hiking
Just Following Footsteps
I had a nice walk outside today, just following footsteps along the Parcel 5 trail…
Goodwin Lake On A Cloudless Day
I woke up tired and sore. (Actually, I think exhausted would fit the bill better, but that’s not the point here.) I guess fishing all day in the hot sun really does take it out of you. But better to wake up tired on a vacation – it means you’re doing something right!
Anyways, today’s objective for us was to hike up to Goodwin Lake, which sits somewhere below Jackson Peak in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. It’s a spot that I haven’t been too in a few years, and one of the high lakes that I’ve always enjoyed hiking up to, so I was excited to get back up there. After a surprisingly rough ride to the trailhead, we began our way up on this picture-perfect cloudless day.
One of the first good views we got of the Tetons
My mother enjoying the still abundant wildflowers up high. (Lower down they pretty much done and over with).
As we approached the lake, the trail ventured into the Wilderness.
Looking northwest towards Yellowstone. Only upon seeing sights like this valley, with the forest decimated, do you truly realize the impact the pine beetles are having on the intermountain west (jerks!).
The hike went along smoothly surprisingly quickly, and before we knew it, we were seeing this view.
The shores of lake Goodwin also showing the impact of the pine beetles. Man, this place is a tinder box.
It’s a really beautiful spot. Wish we had brought the fly rods as we saw a few fish cruising about.
We had some lunch up there, enjoying the cold breeze coming through before heading back back down towards the valley.
Still no clouds on our way down.
Man, what a perfect day to be up in the mountains, not a cloud to be seen. We did spend some time out on Flat creek this evening, but that didn’t go so well. Tomorrow we’re off for a few days (of fishing!) in Yellowstone. I hope the tourists aren’t too obnoxious at this point in the year…
Wildflowers Around Ski Lake
With another beautiful day on tap, we decided to hike up to Ski Lake. The lake, being in the Natl Forest off of Teton Pass, is one of the most popular hikes around. The 5-6mi round trip (just up to the lake) combined with the excellent view and beauty of the lake up there make it easy to understand its popularity.
We began our hike and before long, we found ourselves wading through meadows full of wildflowers – mostly arrow-leaf balsamroot flowers, but there were some other scattered about. Normally at this time of the year the flowers are totally done and over, but with the exceptional snowpack around the Tetons this winter, a lot of them were still popping out. (So for those of you keeping track, that leaves the big snowpack summertime-fun-score at: +1 for wildflowers in august, and -1 for enormous, poor-fishing-conditions runoff).
The flowers were numerous.
It’s an odd contrast between all of the flowers and the dead white bark pines.
All the way up, we were walking through fields of wildflowers.
Before long, we found ourselves at the lake, which was higher than I’ve ever seen it before in August. Just another reminder of the huge snowpack that was in the Tetons this past year.
What a great spot.
After hanging out for a few minutes, we decided to keep moving uphill for a few more minutes. And yes, we were still walking through epic meadows full of wildflowers.
We hiked until we came up to this point – perfect!
Hiding along the edges of the trees, we found a few columbines poking out.
Going back to that snow patch that we hiked up to, we couldn’t possible just let it be. I mean, what true skier wouldn’t jump at the opportunity for August turns? …Yea, we made some turns up there.
Our turn-around point was lined with lupines. Had we kept going for a while longer, we would have made it to Glory Ridge.
Coming back down the trail towards Ski Lake.
When we got back down to the lake, we had some lunch and continued back down hill to the car.
This hike has always been one of my favorites, and with such great weather, the hike today was nothing short of awesome. Seeing all the wildflowers still popping was just an extra treat. We spent a few hours in the evening messing around on Flat Creek, but alas it didn’t work out so well for me today. My father did manage to catch a fish or two – nothing huge, but still a well earned fish. Tomorrow we’re off for a float trip down the Green River down near Pinedale. Although the fishing around the Tetons has been questionable at best, it sounds like the Green has been fishing well. Here’s to hopin’ that it goes well!
Taggart And Bradley Lakes, Along With Some Flat Cr. Action
After getting turned around from hiking up to Taggart and Bradley Lakes yesterday due to some nasty storms, we were all relieved when we woke up to perfectly blue skies this morning. Eating breakfast quickly, we left the house early in an attempt to both beat the crowds (this is probably one of the most popular hikes in the park) and the midday heat and sun. Although it wasn’t supposed to get that hot (low 80°s), the elevation of the valley (~6,200ft) makes the sun that much more intense.
Hiking out towards Taggart Lake on an amazing, cloudless day.
Before we knew it, we had reached Taggart Lake.
