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

A Post Worthy of a Post!

2012-02-08T20:15:00.002-05:00

I was thumbing down my blogroll today, as I haven't had time to do this in a week or so, and came to a new post on the blog, Fat Man of the Mountains. I really enjoyed it and thought I would share it here. Dave, the author, really captured well the feelings we (you, myself and anyone else who loves the Whites) get when we step into nature and leave civilization behind. He also introduces us to Moses Sweetser, a nature lover and an author from many generations ago who seemed to share the same thoughts and feelings of the magnificent Whites. If you have a few moments, please head over there and check out the post...it's a great read.

Also, Dave Tweets @fatmanofthemtns

Stratham Hill Park and Lylah's Lost Mitten

2012-01-30T21:58:00.000-05:00

The sun was out this past weekend and we didn't want to pass up the blue skies, so we headed over to Stratham Hill Park. Stratham Hill Park is one of our favorite, local places to meander around the woods. It has light grades and well groomed trails. Most of all, it's close by. It was the perfect spot to bring Lylah on her first "winter" hike as well as try out our new Kelty FC 3.0 child carrier backpack.

Me and the munchkin sporting our new Kelty FC 3.0 Child Carrier Pack!

We arrived mid morning and found the wind was blowing a bit. So we snuggled Lylah up in some warm clothes, mittens, hat and some cool shades. The pack wasn't bad but will definitely take some getting used too. I hope to have a gear review out soon on this product.

Kitty Rock Trail, Ice Covered Unfortunately

We first headed over to ascend the hill using the Tuck Trail, but found the trail covered over with hard, glossy ice. I'm assuming this was a product of the day of rain we received earlier in the week. Since we didn't bring any traction, nor did I feel comfortable walking on anything "risky" with the baby on my back, we opted to head up the back side of the hill via the Kitty Rock Trail, which has lesser grades. However, upon reaching the trailhead, we found the same icy conditions.

Wood Duck houses which have been put up fairly recently

So we continued south to meet up with the Old Tote Road. I noticed on the walk there, someone had put up wood duck houses along the ponds and runoffs, which I like to see. When we reached the Old Tote Road, we found some icy conditions so we walked along a field, which ran parallel to the Old Tote Road. There, we found many people walking their dogs and playing in the sun.

Field parallel to the Old Tote Road. People in the distance playing with their dogs.

Old Farm Equipment in the field near the Old Tote Road trailhead

We walked for a bit and found a place where we could cut back into the Old Tote Road. At the junction ahead, we took a left and headed over the bridge which goes over the runoff for Stratham Hill Pond. We then took another left and headed down a trail which traverses the banks between two small ponds. It was a pretty cool trail.

Trail which traversed the banks of two ponds...pretty neat!

From here, it was starting to get a bit nippy, so we decided to head back to the truck. But then, we saw it...one of Lylah's mittens on the ground. Jill checked her out and it seemed she had thrown both of them, but we had no clue where the second one was. So, we retraced our steps in full, doing the whole loop again. Unfortunately we didn't find it on the trail. Back at the truck, I pulled Lylah out of the pack and her second mitten flew out. Apparently she was just hiding it.

It was a short walk in the woods and unfortunately for us, we couldn't make it to the top of Stratham Hill due to ice. However, we still had a great time. Lylah smiled from ear-to-ear while in the pack. I think she really enjoyed it. I can't wait until we get some decent snow in the region so we can bring her snowshoeing!

Wishing This Is Where I Was Right Now...

2012-01-19T21:31:00.000-05:00

My First Guest Post!

2012-01-16T21:10:00.001-05:00

A few weeks back, Grant, author of New England Outside, asked me to write a guest post for his blog. I was happy to do so and excited too. This is the first time I have ever been approached to do a guest post. In the blogging world, I think it is a great way to keep relations with fellow bloggers as well as reach new readers.

My post, 5 "More" Hiker Etiquette Guidelines, was published today and can be viewed at New England Outside. Please head over there and check it out when you have a few minutes. Also, check out New England Outside as a whole if you've never been over there! It's really a great site!

Good Fortune!

2012-01-14T19:15:00.002-05:00

Jill and I went out for Chinese food the other night and this was our fortune:

"Life always gets harder near the summit."

