained comfortable. It was a perfect day for a hike on an open ridge!

We continued the ups and downs and ledge views up to the summit of Webster (3,910'), arriving there at 11:20am. That ridge being harder than I had thought, we took another break and caught our breathes! Then Scott was off headed for Jackson! I followed rather excited he still wanted to try for another 4k! What's one mile! And that little mile was tough! A long trail that seemed to drop forever. We just kept climbing down the trail with everything from steep ledge, mud, bugs and the occasional hiker.

Finally we started the climb up and was pounded with more steep climbing and ledge scrambles. Just before we hit the summit Scott's leg muscles (Quad's I think?) locked up. This has been happening a lot to him on humid or otherwise exhausting hikes. He battled through it and we claimed Mt. Jackson (4,052') my 28th 4k and his 24th at 12:45pm :) Views extended back across the Pine forested ridge to Willey and a wonderful view North to Mt. Washington and the Northern Presidentials. Washington was in and out of the clouds all day. We found a place to sit and were very happy to dig into our sandwiches! There were several hikers on the summit including a young man with a Navy shirt on and an artificial leg. It was impressive to see what he could still do and we felt grateful for his sacrifice for his Country!

After we ate we began the long journey back over to Webster. Nearing the top of Webster Scott's leg muscles locked up again and he struggled to get to the summit ledges. A man we had passed asked us if we would like our pictures taken and he took some pics of us on the ledge, Scott trying to force a smile through the excruciating pain he was in. Once he was able to shake it off we continued back down Webster Cliff Trail.

Coming down we passed many hikers coming up including a group of various foreign persons. They were all very polite and most of them looked happy to be on the trails. The heat was really starting to rise now and it was starting to take it's toll on us. After negotiating the ridge we stopped at the first ledge that we had come to on the way up and took one finally break and look at the scenery. Such an awesome sight to behold, we are so lucky to have this in our back yard!

We now continued down, passing more of the foreign group. One imparticular young guy had us laughing. Just below where the trail starts to get difficult this young guy asked "how much further to the summit?" Scott replied "you have a long ways to go!" to which the young guy exclaimed in a sarcastic voice, "Oh White Mountains how I love you!" with a half-hearted smile. LOL! We ended our long, difficult journey at 4:30pm feeling pretty good considering all the difficult hiking and long mileage we did! A butterfly on a wildflower aside the trail ended the day perfectly!