We took a few minutes there to take a look around and snap a few photos before heading on our way up and over a glacial moraine separating Bradley and Taggart Lakes. Although not a long or difficult stretch of trail, this little bit between the lakes seems to be one of those sections of trail, with a hill that’s seemingly much longer than it has any right to be. But up and over we went, and before long we found ourselves at Bradley Lake. We ate our lunches and then walked around a bit more to snap some photos.
Not a bad view of the Grand from Bradley Lake.
On our way back to the car, we encountered this irritable fellow, who tried to charge us at least once or twice. I’m not sure how that would have worked out if his plan to get us had succeeded, but I guess you gotta give ‘em some credit for being so damn bold.
Before heading back out of the park, we stopped by this spot to throw a few flies into the water. All it took was a single cast with a ridiculous red hopper before my dad had hooked into a nice lookin’ cutty.
Upon getting home, we reorganized the car, split a beer (a delicious double IPA, Odell’s Myrcenary) and were off – it’s time to hit Flat Creek, one of the most notoriously difficult pieces of water around. When we got there, I was stunned by how much water was flowing through the small creek – just another reminder of the banner snow year that was just finishing up. I walked around the twisting and winding creek slowly, studying the water just off the banks for subtle rise forms. I finally spotted a few fish consistently rising right along the bank, just as I’d expected. Seeing a bunch of caddis fluttering about, I tried out a variety of patterns, all to no avail. My father, having seen a spinner fall a bit upstream of where I was, suggested I try out a rusty spinner. As soon as I threw that fly out into the water, I was hooked into a decent ~foot long brookie (interestingly enough: although I’d never really thought about it before, I had no idea until this moment that there were brookies in Flat Creek). In my excitement, I played the fish a bit too roughly and he got away before I could land him. Ugh, I felt like a fool. However, shortly after that disappointment, I was hooked into another fish.
Not a monster by any means, but I was pleased to be on the board on such a tough stream.
We continued fishing for a little while longer, but neither of us saw any more fish were looking up. Of course, the action started up again just as we had to leave. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.
“Just 5 more casts…”
Well, we couldn’t have asked for better weather for our second day here in Jackson. The fishing was ok and I’m glad I caught that brookie on Flat Creek, but I really want to hook into some of the local cutties. Hopefully it won’t be long before that happens.
In The Clouds On The Osceolas
After a rainy day yesterday, both Krysta and myself were relieved to see that the forecast was supposed to be better today, if only slightly: overcast in the morning, with rain starting around 2-3pm. Given that forecast, we got up earlier than we would have liked and headed out to hike up the Osceolas in the Whites. The Osceolas are two of the most prominent peaks south of the west side of the Kanc, near Lincoln. We decided to take the approach from the south, off of the Tripoli Rd.
And today, we’re not only out here to hike. Krysta has recently gotten into Geocaching, buying a GPS and all, so we’re also out here to search out the three caches around the two summits (#1, #2, #3). I’ve dabbled in geocaching before, but I’ve never really tried it past that, so this should be good fun.
Starting on the way up the Mt. Osceola Trail.
Rainy Couple Of Miles On The Bill Ballard
Man, the weather around here just does not want to play ball! Two days ago, it was rainy with sever thunderstorms rolling around. Yesterday was an absolutely perfect day up in the Greens, with mid 60°s and mostly sunny skies. Today, we’re back to rain, and it’s going to stay around for the whole weekend – UGH! I was actually planning on going on my first backpacking trip of this year this weekend with Krysta, somewhere into the Whites, but when I woke up this morning to pounding rain, I quickly changed my mind (and promptly went back to bed for another few hours).
After I finally managed to drag myself out of bed and get enough espresso into my blood to begin moving, I started discussing with Krysta what we should do. Certainly, we couldn’t just sit around all day – we had to get out and do something active, even if it was going to be awfully wet. Backpacking in the rain is all sorts of pain in the ass, but day hikes, well that’s rather do-able. After some deliberation, we decided to hike the length of the Bill Ballard Trail (a nice and mellow ~4mi), starting from the top and then walking back to Krysta’s house, an additional mile or two.
Well, as I said earlier it was raining and wet, and the rain only intensified as we hiked along. So unfortunately, there aren’t any pictures of the hiking itself, even though the Grand Canyon of Norwich was roaring (well, as much as it can be…). We did stop at the end though (at the Norwich swimming pool) to give Sophie a chance to swim around and fetch us some sticks.
Where’d it go?!
Breadloaf Mountain Via The Emily Proctor Trail
After a nice, if wet and humid walk here in Norwich yesterday, I decided last night that I wanted to get a little bit further away from here and into the Greens. Studying some maps for a while, I decided to hike up to Breadloaf Mountain via the Emily Proctor trail. Breadloaf Mountain, sitting in the eponymous Breadloaf Wilderness, is about as deep into the Breadloaf Wilderness as one can easily get in a single day.