This is true in most cases. However, no matter how hard it is, the incredible feeling you get on the summit makes you forget all about the difficult time you had laboring to get there!

Giveaway Opportunity on New England Outside - The Will to Climb

2012-01-06T20:46:00.002-05:00

Grant, over at New England Outside, has a great giveaway contest going on. He's giving away a free copy of The Will to Climb by Ed Viesturs. He's also giving everyone up to five, yes five, chances to enter! The rules are really simple. Leaving a comment will get you one entry. A Facebook share will get you two. A Twitter share will get you three. And finally, a blog post will get you four and five entries (if you have a blog). Now, be sure to read his rules carefully, because there are still specific guidelines to follow when sharing the links and commenting on his blog. You can read and enter his giveaway here!

Now, the whole contest revolves around Grant wanting to know what your 2012 hiking goals are. Mine revolves around hiking with my daughter. My goal this year is to see her face light up for the first time while looking at a mountain landscape on the top of her first summit! Jill and I are researching hiking backpacks now and hope to purchase one in the next few months. When I do, I'll let you know all about it!

Now, what are you waiting for? Go enter the contest and good luck! You have until January 17th!

Pawtuckaway Mountains and an Old Friend!

2012-01-05T22:34:00.000-05:00

Last week, I had the opportunity to hike with a very good friend of mine that I don't see that often. My buddy, Daigle, is a civil engineer and has been working on location in various cities across the country, managing major construction projects for new bridges. He was home for the week between Christmas and New Year's and was nice enough to set aside some time for hiking with me.

Our original plan was to hit the Whites, but when the westward winds blew in on Wednesday, so did all the cold weather. Many of the trail condition postings mentioned that crampons should be used on the higher ledges of most peaks. Since neither of us had crampons...or were experienced winter hikers, we thought it may be wise to stick around the seacoast region where there is still no snow!

Ice on the North Mountain Trail

South Mountain from North Mountain (Looking over Middle Mountain). You can see the fire tower poking up.

Since Daigle had never been to Pawtuckaway State Park, I figured that would be a good place to spend the day. I mapped out a route that started on Reservation Road at the North Mountain Trailhead, traversed over North Mountain, down the Boulder Trail and then traversed South Mountain via the South Ridge Trail. We'd finish the complete loop by continuing on the South Ridge Trail and hiking back up Reservation Road to where we originally parked. I estimated the loop to be between 7 or 8 miles, but I still haven't had time to take the guide and actually figure the mileage out yet.

We started out early and were the first car parked on Reservation Road. The trek into the foot of North Mountain is easy and flat and goes by quickly. At the foot of North Mountain, the trail climbs the southwestern slope pretty steeply. It wasn't long before I was huffing and puffing, and realized how out of shape I was. I'm sure the loads of chocolates and pie that I consumed during the holiday season didn't help either! Due to the steep pitch, it wasn't long before the trail flattened out. We found a nice rock perch facing the east and stopped for some coffee while we tried to identify landmarks in the distance. Daigle was great at this. He quickly picked out Portsmouth and Great Bay through the binoculars.

NGS Reference Mark

Summit Cairn on North Mountain...I want to know if there is a Benchmark under this!

Very large communications reflector

After relaxing for a bit and consuming our warm beverages, we continued over North Mountain, which is a very long ridge. We finally came to the high point, which is marked with a cairn. I explored this area a bit and it wasn't long before I spotted NGS Reference Mark. I was surprised to find this because I had been up there before and never noticed it. After researching these markers, I knew there must be at least one or two more. Low and behold, I found two more. Using the triangulation of them, they were pointing directly to the cairn. So I wonder if the Benchmark was actually buried under the cairn? I am kicking myself for not digging into it to see if it was there. If it was, I wonder why someone would have burried it? Anyway, it's bugging me enough that I want to get back up there and see if I can unearth the thing. If an NGS Benchmark exists, the cairn should really be reassembled next to it!

The Devil's Den...the cave is much larger than the picture alludes!

Dead Pond

Round Pond

Beavers!!!

At the north end of the mountain, we came to the large billboard like communications reflector that is painted green and faces to the north. I'm going to be honest, I have no idea if this reflector is still used today or what it is (was) used for. This thing is pretty large and is really an eyesore. I also have no clue how long it has been out there.

