Live Free and Hike: A NH Day Hiker's Blog

Ripley Falls

2019-10-11T21:41:00.000-04:00

This trip report is pretty late as we visited the White Mountains over the 4th of July weekend and I have been delinquent in posting for a very long time. Our trail destination plans for the weekend brought us to Ripley Falls! I found this hike while looking for a less strenuous option in the Whites and specifically targeting waterfalls. Less well know than Arethusa, Glen Ellis and Diana’s Baths…I can tell you I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the hike was and the spectacular falls that awaited us at the end of our trek.

The trailhead starts at the parking area for Ethan Pond Trail in the Crawford Notch. It’s marked on US Route 302 with a large sign for Ripley Falls. You drive up a short hill and the parking area is at the top. The parking area is rather small so if there are already a bunch of cars up there, you may have to do a 20-point turn and park at the bottom of the hill.

The Ethan Pond Trail starts by heading west up the short, steep bank of the scenic railroad tracks. After crossing the tracks, the trail heads into the woods and is pretty flat with only gentle ascents for the 0.2 miles you’re on the Ethan Pond Trail.

At 0.2 miles, the trail splits and the Ethan Pond Trail continues west while the Arethusa-Ripley Falls Trail heads in a southwesterly direction. Again, many gentle ascents mixed with flat stretches make up the next 0.3ish miles. Similar to many other WMNF trails, it was filled with rocks, boulders, roots and a lot of runoff water producing a lot of mud! For the last stretch of trail before reaching Ripley Falls (0.6 miles total), the trail descends aggressively to an open area beneath the falls.

Ripley Falls very much reminded me of Arethusa with some of its own uniqueness. At the bottom were many rocks to hop on and lounge, as well as calm pools of water to wade in. We got a show from rock climbers that were repelling down the smooth granite surface of the falls. It was definitely a cool sight to witness. Also, there were hundreds of butterflies sunning on the rocks, which the kids love to observe.

After soaking in the sun for a bit and watching the rock climbers repel, we packed it up and headed back out the 0.6 miles to the car. This was a great family hike and even though it was short, it had all the great features of a good White Mountains’ trek. I would highly recommend it for those looking for something less strenuous for the day and definitely those with small children. In total, it is a 1.2 mile hike and approximately 400 feet in elevation gain.

Family Hike Up Mount Major in Alton, NH

2018-08-22T16:55:00.000-04:00

I had a few days off last week, so we decided to go on a family hike. A mountain that Jill and I have frequented often is one that the kids had yet to tackle. It’s close by to us, when compared to the Whites, but still has the prominence and nuances of a great peak in the north country. The mountain I’m speaking of is Mount Major in Alton, NH.

The kids are 7 and 4 years old now, so we’ve finally graduated to the point where they can make it up to a summit (of reasonable distance and difficulty) and back to the car on their own fuel. This is a great feeling as a parent because you know they’re putting in the labor to get to that summit and that really contributes to the rewarding part in my eyes.

We ascended the Mount Major Trail (1.5 miles, blazed in blue) to the summit over the open ledges, and descended the Boulder Loop Trail (1.6 miles, blazed in orange) on the southern side of the mountain. The ledges were difficult for them having such little legs, but they had fun. We spotted a ton of mushrooms along the way, but we unfortunately missed the blueberry season. The kids had a great time exploring the stone building at the top known as Mr. Phippen’s Hut!

Mountains off to the east from the summit, looking over Lake Winnipesaukee

View to the north from the summit

View to the southeast from the summit

It was really a great day. Blue bird skies paired with a panoramic view of Lake Winnipesaukee always take your breath away. After the hike, everyone was hungry, so we grabbed drinks and a late lunch at the Ellacoya Barn & Grille which was great! I would highly recommend this location for any post Belknap hikes in your future!

Summit foot shot on the benchmark

Whether you’re a beginner or experienced, no matter what your age is, Mount Major is a staple. It has a little bit of everything to enjoy. The terrain is not too easy, but also not too hard. It has a bald summit and 360-degree views including a wide view of Lake Winnipesaukee. It has open ledges to scramble for fun. It has a USGS benchmark and a cool, creepy stone structure at the summit. For a small mountain and a 3 mile round trip route, it packs a huge punch.

GPS vs. Map on the Belknap Range Trails Organization website

A notable item that I wanted to mention is there’s a cool bog near the summit on the Boulder Loop Trail, on the west side. There was no sign for it and as far as I can tell, it has no name. It would be cool to see if any older maps of the mountain point to this bog in any way.

Unknown bog near the summit on the Boulder Loop Trail.

I'd like to learn the name if there is one.

A couple great resources are here:
Belknap Range Trails Organization – Mount Major Section
NH State Parks Blog Post on Mount Major
PDF Map of the Belknaps including Mount Major
Ellacoya Barn and Grille

Quick Stop at the Quechee Gorge in Vermont

2018-07-23T09:24:00.001-04:00

The company I work for in NH has a sister company located up in the Burlington, VT area. I sometimes get the pleasure of visiting this facility. Even though it's a very long drive, I say "pleasure" because the drive-up US I-89 is extremely scenic and there's not much that beats the view of the mountains. On my way home the other day, I decided to pull off on Exit 1 and check out the Quechee Gorge

The Quechee Gorge is a very cool stretch of Ottauquechee River that has carved its way down, 165 feet into the earth over the past 100,000 years. The geological history of this massive gorge is impressive and dates back to the ice age. Vermont’s State Park website has a great trail map for this gorge and surrounding park area. It also has a second page with a thorough geological history which I encourage you to read. You can check this map/document out here.

Below are some pictures I took with my phone while standing on the small, narrow bridge over the gorge on US Route 4. It’s super impressive and worth a quick 5 minute excursion off the highway if you’re in the area!

View of the Quechee Gorge from US Route 4 bridge looking north. The picture doesn't do it justice...the view is great and you are pretty high up.

View of the Quechee Gorge from US Route 4 bridge looking south.

Looking straight down from the bridge on the south side.

Reference:

VT State Park Website: https://vtstateparks.com/quechee.html

Hiking Map and History: https://vtstateparks.com/assets/pdf/quecheegeo.pdf

Mount Willard in the Crawford Notch

2017-10-25T16:32:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite locations in the White Mountains is the Crawford Notch. Whenever we make our way down US-RT 302, we’re usually headed westbound from Jackson, NH to our hiking destination for the day. This notch seems surreal to me at times, surrounded by mountains, both big and small, rivers, waterfalls, railway trestles, etc. It seems to have a little bit of everything that makes the White Mountains so special.

Mount Willard, as seen looking north while on NH-Route 302, westbound

One memorable sight that I recall from my very first drive through the Crawford Notch is a wall of ledge that comes into view around the Historical Willey House Site heading west. This cliff wasn’t the tallest peak around us by any means, but certainly dictated prominence over many of the 4,000-footers that surrounded it. Of course, the rock face I’m talking about is Mount Willard.

We’ve hiked Mount Willard in the past. It’s an easy hike up a gentle carriage road and gives you a spectacular view down the notch to the south. It also has a lot of history. Like many mountains in the Whites, at one time there was a lot of activity to its summit by means of both a carriage road and an auto road. There was also a small trail network on the mountain, which brought hikers to surrounding destinations such as the Hitchcock Flume, Devil’s Den and Rotten Gully.

Old map showing an auto road, carriage road and multiple (now abandoned trails) to features around Mount Willard - Photo courtesy of username NHAndy posted on a Facebook hiking forum

We started our hike at the Crawford Depot on the Avalon Trail, although we weren’t on it for long. Just 0.1 miles in, the Mount Willard Trail breaks left and heads south, but soon turns west again. The terrain is a bit rocky but the grades are gentle enough that my 3 and 6 year old children had no problem with the trail at all. At 0.5 miles we were able to take a break at Centennial Pool.

After our break, the trail turned south again and climbed a bit more steeply for about another half mile before it joined up with the remnants of the old carriage road. The old carriage road was very smooth and nearly flat. Every 100 feet or so, you came to old, concrete drainage pipes that were becoming unearthed beneath the carriage road due to erosion. The kids had a fun time looking for them and always trying to find “the next one”!

View of the Mount Willard Trail (old carriage road)

One of many old drainage pipes coming to the surface of the trail

Near the top, about 0.1 miles from the summit on the east side of the trail, there’s an unmarked and hard to spot spur trail. This trail leads down to the Hitchcock Flume. Unfortunately, either due to safety or due to resources, this spur trail is no longer maintained. One day, when I’m not with the kids, I plan on exploring the Hitchcock Flume via this trail.

When we finally reached the summit at approximately 1.8 miles, the view was superb. As previously mentioned, to the south you can see down the Crawford Notch, both the highway and train tracks look like small squiggly lines. You can see the train trestles below Mount Field (I think), Willey Pond and the Saco. On the east side of the ledges, the Presidentials can be viewed from Jackson to Washington and to the west, Willey and Field. I think one of the most impressive views Willard offers are the closeups of the Webster Cliffs.

View of Mount Willey

View down the Crawford Notch, NH Rt-302 in the center, train tracks to the right

Mount Webster

Whether you’re up for a relaxing hike or something that’s kid friendly, you can’t lose when choosing Mount Willard. For a small effort, the rewards are huge. We’ve been lucky as we’ve always hit the summit early and have never run into any large crowds. But I have heard it does get pretty busy. If you hike New Hampshire mountains, Mount Willard is a “must hike” mountain. And the cherry on top is, if you are a peak-bagger, you can check this one off your 52 With A View list!

Below are some links that may be of helpful if you’re doing research on Mount Willard and planning a hike:

http://hikenewengland.com/WillardHitchcockFlumeNH090905.php - An old hiking report I wrote years ago after my first trip up Willard

http://www.newhampshire.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWHAMPSHIRE0501/110429910

https://www.nhstateparks.org/uploads/pdf/WilleyHouse-InfoSheet.pdf

https://www.nhstateparks.org/uploads/pdf/CrawfordHikingMapAllWeb_2010.pdf - Map

The Gondola at The Moat Mountain Smokehouse & Brewing Co.

2017-09-07T07:04:00.000-04:00

We stay up in the north country at least once a year for a few nights. When we do, it's typical that we stay in the Jackson, NH or Conway, NH area. Since it's an annual trip, it's not surprising that we have a few local favorites that we like to visit. One of which is the Moat Mountain Smokehouse & Brewing Co. Their great beverage selection along with their ability to cook a phenomenal, well-done burger without burning it, always makes this venue one of our first meal stops during our trip. It's also very kid friendly which is must for us.

