William H. Champlin Jr. Forest Preserve 3/20/11

"A Late Day Jaunt" (pictures)

Plans for hiking on Saturday ensued during the week as always and the weather was looking pretty good. Laurie and Russ were hitting Mt. Carrigain with some friends and invited us along. Not really up for a long 4000 footer hike, especially on snow shoes we passed up o it. (Too bad too, they turned out to have a great day and got to see a Black Hawk Helicopter hover over Signal Ridge!!) I went to bed Friday night not knowing what we would be hiking in the morning but confident it would be a nice day. Well the morning proved to be cold and it was blowing a mix of snow and rain on us. YUCK! We moped around a bit, just enough to not want to hike anymore! I had a house rental that needed to be cleaned anyway so we decided to get all our work done and try for Sunday. Well Sunday morning was again cold...clear, but cold. And we just were NOT in the mood! So, after some walking around in Lowe's I headed off to get the rest of my work done.

The end of winter was turning out to be a bummer-of-a-weekend! I finished my work late in the day and called Scott. At the end of our conversation Scott mentioned we should meet in Gonic for a short walk. Funny, I was thinking this earlier! So we planned on meeting instead at the SPNHF William H. Champlin Forest Preserve across from the Sky Haven Airport in Rochester. I arrived in the parking lot ahead of Scott and decided to pick up some of the trash. I did this in the summer and was glad to see it hadn't gotten too bad since. Aside from a large suitcase sitting out in the field....are freakin' kidding me!? Scott pulled up and we headed down the trail at 6:20pm, the sun beginning to touch the tree line. Through the wet field, I stopped to take some pics of the Milk Thistle Pods.

The logging roads to the lower marsh were intermittent with snow and standing water. We went as quickly as we could without getting wet! At the pine grove just before the marsh I noticed a dozen or more bullet shell casings in the snow with the letter 'F' marking. We arrived at the marsh at 6:38pm just as the sun was setting. Perfect! A few pictures, most of which didn't come out all that great and it was back to the vehicles before it got dark! We got back to the field, picked up a stinky "doggy bag" and plastic bottle and headed out just as it was getting dark at 7pm. A nice brisk walk to end the weekend! And the best part, "hiking" equals Chinese Food and a Coke N' Rum! :) HAPPY SPRING!!

Northwood Meadows State Park 3/17/11

"Loop and Lunch" (pictures)

I was scheduled to have my monthly lunch with my Gram in Epsom on Thursday. I generally do a quick hike around Stonehouse Pond afterward but I wanted to try something else this time. So I decided to get up early and head to Northwood Meadows in ... you guessed it, Northwood! I printed off a map from the NH Parks & Recreation site and headed out! Onto Rt. 4, also known as Antique Alley and a large sign marks the parking area. It's pretty impressive the number of State Parks and Wildlife/Forests areas in this part of the state!

I parked next to two cars, threw my back pack on with some light winter/emergency gear in it and headed off down the logging road at 10:30am. This large logging road (a snow mobile trail in winter) was nice and packed for bare booting. Dog shit was all over the place which never fails to piss me off! Pick up after your dog! It's the law and it's gross! After crossing the river you can continue on the road or there are two trails (smaller logging roads) that break off to the right. These are marked with a "no snow mobiles" sign. I passed the first and decided to take the second. Brush and a black erosion barrier lines most of the trail along the small stream.

After negotiating some ice the trail opens up as you come back out onto a large logging road known as the NALMC Trail. There is a nice view across the lake, still frozen with snow and ice. I continued on counter clockwise taking the first trail which makes the pond loop. The trail follows the pond and passes a peninsula of sorts with a picnic area. I took some pics, picked up a beer bottle and kept my quicker-than-usual-so-I-am-not-late-for-lunch pace!

I broke back off of the logging road at the Southern most part of the pond crossing a dam. I negotiated some more ice as the trail swings South for a view across the large marsh, then cuts back North again. The trail climbs the banking away from the ponds edge for a little bit then follows it closely again. I stopped to take pictures at one spot and looked down at a beaver stump to find some fine Slime Mold specimens! And as most know, a fungus photo opportunity makes me a happy person!