I woke up early today, and after a nice breakfast, got on the road – this was going to be a decently long drive, if Google Maps is to be trusted (which I find it generally is). After a nice cruise over the mountains and through the woods, I finally got to the trail head, geared up and began walking. The day started out cool and somewhat overcast, but the forecast was calling for highs in the low 60°s at elevation, with mostly sunny clouds – I don’t think that it could be much more perfect than that!
After walking for a few minutes, I entered the Wilderness proper.
Up And Over Gile Mountain
After having been in NY for the past few days, I decided to stay local today and go on a nice hike up and over Gile Mountain with Krysta and her dog, Sophie. Although the normal hike listed on that DOC page is only 1.4 miles round trip, we decided to tackle something at least a little more challenging and turned this hike into a 5-6 miler by starting out near the top of the Bill Ballard Trail and shuttling a car to the other side of Gile Mountain (as described on that DOC page).
As we walked into the woods, I instantly regretted wanting to take a hike today – it was too hot and way too muggy, with the constant threat of storms looming just a bit too near into the future. Well, lo and behold, about half an hour into our two hour walk we got poured on. Luckily, the heavy rain was very short-lived and from then on out, we only had to deal with short showers and light sprinkles. And although it would have been nice, the thunderstorms did nothing to relieve us from the insufferable humidity in the woods.
Unfortunately, between the rain and everything else, this wasn’t a great walk to be taking pictures. However, here’s one of Sophie wading through the sea of ferns that surrounded parts of the trail.
When we got to the top, we decided to avoid the fire tower as we were still hearing lots of thunder rumbling off in the distance. Checking out the shelter though, we found a bunch of great street art.
One wall of the shelter was covered up with this great stencil of a not-so-pleased looking bear.
Another side had this goofy looking bird painted up.
All in all, not a bad walk. I wish the rain had managed to hold off, although seeing the numbers flashing on my clock made me realize that we may have just missed the real brunt of this storm. So I guess we got lucky after all. Tomorrow looks like a beautiful day, so with any luck I’ll be finding myself deep in the heart of the Green Mountains tomorrow. Get out there and enjoy it – life is for the living!
Big Crow Mountain
Even though I’m currently out here in the Adirondacks on a fishing trip, one can’t fish all day long – the fish aren’t too keen on these bright, sunny and very hot days. So after dawdling around for a while, which included a stop at the Mountaineer (of course), I headed back up to Keene and then into the woods, driving up towards the Hurricane Mountain Primitive Area, where the trailhead for my short hike up Big Crow Mountain would be found.
After I got there, I lathered my body up with copious amounts of bug juice and headed up the trail. Almost immediately the trail began ascending up the mountain, but at a mellow enough rate to keep the hiking quick and easy. Before I knew it, I had covered the 0.7mi and had reached the top of the mountain. And oh man, the views of the High Peaks were great (except for the intense haziness)!
What a spot!
Hazy -like I said- but still a great view of the High Peaks.
Yup, that’s me up there.
And a full blown panorama of the scene. Click it to enlarge.
After this great, if hot, hike, I’m excited to get back on the water this evening to cool down. Hopefully I’ll even catch some nice ones!
Up Mt. Abraham On A Warm Winter Day
With much of New England hurting for snow and not wanting to brave the weekend crowds, I decided to take my day today to go hike around the greens. With my friend Krysta, we decided to go hike up Mt. Abraham. Although we had a slow start and were benighted with only one headlamp between the two of us (still feeling dumb for that one), it was a great hike up one of the highest peaks in Vt.
Krysta on the way up.
The lower elevations still need lots of snow.
As we gained elevation, we got into some tight firs.
We kept going up and up until we hit the Battell shelter, where we took a short break for some food. After a granola bar or two, we kept moving, especially since it was getting late.
We made steady progress towards the summit until we popped out of the clouds, stumbling onto this scene. Although it’s not terribly visible in the photo, the sun dogs were amazing. In fact, the snow in the clouds below us was illuminating an entire ring around the setting sun.
The last parts of the trail were steep, but the views were amazing.
And then we found serenity on the summit.
Beautiful.
As much as it was nice hanging out on the summit, it was getting late. So we headed back, down into the clouds.
About 10 minutes after this photo was taken, we saw the sun set. Knowing we had less than an hour to pitch black, we kicked our pace up a notch and made steady progress down the trail. I suppose I already gave it away earlier, but no, we did not make it out before that pitch black hit. Having only one headlamp between the two of us made things interesting, but thankfully we ended up only needing the light for 10-15 minutes at the end.