Outside the brewery right next to the walkway is a really cool, antique ski gondola. The gondola is covered in stickers, all of which I assume were placed there by loyal customers. It's very cool lawn art! Every year we go there, I think to myself, "I wish I brought a Live Free and Hike NH sticker to stick on there"...but I always forget. This year, however, Jill reminded to bring one up and I finally got my sticker on the gondola!!!

I found a place to stick it right next to a running club's sticker that I also belong as a member, although I'm not too active in, The Winner's Circle Running Club. So, if you make your way to Moat Mountain Smokehouse & Brewing Co., check out my sticker on your way in!

Piper Mountain in the Belknap Range

2017-09-03T07:51:00.001-04:00

We recently hiked up Piper Mountain, which is part of the Belknap Mountain Range just south of Belknap Mountain. Piper Mountain has two peaks in close proximity, both a south and north, the south being the prominent one at 2,044 feet. There’s a ton of info regarding the trail network for this mountain as well as others in the Belknap Range at belknaprangetrails.org/. On this site you can find detailed trail descriptions and a great 11x17 pdf map of the range.

View from Piper Mountain's North Peak

We hiked the mountain starting from the Belknap Mountain Carriage Road upper parking area. From here, we hiked a short distance down the carriage road about 0.2 miles until the White Trail entered the woods to the south (just after the bridge). This trail descends gently over nicely groomed trails for a short distance into the col between Piper and Belknap. Here, it splits at a junction with the Old Piper Trail.

Walk down the Carriage Road. The trailhead for the White Trail is just over the bridge on the left.

White Trail Trailhead

The Old Piper Trail veers to the right and continues with orange blazes through mostly hardwood. The trail, like much of the Beklnap Range trail network, is nicely groomed and maintained. The forest slowly gives way to shorter trees and ledge footing with some decent views to the northeast.

Soon, the trail turns to open ledges with great views to the east at the north peak. This location is also the end of the Old Piper Trail and beginning of the Piper-Whiteface Link Trail. We continued over the ledges, through blueberry scrub to the true summit at the south peak. The views were better on the north peak so we back tracked there for lunch.

View from the first set of ledges

The north peak had a great view of Belknap Mountain with the cell tower and fire tower in visible. There were also nice views of Mount Suncook, Mount Klem and Mount Mack. Also, there was a body of water poking out from behind some peaks. I think it was Round Pond, but may have been portions of Alton Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee. There was also a great view of a mountain to the West, but I did not have a map that had terrain that far enough out to identify it.

Open Ledges

Stone Thrown that has been on the north peak for many years

Belknap Mountain, cell tower and fire tower visible although didn't show up in this photo

Zoom in of fire tower on Belknap

Close up of either Round Pond or portions of Alton Bay

View to the west

Zoom in of a mountain to the northwest, not sure which one...maybe Cardigan???

Zoom in of what I believe to be Mount Kearsarge to the west

We headed back down the same way ascended making the round trip about 2.4 miles. This was a great, short hike with rewarding views. I highly recommend it as family friendly, especially for small kids.

GPS vs. Map

Signage from the trek

More Signage

The McLane Center Audubon Society Trail Network - Concord, NH

2017-08-01T08:02:00.000-04:00

A few days ago, I decided to check out the nearby Concord NH Audubon Society trail network located at the McLane Center off from 84 Silk Farm Road. The trailhead for this network begins at a kiosk located on the backside of the parking lot. The trails are well blazed and loop into each other allowing hikers to create a trek that can range from fractions of a mile to multiple miles. My route was taking Wendy’s Loop counterclockwise (red trail) to the Great Turkey Pond Trail, again counterclockwise (yellow trail) and back onto Wendy’s Loop. This compound loop hike was approximately 1.2 miles, brings you through some nice terrain ranging from hardwood to pine groves, was flat and gives you nice vistas of Turkey Pond where I’m assuming wildlife viewing is prevalent. It was overcast and rainy when I visited so I didn’t see much in the way of wildlife. Below are some pictures from this hike. It’s a great place to spend a lunch break or bring kids to enjoy nature!

McLane Center Trail Map: Here

McLane Center Website: Here

Trail network was well blazed and maintained

View over old stonewall into adjacent meadow from trail

Old barbed wire meadow fencing grown into an old oak tree

View of Turkey Pond

Boulders on the Trail

Man made features on the trail which are great for kids to explore

Map vs. GPS

Signage for this Trek

Great Bay Discovery Center and Sandy Point

2017-06-14T13:04:00.001-04:00

Last week, I was home with my wife and son…and it was beautiful out. Since we only had a little time to spare due to other errands we had to run, we decided to check out the close by Great Bay Discovery Center in Greenland, NH (I thought this was in Stratham but it says Greenland online). This Discovery Center is located at 89 Depot Road (the very end of the street) and has a large facility with an exhibit room which is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 4pm. Unfortunately for us, we went on a Tuesday so it wasn’t open.

There’s a small trail network behind the center that hugs the banks of Great Bay. The trailhead is located behind the main building and heads west. It quickly turns into the Boardwalk Trail and is about 1,700 feet in length. It brings you down to the banks of Great Bay to a location known as Sandy Point. The boardwalk is level and has signs setup along the way teaching travelers about the different wildlife that make up the ecosystem within Sandy Point. There are also sets of wildlife footprints painted on the boardwalk that match up with the wildlife signs close by. My 2-year-old loved following them. At the end of the boardwalk, there is a view finder that looked to the east toward an osprey nest which was very cool.

The Boardwalk Trail

Looking Northeast at Sandy Point

Guide signs along the trail and footprints on the boardwalk

Osprey Nest and Viewer

On the short hike back, near the beginning of the boardwalk, we took a right at an intersection and headed further west on the Woodland Walk Trail. This trail immediately brought you to a mock Western Abenaki camp dwelling with a tee-pee like structure and some informational signage. Past this, the Woodland Walk Trail drove deeper west, but became very muddy. We made it to the end but could not get out to the bank of the bay due to the wet trail. So, we turned around and headed back to the Discovery Center parking area.

Western Abenaki Camp Dwelling

Woodland Walk Trail

This trail network is about 1 mile in length, round trip. It's a fantastic little hike for little ones since it was mostly made up of a boardwalk, had some great visual teaching signs and was overall short. The GBNERR (Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve) also has a great little passport for kids to check off where they’ve been and learn about the bay. A link to this, and all the maps associated with Great Bay can be found here.

Signage

Jerry Hill and the Marjory Swope Park in Concord, NH

2017-05-21T22:40:00.000-04:00

Penacook Reservoir with Mount Chocorua, Mount Belknap and Gunstock Mountain in the background

I found another great, little hike in the Concord area the other day which brought me to the top of Jerry Hill on the western side of Concord, NH. Jerry Hill is approximately 712 feet at the summit and has some cool features ranging from an older lookout or fire tower site to nice mountain vistas. The easiest access to Jerry Hill is at the Marjory Swope Park trailhead. There’s also a map for this area on Concord’s facilities site and can be accessed here.

From the parking area, I headed left from the trailhead and found the trail split quickly into the “blue” loop. I took another left approaching the loop in a clockwise direction. The trail climbed gently and right away, I could tell the trail network was very well maintained and visibly blazed.

Wildlife encounters included two garter snakes and one small toad

Some wildflower encounters

Near the southern point of the blue loop, I came to a trail junction where the yellow trail (on the right) ascended to the summit of Jerry Hill. At this point, I split away from the blue trail and hiked up the yellow trail. After a short time, I made it to another intersection and a trail sign. Continuing straight would bring me over the summit and going left (west onto the orange trail) would bring me by Gilfillan Rock and a “Mountain Vista”.

At this point, I decided to take a detour from my initial route to explore the Gilfillan Rock and the Mountain Vista. I found the Gilfillan Rock maybe a hundred feet down the orange trail on the right. It was basically a large, short ledge ran parallel to the trail. It is named after a carving “Gilfillan” which is carved in its side. It’s believed to represent a young boy who passed away in the 1890s since Jerry Hill was a favorite destination of the school kids back then. On the top of the rock, there are many other carvings of surnames as well, but none as prominent as “Gilfillan”. There’s a small memorial and explanation on a post in front of Gilfillan Rock.

Gilfillan Rock

The Gilfillan Rock Story

Just past Gilfillan Rock is a small clearing with a bench and a view finder image. There are nice views out to the west and Crotched Mountain is easily seen. Mount Monadnock is also easy to make out on a clear day but it was too hazy to find while I was there. After exploring for a bit, I backtracked the orange trail back to the yellow trail and continued on my planned loop.

Views to the west, Crotched Mountain to the left, Pat's Peak on the right

Back on the yellow trail, I passed what I considered to be the high point on the mountain and then quickly came to the old lookout tower location. All that’s left from the tower are the four foundation blocks that were near flush with the ground. It’s not known if it was ever used for a fire observation tower or not. It has been placed on the “official” excel spreadsheet as a “footnote” or a tower location that needs more info to determine if it should be officially added or not. The spreadsheet can be found here.

Lookout Tower Foundation Blocks. Note the yellow trail crosses right through it's location.

Tower foundation block, not as tall as a a traditional fire tower foundation block.

After passing the tower location, the trail descended quickly and I came to a viewpoint to the northwest. The side of the hill had been cleared so that you could easily see Mount Kearsarge. After taking in the views for a few minutes, I continued down the yellow trail where it ended at the blue trail on the north point of the blue loop.

Mount Kearsarge to the northwest

Heading clockwise on the blue loop brought me to the best viewpoint of the day. It was a large clearing with a panoramic sized view that swept from the northwest to the northeast skyline. You could see the whole Penacook Reservoir with Chocorua, Belknap and Gunstock in the background. The blue trail then lead me back to my starting point at the Marjory Swope Park trailhead and parking area.

Penacook Reservoir with Mount Chocorua, Mount Belknap and Gunstock Mountain in the background

Mount Belknap (right) with Gunstock peaking over it's western shoulder

Left: from Concord's trail maps

Right: My Strava GPS

This lunchtime trek was roughly 1.5 miles in all. It provided a loop hike option (which I love loop hikes), multiple viewpoints and lots of historical features to explore. I was impressed by how well the trails were maintained and blazed which made it easy to move swiftly in the short time I had at lunch. I would highly recommend anyone in the area to check this park and trail system out!