Descending the north slope of the mountain was pretty easy and we quickly passed the Devil's Den to our right, which is a very large cave, and Dead Pond on our left. The trail is pretty flat as we continued down the Boulder Trail and we passed a portion of Round Pond on the right and some large cliff features on our left. The trail got pretty confusing at this point, because the trail junctions on the map are covered by boating, scenic outlook and fishing markers! Daigle was able to guide us in the correct direction and we were headed up the South Ridge Trail.

Pawtuckaway Lake from the fire tower on South Mountain summit

Toward Northwood and possibly Kearsarge in the distance?

I believe (and I may be wrong), Mt. Washington poking up in the distance. Camera is really focused, which is why the quality is bad.

View to the west, Uncanoonucs and possibly Pack Monadnock?

I must say, the trails in Pawtuckaway are either flat or very steep. There doesn't seem to be any moderate grades up to these mountains! We made it to the top of South Mountain very quickly and were the only ones on the summit. We climbed the fire tower and the wind from the west pelted us pretty hard. Again, Daigle pointed out all the landmarks...Northwood, Portsmouth, the Uncanoonucs. I think we even spotted Mount Washington's white cap way off in the distance, but I can't be sure. We snapped a few shots and headed back down to find a windless, sunny spot for lunch. When we were done eating, we got moving pretty quickly as the temperature was dropping with the wind. The trek back to the truck was quick and easy. We made the loop in just 3-1/2 hours which I thought was pretty good time.

Fire Tower on the South Mountain Summit

It was definitely a fun hike. Spending time in the woods is always one of my favorite pastimes, but catching up with an old friend definitely tops that. Daigle is heading down to North Carolina for a new assignment now. Hopefully we can catch up again on another hike when he heads back home later this year.

One of Daigle's bridge projects he just finished up. Pretty amazing stuff!

Some Beaver Activity on the Lamprey River Floodplain

2011-12-30T13:30:00.000-05:00

After exploring Rock Rimmon Hill on Tuesday, I took a quick detour before going home. There is a small parking area off from Route 87 in Epping, right next to its junction with Jacobs Well Road. The parking area meanders down next to a bridge over the Lamprey River. For years, I thought this parking area was for fisherman to use as a mini boat launch for canoes and kayaks. However, recently, I've noticed a small trail that runs parallel to the river when I drive by. Again, I figured this was just a small foot path for fisherman, but figured I would check it out anyway. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was actually a path put in place and protected by Southeast Land Trust and the Lamprey River Watershed Association.

The Kiosk at the Parking Area

The Path

The kiosk at the parking area was pretty informative and gave some information about the ecosystem that took residence in this specific floodplain. There were two small, wooden boxes which looked like they held pamphlets or maps for visitors, but there were none there. I headed up the path and it seemed to follow the Lamprey River's winding banks. It wasn't long before I saw a ton of beaver activity. There were pointed tree stumps everywhere and there seemed to be many trees with fresh teeth marks. I'm not sure why, but I love finding beaver wood chips. I know they can be a nuisance, but I find these small creatures to be delightful. I've never run into one in nature before, but hope to someday.

The Lamprey River from its Banks

One of the five stations...#2

Some Berries

Along the path, there were five station markers (marked 1-5) which I'm assuming went with the pamphlets or information that was originally provided at the kiosk. I can only imagine that this information explained the mechanics behind the floodplain terrain and possibly explained some of the vegetation in the area. I looked online for a bit to see if I could find an older PDF of what may have been supplied, but came up with nothing.

Beaver Activity

More Beaver Activity

Cool fungus growing from an old tree branch on the ground

Along the way, there were small pools of water that had frozen over, even though the river was running free. I was able to see a couple Eastern Bluebirds playing (not sure why they aren't south now!) and a few woodpeckers looking for a meal in some dead trees. I also noticed footprints over some slushy ice, most likely a chipmunk or squirrel I assume.

They Lamprey River from its Banks

Eastern Bluebird Playing

Finally, on my way out, I spotted some green near the path. These green leaves appeared to be a violet plant. I'm not sure why a plant like this is still green and seemingly, doing well in the colder weather.

