Avalon, Field & Tom 7/22/12

"The Deceiving Three" (pictures)

It was to be a partly cloudy day, cool to start with rising humidity so I planned a hike to fit the weather conditions. Yes, I planned the hike this time! Scott had been wanting to hike Field and Tom for a while and I  said we would hold off on these for a lack-luster day as the views are not all that great. The hike should be easy. Low mileage and the peaks were just over 4000 feet. No problem! We parked at the train station and began our day. We crossed the train tracks and climbed through some wet sections of trail, well not really. It has been so dry even up here that the water was all but dried up every where you go. Even the river that was  washed into the trail from Hurricane Irene was down to a trickle. The river stones now a part of a small portion of the trail making a unique spot.

After a steep climb we took a left onto Avalon trail. The hike was steep and rocky. Phew, this peak sure made us work. But the view at the top was so worth it! I didn't realize the view from this peak! You could see the Presidential range, the Notch and the Willey range from the "rock spired" summit. Spectacular! We sat here for a good 10 minutes in the cooling breeze and looking down at the bustling Highland Center below. Scott pointed out my truck too, it's always fun to see your vehicle as a tiny spec below!

Rested and ready to get number 32 and 33 of the 48/4000 footers we climbed back down and onto Avalon trail. We passed several people as we made another steep climb with some moderate pitches. We couldn't believe how many we saw who had no gear with them what-so-ever. Not even water! What the hell are people thinking!? Or not thinking I should say. With all the reports of unprepared people getting lost and injured on the mountains and these idiots still don't heed the warnings!

Anyway, back to the hike. We will return to that subject shortly! We finished the difficult push to the top of Mt. Field and found the cairn marking the summit. There was a view cut that overlooked Avalon and the Presidentials which was clouded in now. We took a much needed break and took a few pictures. A hiker came through and after checking the view buzzed past us headed down what he thought was the trail to Willey. It dead-ends around the corner to a tent-site. He came back around and again went down another false trail. He swung back around puzzled and exclaimed "where am I going!?" I pointed straight ahead beyond the cairn and said "the trail is that way!" "And to think I've been here before" he quipped. We got a good chuckle out of it.

Re-fueled we packed up and began the moderate climb down to A-Z trail. We passed several people on their way up to Field. We connected onto Tom Spur trail and made an easy climb to a clearing and followed a trail left to the summit cairn. We continued down an obscure path to find a blow down area with good views to the North of the Twins and over to a fabulous view of the North side of Carrigain and it's notch flanked by it's surrounding peaks. We found a wood bench in the trees and sat down to have our lunch. We were not alone however. A Southern Red-backed Vole (I think) was scurrying up and down the trail and around the cairn, apparently looking for food scraps.

Lunch consumed we made the journey back down. Again passing people with little or no gear or food. What -the-hell! I sure hope people needing rescue who are not prepared get fined. Your in the White Mountains on a freekin' 4000 footer! Anything can happen at any moment! And with the threat of thunder storms in the forecast you better believe if you broke your leg or got lost (and it happens on any mountain and even to those who are experienced hikers), you'll be wishing you had rain gear, food and water with you! We were getting so aggravated seeing all these ill-prepared people!!

It was a steep climb down! These peaks sure make you work for them no matter what side you tackle them from! We were happy to scratch two more peaks off the 4k list. Slowly but surely we will complete them in due time. It is fun seeing all the different mountains and trails. We will definitely be making a return to Avalon in the future!

Table Mt. 7/8/12

"Two Strikes, Table a Home Run!" (pictures)

Our White Mountain parking pass having been expired for a couple weeks now, we thought we would drive up to the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center and get a new pass. We were not sure what we wanted to hike yet and I was thinking Huntington Ravine. When we arrived the weather conditions were not what we had expected. It was cool and winds were strong. We really didn't have the proper gear for these conditions. After checking the conditions inside and getting our pass we sat in the truck mulling over what to do. I was rep-remanded for not being diligent as I used to be with this stuff. I used to have the hike all picked out the night before and the times all set, etc. I really have to get back on track with this, sitting around trying to figure out what to hike really kills the hiking mood!