It was a great day for an awesome hike, and seeing the sunset from the top of the mountain was serene, to say the least. Now if we could only get some snow…
In The Clouds On Mt. Pisgah
Having the day off today, I decided to get outside and have myself an adventure. I was originally planning on a ball buster of a loop up on Mt Washington, but with the weather being uncooperative, I had to change my plans to something a bit more reasonable with less exposure. I went to take a hike up Mt. Pisgah, on the eastern side of Lake Willoughby in Vermont’s beautiful NEK. Lake Willoughby is a glacial lake that gets down to 300 feet deep, making it the deepest lake in all of Vermont (note that Champlain isn’t totally in Vermont, technically).
Just after I got on the trail, I got my first view of the steep flanks of Mt. Hor, which opposes Mt. Pisgah.
Climbing up higher, the views started to get better. This is facing towards the south. Word has it that there’s a nude beach down there filled with old hippies, although I didn’t go poking around to find out for myself.
And this is facing north, with Mt Hor’s summit being obscured by the clouds.
Soon enough I was entering the clouds myself as I continued up.
After I made it to the summit, I kept going for a bit to get to the “official” viewpoints. When I got to the first one, I was greeted by this amazing scene.
Ok, so that wasn’t so great, but when the clouds parted somewhat the views were pretty damned cool.
And just as soon as the clouds had dispersed, they were back.
I continued along the the ridge, hoping that one of the later view points would have some sweet views. Although it wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for, it was still pretty cool.
Yes, it was cold, wet and windy up there.
Soon after this, I turned around before I lost too much elevation and began my journey back to the car. When I got back, I drove up to the base of the lake to check it out.
The steep cliffs of Mt. Pisgah…
and Mt. Hor…
Make this a pretty damned impressive spot.
Although I still wish that I could have gone for my crazy hike in the Whites, I’m really glad that I finally had the opportunity to get up to Willoughby and to see what this place is all about. It’s a truly impressive place, and now I know that if I’m around New England next fall, I’ll certainly be coming here to check out the foliage.
Up Owls Head
Having no commitments on a saturday is a lovely thing. I woke up exhausted from a combination of having stayed out too late with some friends the previous night and mainly due to my long hike yesterday, so I wasn’t looking to do anything killer today. I just wanted to get outside, enjoy the cool autumn air and see some nicely colored leaves. After some searching around on the internet, I finally decided to hike up Owls Head. No, not the one in New Hampshire. Nor the one in New York. This Owls Head is in Groton State Forest, Vermont. Groton State Forest is actually an area I’ve been curious about for a bit, so I was excited to explore something new.
Figuring out exactly how to get there was somewhat tricky, as information on the internet isn’t super clear and relatively sparse, but with the help of this map, I made my way to the trailhead in the early afternoon and set off.
The trail up was mellow and very enjoyable.
From where I parked, I walked about 1.5 miles to a parking lot that sits right below Owls Head (yea, if you’re feeling lazy, you can drive almost all the way to the summit). From there, it’s another quarter of a mile to the top.
Once on top, I was rewarded with some great views of the North East Kingdom of VT. This is Lake Groton.
Great colors going on down there.
On the other side of Owls Head you could see Kettle Pond, with Camel’s Hump way off in the distance.
After hanging out on the top for a while (with all the clouds rolling around, I had to wait a bit to get some of these photos), it was time to head back. Along the way I found some vibrant leaves on the forest floor.
A maple leaf next to a surprisingly flat root. I imagine it has been flattened out through years of being walked on.
More beautiful maple leaves.
There are also some ash trees in these forests.
After getting back to the car, I decided to take a look at Kettle Pond to see if there were any neat views from there. I was rewarded with this great scene.
I also decided to get some perspective on where I had been from the shore of Lake Groton. I had been up on that mountain on the left.
This mellow adventure was exactly what I was looking for today, and the foliage was gorgeous. I really couldn’t have asked for much more.
Franconia Ridge… Or Maybe Not Quite
Having the day off today, I decided to finally hike Franconia Ridge. This is a trail I’ve been looking at for a while, but just haven’t had a chance to get at yet. So with free time on my hands, I was excited to get out into the mountains.
As I drove over from Norwich, the weather was beautiful – cool and sunny. However, once I had gotten to the trailhead, all that had changed. The skies were completely clouded up, it was cool (around 45°F) and a bit windy. Oh well, there’s not much that can be done about the weather, so I geared up and got walking on this cool and crisp autumnal morning.
And up I go.
After hiking up a ways,you get your first views of Mts Lafayette (left) and Lincoln (right).
Looking down the shoulder of Lafayette and into Franconia Notch.