An old beaver stump with scrub growing up it

What I believe are squirrel or chipmunk tracks

What I believe is a violet plant, still green in the cold weather

I thought this was really a cool little find. It was by no means a "hike", as the path was only 1/4 mile long at best. But there was a lot to notice, even in this winter month. I can only imagine how beautiful and vibrant this ecosystem is in the spring and summer months. I assume it is filled with wildflowers and birds. I will surely head back to check it out in April or May.

Exploring Rock Rimmon Hill

2011-12-28T00:17:00.001-05:00

I’m on vacation this week and had some free time on Tuesday. I decided to stay in the seacoast region as I didn’t feel like a long drive up north. I headed over to the Danville-Kingston area to explore Rock Rimmon Hill which is located in New Hampshire’s Rock Rimmon State Forest. The hill is 345 feet at the summit and is a pretty steep drop off or cliff on the southern side. It can be accessed from both Kingston and Danville depending on where you are coming from.

Based on my findings, there is really minimal information out there on the short hike to this summit. The AMC Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide (2nd Ed.) has an outdated explanation on the trailhead description…and I’ve heard through the grapevine that they have removed it from AMC’s 3rd Edition all together, although, I cannot confirm this. A fellow VFTTer gave me pretty detailed directions on how to access this hill from the Kingston side, but also warned me that where you leave your vehicle is pretty susceptible to break-ins, so that way was out for me. I found on another blog a way to get to the trail network from Danville, so I opted to go that way!

I parked on the corner of where Emerald Drive and Opal Drive meet. At this corner, there is an old Jeep road that heads into the woods…you can’t miss it. Just as an aside, the USGS maps do not show this corner, as (I assume) the area was not developed at the time they were mapped out. It looks like Emerald Drive may have actually been an extension of the old Jeep road at one time.

Old Jeep Road at the corner of Emerald and Opal Drive

Since there is no good trail maps or trail descriptions of the area, I was pretty much winging how to get to the top. I knew I was in the right area, and if whatever way I chose to go ascended, I figured I must be going the right way. After heading down the Jeep road for about 50 feet, I hung a right. This trail was also wide enough to be an old Jeep road. I passed through some boulders blocking the road and soon saw a small swamp to left. The trail curved to the left, right after the swamp area and started to climb gently. I noticed while climbing, there was a foot trail that crossed the trail (or Jeep road) I was on. I figured I better stay in the direction I was headed and would explore this trail on my way back down.

Gate on the old Jeep road to the summit

Small icicles forming on some rocks on the banking of the trail

Further up, I found an old gate that looked like it hadn’t been closed in years. I also found some recent deer rubs on some small trees off to the side. There was a lot of standing water that had frozen over higher up on the trail and I need to bushwhack to the side of the trail for much of the way. Soon, the trail turned to rocky slabs and the view opened up. The view to the south was very nice. Long Pond was easy to make out and I’m sure if it had been a clear day, I could have seen quite a ways further. I noticed right away that the area had been quite abused. There was broken glass and spray paint markings all over the ledge. There were also quite a few empty beer cans. I hate seeing such a nice place littered so badly.

Fresh buck rub on a small tree on the trail

Walking onto the summit of Rock Rimmon Hill

View to the south, with Long Pond in the center through the trees

More views

After taking in the views, I headed over to the western part of the ledges where four fire tower foundation pillars were still securely in place. The foundation pillars still had the steel flange brackets that secured the legs of the old fire tower. The fire tower that stood here was in service from 1928 to 1982 and was removed in 1989. Below is an old photo of this tower standing on Rock Rimmon Hill and it was taken from FireLookOut.org.

Rock Rimmon Fire Tower, 1928-1982, courtesy of FireLookOut.org

Old Fire Tower Location on the summit

Fire Tower Flange, still mounted to pillars

What I think is an old guide wire eyelet for the fire tower

On the west side of the fire tower location, I found what appeared to be a foot trail leading off the hill. It was steep and somewhat easy to make out for a bit. I soon came to a small rock cave where the trail appeared to end. I could not figure out for the life of me where it continued after exploring for a bit. I took a quick rest at the rock cave and heard an odd sound. It sounded like small rain drops on the fallen leaves just before a shower hits. But, there were no drops coming from the sky. I looked down and saw millions of snow fleas starting to migrate for the winter. It reminded me of the many winters I used to see these same types of snow fleas in my backwoods at my home in South Hampton while growing up. I observed the snow fleas for a bit and then headed back up to the summit.