I crossed a small stream, the bridge marked with a blue broom! What a unique trail blaze, LOL! I took some pics here of the rushing stream. Checked my phone to see I was running late and got a move-on! I passed another picnic area near a rocky shore and scored my favorite pond picture of the day. I then connected back on to the main logging road passing a kiosk and outhouse. As I neared the parking area people were coming down the trail by the handful. All with dogs. Apparently a very popular dog walking area. I finished this lovely pond loop at 11:45am and got to lunch right on time! :-)

Pawtuckaway State Park, North Peak 7/25/10

Pics of this hike HERE

We were up very early, 4:30 Sunday morning after pushing Saturdays hike back a day due to possible Thunder storms for Saturdays afternoon. We awoke to the sound of rain and after watching the weather reports it didn't look good for this afternoon either. Wanting perfect weather for the hike up Great Gulf trail to Washington, and after some sulking and contimplating I thought it best to just stay in our area, something we do often when weather is unstable. I have been wanting to check out Pawtuckaway State Park nestled in Nottingham, NH for some time now. Just a 40 minute drive for us. Lighty packed we headed out. I decided to take the Northern part of Round Pond Road off of Deerfield road from Rt.107. Luckily I had my google maps on my phone which really helped in navigation. I passed the unmarked dirt road twice before crossing back over the Nottingham town line sign and finding the road on a corner. We followed it to a gate and small parking area. This parking area adds about .2 miles (one way) as opposed to parking at the end of the Southern part of Round Pond  Road.

We began our hike down the gated road at 7:15am. You make a gentle hike down to Round Pond, passing some large boulder erratics on the right. Once at the pond you make your way around the flooded section of road and to the parking areas where there is a sign for the Boulder trail. Once on this trail you immediately find yourself amongst gigantic boulder erratics, as large as a house! Rock climbers were gearing up to climb one of these beastly rocks. You snake your way through these granite boulders and ledge, then find yourself flanked with granite on your right and a spectacular, frog and lilly filled marsh on your left with views up to the ledge dotted North summits. Oh, and lets not forget about the vertical rock slab rising about 70 ft. from the ground.

We arrived at the North Mt. trail and took a right onto it. Orange Salamaders were crawling around on the forest floor in the hundreds. I've never seen anything like it! Unforntunatlely the mosquitos and horseflies were also in large numbers, swarming us almost the entire trip. Passing by more boulders and ledges you arrive almost at the base of a steep vertical cliff and ledge where the trail bears right then left at a marsh. Here the trail climbs steeply over rock. Part way up this section a side trail leads through a large crevice of the ledge to what I believe was the only unobstructed 180* view on this ridge. I wasn't able to climb this steep, cliffy section as it was too wet and slippery from the mornings rain to risk it.

Onward we made our way to a ledgy area where there is an unusual large green communication reflector. The trail takes a sharp right here behind the structure and climbs past more wooded ledges reaching the summit (995') marked by a cairn and survey markers. Viewless and buggy we snapped a picture and continued on. Again passing wooded ledges with some obstructed views of the Middle and South peaks and the South Peak Fire Tower. Past these areas we began a steep decent down loose rock to a gated road. Here the North Mt. Bypass trail begins left down this road. We followed this gradual road, keeping left at another junction before arriving onto Round Pond Road. The trail then diverges back off the road where we decided to stay on the road for a straight shot back across the pond and back up the Northen park of the road to our parking area. We finsihed at 11:15am.

Rugged, steep trails provide  rock scrambling and plenty of ledges (though mostly wooded). The pond and marshes were very pretty with the pond flowers in full bloom. The boulder fields were a sight to behold, likened to those you would find in the White Mountains. Litter, mostly beer cans along the roads, lake and boulder areas was dissapointing and very upsetting that so many who use this area have no respect for it! A rather pleasant hike despite the swarms of biting bugs (probably due to the rain and humidity) and despite the lack of views. If you are one who embraces the finer parts of hiking, not just after "the view", this area is sure to please!
Click on "Park" for info. and map
Total trip was approximately 5 miles, 750' elevation gain, 4 hours.

Pics of this hike HERE