Sooner than I had expected, I found myself at the AMC’s Greenleaf Hut. I briefly stopped for a drink and a granola bar, but the weather was looking worse and worse as time went on, so I moved on quickly towards the summit.
Looking back at Greenleaf Hut, with Cannon in the further background.
There was intermittent rain rolling around, and once I was on the summit the rain had changed into some sort of frozen precip. Although I’m not done with fall yet, it is somewhat exciting to know that winter is on its way.
It was cold up top. 3°C, according to my watch (I did actually see it dip down to 2° for a bit).
I even found some ice up top. Winter’s coming.
Oh, did I mention how windy it was on top? There were a few spots in which the wind must have been blowing in the 60-70+ mph range - easily strong enough to knock me off my balance a few times. Spooky stuff.
Franconia Notch in all of its impressive glory (click to bigger-ize it). Franconia ridge leading to Mt. Lincoln is on the left, while Cannon is on the right.
At this point, I was cowering from the intense wind behind some rocks on the summit of Mt Lafayette, watching the rain rolling around somewhat north of where I was, and trying to decide what my next move should be. I really wanted to continue down the ridge, as I was originally planning on, however between the strong wind, the cold, the probable rain coming in, and knowing that I had to be back in Hanover in the late afternoon, I decided to not spend the next 1.5 miles of walking on the super exposed Franconia Ridge. Rather, I was going to just go back down the Old Bridle Path. Lame, I know, however it did end up raining a bit on me on my way down, so I felt at least somewhat vindicated.
Looking across the northern shoulder of Mt. Lafayette.
I was able to catch some nice light on Cannon as I was heading down.
The highway heading south out of Franconia Notch.
Another view of Mts. Lafayette and Lincoln. They’re both rather impressive mountains.
It can get windy up here on the shoulder of Mt. Lafayette.
Before I knew it, I was back down to the falling waters of Walker Brook, an impressive little stream.
The light was drab and the weather could have cooperated a bit more, but this was still a great hike. One of these days I’ll have to get back there and finally hike the whole ridge, just as I’ve been planning on for many months now.
Hiking Camel’s Hump With Some Foliage
Having heard from some of the fine folks on the TGR forums that the foliage was peaking in the mountains from Camel’s Hump and north, I decided it was prime time to get outside and see the beautiful fall foliage of Vermont, especially since the next few days are promising to be ever so rainy.
Initially I had planned to go out with my brother and hike around Smuggler’s Notch, but he had work to do, so I decided to stay a bit closer and hike up the Camel’s Hump, a mountain that I’ve been wanting to get up on for a while. Although Camel’s Hump is only the third largest peak in Vermont (coming in at 4,083ft), it is arguably the the most iconic in the state. Hell, it’s even on the VT state quarter. As well, Camel’s Hump is home to one of only two alpine environments in all of Vermont.
It was a nice hike up. Although lots of the trees lower down were still quite green, there was still lots of color to be seen.
The color is going out quickly this year.
Just a bit below the top, the trail goes through some mossy evergreen forest.
Once I had made it to the top, the views were truly expansive. Unfortunately, the light for photos was super awful, but you’ve got to make the best of what you’ve got. The colors, however, were still great.
The view towards the north, with Mt. Mansfield stuck in the clouds on the left. I guess I ended up making the right decision by not going there.
The summit being an alpine environment, the views are truly panoramic off of the top (punnery is clearly the highest form of wit).
This panorama is facing east (left) – south (right), down the spine of the greens. The most prominent peak in the background in the south is General Stark Mountain, home of Mad River Glen. (Click the pic to make it bigger).
And this panorama is facing west. The Adirondacks should be out there, but it was too cloudy. (Again, click the pic to make it bigger).
And here I am, on the summit. It was really windy and a lot colder than I had expected, so I was wearing all the layers I had with me.
After hanging out on the summit for a few minutes and enjoying my apple, I headed out. I knew the hike out was going to be tight if I wished to get out while it was still light, so I was fairly rushed.
Of course, with colors like these, you can’t help but to pause for a moment in order to just take it all in.
After this, I reluctantly put my camera away and hoofed it down the trail, making it down with maybe 10-15 minutes to spare.
Although the light sucked, I’m glad I had a chance to get out and see the foliage before the crazy rains we’re about to have take them all down. Of course, getting up into the alpine is always great too (yea, I have a thing for the mountains). Good times, good times indeed.
Maine Day 3: Rangeley
After dawdling a bit too much as we were leaving the seacoast yeseterday, we finally made it in to Rangely fairly late in the evening. After setting up our tent and driving though the small town, I only had the chance to take this one shot of these neat clouds just as it was getting dark.