At this point I set my sights for something on the easier side. We got turned back a couple years ago from a thunderstorm on Stairs Mt. so I thought we'd give that another try. We drove to Jericho Rd. and came to a gate. This was odd. Perhaps they closed the rest of the road to vehicles? There was but one car parked...this was odd too as there are a bunch of camping areas on Dry River trail. I spotted a sign on a tree and jumped out to read it. Turns out the Southern section of Dry River trail was closed from the Irene flooding. Well that figures, strike two. Guess we weren't meant to hike today!

Now what!? Again I opened my map and tried one last time to find a hike. I had eyed Table Mt. before off Bear Notch road and it was nearby. So we decided to make this our last attempt. We parked in the small parking area and began our hike. The trail was rather pleasant, making a gradual climb. We passed several boulders and an attractive cascade. I climbed down the steep banking to get some pictures.

The last half mile of this 2 mile hike began with switch backs and became steep with loose gravel and ledge. Views quickly opened up towards the Sandwich range. We found the summit area then headed back to the large ledge to have our lunch. The weather was fabulous and the view unique and wonderful. We looked directly South at Chocorua, Passaconaway was front and center with Square Ledge in view and the ridge that runs up that side of the mountain. Other mountains of note were Paugus, the Tripyramids, the Moat range and I think Crawford.

We didn't see any people until our hike down. It was a fabulous little hike with a great view for the minimum effort! If only this trail was accessible in the winter...it would be a great snow shoe hike!

North Kinsman 6/24/12

"Another Great Hike and View on 4K #31" (pictures)

Another spectacular day in the White's! After spending the past couple weekends at Moose Mountains doing trail work and other stewarding duties we were ready to get back up North! We also wanted to pick one or two more 4000 Footers off of the list. It was tough deciding what to hike. The weather looked to be perfect and I wanted to pick something with plenty of views. I had a few hikes picked and figured we would sort through it in the morning.

Awake and ready nice and early we began the decision making. I had been wanting to do the Kinsmans for some time now via Mt. Kinsman trail as there was a nice view area (Bald Knob) halfway up the trail. So that is what we decided on. We made the long drive to the backside of the Kinsman range which actually went quicker than expected. We found the gated road flanked by granite posts and marked with a very small sign. We parked in one of the two pull off spots. As we got our packs on a farmer in the house across the street approached us with a paper cut-out. He explained to us that there was now a parking area and new trailhead a short distance down the road. We thanked him for the info. and threw our bags back in the truck.

A short drive back past the campground and we found the poorly marked driveway for the parking area. The small trail sign was facing across the road instead of down the road....hmmm, who's idea was that!? After parking along side several other vehicles we began the hike. The trail that the man described as newly cut was surprisingly worn down. It seemed like it had been in place for a couple years, perhaps it was some sort of camp trail that was improved, has just seen a lot of traffic, or really wasn't THAT new...not sure?

We began a pleasant walk through the woods soon turning into a loud crack in the silence from campground bells, shouting and then speakers blasting out "Do You Remember" with Jay Sean, Lil' John and Sean Paul shouting through the trees, LOL! It was rather humorous and was a great motivational tune for the start of a hike! After the hip-hop walk through the woods you join the original trail that follows a logging road passing an abandoned maple sugar shack.

The road passes plenty of wet sections and small streams and climbs moderately. I was rather shocked at how quickly and easily the Bald Knob spur trail was reached. A short distance down this trail we walked out onto an impressive granite knob area with nearly a 360 degree view! We took a snack break and snapped some pictures. The black fly's were bothersome in this area so we didn't stay long.

Back on the trail we continued the climb. We both rather enjoyed the trail. Plenty of mossy goodness and large rocks to look at along the way. There are plenty of moderate to steep pitches and occasional level sections to give you a nice break before the next steep climb. The final push to the ridgeline got steeper as you climb over granite and around some boulders. Upon reaching the Kinsman Ridge trail we were greeted with a spectacular view across to the Franconia Range!

The final half mile push to the summit of North Kinsman was tough. A steep climb made you work for every step to the summit! We made the top #31 for us and discussed if we wanted to make the additional mile hike to the South peak. I was feeling a bit week today having a tiny bit of a cold and we had enjoyed the hike and decided to just relax a bit. So we decided to hold off on South peak for another day on a different trail in.

We stepped down through a muddy section to the ledge that overlooks the Franconia Notch. It was still early and fairly quite as we shared the ledge with just a few other hikers. There were a few black fly's but they weren't all that bad. You could see so much from this spot. Cannon, Lafayette down to Flume, and bits and pieces of other far off ranges most noticeably being Carrigain, Chocorua and the Tripyramids. A glider kept making it's way across the peak and around the White's. It was neat to watch from this vantage point.