Small rock cave on the west side of the hill

Look closely...Snow fleas!!!

Back at the top, I headed north and back down the old Jeep road I ascended from. Around the old gate that I had passed on the way up, I noticed a foot trail, blazed in orange, to the left. I decided to take this path to see where it went. I continued down the hill, through a beech wood forest, and came to an area in the woods that looked awful. It had been ridiculously blazed with blue, orange and pink paint and flags. Now, I understand the need for trail blazes and boundary markers, but this was ridiculous. It completely took away the natural look of a beautiful forest. The foot path soon crossed the Jeep road, at the spot where I had noticed a trail crossing during my ascent.

A very ugly portion of the woods, blazes and flags everywhere...all different colors

I finally came to the swamp that I had passed on the way up, but this time, it was on my left. It was a very nice maple swamp, frozen over with white ice. It had a small foot bridge which was a bit altered and disfigured due to previous winter’s ice movement. I really thought this spot was peaceful, but I’m really not sure why. Again, I think this area reminded me of the maple swamps behind my folks house, where I spent a lot of time, cutting wood and walking through the forest with my father. I snapped a few shots and continued on.

Nice looking maple swamp!

Bridge through the swamp

Finally, the trail dumped me off at the original old Jeep road, a bit further up than where I turned in at the beginning of my trek. I noticed that there was a trailhead sign which said Rock Rimmon Access Trail. I assume this is the “official” trailhead for Rock Rimmon Hill. At this point, I noticed some nice, old stone walls off to the side. I explored them a bit, snapped some shots and headed back out to where my truck was parked.

Rock Rimmon Access Trail Sign

Information regarding the trail and landowners

Some nice stone walls

All in all, I’m guessing I only covered a mile or two, but I had a fun time not really “knowing” where I was going. I felt a bit blind, but it made the exploration more enjoyable that way. I still had more of the afternoon ahead of me, so I decided to head to the Lamprey River Floodplain to check out some beaver activity. I’ll save that trip report for my next posting!

It's a Wonderful Life!

2011-12-19T21:15:00.002-05:00

Lately, I find myself in a rush all the time. There always seems to be something that needs to be done. The mornings are hectic, filled with chores that my wife and I split up to get ourselves ready for work, the baby ready for daycare and simply get out of the house and on our way. Once on the highway, I struggle with the rat race. People are always going too fast or too slow for me, and are no doubt, mindlessly going to work as I am. Once in the office…well, there is no shortage of work to do. Meetings and daily fires make the time pass quite quickly and before I know it, I’m late for lunch!

Lunch has turned into a one hour period where I run errands. Today for instance, I had to go to the University to a buy an overpriced, used (pretty much falling apart) book for my upcoming Financial Management class. Getting there is a major struggle with traffic and lights, and takes three times as long as it should. Parking is an even bigger nightmare. Once I find a spot to sneak my full size truck into, I have to rush to the bookstore and back as quickly as possible so I won’t get a parking ticket. Once I am through with the bookstore, I head to the mall. Again, traffic, parking and lots of people push my buttons. I find what I’m looking for, but continue to stress out about getting the “perfect” Christmas presents for the ones I love.

Back at work, I continue the day with more meetings and yes, more fires to put out. I’m lucky to cross off one thing from my ongoing task list in a day. When I’m heading home, yes you guessed it, more traffic. The traffic has been worse as of lately due to the holidays. Once home, Jill and I get to work quickly doing our nightly chores to make sure Lylah is all set for the evening as well as the next day. One of us feeds her while the other cleans her bottles and prepares her lunch for the next day. Every other night, she gets a tubby (she loves tubbys) just before her nightly bottle. After her nightly bottle, we get her jammies on and settle down with a few books. As she’s getting older, she’s getting more playful and curious of the books, so it takes a bit longer before she is tired enough to be put down. On a good night, we’re done with our chores around 8:30pm. At this point, Jill and I can start focusing on what we need to do. Sometimes, it’s more work (I have conference calls with Asia on a regular basis). Lately, it’s present wrapping, checking addresses for Christmas cards and stuff of that nature.