Trail Signage

Great Hill in Bow, NH

2017-05-05T13:22:00.001-04:00

Last year, I spent a lot of time during my work week lunchtimes exploring the woods in the greater Manchester area. With my new job located in Concord, I plan on doing the same thing in this area. My very first lunchtime excursion landed me in southern Bow, NH exploring Great Hill!

Great Hill is bound within the Nottingcook Forest which is a town forest and considered conservation land within Bow, NH. From the trail map, which can be found here, it seems there are a few ways to get to the summit of Great Hill. I chose to use the Hamilton's Path Trailhead on north side of South Bow Road just east of the powerline crossings. This trailhead allowed for parallel parking on both sides of the road, had a very visible kiosk (with a map) and a trail sign.

Kiosk on South Bow Road

The Hamilton’s Path Trail meandered through the woods on a nice trail which was also clearly marked with yellow markers. They were very well maintained with roots and rock exposed. Some very short sections were a little wet with mud, but it easy to rock hop to get around them. The beginning was flat but did start to climb gently. At about 0.25 miles, an old woods road entered the trail from the right but there were arrows keeping you on the main trail north.

Wildflower...couldn't identify???

Just past this intersection, there was a small clear with some boulders. It served as a really nice view point to the southwest where Mount Monadnock was clearly identifiable. Also, you could see a ski mountain just north of Monadnock which I believe to be Crotched Mountain.

View to the west, Mount Monadnock on the left and Crotched Mountain on the right.

Zoomed in Mount Monadnock

Zoomed in Crotched Mountain

After taking a short break at the viewpoint, I continued north on flat terrain through a crossing snowmobile trail. Soon after the snowmobile trail, the trail split and a sign pointed me to the left in the direction of the summit. This trail was called Walter’s Way and seemed to be a loop that went up the west side of the summit and most likely exited down the east side. I took this branch both ways. It was blazed with orange markers.

After climbing a short distance on Walter’s Way, I came to a large, clear cut summit area. It was a mess and was disheartening to see. I understand the need to harvest the forest but the condition that some logging companies leave these areas in are frustrating.

Clear cut summit with some seed trees still left. They left a mess!

After walking through the mess the skidders left behind, I came to a trail sign that read “NCF Great Hill Summit Elevation 879 Ft”. There were great views to the north all the way to the White Mountains. There was also a nice bench pointed in the direction of the mountains with a view finder on a pedestal. I could not find a benchmark of any kind.

Summit Marker Sign

Wide view to the north. Many mountains are recognizable from the view finder at the summit.

Summit features

It was a bit hazy up there but I could make out Mount Washington with its white cap and Mount Lafayette. Some peaks that were easier to make out were closer ones such as Belknap Mountain and Mount Chocorua.

Mount Washington through the haze

Mount Chocorua through the haze

Belknap Mountain, a bit closer than the Whites

In the far, far distance, you can barely see Mount Lafayette's snow covered peak

poking up in the Franconia Notch

After enjoying the views for a bit, I continued on the Walter's Way Trail clockwise and came to a nice viewpoint to the northeast. Soon after the viewpoint, there was an intersection that looked like, based on the trail signage, would connect you to the rest of the Hancook Forest trail system. Soon after this intersection, the trail dropped me back on the Hamilton's Path Trail and I made my way back the way I came.

This was a great little hike and I think I’ll be back to explore a bit more since it’s so close to my office. It was about one mile round trip which makes it the perfect distance for a lunchtime excursion. I would highly recommend this hike for anyone in the Concord area looking for a quick trek as the rewarding views at the summit are plentiful!

Mine Hill in Auburn, NH - High Point and Historical Fire Tower Location

2017-04-25T23:44:00.000-04:00

Another small, lunchtime hike I did last fall was Mine Hill in Auburn, NH. Mine Hill is one of three hills that take credit for being the highpoint of this town at 580ft. The other two locations are Mount Miner and Mount Misery. Along with being known as the town highpoint, it is also the site a NH historical fire tower which no longer resides there. The information for this tower can be found here. So, hitting this summit allows you to check off boxes for both the NH highpoint list and the NH historical fire tower site list.

Mine Hill as seen across Massabesic Lake from its northern

shores on NH Route 121 near the 28B rotary

Another interesting tidbit about this hill is that it’s also known as “Devil’s Den”, or at least an old well or cave on the side of the hill helped term the nickname. Apparently, many years ago a body was found in the well or cave and apparently now the location is considered haunted. From the research I’ve done, there’s not much left to this specific feature as it was filled in a number of years ago. This story didn’t interest me too much so I did not go in search of this site. There are a number of YouTube videos online which would help one navigate to the site if you so choose.

The trailhead starts at Fire Road 42 on the east side of NH Route 121 almost across from where Shore Drive enters on the west side of NH Route 121. For those of you not familiar with Auburn, the town has the most extensive maze of fire roads I have ever seen! I parked my truck on the west side of the road, directly across from the gate at FR42.

Gate at FR42

I started my lunchtime journey by walking around the gate and headed in about 0.25 miles to a small clearing with a fork. I took the right leg as that headed uphill. I wasn’t super clear on directions so I was really winging it.

At the next fork, I continued right again and soon came to a stonewall, which seemed to be a party location with some creepy chairs suspended on some trees. The trail seemed to have disappeared at this point. I figured this was not right, so I backtracked to the last fork and took the left. The trail started to climb more steeply so I figured I was going in the right direction.

Soon the trail forked again. Posted property signs lined the path going straight. Going right brought you up a steep hill and had an old, unmaintained set of log stairs. I headed up the steep incline and soon came to the top of the hill. I want to note that there is a house at the top next to the summit, very close to the fire tower location. The fire tower location is not posted, but hikers should act respectful due to the proximity of the house.

Old log stairs leading up to the summit.

As many former fire locations have, the four original cement foundation blocks are still up there with some old tower junk (cables, brackets, etc.). There are no real views from the top as the trees have all grown pretty high.

Fire tower foundation blocks on summit.

Junk left over from the fire tower.

Restricted view from the summit.

I didn't hang out for long as the house that’s up there is so close that it almost makes you uncomfortable because it feels like you’re in their backyard. After some quick pictures, I headed back down the way I came and found my truck. Unfortunately, this hike isn’t well documented online and finding the summit is a bit tricky from FR42. There are quite a few forks. Just remember to take a right at fork 1, left at fork 2 and right again at fork 3. That should get you to the top.

GPS Track, you can see where I made a wrong turn (right instead of left) at the second fork.

This was a great hike to fit in for a lunchtime break. However, if I were to do it again, I would have recruited a hiking buddy. I'm not sure why but these woods were spooky and I never really felt at ease while making my way to the top. Then, once at the top, that uneasy feeling continued being in someone's backyard. Regardless, I was able to check off a historical former fire tower location as well as a NH town highpoint (or at least 1/3 of a highpoint since there are 3 in Auburn).

Bald Hill - Newmarket NH High Point

2017-04-18T22:53:00.001-04:00

It’s been a long time since I’ve written in my blog. There’s a couple reasons for that. First, I just haven’t been too active. Less outside activity means less activity on my blog. Second, and maybe what has impacted this the most is I have a new job. A longer, rat-race commute, new challenges and needed focus in this area has kept me strapped to my office chair for a bit. That being said, the weather is warming up and I’m excited to get back outside for my lunchtime treks. A new location came with the new job, so that means lots of new areas to explore!

Before signing off this past November, there were a couple short reports that I did not have time to post. This is one of them. Last fall, I decided to check out Bald Hill in Newmarket, NH. This hill is considered the town’s highpoint at 281 feet in elevation with no published trail leading to the top. I also found absolutely no trip reports on it so I’m hoping this one might serve as a good reference to some.

Bald Hill as seen from Jacob's Well Road in

Epping, NH, near the Newmarket border

I started my trek at a cul-de-sac which is at the end of short, new road off from Bald Hill Road in Newmarket called Hayden Place. This new road is not on any of the street maps online, but is shown on Google Map’s (Earth Satellite View) as shown below. This short road does climb Bald Hill for about one tenth of a mile.

The maps with the GPS are from Strava, the right map is Google

Maps (Satellite View) with an arrow on the cul-de-sac.

Along with the new construction going on in this development, a set of stairs have been erected leading northwest up the banking from the cul-de-sac into the woods toward the summit of Bald Hill. Along with the stairs, there’s a new kiosk which was not populated. These two things combined leads me to believe that the intention is to start a trail network at this site.

As mentioned above, there is no current trail network on bald hill. It was easy to determine which direction was up so I bushwhacked my way northwest through open woods. The terrain did change from gentle to steep grades a few times. The hill finally plateaued onto a large, flat topped hill.

View from the top...a little restricted!

The summit was completely wooded with no views. I did find some old rubbish and some hunting blind structures. There was also an old stone wall that ran the northern parameter of the high spot on the hill. Near the stone wall, I found a yellow stake. This stake was oddly shaped and didn’t look like a property marker. I’m assuming it was the summit marker. I could be wrong on this assumption but it did seem as though it was the high spot.

Old hunting blind at the top

Some trail junk

Stonewall on the northern perimeter of the summit area

What I think is the summit stake, but could very well be a property bound

From the summit, I worked my way down the hill back to my truck using the same approximate route I used going up. It was a quick round trip, maybe only 20 minutes but it was cool nonetheless. I got to visit another highpoint in New Hampshire and it was a small bushwhack which I’m beginning to enjoy.

Quimby Mountain - Hooksett's High Point!

2016-11-03T18:45:00.000-04:00

I recently posted my report from my visit to Pulpit Rock in Bedford, NH to a hiking related Facebook page. I received some nice comments and after explaining that I'm targeting shorter hikes in the greater Manchester area, someone mentioned that I should check out Quimby Mountain in Hooksett, NH. After doing a little searching online, I found a great trip report for Quimby Mountain on HockeyPucks Hiking and Highpointing. It was very informative and helped seal my next hiking destination!

As previously mentioned, Quimby Mountain is located in Hooksett, NH, east of Interstate 93. It serves as Hooksett's high point at 902 feet. From the research I did, I learned that there was no published trails to the top and bushwhacking would most likely be required to get to the summit. I read that it had a bald, rocky summit and also sported a benchmark (score!).