Once we had our fill we made the climb down. We passed many people making the final push to the summit, always happy to be the early birds and miss the crowds on some of these more popular hikes! It is still shocking to see some hikers climbing a 4K with nothing more than a bottle of water and a small fanny pack! Not too smart! The climb down was rather pleasant. The good footing and variable grades made for a comfortable hike down and we made it back to the parking area rather quickly.

Pine Mt. at Morse Preserve 6/19/12

"Another Great Kid-Friendly Hike" (pictures)

My sister Jill had asked if I wanted to hike Mt. Major with her kids. Looking at the week ahead to the hazy, hot and humid conditions I decided on Tuesday. As I got ready in the morning the weather was looking overcast and cool so I began thinking of possible smaller hikes where weather wouldn't be as much an issue. My sister was running a little late anyway so I figured at least with a smaller hike we could take our time and enjoy it. So I decided on Pine Mt. at the Morse Preserve. This is a Forest Society property in Alton Bay I had heard a lot about and had been itching to check out. We met at the bay and Jill followed me to the parking lot.

Once we were all ready, me, Jill, Adam, Sarah, Taylor (riding on Mom's back) and my sisters friends daughter headed out. We crossed the road and made the short walk to the gated woods road. Following yellow blazes we climbed a small hill and arrived at the kiosk. From here we continued up the road into a field where the trail is marked by marker tape hanging from branch tips. Ticks were bound to be an issue in the tall grass and we made sure to keep a close eye for them and removed a few here-and-there. There were a few mosquito's and horsefly's but they were not all that bad.

The trail climbs moderately through the forest. Climbing more than I had actually expected but it was still an easy climb. You leave the forest and meander through blueberry bushes with an occasional rock area great for little breaks. Soon we rounded the summit area and are greeted with a pretty awesome summit area. The first thing you find is plaque that has a diagram of the Belknap range in front of you. Next is the blueberries all over the large, domed summit. Then there is the ledgy section that has plenty of flat rock for relaxing.

Oh, and smack-dab in the center is a large boulder. And how could I forget the 180+ degree view!? Although it was overcast today, we could still see the entire Belknap range as well as a good portion of Lake Winnipesaukee! It was spectacular! The weather wasn't bad either. It was rather comfortable with the occasional sunshine through the cloud cover, a nice gentle breeze and no biting bugs around! Ahhhh!

We all found our spots on the rock and sat down to eat our snacks and lunches. After eating we just hung out enjoying this wonderful spot. The kids were finding some ripe blueberries and they began searching for more. This kept them occupied for nearly an hour! A man and his young daughter soon arrived at the summit and his daughter also joined in on the blueberry hunt. Jill and I just relaxed watching Taylor play with the grass and trying to walk around the summit area.

I also did some exploring and found a survey marker, a wood lily, plenty of whorled loose-strife and another survey marker that Adam spotted on top of the boulder. Once the kids were done picking berries we did a couple group photos and packed up our stuff. We picked a few more ticks off us, which were not as bad as I thought considering all the grass up here. We descended down the loop section that swings around the South and West side of the mountain and joins the main trail just above the forest border. It was then a quick hike down and an end to a wonderful, kid-friendly hike!

Bowser Pond 6/22/12

"A Quick, Humid Walk" (pictures)

I was a little bored on Friday and really didn't have much to do at my home office. It was pretty hot but a little less humid than prior days. So I thought I would take a drive and do a quick check of the parking area and then park at the Bowser Pond road and do a quick walk up to the pond. Crossing the bridge and rounding the corner I found a bunch of living room furniture discarded beside the woods road. A friend had told me of a dump site and I didn't realize she had meant this particular area. 3 TV's, 3 chairs, a box spring and some other miscelanious things. How aggravating! Moving on I made quick time to the pond.

Dragon fly's were all over flying through the air and landing on the various plants on and in the ponds banks. I spent some time crouched down in various spots trying to get some close-up pics in but wasn't having any luck today. They were too active, the shore was too flooded to get to were the dragons were frequenting the most and the biting bugs were bothering me way too much. So I headed back up the trail and checked more sections of the woods roads through here that ATV's like to enroach upon as they leave a mess of tracks and garbage behind. It didn't look too bad, Nothing a garbage bag couldn't handle at some point when the weather cools down a bit. As of right now, the horse fly's were so awful I had to get back to the truck before they carried me away!