Now, it may seem like I’m complaining here, but I promise, I’m not. I decided to write about this because I came to a realization today. On my way back from the University at lunch, pretty aggravated and annoyed at the traffic at that moment, I really questioned how my life became so hectic and stressful. In this life, I would be so happy if I could pack Jill and Lylah up, buy a house up in Jackson, NH, nestled in the beautiful White Mountains, and move up there. In that perfect world, I would I get a job doing something outside…maybe a New Hampshire Fish & Game Warden or do something for the U.S. Forest Service…low stress! Money wouldn’t be an issue because we would have each other and that is all that matters. We would be able to look at the mountains from our front porch and know that beauty is always around us. I dream of this often, especially when I’m in an aggravated state and the rat race has me all strung out. But, as that dream often does, it ends abruptly and I realize that it is nothing more than pipedream. I don’t believe I will be able to move us up there anytime soon. There are much more important things like making sure Lylah grows up in a loving home, in a bigger house (with siblings), has the privilege of a good school district, etc. to make sure happens. For now, my rat race is the best means I have of providing that for her.

So again, like I said, I’m absolutely not complaining. We watched It’s a Wonderful Life the other night. Like George Bailey, I will always want to live where my passion is. For him, it was exotic traveling...for me, it's the mountains. Of course, I wouldn’t give up the people in my life, ever, nor is anything worth that… I’d just take them all with me :). Ensuring that the people I love are well taken care of is well worth the price to not living up north. The next time I get stuck in the rat race commute (which will undoubtedly be tomorrow morning!!!), I will not get aggravated but instead think of how I have a Wonderful Life too! Sure, I don’t get to stand on a mountain top every day or go in search of wildlife on a regular basis, but I do get to come home to a raspberry blowing baby whose smile lights up the room. I get to curl up on the couch with the wifey and drink hot cocoa every night (you can’t put a price on that)! I don’t need the mountains for these precious moments.

Now, our latest plan is to possibly buy a small cottage or summer home in Jackson sometime in the future, hopefully the near future. We will work on adapting that into an all season home that Jill and I can retire to full time when all the kids have graduated. Until then, I’ll continue day hiking with Jill and soaking in as much of the outdoors as my busy schedule allows. I will continue to write about my passion for the mountains here, as an escape from the rat race when needed. As John Muir said, “Going to the Mountains Is Going Home”. For me, I hope that will be a permanent reality…someday!

In order to get through tough days at work, I have a few tools to help me. I thought I would share them with you. Here are some snapshots of my office!

White Mountains maps on my wall! Great to plan out my adventures at lunch.

My desk calendar that Jill made me last year which reminds me of all our great hikes so far!

My White Mountains calendar, coincidentally has the Jackson Covered Bridge highlighted for December!

The Old Man, hanging proudly on my office wall!

Cutting Down Trees!

2011-12-02T20:36:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, Jill and I headed to Tonry Christmas Tree Farm to cut down the Christmas Tree that we had recently tagged. It was a Fraser Fir and perfectly shaped, in our humble opinion. It had plenty of room between each branch, which is what I like in a tree. It allows you to hang bulbs not only on the outside, but also the inside of the tree. I'm sure it looked a bit bare to most, but to us, we knew it would shape up to be the perfect tree!

I brought my own bow saw and it only took a few minutes to saw through the trunk. I forgot to yell timber and the tree literally almost fell on Jill while she was pulling the ribbon decorations off. Dragging it up to the netting station was the most laborious part of the day. I didn't realize it when we tagged the tree...but it was at the bottom of a big hill! That tree was pretty heavy by the time I got it to the top.

Once home, we set it up and admired it for a bit. It really smelled great. My goal this year was to make a more "old time" or "traditional" tree. One that looked like it came from a few generations prior. I got this idea from my good friends, Tim and Robin, over at Appalachia & Beyond. They did this last year, and I thought it was a great idea...so I recruited Jill to help me do it to our tree this year.