View of the Uncanoonucs with Joe English Hill just visible to the right of North Uncanoonuc

My buddy and coworker, Keith (former LFAHNH guest blogger), accompanied me on this hike to Hooksett's high point. We parked at a cul-de-sac at the end of Quimby Mountain Road. There are a couple new houses going in at this location and the view to the south is beautiful, just from where we parked. Whoever buys those houses will be very lucky. From the HockeyPucks Hiking and Highpointing's report, it seemed there was some private property that we were going to have to avoid, but we found no posted signs so we didn't worry too much about it.

We started out heading southwest down an gravel road which looked like it may become an extension of the housing development in the future. We tried to locate a good place to head into the woods (southeast) but the scrub was pretty thick. We didn't have much of a choice so we dove in and in a 30 feet or so, the woods opened up. We quickly started heading uphill and tried our best to find the path of least resistance. We soon came to a stonewall which was extremely wide, flat on the top and mostly covered with leaves and pine needles. This ancient stonewall acted as a good road to the top and we took it some of the way up. Soon, we were just below some small ledges which we were able to easily scramble to get to the summit.

Gravel road we bushwhacked from

At the top, the summit was bald as I had read. There were some great views spanning south to southwest. The trees up there seem to be slowly growing in, restricting the views from each side. There was a great view of North and South Uncanoonuc, with Joe English Hill popping up from the side. We could also make out either Pack Monadnock or Mount Monadnock in the distance (not sure which one). To the south, we could see the profile of a city in the distance. We think it was Boston but had no map to verify.

I believe this is Mount Monadnock but could be Pack Monadnock

Joe English Hill just barely popping over the north side of Uncanoonucs

What may (or may not) be the Boston skyline

Keith located the benchmark, which was hard to spot. It's right at the top and is accompanied by a drilled hole. The problem is, it's pretty small and made of an aluminum alloy so it blends into the rock easily. Being a soft metal, it's been pretty abused and looks like someone took a claw hammer to it. It's not legible.

Benchmark at Summit

Some fall colors at the summit

More fall colors with the Uncanoonucs in distance

Bald Summit

After soaking in the views and exploring the summit for a bit, we noticed a small herd path that led down the northeast slope of the mountain. The herd path turned into a legitimate, unmarked trail and followed the property line along a stonewall. The other side of the stonewall had been clear cut for what looked like a new house lot. The trail popped out right next to the car and we felt silly we bushwhacked up instead of taking the trail! To our defense, the beginning of this trail is pretty camouflaged with weeds...so I'll just say we went the hard way up on purpose...to create a loop of course!

GPS Track, about 0.5 mile loop only

This was a great little mountain top! I'm really surprised there's not more information for this destination on the old interweb. One great thing I can say about this hike is that it solidified my desire to work on the NH town high points. Not necessarily for the need to check peaks off a list, but instead to explore new places in the wilderness that may be less traveled. It also pushes me to be a bit more adventurous by doing a little more bushwhacking, which is still outside my comfort zone. I'm definitely looking forward to some more high pointing!

Moore's Falls Conservation Area and Historical Canal

2016-11-01T15:06:00.002-04:00

For one of my recent lunchtime exploration destinations, I decided to check out the Moore’s Falls Conservation Area in Litchfield, NH. Moore’s Falls is a length of rapids on the Merrimack River which drops 6 feet in elevation over 650 feet in distance.

Before I get into my report, it’s notable to mention that Moore’s Falls was the location of a canal that once operated there. It was one of many canals along the Merrimack, which were located from Concord, NH to Newburyport, MA. These canals helped allow boats to navigate the rough river during the years of the textile mills. Moore’s Falls specifically was a 2000 foot long tow path canal off the east bank of the river. It is believed to have had three lock gates measuring 10 feet by 82 feet to help raise and drop the ships past Moore’s Falls. At the end of this blog, I have supplied some links for your reading pleasure that provide more information about this canal and the history of the Merrimack River canal network.

This shot is from Google Earth. I labeled the Tow Path and my "assumed" Lock

Gate locations. The Lock Gate locations are mostly covered with earth and trees now.

The Moore’s Falls Conservation Area is located on the west side of NH Route 3A in Litchfield where powerlines cross the road. There’s a kiosk at the parking area with some limited information. Behind the kiosk the trail heads down into the woods parallel to the powerlines. The trail is pretty wide and is more like a woods road than a trail.

Trailhead

After about 0.25 miles, the trail comes to an intersection with an old trolley track. I couldn’t find much information on the history of this trolley line. However, for present day, it looks like it’s maintained pretty well as part of the trail network.

Trolley Bed

Artifacts found on Trolley Bed. Left - Cast iron culvert pipe draining into brook.

Upper Right - Some sort of brick or ceramic flange feature in the ground. Lower

Right - Pipes for water or electric half buried on side of Trolley Bed.

After crossing the trolley track, the trail became more of a hiking trail and traversed a brook that had a very high banking. As I worked my way closer to the river, the brook broadened and worked its way deeper into the ground until it did in fact dump into the Merrimack River.

The trail then headed south, down the banks of the Merrimack. Walking along such a huge river makes you feel pretty small. I finally found a place where I could climb down the 20-30 foot banking and checkout the river. I’m pretty sure I came out right where the middle lock gate of the canal once stood. The stonework of the canal walls was visible since the river was so low. It was pretty impressive to think of how this was constructive with primitive equipment.

Canal tow path walls still visible with low water

Some of the rocks that creates the rapids of Moore's Falls

More Moore's Falls

Large boulder in the middle of the river is seen easily form arial shots (see Google Earth

Pic at beginning of post) which is about halfway down the canal

More canal tow path walls

What I believe to be the middle Lock Gate feature, with a tree

growing on it. Tow path bed is shown on the right, dry and free

of water. The seacoast is experiencing an incredible drought.

Another shot of the dry canal bed to the right.

After exploring the river and old canal features, I took a trail which headed east and met back up with the trolley bed. I headed north on the trolley bed and that dropped me back off where I had crossed the first it the first time. From there, I retraced my steps and finished back at the truck covering a total of about 1.5 miles.

GPS Track

This was a really cool location that I didn’t know existed. In the short one hour break for lunch, I was able to check out hiking trails, historic trolley beds, a canal that was instrumental to the textile industry in the 1800’s and some cool artifacts I found on the trolley bed. Definitely worth the hike!

Links on Moore's Falls Canal and the Merrimack River Canal System

http://middlesexcanal.org/towpath/towpathtopicsJan2009.htm
http://www.americancanals.org/Data_Sheets/New%20Hampshire/Moors%20Falls.pdf

Amesbury's Powder House

2016-10-20T18:10:00.001-04:00

After our short hike up to Powow Hill the other day, Jill told me that she knew of a location in the area that would be of interest to me. She brought me down Madison Street (in Amesbury, MA) and we parked in a parking lot to an apartment building just north of Monroe Street. We walked for about 500 feet (south) down the road and came to a set of stairs, a sign and a plaque on a rock on the east side of Madison Street. She had brought me to Amesbury's Powder House which I was definitely interested in checking out.

Amesbury's Powder House how it currently looks. It's been fenced off to keep people away from it's delicate condition before renovation occurs.

The stairs lead you up a high embankment on the side of Madison Street and dump you onto a trail heading up Brown's Hill. The trail heads east the whole way (all 0.1 miles of it) and dumps you at the summit where the Powder House resides. From the summit, there's another connecting trail heading north which will bring you to the Amesbury Country Club or to the Christopher Merchant Conservation Area via a public access easement.

Stair Access from Madison Street

Plaque and Sign at Stairs

It's worth noting that the summit of Brown's Hill used to be bare and one could see the ocean from the top...it's now completely wooded. Brown's Hill is actually the 3rd highest hill in Amesbury (over 180') and Amesbury's Powder House is only one of seven remaining in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

There's not a whole lot of information out there on Amesbury's Powder House. From what I gathered on Amesbury's Trails website (here), it is believed to be constructed around 1810 for the purpose to store gun powder and munitions during the War of 1812. It is a round masonry structure (as many powder houses in New England are) that is brick with some type of mortar over it.

It's current condition is pretty poor as it's been riddled with graffiti and has holes through the walls. It's my understanding that there has been efforts in the past to restore and repair the Powder House. There's actually an active effort to do so again right now. I think it's great that the town is recognizing this historical building as something that should be preserved within the town for future generations to appreciate.

The current condition is poor

Map vs. GPS

If you're interested in learning more on the restoration effort, I would encourage you to visit their Facebook page here.

The map for the Powder House trails and the surrounding trail network can be found here. I must warn you though; it was not laid out with north at the top...which is a huge pet peeve of mine!

Powow Hill (or Po Hill) in Amesbury, MA

2016-10-17T21:00:00.001-04:00

My daughter had the day off from school for Columbus Day so Jill and I took it off too. We decided to bring her to Newburport’s Fall Festival. It was a fun morning event and we followed it up with some local pizza from Anchor Pizzeria. After that, the afternoon was free so I suggested we head over to neighboring Amesbury, MA to hike Powow Hill.

I grew up in South Hampton, NH which is the neighboring town of Amesbury, MA. I actually went to high school in Amesbury so I’m pretty familiar with the area…but never really ventured up to Powow Hill or “Po” Hill as we called it back in the day. Powow hill is 331 feet above sea level and serves as Amesbury’s highpoint.

Powow Hill (towers visible) from the shore of Lake Gardner

Like many mountain and hill tops, this hill is rich in history. Its name is derived from the Native American tribe that used this hill’s summit as a ritual spot. I believe the Native American tribe was known as the Powow Indians, but this name would have been given to them by the European settlers of the time. The explanation in many history books was that these Native Americans congregated or “powwowed” on its summit. The best account of this is from an article entitled “Powow Hill, A Legend of Essex County” in New England Magazine, Vol. 2 which was published in 1832 and it reads:

“On the border of the Merrimac, some eight or ten miles from the ocean, there rises a steep eminence called Powow Hill. It is a landmark to the skippers of the coasting craft that sail up Newburyport harbor, and strikes the eye by its abrupt elevation and orbicular shape, the outline being as regular as if struck off by the sweep of a compass. It obtained the name from the Pagan ceremonial of the aborigines; for, in ancient times, ere our worthy and pious ancestors routed these heathen from the land, the hill in question was the grand high-place of Indian worship, and the nocturnal powwows held upon its summit were the terror and abomination of the whole neighborhood. While the savages lingered in these parts, they never failed, annually, to assemble on this consecrated mount and practice their mysterious orgies, greatly to the scandal and annoyance of all the Christian folk that dwelt roundabout – they having a pious horror of the practice of powwowing, denounced by Cotton Mather as damnable and demoniacal. Even when the last of the red men had disappeared from the country, the scene of their mystic incantations continued to be regarded with profound awe. A spirit of the Pagan mysteries dwelt about the spot; strange sights were seen; a marvelous legend was current – but let me not anticipate” [1]

Wow!!! Talk about dramatics and spooky stories. My guess is these legends and stories were heavily fabricated by settlers that wanted to justify the taking of the Native American land! I’m sure the Native American Tribe in Amesbury really gathered together up on Powow Hill to smoke peace pipes, party and talk about their glory days as worriers before the English started pushing them out!