MMR Phoebes Loop Hike & Workday 6/14&17/12

"Meet our Blades of Steel!" (pictures)

6/14: A quick hike Thursday afternoon to inspect the work we had done the previous weekend revealed a now easy to follow, mostly dried out trail! We made quick progress to the summit of Phoebes Nable then decided to head down the North end to Burrows Farm trail to check on the field. We had to stop at the point where the woods road enters the field where we had built a rock wall across to discourage ATV's from getting through and messing up the trail. Someone (whom had left tire marks in the grass) had removed half of the wall and threw the rocks into the woods and down the hill! Aggravated but determined as always to repair what was "damaged" we quickly and easily re-built it. With Scott throwing the stones up to the road and me throwing them back into a wall. Then, just for good measure, we added a few more larger rocks.

That done we were able to finish what was just supposed to be a quick hike! The Field had become even more overgrown with sumac from all the rain we had been having. I was sure to remind the SPNHF staff of the dire need to mow and they are working on getting it arranged. We also noted that the Burrows Cemetery would need cutting and mowing again so we planned on getting to that sometime soon. The field was also coming alive with it's summer array of wild strawberries, daisies, birds-foot trefoil, orange hawkweed and an array of clover and honeysuckle which a hummingbird moth was enjoying!

Back onto the Burrows Farm trail below the Moose Mountains trail junction a large garter snake crossed in front of me. I went after it with the camera and it went into attack mode rather quickly. Curled up and striking at me as I tried to shoot a picture of it. Scott had the idea to video tape it attacking. The rest of the trip down was quick. The road is growing in nicely on the sides with ferns, Beach Rose and other wild flowers like daisies. We also found a large Multi-flora Rose bush which was so pretty and fragrant. A friend brought to my attention however that it is an invasive, non-native plant so we may remove it at some point.

6/17: Saturday was spent doing yard work and by the end of the day we were pretty tired and did not have what we needed for a big hike in the White's Sunday. Weather was back-and-forth Saturday and Sunday looked to be a repeat. So we decided to spend another weekend at MMR getting work done for the summer hiking season. We began in the parking lot where we cut branches back from the parking area and also at the entrance. We went up the first section of Phoebes Nable trail and did some minor trimming here as well.

Back at the parking lot we chatted with a family that owns some of the property in the center of MMR and we were happy to hear how much they liked the loop trails we had been working on! After making a short trip home to take care of something we returned and headed up the road. I parked in the field and we began our work. At the top of the field from the sign post to the edge of the woods Scott began cutting the small trees along the trail section and I mowed a path with the lawn mower. It looked pretty cool and was now much easier to follow the trail. 

This done we set up shop at the cemetery and cut out all the sprouts coming out of what we cut last year. I mowed and then Scott did some raking. We carefully re-positioned some broken stones and it looked very nice when completed. I also used the sickle and whacked the weeds and trees from around the two apple trees here.

Now it was up the hill to the farm site where a boulder sit's that holds a plaque. The grass was very thick and tall here. I began mowing as Scott cut the sumac that was taking over the boulder. The final section done we walked back down to the truck. Scott then noticed a large vine taking over one of the apple trees we hadn't pruned yet. He mentioned we should cut the vine in hopes it would die and then we would tackle this massively overgrown tree when we had time.

I cut my way through the jungle of sumac to the tree and began cutting the tangled mess. The Grape Vine (as identified by some friends) was very large and had twined itself all over both sides of the tree. Having made my way around the tree cutting all the entangled mess we called it a day and headed home for some much needed rest.and to enjoy the last couple hours of the weekends sunlight!

MMR Flower Hunt & Trail Work 6/8-10/12

"Searching for Pegonia and Phoebes Nable Mt. Trail Work" (pictures)

6/8: Friday I met an MMR regular (Marty) at 11am to search a spot that was recorded as containing a Federally Threatened plant the Small Whorled Pegonia (orchid). We set out up Phoebes Nable trail where we found a severely overgrown trail. Ferns for the most part had taken over! Scott and I figured there would be some overgrowth, but not this much this soon! Marty and I continued, taking a left onto South trail. From here we followed the old logging road until we were parallel with the spot I marked on my GPS. From here we entered the woods and began our search!