When we woke up today, we looked up into the sky to find another day of perfect weather. After the scattered showers that we passed through yesterday on the drive to Rangeley, we really couldn’t have asked for more. Clearly, another great day to take a hike.
We decided on the short hike up to Bald Mountain, a small hill sitting in between Rangeley and Mooselookmeguntic Lakes. The hike is less than 2 miles (one-way), and goes through a beautiful bit of northern boreal forest. I didn’t find anything great to photograph in there, so this first view is already from the top of the hike. We’re looking over at Rangeley Lake with Saddleback Mountain in the distance.
My father at the true top of the hike, a fire tower on top of Bald Mt.
The enormous Mooselookmeguntic Lake.
It was still early in the day after we finished up the hike, so we decided to check out the interesting sounding Angel Falls. According to what we read about it, the falls is one of the highest in all of Maine, coming in at 90 feet tall. This isn’t the actual falls, but another cool spot just before we got to the falls.
And the real show-stealer, Angel Falls. Even though the access requires one to go though some deep lumber country (granted, just about everything this far north and further north is owned by the lumber companies), it’s more than worth the journey to see this sight.
Although we didn’t really have any idea what we were getting ourselves into by coming up to the Rangeley Lakes region, I’m glad we did. It’s a remote and beautiful place which certainly deserves more exploration in the future. Unfortunately, for now we’ve only got some time left in the morning tomorrow before we have to begin the trek home.
Maine Day 2: Pemetic Mtn And More
On our second day of our Maine adventure (ok, so it’s actually the third, or even fourth, if you want to count a day’s worth of driving… but who’s keeping track anyways?), we woke up to find clear and sunny skies – clearly, a great day for a hike. So after a quick breakfast at Café This Way, we decided to go hike up and over Pemetic Mountain, one of the higher mountains on Mt. Desert Island.
And up we go.
The trail isn’t terribly long, and shortly after starting, we already found ourselves through most of the woods and on the rocky section of the trail, making the final push towards the summit.
Over Bubble Pond and across the way is Cadillac Mountain. And yes, you can drive your Cadillac to the summit of Cadillac Mountain, if you were so inclined.
Like I said earlier, most of the top of the trail follows on the somewhat reddish bedrock.
My brother Marc and Moose area about as high up as you can get on Pemetic Mt.
Just a beautiful day.
I’m not sure why they have such odd cairns up there (I’ve always been a fan of the straight up rock piles), but I appreciate them for their aesthetic value, if nothing else.
After hanging out on top for a bit and searching out some wild blueberries, we began our descent of the other side of the mountain. It was a bit rocky in spots, and Moose had some difficult with that, but we all made it down fine. And just like that, we were back by Bubble Pond.
With lots of time still left in the day, we drove down to the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, the most southerly point on Mt. Desert Island. There are more islands to the south (I believe these are the Cranberry Islands), across this notoriously choppy section of water.
Sure is a good thing they have the lighthouse here – it would suck to crash into this with a boat.
As the light was waning, we went out towards Pretty Marsh Harbor to just walk around a bit and take some photos.
Moose enjoyed getting into the water a bit.
Luckily he’s already learned as a pup that drinking saltwater doesn’t work out so well.
What a handsome dog!
The barnacles covering everything are surprisingly sharp and will cut you up a surprising amount, if you let them (ie: don’t walk barefoot here!).
With a lovely two days of Mt. Desert and Acadia Natl Park done and over, it is unfortunately time to leave. On the plus side we’re driving out towards the Rangeley Lakes region tomorrow, somewhere that none of us have ever been to. I can’t wait to see what awaits us in this (semi-) remote part of Maine.
The Rocky Top Of Mt Cardigan
On a beautiful Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, I met up with my buddy Duncan (freshly graduated from Dickinson – congrats!), his father, sister, and their dog, Lucy, for a nice hike up Mt Cardigan (see more on the route here). We met up early, hiked around the hill for a few hours before it became a total zoo (Mt Cardigan is a popular hike in the region), and had a great time. What’s neat about this mountain is that the top is completely exposed and very rocky. This is because back in the day, in 1855, a fire ripped through the area and burned everything off the summit. Since then, nothing has managed to grow back on the summit, with the exception of a fire tower. Somewhat ironic, if you ask me. Anyways, here are a few shots from the short outing.
Somewhere near the top of the short trail, we hit the rocky section where all the trees burned off back in 1855.
It was super hazy out – only sometime the next day did I realize that this was due to a forest fire from Southern Quebec.
The cairns leading up the final pitch to the summit with the fire tower.
After reaching the summit, we pressed on as it was rather windy. We stopped shortly after for some lunch near the summit of the adjacent Firescrew. This is the view of Mt Cardigan from near the top of Firescrew.
A little bit further down the other side of Firescrew.