More recently, Powow Hill was home to a small ski location which had slopes on its east side. I actually remember watching people ski down it when I was a kid. It closed when I was very young in 1993. I really couldn’t find a whole lot of information other than it was opened around 1949 and was known as Amesbury Ski Tow (which I recall from being a kid) until 1986 when the name changed to Atlantic Forest. The New England Lost Ski Area Project site has a page of limited information here. There’s also some more info and some older (unconfirmed) photos on the New England Ski History site here.

Amesbury has set up an Amesbury Trails website (click here) which has a great little map of Powow Hill and the surrounding trails. The PDF map can be downloaded here. We decided to ascend the hill from the west side starting from the Lake Gardner beach area. There is a parking lot (free) and a kiosk here which also had maps for hikers to take. Heading northeast, we walked down a paved sidewalk which quickly entered the forest on Lake Gardner’s southeast bank. The trail quickly went over too bridges to help avoid the flood plains. This first trail was called the Stagecoach Trail. At the first junction, we headed north on the Batchelder Trail and ascended this path the whole way. The trail system is marked very well with new signage.

Beach at Lake Gardner Parking Lot

Bridges on the Stagecoach Trail

The Batchelder Trail climbed moderately and was mostly comprised of roots and dirt. My 5 year old daughter had no problem skipping and running the whole way up. It soon started to level off and swung to the northwest before dumping you off on the summit, which was very nice.

The summit is actually designated as Batchelder Park and is a flat, grassy area which is perfect for a picnic. The grass continues down the eastern slope for a short distance with some benches looking out over the land. There is also a flag pole, an Amesbury specific benchmark, a kiosk with a view finding legend and some older concrete slabs (I assume artifacts from the ski area that once stood up there). There is also a set of radio towers but they are segregated from the nice park scenery.

Cool Town of Amesbury Benchmark...unfortunately the shadow was in the way

Proof we were there!

Radio Towers

I also found online that there was reference to a USGS Benchmark on the summit, but no accounts of anyone finding it. Instead, those who have sought it out feel it was buried many years ago. I too fell short and was not able to find it. But the Amesbury Benchmark on the flagpole foundation was cool enough. More on this here!

The view to the east was really incredible. I’m shocked that I practically grew up in Amesbury and had never experienced it before. You could see the Seabrook Station (nuclear power plant), the Isles of Shoals, some local landmarks (like Cider Hill Farm) and Mount Agamenticus in Maine. I think that was extremely cool when put into perspective. You are standing in Massachusetts, literally looking all the way across the State of New Hampshire and viewing something in the non-bordering State of Maine.

View to the East

Left: Mount Agamenticus zoomed in
Right-Top: Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant with Isles of Shoals in the distance
Right-Bottom: Cider Hill Farm with Mount Agamenticus in the distance.

After taking a few photos and enjoying the views, we turned around and headed down the same trails we ascended on. Once back to the car, we packed up and headed to our next destination for the afternoon; Amesbury’s Powder House on Brown’s Hill. Hint…my next post will be about this

Map vs. GPS Track

Signage from this Trek

References

[1] New England Magazine, Vol. 2, Powow Hill, A Legend of Essex County, 1932, Joseph Tinker Buckingham, Edwin Buckingham, Samuel Gridley Howe, John Osborne Sargent, Park Benjamin

Joe English Hill in New Boston, NH

2016-10-11T14:06:00.000-04:00

While looking through some recent trip report pictures on one of my friend's Facebook pages, I came across an image of the Uncanoonuc Mountains that I was unfamiliar with. I see these twin peaks traveling west every morning on NH Route 101, the one on the left (or South Uncanoonuc...trip report here) is populated with multiple radio towers and the one on the right peak (or North Uncanoonuc..trip report here) is simply wooded. In the photo I found, the radio towers were on the right, giving it a new perspective for me. It also made me realize that the viewpoint that this photo was taken from must be somewhat close to my office given the proximity of the Uncanoonucs to Manchester. This made Joe English Hill a perfect lunchtime destination.

Unfamiliar view (to me) of the Uncanoonucs from the west, atop Joe English Hill

Joe English Hill is located in New Boston, NH and can be accessed by use of some gravel roads and a couple unnamed, connecting trails. Joe English Hill is actually named after a Native American who lived during the late 1600s and early 1700s. New Boston, at the time, was a settlement only populated by Native Americans. Settlers from Europe had only gone as far west as Dunstable (which is now Nashua). The Native American tribe that made up New Boston was very cautious of the European settlers, but Joe English was able to befriend them and help share resources. Hence, why he was given the name Joe English. Members of his tribe disliked the relationships he built with the white man so they plotted to kill him. Joe English, being a proven warrior and hunter, led his assassins up Joe English Hill and tricked them into toppling over the 300 foot cliffs at the top. Therefore, the hill was named after him. The full story and a very interesting history of New Boston can be found on the New Boston Historical Society website here.

Joe English Hill is also on the list of locations for the New Hampshire historical fire towers that once occupied so many peaks in this State. There's not much information on it other than it was a steel tower, it was operated by the NH Forestry Service and it was removed in 1959. More information and an image of the old tower can be seen on Fire Outlook here.

Photo taken from http://www.firelookout.org/lookouts/nh/joeenglish.htm and

original credit goes to Iris Baird

I started off at the end of Summit Drive in New Boston, where there's a cul-de-sac. There's a gravel road that leaves the cul-de-sac heading south and immediately passes a beaver pond on the right. After a short way, a more traditional hiking trail begins on the left and ascends gently over rocks before giving way to dirt and roots. After a short distance, this trail leveled off and dumped into a four way intersection with three other gravel roads. Looking down the hiking trail, there were many smaller birch trees that had folded over the top of the trail forming a very cool looking tunnel.

Gravel road from cul-de-sac at the end of Summit Drive

Beaver pond to the right of the gravel road upon entering

Hiking trail starting on the left of the gravel road

Tunnel formed from trees laying over the trail

At the intersection, it was clear there was a small business going on, quarrying rock slabs for pavers and granite stairs. There were piles of pallets, old truck beds setup as loading platforms and some old junkyard parts. After exploring for a bit, we took a left and headed up the gravel road. After ascending a bit, we hit a clearly marking property boundary in blue on the trees. At this point, the gravel road reverted back to a traditional hiking trail and the forest thinned out considerably. Soon, we made our way over the crest and found the hilltop to be large and pretty flat.

Quarry Operation

Trail turns to slabs near the top

Thinned forest at the top of Joe English Hill

The summit had a small network of trails leading to viewpoints to the east (toward the Uncanoonucs), to the west (I think I could see Pack Monadnock) and to the south. Most of the viewpoints do have scrub and forest growing up and in a few years will be very difficult to get any good views. At the viewpoint to the east, someone had setup two Adirondack chairs between a fire pit. There was also a sign educating visitors about the raptor migration. It's a great location to sit and let some time pass.

To the west, I believe this is Pack Monadnock

Uncanoonucs to the east, and the Pawtuckaways on the far right in the distance.

Picturesque cedar with raptor migration sign

Raptor Migration Sign

Adirondack Chair sitting area toward the east and the Uncanoonucs

There's a large pile of rocks, not really a cairn as they weren't organized very well, at the hill's high point. I spent a lot of time looking for evidence of the fire tower that once stood on the summit but was unsuccessful. There are no foundation blocks or guide cable anchors left from the tower (that has been documented anyway). I was told by a friend that there's nothing left behind but I feel there must be something up there. Unfortunately, the summit top is so large that it's difficult to determine where the original location is to execute a thorough investigation. Maybe someone who reads this post can help me determine where this fire tower location specifically was.

Summit Rocks

Joe English Hill was definitely worth the drive during my lunchtime break. The hill's summit is pretty open and there are nice viewpoints in many directions. It's also rich in history. I can say the hike up is mostly enjoyable with exception to the short portion where there was a quarry business being run. This portion was a bit sketchy and made me feel, as a hiker, I had trespassed into someone's operation...even though nothing is posted and no boundaries restricted.

Definitely check out Joe English Hill if you can. It's a New Hampshire historical fire tower location and a New Hampshire town high point for New Boston. These are two lists that are gaining popularity for peak baggers!

Packer's Falls - Exploration and Some History!

2016-09-26T05:30:00.000-04:00

Not too long ago, a buddy of mine at work mentioned that his wife and kids were up my neck of the woods. When I asked where, he said they had checked out a small swimming area called Packer’s Falls. I had never heard of an actual falls in my area, but knew there was a Packer’s Fall Road very close by. After doing some Google searching, I found that there was in fact a Packer’s Falls on the Lamprey River located not too far from my house. I also found out that there is a New Hampshire Historical Highway Marker for Packer’s Falls…which means (drumroll) perfect topic for a blog post!!!

The marker for Packer’s Falls is on NH Route 108 on the southbound side, at the intersection with Bennett Road. As the marker states, the actual Falls are 1.6 miles west at the intersection with Bennett Road and Packer’s Falls Road. My guess is that they strategically placed the New Hampshire Historical Highway Marker in a location where more commuters might see or view it, hoping to draw attention to the actual landmark. The marker reads:

“These scenic falls, 1.6 miles west of here on the Lamprey River, once provided waterpower and industry for the early settlers. A deed dated April 11, 1694, shows that Capt. Packer, Jonathan Woodman, James Davis, Joseph Meder, and James Thomas were granted "the hole streame of Lamprele River for erecting a saw mill or mills." Thomas Packer of Portsmouth was a merchant, physician, judge, member of the King's council, and father of the famous sheriff Thomas Packer.”

The Packer's Falls Bridge on Packer's Falls Road

Packer’s Falls is an impressive set of rapids and is the second in line down the Lamprey River after Wiswall Falls. I found that the rapids are typically rated as Class III in the spring (during the snow melt and run-off) and still remain a Class II most summers. When the water is lower and tamer, there are pools that can be used by visitors to lounge, similar to Diana’s Baths in Conway. There’s a great tour guide pamphlet that can be viewed here on the Lamprey and it’s attractions. [Ref. 1]

The only evidence of Packer's Falls running water on the west side of the rapids. I'm sure it's much more dramatic when the river is flowing full!