To accomplish this, we did a few things. Jill and I stayed up a few late nights (watching Rescue Me on DVD...great show BTW) and strung popcorn and cranberries. We utilized all of our antique Christmas bulbs, which I have my Mom to thank for. She started collected them for me when I was just a kid and today, I have so many antique bulbs, we can't even fit all of them on the tree. And to top it all off was the star. You see, when I was very young, my Dad brought me down cellar one Christmas season and said, "we're going to make the star for the tree"! He pulled out an old cardboard box, drew a star and cut it out with scissors. He then proceeded to wrap it in tin foil, of all things. When he set the star up on the tree, I remember thinking that it was the biggest, shiniest tree top I had ever seen. He told me that they used the same kind of star when he was a kid as well. I've duplicated my father's star and have topped our tree with it too.

I'm really happy with this tree. It is definitely my favorite Christmas Tree to date. It is the first tree that Jill and I (and Lylah) went out and walked around a field to pick out. We used to just stop on the side of the road and pick one quickly. I feel like we have more of a vested interest in this particular tree for that reason. This is also the first Christmas Tree that my beautiful daughter has been able to set her eyes on. She really loves looking at the bulbs and lights with curiosity. Most of all, I really love how we approached the decorations. I look at the tree everyday and it reminds me of simpler times. When people didn't need to buy expensive decorations to make a wonderful tree and have a good Christmas...yes, that's my favorite part! It's the same feeling I get when I head north, to the mountains!

Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble

2011-11-23T19:52:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone has a safe, happy and fun Thanksgiving! Eat lots of food and relax a bit!

Below, are a couple turkeys I saw this past April on the Moat Mountain Trail, near the trailhead on Passaconaway Road. I hope they fared well this Thanksgiving and did not end up on a dinner table!

Walking Among Some Trees...Christmas Trees!

2011-11-21T20:58:00.001-05:00

Jill and I brought Lylah for a walk through some trees recently. Christmas Trees that is! We typically get a tree from the side of the road and always seem to pay too much for it. This year, we decided to put that money into a tree that we can actually fresh cut ourselves. We decided on Tonry Farm in Hampton Falls to locate the Searl Family Christmas Tree.

Tonry Farm

When you pull in, you drive down this long driveway and it drops you off at a farm with fields full of Christmas Trees all around it. We were given a map and told that the types of trees were fairly mixed throughout the fields and we would have to identify the species of trees ourselves in order to know what we were tagging.

Eastern Bluebird!

Eastern Bluebird again!

We walked for what seemed to be a mile, in and out of the different rows. It seemed every “good” tree had been tagged by previous customers. I was amazed at the different shapes and sizes of all these trees. I always assumed these tree farms trimmed the trees to be the perfect, full cone shape. However, on this tree farm, it looked like they allowed them to grow into a natural shape, which I liked. I’m a big fan of “Charlie Brown” Christmas Trees. I like crazy branches and holes to hang large ornaments.

Behold...The Searl Family Christmas Tree!

Our Tag!

There were many trees that I liked, but Jill didn’t and visa versa, until we came to the perfect tree for us. It was traditionally shaped like cone but also has some irregularity to it too. It had really sturdy branches for heavy ornaments and was just tall enough for our living room. I’m fairly certain it is a Fraser Fir. It was the perfect Searl Family Christmas Tree. Jill decorated it by putting a large “S” at the top and some festive ribbon.

Jill's "S" on the top of the tree

Our decorated tree in the field!

It was really a fun day at the tree farm. We got a little bit of exercise in as well as spent some time outside. We even encountered some wildlife as an Eastern Bluebird followed us around the farm for a while. I can’t wait to get this tree home. We plan on cutting it down this weekend coming up. This year, we’re going to string popcorn and cranberries in an attempt to create and old fashion looking tree. I’ll be sure to post some pictures of it once it is up and lit!

What I've Learned From Hiking: A Challenge From New England Outside

2011-11-20T06:54:00.001-05:00

My buddy over at New England Outside has challenged outdoor bloggers to write a post about what they have learned from hiking. He mentioned to keep the post short and sweet, but I’ve learned so much from the trail, I’m not sure I can do that! My lessons learned have been vast over the last couple years, but here are some of most important ones.