Duncan’s dog friend Lucy was having a tough time dealing with the wind, but she was able to manage.
After coming back over Cardigan on the way back, we took an alternate route down, taking us over the south summit. Here’s the view of the summit from the south.
All in all, it was a really nice hike. I’d been meaning to get out here since winter (you can ski tour here), so I’m glad that I finally made it out to see what all the fuss was about. It’s a great short hike.
Slade Brook
I went out today for a short walk along Slade Brook, which just happens to be the brook that runs off of Moose Mountain. It’s a nice, albeit short walk (it’s only ~.75 miles to the cascade, although I did go farther) that goes up through a pretty pine forest along the brook to a small cascade. Not too much else to say about this one. Check it out on the Hanover Conservation website, (pdf) if you’re curious.
Remember, the woods aren’t coming to you – you’ve got to go get out to them. So go get outside – New England is truly beautiful at this time of the year!
Bill Ballard Trail
Ah, another lazy sunday. When I woke up, I looked outside to find that it was yet another beautiful spring day here in New England. Although, truth be told, this one was actually a little bit too beautiful – the temps were in the mid 80′s, and the humidity was riding really high (before going to bed the previous night, I saw that the humidity was 93% – totally unreasonable). The combination of such warm temps, high humidity, and my lack of exposure to anything of the sort so far this year made it pretty rough. And anyone that knows me knows that humidity is the one thing that I just can’t deal with. Nonetheless, with the pleasant weather, I had to get outside and do something. After much deliberation (it’s surprisingly hard to choose a trail just based on text descriptions… more on that in a month or so), I finally decided to go for a hike on the Bill Ballard trail (PDF), a nice trail right in Norwich, VT, that follows a very classic New England brook – the Charles Brown Brook.
The trail itself is a lovely trail, winding along the brook through a pine forest with all sorts of miniature ravines coming in the from the sides. Interestingly, a lot of the scenery around there reminded me of various parts of the trails along the Gunpowder River back home in MD. You’ll have to take my word on it, as I don’t seem to have any shots on my site from those trails right now. It starts by the Norwich swimming pool, a bit of a misnomer if you haven’t been there before, as it’s just an area of the river that can be damed up to create a big swimming hole.
Grand Canyon (of Norwich), here I come! Also, interestingly enough the distances are written in hours, not miles (or kilometers). This is the only place outside of New Zealand that I can recall seeing something like this.
I walked up the trail along Charles Brown Brook.
This just looks like such a typical New England scene. I love it.
One of the more elegant bridges I’ve seen out in the woods (as long as you don’t count the absurd hanging bridges in New Zealand).
The trail even has a nice set of stairs to help you up the hill.
After around ~2 miles, I made it to an intersection that was the turn around point for the route listed on the UV Trails website. However, I wanted to see the Grand Canyon, so I kept on walking. Unfortunately, the trail was in noticeably worse shape (much more muddy and generally in greater disrepair) in this upper section, although not bad enough to warrant turning around. Also, note the nice benches just sitting there in the woods… I guess it’s a nice spot to just hang out.
After trudging onward for a bit, bypassing the various mud pits and the like, I made it to the Norwich Grand Canyon! Thankfully there’s an easement that won’t allow development in this special area (click the link for a close-up of the sign, if you’re curious).
What an amazing spot.
Beautiful.
And finally, looking down the canyon from close to the top.
I stopped at the top of the canyon, ate my lunch, and then turned around to head back to the car. I rushed myself on the way back, as I was certain that I was going to get caught in a vicious thunderstorm with all the energy in the air. Thankfully though, I didn’t get rained on.
It’s always great to explore new places and see new things. I ended up choosing this trail somewhat randomly, and I’m really glad that I went on this hike. Who would have ever thought that something so cool as this Norwich Canyon could exist so near to civilization? And even cooler, there wasn’t a soul there! It just goes to show you – there’s a lot out of cool stuff there, you’ve just got to open your eyes, awaken your adventuresome spirit, and get out there!
Hiking Moose Mountain
With another weekend of beautiful weather upon the New England region, I was once again left with the difficult predicament of decided what I wanted to do. To ski? To hike? To take a bike ride? To…? Life sure is tough living in New England when the warm spring weather rolls in.
After waking up, I had a relaxed morning of photo editing (it takes a lot more time than you might imagine), and soon thereafter begin my deliberations as to what I actually wanted to do. I had decided to go on a hike, but to where? I wasn’t particularly keen on going anywhere far away, and I’ve been up to Holt’s Ledge a number of times, so I went searching for a new trail to explore. After checking out various sources, I finally ended up deciding to take a hike up to Moose Mountain, the highest point in the boundaries of the town of Hanover. Feel free to read up a bit about the trail on the Dartmouth Outing Club’s site. On a side note, I imagine that Moose would have quite thoroughly enjoyed this eponymous hike.