I found a lot of history on Packer’s Falls in some Google Books and other blogs. As the marker states, the Falls was granted to the men mentioned for use to build mills. Back then, Packer’s Falls actually encompassed a series of falls down the river (Wiswall and Wadleigh Falls presumably), and the rapids that are now referenced as Packer’s Falls were merely the “second falls”.

Captain Thomas Packer, for whom Packer’s Falls was named after, was granted half the land and a stretch of the Lamprey River for a mill or mills. The others mentioned in the marker were granted the other half. At these falls, from what I can tell, there was an old saw mill and an old corn mill which changed hands throughout the years. [Ref. 2]

It’s important to mention that Captain Thomas Packer was “a merchant, physician, judge and member of the King’s council”, not to be confused with his famous son, Sheriff Thomas Packer. Sheriff Thomas Packer is well known for the execution of Ruth Blay, the last woman executed (somewhat unjustly) in New Hampshire. It’s said that he gave the execution the green light to move forward early after hearing that a pardon was on its way from the Governor for the reason that he didn’t want to be late for dinner. The pardon is said to have arrived moments after she died. You can read more on this famous story here. [Ref. 3]

There’s a small parking area on Bennet Road near the intersection with Packer’s Falls road, only large enough for about three cars. I explored the north banks first, east of the bridge. Here, the banks contain a small maze of trails leading out to the river. There are large stone walls built up into the banking. Near the top of these structures, I found an old brick foundation with ancient looking hardware embedded in. I can only assume these are the artifacts left behind from the old saw or corn mill that was once powered here.

Maps from Google Maps

Old Stonewalls and Foundations on the north bank

Out on the river, I found it was easy to rock hop over the blackened granite boulders. These boulders are typically under water and help create the Class II/III rapids that are standardly flowing. Unfortunately, with the severe drought hitting us in southeastern New Hampshire, the falls were a mere trickle. Moving up the banks and eventually over the bridge, the western side of the falls (or up streams) was the fastest moving part, but still not something I would consider to be concerning rapids. One good thing about the lower river depths is that it makes for lounging in the brisk pools more enjoyable as well as easier to wade into.

This image really shows how dry the river is. Under normal conditions, this would be submerged.

Looking down the Lamprey River toward the east from the bridge.

Trough Foundation, I wonder if this housed the wheel that the water pushed creating power.

Embedded Hardware

It always amazes me how many cool, natural features are in New Hampshire. These features are always tied to history in some way and many times, artifacts are left behind to help tell its story. I know I won’t live long enough to visit every spot on my list of places to checkout in New Hampshire because I add to that list faster than I can visit them! I was happy, though, to find a small waterfall with an abundance of history close to my own backyard to explore.

Facts about this New Hampshire Historical Marker:

Marker Title: Packer's Falls
Marker Number: #0154
Location: On the southbound side of NH Rt. 108 at the intersection with Bennett Road in Durham, NH
Installed: 1985 [Ref. 4]....Note the sign has a "1989" cast in it...not sure why the discrepancy in dates.
Text: Same on both sides, see beginning of post for full text.

[Ref. 1] Explore the Lamprey River, By Lamprey River Advisory Committee, pg. 4 http://www.lampreyriver.org/UploadedFiles/Files/LampreyTourGuide.pdf

[Ref. 2] Landmarks in Ancient Dover, New Hampshire, By Mary Pickering Thompson, pg 190-191 https://books.google.com/books?id=QarkVaNCBvEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Landmarks+in+Ancient+Dover,+New+Hampshire&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiBzNWk46PPAhWERyYKHbfeA7AQ6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=Landmarks%20in%20Ancient%20Dover%2C%20New%20Hampshire&f=false

[Ref. 3] Seacoast NH, The Tragic Story of Ruth Blay http://www.seacoastnh.com/dead/blay.html

[Ref. 4] Mike in New Hampshire Blog, Post Marker #154 Packer’s Falls https://mikenh.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/marker-154-packers-falls/

Washington Boulder in Jackson, NH

2016-09-20T22:35:00.001-04:00

Earlier this month, we visited Jackson, NH for a little rest and relaxation. At some point over the weekend, I activated my Facebook news feed on my phone and to my surprise I saw a posting of a rock formation profile I had never seen before. It was called the Washington Boulder and was of the resemblance of George Washington overlooking Mount Washington in the background. The Facebook post that caught my eye is below.

The image was posted by New Hampshire-then and now, which is a phenomenal Facebook site that posts great, older images of New Hampshire's heritage...many of the White Mountains. The caption for this photo is quoted below:

"This is the George Washington Profile Boulder in Jackson,N.H. In the background is Mt. Washington. The Washington Boulder is located on Tin Mine Road, shortly after Middle Mountain Trail, on the left. It is located close to the road, and is easily seen when driving by, as the boulder is on ground level (not on a ledge like the Old Man profile was). Photo taken by Dick Smith about 1964. www.facebook.com/NewHampshireThenAndNow"

So obviously I set out to find it and make sure it was still there! The directions in the post served me well. The drive up Tin Mine Road was nice. It had a decent uphill grade with lots of great houses and views. Shortly after Middle Mountain Trail (which is really a road) enters on the left, there's a sign on a tree that reads "Washington Boulder". Behind the sign, is a giant boulder on the side of the road between two property lots.

In order to see the profile, you have to stand in the end of someone's gravel driveway and look north. Unfortunately, unlike Dick Smith's photo from 1964, the trees in the background have grown up a bit and Mount Washington would have been obstructed by tree branches if it wasn't already cloudy. My attempts at trying to capture George Washington's profile are below.

From the iPhone (came out a bit dark)

From the point-and-shoot

Below is a comparison of Dick Smith's older photo with my more recent one. The obvious observation is that the photographic skill set of Dick Smith is much, much...much higher than mine. But once you get over that, my goal is to illustrate how much the trees have grown in and show how restricted the view to Mount Washington has become.

Profile from 1964 vs. Profile from 2016...big difference in the viewpoint!

Lastly, I wanted to share a couple images of old postcards I found online. The first is from 1958 and was published by Bromley and Company. I captured the image from cardcow.com.

The next one seems much older, but I couldn't find much information with regards to the date or publishing company. The image was captured from http://www.ohcroo.com/postcard_131052.cfm.

It amazes me how many rock formation face profiles exist in New Hampshire. The Old Man of the Mountains is by far the most popular one, however there are several others in New Hampshire that just don't get the recognition that others do. Based on the postcard images I found and the great viewpoints displayed in earlier photos, Washington Boulder was probably a more well known attraction than what it is today. After all, I've stayed in Jackson more times than I can recall over the past 10 years and I had never heard of this rock formation. I'm hoping this post may bring some interest back to good old George Washington's profile sitting up in Jackson, NH!

First Ascent of Mount Washington: New Hampshire Historical Highway Marker #0011

2016-09-16T12:39:00.002-04:00

To start off my exploration of New Hampshire’s Historical Highway Markers, I thought it fitting to look into one that was both hiking and White Mountains related. We were up in Jackson this past weekend and I was able to locate the perfect marker for my first topic. It’s marker #0011, First Ascent of Mount Washington.

The marker is located roughly 0.5 miles north of the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, on the northbound side of NH Route 16 (in the Pinkham Notch, just south of the Wildcat Ski Area entrance). The marker text reads on both sides the following:

"Darby Field, a New Hampshire settler, accomplished this difficult feat in 1642 from a southerly approach. Partly guided by Indians and with only primitive equipment at his disposal, he is thus alleged to be the originator of all Mount Washington ascensions."

It’s a pretty amazing accomplishment if you think about it. Just over 20 years earlier, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 which puts into perspective how unpopulated the New England region was around that time. Darby Field, who was a settler in Durham, NH (at the time this land was Exeter, NH) was a known explorer and mountaineer back in Europe. The account of his ascent of Mount Washington was documented by Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay Colony in his journal which read:

"One Darby Field, an Irishman, living about Piscataquack, being accompanied with two Indians, went to the top of the white hill. He made his journey in 18 days. His relation at his return was, that it was about one hundred miles from Saco, that after 40 miles travel, he did, for the most part, ascend; and within 12 miles of the top was neither tree nor grass, but low savins [shrubs], which they went upon the top of sometimes, but a continual ascent upon rocks, on a ridge between two valleys filled with snow, out of which came two branches of Saco river, which met at the foot of the hill where was an Indian town of some 200 people. Some of them accompanied him within 8 miles of the top, but durst go no further, telling him that no Indian ever dared to go higher, and that he would die if he went. So they staid there till his return, and his two Indians took courage by his example and went with him. They went divers times through the thick clouds for a good space, and within 4 miles of the top, they had no clouds but very cold. By the way among the rocks, there were two ponds, one a blackish water, and the other reddish [the Lakes of the Clouds]. The top of all was plain about 60 feet square. On the north side was such a precipice [the Great Gulf], as they could scarcely discern to the bottom. They had neither cloud nor wind on the top, and moderate heat. All the country about him seemed a level, except here and there a hill rising above the rest, and far beneath them. He saw to the north, a great water which he judged to be 100 miles broad, but could see no land beyond it." [1]

"The White Hill"...Mount Washington from South Moat

There was also another account of his travels in a letter by Thomas Gorges to his cousin, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the Governor of the Province of Maine. It is believed this letter came after Governor John Winthrop’s journal entry and is said to be more accurate…but who can really substantiate that? The letter read (and note, I did fix some of the 17th century spelling to modern English due to spell check going crazy):

“…you desire a relation of the white hills. This much I certify of according as it was sent to me by him that discovered them whose name was Darby Field of Pascataqua who about a month since with some 3 or 4 Indians undertook the voyage, went first to Pigwackett, a place on the Saco river according to my draught now 23 leagues from Mr. Vines his house, hence he travailed some 80 miles as he sayeth & came to a mountain, went over it, & a 2d & a 3d, at length came to a ledge of rocks which he conceived to be 12 miles high, very steep, upon which he travailed going to a rock that was at the end of that which he judged 2 miles high, very steep, yet he adventured up, but one Indian accompaynge him, the most being fearful. At the top it was not above 20 foot square, where he sat with much fear some 5 hours time the clouds passing under him making a terrible noise against the mountains. Thence he discovered some 80 miles farther a very glorious white mountain & between 2 other great mountains as he judged some 100 miles…a mighty river bearing North & by East from him of which like or sea he could see no end. On this mountain, he met with terrible freezing weather and, as I took it, on the top of the ledge or rock & at the foot of them were 2 little ponds, 1 of a curious red color, the other black. The latter dyed his handkerchief very black, the former did not alter the colors. There were many rattle snakes but he received no harm. He intends as I hear from them a 2d voyage…about a fortnight hence. I intend with Mr. Vines & Mr. Jocelyn for Pascataqua & to take an ampler account. Our resolution hold for the voyage as yet about the end of August.” [2]

Mount Washington from the southern Presidentials

So, very cool stuff, right! Most feel these accounts allude to Darby Field ascending from the southeast, up over Boott Spur. Most also believe that one of the bodies of water (the red one) that is referenced is the well-known Lake of the Clouds. In Winthrop’s account, Darby Field witnessed a large body of water to the north that he could not see an end too, similar to a sea or ocean. Many people think this was simply a cloud bank playing tricks on him at the time.