We sweeped our way through the thick woods eventually reaching the rock wall that marks the MMR boundary. Here we headed South and slightly back towards the road where we descended a hill  and soon began seeing signs of wildflowers. Starflower, Lady slippers and other plants were growing here. Perhaps we were in the right area. We continued to search the hill and descended to a small pond/marsh area. We made our way around the pond. I spotted a small blue egg on the ground that must have fallen from a nest (robin?). Then spotted two more! On the other side of the pond we found the outlet stream and in this area we spotted what might be the Pegonia we were looking for!

It was a tough thing to figure out. There were no flowers and the leaves were similar to that of the Starflower and Indian Cucumber-root. We searched the area and found the look-alike plants that had flowers that we could easily identify. We brought them back to compare the leaves and roots. After some discussion and pondering and bringing some pictures up on my phone, we were 99% sure these were Cucumber-root. Discouraged we called it a day and continuing our search on the way back yielded nothing more but an abundance of Pointed Blue-eyed grass and some wild raspberries and strawberries.

We did however find something exciting. Pipsissewa (Prince's Pine) which I have only seen once before in the White Mountains! This plant sports shiny/waxy leaves and has neat flower pods that look like something out of a  fiction movie! The buds had not yet opened so we planned on meeting again next week to explore some more and to see if the flowers had opened! (picture of Pipsissewa I found on Baldface Knob trail and that was published in Todd Boland's book "Trees & Shrubs of Newfoundland and Labrador HERE)

6/9: After showing Scott pictures of the overgrown Phoebes Nable trail we decided that we should get up there right away to get it cleaned up for the summer hiking season. We packed up the tools and our backpacks and began our work at 10am. We first set some large stepping stones on a wet section at the trail head. Then I worked the sickle to remove ferns, weeds and small trees from the trail tread-way as Scott cut back tree branches that hung into the trail.

We spent a good 2-3 hours on a wet hill were the trail meets South trail. Ferns had to be "whacked" away and we raked out this wet jungle area! Then I began rolling large stones out of the woods for us to place as steps. One large rock worked well to bridge a drainage ditch we had made to get water flowing out of the area. When finished with this area we took a break and admired how awesome this section came out!

Before

After

Stones Placed

Next we headed up the long hill and continued our aforementioned duties. It was a long, tiresome job but was really opening up the tread-way nicely. Up on a level section I was whacking away when I heard a rustle of leaves directly in front of me. I looked ahead and right there was a little baby porcupine! I yelled for Scott to come quick! The little guy just sat there, quills out and when he determined we were not a threat he just sat there and looked up at us. So cute!

Nearly stopping at one point in exhaustion we decided to continue on until we reached the last junction at the top of this hill. We reached our goal and when we arrived back down to the parking lot we had put 5 hours into the trail! Surprisingly we had seen all but one tick all day! With more trail left to complete we decided to skip on heading up to the White's Sunday to return here and finish the rest.

6/10: And that we did, Sunday we returned at 11am. We hiked up the sections we had done yesterday and were happy with our work. Even the wet section were we placed the stepping stones was drying out nicely. This day went pretty much the same. A little warmer and a lot more ferns and small trees. But we trudged on! The only ticks we picked up were on a flat section below the summit where tall grass was growing.

I had several really bad blisters on my hands from using the sickle 5 hours the day before and 4 hours today. Our bodies were pretty sore all over and we were happy to finish and have a nice lunch at the summit of Phoebes Nable. Now we just need to get a day scheduled to have SPNHF staff come up and do a much needed view cut!

2 Hikers fall off cliff at Stonehouse Pond

Two hikers fell off the cliff/ledge on Stonehouse Pond Tuesday 6/5/12. I am not sure which part of the ledge it was but either way it's a long drop! Fisher's on the pond helped rescuers reach the injured by escorting them across.  The Article: http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Couple-rescued-after-fall-off-cliff/-/9857858/14613562/-/nd4xlv/-/index.html

Always be extremely careful on ledge and cliff sides! I have had a couple close encounters from being too close and too careless! Many have died from a simple slip or the ground giving-way beneath them. BE CAREFUL!

I have updated my list of "lost/injured hikers" in NH located in the right column. To view my trip reports and more pictures of Stonehouse Pond find the "Trip Reports: Southern NH/Seacoast" section in the right column and scroll down to Stonehouse Pond.