I got the the trailhead in the early afternoon, and off I went.
This dead tree had sorts of neat fungi, and they were big too.
Looking up the muddy Harris Trail.
Dartmouth really does own everything around here!
A pretty trillium sitting on the forest floor.
Not too long after I had started out, the trees cleared out a bit and all of a sudden, I found myself at the south summit. The views weren’t terribly great, as there were lots of trees all around. As well, there’s all sorts of debris around the summit, mostly on the easter hill side. This is due to the fact that in 1968 a Northeast Airlines flight crashed somewhere down there. Oddly enough, they drove a bulldozer up the Harris Trail and all the way to the summit in order to clear out a landing zone for a helicopter, and so this is the reason that the summit is as free of trees as it currently is, although they’re coming back slowly but surely.
After coming down off the South summit, I wasn’t ready to head back, so I decided to try to make my way to the North Summit of Moose mountain as well. On the way, I passed this awesome sign for the shelter that was along the trail. This is quite possibly the coolest trail sign I’ve ever seen.
In my trek towards the north summit, I even found a little bit of snow still hiding from the heat amongst the pines.
I kept on walking for a bit heading towards the north summit of Moose mountain. I went on for a little while, ascending the ridge and then slowly beginning a descent. I’m pretty sure I hit the summit, although it’s hard for me to be certain. From the map I had (and looking at a few things online, after the fact), the trail doesn’t actually pass over the summit (it does come close), and I imagine the summit itself is a fairly wooded area. If it had been a bit earlier in the day, I would have kept on walking to see whether or not I truly made it to the summit, but it was getting late in the day and I still had to get back down the mountain, so I decided to turn around.
Even at the higher elevations in the region(~ >2000ft), life is starting to come back to the forrest.
I descended the mountain down the Clard Pond Loop, which follows the old Wolfeboro Road, a road originally cut in 1772 so that the governor of NH could attend Dartmouth’s first commencement. Apparently at one point, this road was a “major thoroughfare,” although these days it’s kind of a mess, as erosion has not played nicely with the road. Even so, according to the guidebook, much of the original route is still passable as a class VI road (if you don’t care to read about class IV roads, they’re basically “historic public roads that are no longer maintained for traffic” [source]).
At the bottom of the Clark Pond loop, I headed back along the Harris Trail. Somewhere in there, I found one of the larger white pines I’ve ever seen. I bet this tree was around before this country was - how awesome is that?
There was a nice stream near the trail.
Crossing back over Mink Brook as I was nearing the end of my hike.
Once I got back to the car, I noticed this tree a few feet away. I guess there were some good bugs that really interested the woodpeckers in that tree.
What a fun, quick and easy way to get out and about for a few hours. It’s always good to be reminded to there’s so much to do out there. You’ve just got to open your eyes and ears and search about for it. So get out there and get after it!
Lastly, I wish to add this cautionary note to anyone who is thinking about getting out into the New England woods any time soon – the bugs are out. Bring your bug spray, or you will be sorry. But don’t let them stop you from getting out into the woods and enjoying an awesome afternoon with nature!
Spring Is Coming In
Well it looks like spring is really beginning to come in. The trees are starting to get green and life is sprouting up everywhere. As saturday was coming up, I knew I wanted to do something outside, but I wasn’t sure yet what to do. I still wanted to get up to Mt Washington for at least one day, but the forecast didn’t seem to nice up there. And oddly enough, for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t terribly stoked on the idea of skiing.
So I ended up deciding to hike up to Holt’s Ledge, a small cliff band on top of one of the sides of the Dartmouth Skiway. When I got up to the trailhead, the weather was just about my description of a perfect summer day – it was 64° and partly cloudy with a light wind in the air. 67° would have been nicer, but who am I to complain.
Anyways, here are a few cool shots from the day.
It’s a nice trail up.
The forrest is coming alive. Look at how green it already is!
An old road used to access the Skiway.
Fiddleheads are popping up.
As are pretty white flowers.
Silly summit shot.
(Edited to add this photo). A nice view looking south and east. Click it to enlarge.
Looking down one of the classic NE ski trails at the Skiway. Unfortunately, it seems to be lacking in snow.
Awesome whispy clouds.
After I got back to my car, I decided I wasn’t ready to go back to my apartment, so I just kept on driving up the road. I drove cool some cool spots, including what I’m guessing is some sort of bear preserve.
There were some neat marshy areas too.
All in all, a great day outing with nearly perfect weather. It’s been neat to watch the forrest as everything comes back to life this springtime.