This is all very interesting and the fact that someone was brave enough to explore this rugged terrain and ascend Mount Washington in the mid-1600 is notable enough for one of these historical markers, in my opinion. But I have to believe, like many do, that this was not the first ascent of the highest point east of the Mississippi and north of the Carolinas. It’s documented that many Native American tribes believed the mountain to be sacred and would not climb it for religious regions. However, it’s tough to think that this belief holds true through to the beginning of human beings in New England. At some point I’m sure another indigenous person or possibly an earlier explorer set their primitive hiking boot at the summit of the Rock Pile before Darby Field. I think the marker may be more accurate if it said “The First Documented Ascent of Mount Washington” or something to that degree.

By checking out my first marker, I accomplished what I set out to do. I learned something cool about my State, the mountains I love and our history and heritage. I hope you enjoyed this little history lesson as I’ll be posting more in upcoming months!

Facts about this New Hampshire Historical Highway Marker:

Marker Title: First Ascent of Mount Washington
Marker Number: 0011
Location: Pinkham Grant, NH Route 16 – Northbound, approx. 0.5 miles north of AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor’s Center
Installed: 1963
Text: Same on both sides, see beginning of post for full text.

One thing I must mention is that there are many before me that have done a great job documenting this marker and the history behind it. They’ve been more thorough and are better writers. Please take a minute to check out their posts. Links are below.

Mike in New Hampshire: https://mikenh.wordpress.com/?s=first+ascent

Live Free and Draw: https://livefreeanddraw.com/2012/10/07/darby-field/

References

Ref [1] - Wikipedia of Darby Field

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darby_Field

Ref [2] - The White Mountains: Alps of New England: pg. 27-30 (Google Books)

https://books.google.com/books?id=xT1zt3O1kNUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+White+Mountains:+Alps+of+New+England&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjy257zoJTPAhUIOiYKHYmGC6IQ6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=darby%20field&f=false

Cannon Mountain via Hi-Cannon Trail

2016-09-13T21:34:00.000-04:00

We took a late Labor Day holiday this past weekend and headed up to hike a 4,000 footer on Friday. The one we chose was Cannon Mountain for the well-known 360 degree views from the observation tower. We decided to ascend Cannon via the Hi-Cannon Trail due to its reasonable length since we got a late start.

At Lafayette Campground, beginning of the Lonesome Lake Trail

Our hike started at Lafayette Campground, where the Lonesome Lake Trail begins. The parking area can be reached on the southbound side of the Franconia Notch Parkway (if you’re northbound, you need to reverse direction at the Tramway exit). We first worked our way through the campsites to the true trailhead of the Lonesome Lake Trail. The trail ascended gently and moved smoothly over the terrain. There was one part of the trail that was flooded due to some drainage issues. There was a culvert pipe under the trail at this point so my guess is it was clogged in some way.

Lonesome Lake Trail flooded due to a culvert issue

Some cool trail features

Soon, we came to a junction where the Lonesome Lake Trail continued straight and the Hi-Cannon Trail began on the right. The trail description for the Hi-Cannon Trail illustrates it to be very rough and steep. Simply put, it was just that. The first portion had a lot of roots as well as a lot of loose gravel. This made for tough footing along the steep sections…which was most of the length. Soon we came to a junction where the Joe Dodge Cutoff Trail entered from the left. We took a quick break here and continued on.

The second portion (above the Joe Dodge Cutoff) of this trail was still very steep but the terrain also become much rougher. The gravel and roots gave way to large boulders and stones. In a few places, there were even trees growing up in the middle of the trail making it hard to squeeze through at times. There was a slightly restricted viewpoint toward the Franconia Ridge just before the trail made a sharp turn back to the south. This is photographed below.

Lincoln, Little Haysack and Liberty from the first viewpoint on Hi-Cannon Trail

Mount Liberty and Loon to the southeast

After the trail makes a sharp right, there is a natural rock formation on the right side of the trail called the “Cliff House”. Apparently, it is located just before the ladders and you need to bushwhack a short distance up the slope to see it. I was looking for it while we hiked but never did locate it. I did do some research after I returned home and found this Mountain Wanderer blog post which describes it with a photograph.

We soon came to the ladder, which is a major contributing feature that lands this trail on the Terrifying 25 list as an elective hike. The ladder was tedious but not too long. Shortly after the ladder climb, there were many viewpoints south toward Lonesome Lake and the Lonesome Lake AMC Hut. The trail continued steeply in spots and the scrub trees really crowded the trail in at this point, making it a bit claustrophobic.

Ladder on Hi-Cannon Trail

Lonesome Lake from the viewpoint above the ladder section

Zoomed in Lonesome Lake AMC Hut

The Hi-Cannon Trail finally dumped us off on the Kinsman Ridge Trail which we were relieved about. This portion of the Kinsman Ridge Trail had a very gradual grade and was much nicer terrain.

Soon we hit the Rim Trail, which circles the perimeter of the summit, leading you to the observation tower, café/bar and some great viewpoints to the Franconia Ridge. As we stepped onto the Rim Trail, we were quickly cutoff by some tourists that had just got off the Tram and were heading to the observation deck. After such a tough hike, we felt very out of place next to the many tourists in khaki shorts and polo shirts, because our clothes were soaked in sweat, stinky and we were utterly exhausted!

The Rim Trail terrain

From the deck, view north with the ski lift house in center, tram house to the right (I think) and the Mittersill Trail on the left (I think...and currently closed I think)

From the deck, view south with the Kinsmans and Moosilauke (I think) in the background

From the deck, pano of the Franconia Ridge (east) to meandering 93 (south)

When we got to the observation deck, I first checked out the underneath and found the USGS Benchmark. We then climbed the stairs to the top platform, awarding us 360 degree views all around. After snapping some photos and enjoying the views, we visited the Summit Café, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed to the viewpoints via the Rim Trail. We then started our long, slow trek back down the way we ascended.

Summit foot shot!

USGS Benchmark

Tram

The Summit Cafe

Probably my favorite shot from the day. Franconia Ridge from the Rim Trail

Honestly, this hike was tough. The Lonesome Lake Trail and Kinsman Ridge Trail are in great shape, but the Hi-Cannon Trail is extremely steep and rough, especially above the Joe Dodge Cutoff. As I mentioned, there are portions that are so narrow due to trees growing up in the middle of the trail, I could barely get myself with my pack through. Cannon’s summit was worth the trip, though. We had great views in all directions and a comfortable place to sit and rest. We also checked off another 4K and a Terrifying 25 from the lists.

Map from Fraconia State Park PDF Map vs. GPS track from Garmin 620 Watch

https://www.nhstateparks.org/uploads/pdf/FranconiaHikingMapAllWeb_2010.pdf

Signage from this trip

More signage from this trip

New Hampshire Historical Highway Markers

2016-09-08T11:32:00.001-04:00

While doing some research on a local waterfall (or cascade) near my house, I came across a great blog called Mike in New Hampshire. The author, Mike, had written about the falls I was researching and his main motivation to do so was to publish his research on a New Hampshire Historical Marker. In fact, that is what all his blog posts are about. You know the markers I’m talking about. Typically they’re on the side of a NH State highway, made of cast iron, painted green and have some text on them with the State Seal at the peak. We’ve all seen them but I’m not sure how many really take the time to read and appreciate them.

Example of a NH Historical Highway Marker

Image taken from NH Historical Marker Site Interactive Map

http://nhdhr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=4f69bcae688140cebfade2d6865a2ebb

While navigating through Mike’s blog, I sadly learned he passed away a few years back, not being able to finish his quest of publishing posts about all the markers in NH. I found his work really interesting and it has sparked my curiosity regarding what markers have been erected in NH…? Around me…? Around the mountains?

After doing a little (easy) digging on the inter-web, I found nh.gov has a page that is dedicated to these markers (https://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/markers/). On this page, you can find a map to all the current markers, download PDF lists of the markers (with applicable information) and even request a NH historical highway marker.

Some cool facts I've learned:

There are currently (to date) 255 NH historical highway markers at some status (some are just on order).

The markers are jointly managed by the NH Division of Historical Resources and NH Department of Transportation.

The interactive map on the website allows you to click on a pinned location and a window gives you the description, location, status and a JPEG of the actual marker!

Screenshot of interactive NH Historical Highway Marker map

http://nhdhr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=4f69bcae688140cebfade2d6865a2ebb

If you've read my blog, you know I love anything New Hampshire and history related. So, similar to USGS Benchmarks (or any benchmark for that matter), I’m finding these historical highway markers pretty interesting. I’ll be seeking them out, researching them and publishing what I find here (in between hiking and trip reports that is) in hopes that this blog can serve as a point of interest to others, as Mike’s blog, Mike in New Hampshire was for me.

Bear Hill and Crazy Ants in Bear Brook State Park!!!

2016-08-29T21:05:00.003-04:00

Every year, my company goes on a wellness hike which I try to help plan. Last year, we hiked Catamount Hill in Bear Brook State Park (Trip Report) which was a great hike for all ages. This year, we decided to explore more of Bear Brook State Park and decided to hike up Bear Hill (PDF Bear Brook State Park Map Here). It was a pleasurable hike, but the desired destination of the summit was probably one of the strangest and scariest hiking objectives I've visited. I’ll explain more on this later.

Lucky for us, we decided to hike on August 25th which was the National Park Service’s birthday. That being the case, New Hampshire State Parks were giving free admission to all that visited and entered.

In order to reach the Bear Hill Trailhead, we decided to park at the Hayes Field Parking area which is located on the west side of Podunk Road in the heart of the park. Essentially, this parking area was a large field that could fit many cars and horse trailers (as horses frequent the roads through the park).

Hayes Field Parking Area on Podunk Road

We started our journey heading South on Podunk Road. We quickly crossed a bridge which brought you over a small pond that was connected to Hayes Marsh. This was one of the more picturesque scenes we got for the day, being able to observe painted turtles and frogs sunning themselves on rocks, as well as a great blue heron relaxing in the late morning heat.

Pond connecting to Hayes Marsh

Great Blue Heron...Love these birds

Painted Turtle Sunning!

Frog Sunning!

Continuing up Podunk Road for about 0.25 miles, we came to the trailhead to the Bear Hill Trail on the right which was marked well with a trail sign. The beginning of the trail was gentle and meandered through some pine forests. The trail itself was very well maintained and had some great bridge features over areas that would most likely be wet…when there isn’t such a bad drought in effect.

Podunk Road

Trailhead Sign

Great trail work here!

As we continued, the incline stayed gentle for about 0.75 miles until we hit a junction. The Bear Hill Trail took a sharp right and headed up at a steeper grade. To the left, a small connecting trail (unnamed) brought you back to Podunk Road (you could see the road from the junction). We continued up the Bear Hill Trail.

Friendly Trail Fungus

The steeper section still had a nicely maintained trail to follow. In about a quarter mile, we reached another junction where the Bear Hill Trail continued descending the south side of the hill. We took a right at this fork and continued toward the summit in just a hundred feet or so.

The summit was strange. It was almost as though the ground was moving all over once you got up there. Also, there were large piles of freshly dug up dirt everywhere. Quickly, we realized the reason the ground was moving was because of millions of ants…not friendly ants, but the ones with red middle sections, that bite aggressively. The piles of dirt were gigantic ant hills. We had walked into the largest ant colony we had ever seen and we were being attacked!

Gigantic Ant Hills!

And more!

The ant hills were probably 3-4 feet in diameter and 2 feet high. There were probably 20 to 30 ant hills total. I took a few photos quickly until I realized these ants weren’t friendly and they were all over me and my daughter. I quickly threw her over my shoulder and ran down the trail about 150 feet or so until I saw no ants walking around on the ground below me. At that point, I wiped off the few ants remaining on us (as they were still trying to bite through our clothing and boots).

After our hiking party was to lower ground and ant free, we made sure everyone was okay and then hiked back down to the junction in the trail prior to the steep section. There we found some logs that trail maintainers had left behind to sit and have lunch. From that point, we retraced our steps back to the Hayes Field parking area.

I was actually upset we couldn’t spend some more time on the summit of Bear Hill to explore. As many hills and mountains in New Hampshire do, this summit had some history to it with some artifacts left behind. It was a location of one of the many old fire towers in New Hampshire. It stood 45 feet tall and was installed in 1939 and removed in 1983 (more information here). But the old cement blocks which supported the tower are still up there. I did get off a picture of one of the foundation supports before retreating from the summit. I really wish I had more time to investigate!

Fire Tower Cement Support Block

GPS Track vs. Map

Trail Signage for this Trek

One the way out of the park, I did notice that on the west side of Podunk Road was an old sign which said “Unknown Civil War Soldier”. Not knowing what this was, I had to stop to check it out. Behind the sign was a clearing with a newer, marble headstone with a flag. Again, it simply read “Unknown Civil War Soldier”. I’ve done some quick searches online and can’t find anything with regards to the tombstone. How did he come to be there? There were no battles in this area that I’m aware of. Anyway, if anyone has any info on this, I’d love to learn more about it.

Unknown Civil War Soldier Tombstone Site

The Shore Path - Bar Harbor

2016-08-18T21:55:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite strolls when staying in Bar Harbor, which we usually do at sunset, is the Shore Path. It’s located on the shores of the northeast corner of Mount Desert (where Bar Harbor is). The path is about 0.8 miles long and passes a lot of historical locations. The offshore scenery of the island backdrops, and tall ships and sail boats isn’t bad either. I read on one site that the Shore Path was created or established in 1880 and people from all over the world have walked it.

Shore Path Trailhead Sign

Tall ship at town pier

Sale boat the town pier

The Shore Path starts (at the northern trailhead) at the Town Pier where there’s a sign explaining the origins of the foot path. This is located just north of Agamont Park where there are some cool cannons to view up on the grassy slopes.

After the park, you pass by the Bar Harbor Inn on your right and head down the main path which hugs the shore next to Frenchman Bay. The pathway is pretty wide, about the width of a large sidewalk and is made up of crushed stone with some larger stones sticking up in some places. They definitely act like tripping hazards for little kids. The shore side of the trail has a built up stonewall, I’m guessing to hold back the tide when high.

The Shore Path

Along the way, you pass by many signs placed by The Museum in the Streets. They were numbered and gave information on historical locations throughout Bar Harbor. I originally thought they were just on the Shore Path, but noticed the sign numbers on the path were only from 20 to 25, so there must be 19 more kicking around the town.

An example of the "The Museum in the Streets" display

There was also evidence of some older sea tending features like hooks embedded in rocks and holes in stones on the side of the trail. When I see stuff like this, I always wonder what they were used for.

Cool historical features in rocks

At the halfway point, you pass Grant Park on your right. It’s a small, open park which is perfect for tossing a ball around. Just past the park, on the rocky shores stands Balance Rock. There's also a sign explaining how it's been an attraction for many years.

Grant Park

Balance Rock

One of the coolest things on this walk was caused by the weather conditions at the time. It was close to rain, as we felt a few sprinkles and it was very humid. It allowed fog to roll into the harbor, creating a cool cloud cover on top of the water, as well as on top of the islands! It was an awesome site to see. My pictures don’t capture how cool this really looked.

Cool fog on islands

And more fog

Near the end of the path, you cross a small wooden bridge and turn right (west) toward town, where the path ends on Wayman Lane. From there, we headed back down through the town, creating a loop…while enjoying a stop at a local ice cream shop.

Bridge before trail heads back to town

Stonewall on the side of the trail near the end

Section heading away from the shore, toward town

Map against GPS. Map on left taken from BarHarborInfo.com

I know this isn’t really a “hike” but thought it was worthy of a post. The Shore Path is something that anyone visiting the Island should checkout for its historical significance, quaintness and beauty!

South Bubble and Bubble Rock - Acadia National Park

2016-08-15T20:56:00.001-04:00

On the fourth day of vacation, the family and I decided to venture a little further into Acadia National Park, to the north end of Jordan Pond to a small, mounding mountain called South Bubble! The Bubbles (North Bubble and South Bubble) are two smaller mountains next to each other that look like two half spheres protruding from the earth. Very similar to the Cannon Balls over Lonesome Lake, these Bubbles look over Jordan Pond. South Bubble is pretty bald on the top with some fragile alpine vegetation and is the location of the famous Bubble Rock.

We started at “The Bubbles/Bubble Rock” Trailhead off from Park Loop Road, located on the west side just before the road meets the banks of Jordan Pond. The trailhead has a kiosk with a map and one of the famous Acadia trail signs made from an upright, wooden log. I believe the first trail we hoofed was “Bubbles Divide”. The trail ascended gently through hardwood forest and had pretty easy footing, with few rocks and roots.

First portion of the trail

Hole features in rocks on the side of the trail

Great trail work by trail maintainers!

The first junction we came to was pretty quick and we continued straight to head toward the bubbles. Again, this trail gently climbed and quickly came to another split, where South Bubble was to the left and North Bubble was to the right. We took a left and the trail became a bit steeper, but was still pretty easy. One thing that helped was the phenomenal trail work that has been done. It’s been setup with logs and rocks to be a huge staircase. This was great for the kids. So, huge kudos goes out to the trail workers on this leg, they did a great job!!!

North Bubble from first viewpoint

Upper portion of the trail

More trail...really fantastically maintained

Mushrooms on the trail

About 0.2 miles before the summit, on the right side of the trail is a view point with a large area to take a rest and sprawl your stuff out. There’s some great views toward North Bubble, toward some mountains on the ridge line to the west (not sure which ones) and toward Jordan Pond’s north end. After taking a few photographs, we continued up toward the summit.

Summit sign, slightly leaning :/

Searl Summit Foot Shot!

Slightly restricted views from the summit cairn to the west

More restricted views

The root and rock filled, dirt trail gave way to granite ledge and small scrub blueberry bushes like you’d see near the summit of many mountains. It wasn’t long before we came to a large cairn of rocks with a summit sign publishing an elevation of 768ft. Although this seems pretty small, it felt pretty big when the base of the mountain is actual sea level!

The eastern slopes of Cadillac Mountain. You could see cars making their way up and down the auto road...didn't come out in the picture, though.

Bubble Rock...the picture doesn't do it justice. It's probably 10 feet tall or so.

Old pins in the summit ledges...maybe for an old antenna or tower structure. Not sure what.

To the northeast of the summit is a little foot trail that allows you to make your way down to the ledges. This is where the famous Bubble Rock is teetering on the edge of the cliffs. The rock is enormous…not as large as the Glen Boulder, but a good runner up for sure! As most boulders were put in place, glacial erratic is responsible for Bubble Rock’s current perch. Like most boulders on a cliff, it looks like it could come barreling down the mountain at any time, ready to demolish the road below…it’s pretty cool! More info on the Bubble Rock here.

To the west from south ledges

Great views of Jordan Pond with open ocean way off in the distance

Small cairns on south ledges

After checking out the boulder and having lunch on the ledge, we followed the South Bubble Trail south past the summit to the southern ledges of the mountain. Here, we got a breathtaking view of Jordan Pond, with some mountains and open ocean in the background. It was worth the jaunt to this end of the mountain. After taking a few shots and enjoying the views, we headed back to the trailhead the same way we came.

Map against GPS tracking

The hike was 1.75 miles per my GPS and was very easy for little kids. I would highly recommend this hike for families with little ones (mine are two and five and had no problem). Like you would with all open ledges, though, make sure your kids stay at arm’s length as they could take an easy tumble on the cliffs.

Trail signage

The parking situation was probably the toughest part of this journey. We got their rather early so we were able to claim a parking spot. However, with limited spaces, an overcrowded National Park and no roadside parking allowed, it’s not easy to find a spot to leave your car at this trailhead. So the moral of the story is, get there early!!!