Patience and Perseverance – When I first started hiking, I can recall wanting to rush to the top of a mountain. I worried about time and people passing me. Through my many journeys, I’ve learned to slow down and pace myself. I find that I enjoy the trek much more at a slower pace. It also helps me to focus in on the goal of the day. Instead of pushing through with brute force, I’m able to observe the milestones around me and really gauge my progress.

Enjoying more than the view – Anyone who has stood on the top of a mountain in the Whites knows that the views can be breathtaking. It’s probably the main reason why most hike. However, as much as the view from a summit, I’m enjoying the little things the trail has to offer. From reading blogs like the Spicebush Log, 1HappyHiker and Jim Salge Photography’s Blog, I’ve found so many cool things to keep an eye out for. Different plants and wildlife are always on my agenda to try to spot. I love going into the woods looking for the fresh Hobblebush leaves in early spring. I get excited now when I see Painted Trillium’s or Yellow Violets. I notice when I walk from a hardwood forest to a pine grove. And I’m always on the outlook for historical artifacts on the trail or traces of an earlier hiking generation.

The White Mountains, People Die Up There! – Being a responsible hiker means being a prepared hiker. When I think back to the first time I hiked in the Whites (back in 98’, up Mount Washington…funny story if you have time to read this post), I was completely unprepared and could have easily ended up as a story on WMUR News. My pack has gone from about 5lbs to probably 35lbs, and sometimes around 50lbs in the winter! Being prepared is very important and can sometimes be the determining factor on if someone makes it out of the woods alive or not. It’s not a situation any hiker wants to be in and is usually not predictable. So making sure you have all the essential survival gear with you is extremely important.

The Hiking Community – When I started hiking regularly a couple years back, I started participating in forums as well as started writing this blog. I was amazed at how large the hiker’s network was in this region and how friendly everyone is. It’s like having unlimited resources and knowledge at your fingertips. I’m extremely thankful to the hiking community for the information they have shared with me and other hikers. I’m also very appreciative to have made so many great friends!

Life – “Don’t take life so seriously, you’ll never make it out alive” – Van Wilder…I know, kind of cliché, but so true. Hiking has taught me this. Before I started hiking, I was huge ball of stress. I worried about a lot of things, including work. Hiking has given me a way to relieve stress and enjoy life the way it should be enjoyed. Being on a trail helps me forget about all my worries and really focus on what’s important. I spend most of my hikes alongside Jill, who is what is important to me. I spend time in nature, which I have come to find is very precious. Soon, I will be able to share this with Lylah too. I can’t wait for the day that she can look out over the White Mountains from the summit of her first mountain.

So there you have it. The list could probably go on and on. But for now, I think these are the most important lessons I have learned. Thanks to New England Outside for a great challenge and a great idea for a post.

Winners of Following Atticus by Tom Ryan!

2011-11-16T20:18:00.001-05:00

So this post is a little late, but better late than never I guess. Last week, Jill and I got sick and then this week, the munchkin got sick. So needless to say, it's been pretty chaotic in the Searl household and blogging took a back seat, unfortunately!

I did close the contest on November 11th, as I said I would, with 32 entries! I thought it was a great turnout, but I knew it would be for such an awesome book, Following Atticus!

Okay, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Random.org chose entry 22 and entry 29 as the winners. This is Grant and Jen S. I will be contacting the winners soon to get addresses or, if you read this post, please feel free to drop me a line! I'll get these great items out to you two shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered. If you didn't win, please don't let that stop you from picking up your copy of Following Atticus as soon as you can!

Thanks To All Those Who Have Served...

2011-11-11T20:20:00.001-05:00

It's Veteran's Day. My Dad served our country for 36 years in the U.S. Army and my Grandfather fought in World War II, fighting in the Battle of Buldge in Bastogne. Being from a family with these roots, I'm a pretty patriotic guy. So, I didn't want the day to go by without saying thanks to all those who have served. We owe everything to them. Our land, our freedom and our happiness. Happy Veteran's Day!

Old Glory at Stratham Hill Park

Gear Review: Patagonia Drifter A/C Hiking Shoes - Guest Blogger Post

2011-11-10T14:23:00.001-05:00

By Jill Searl

I've had my trusty pair of Merrells for well over four years. They are old, grubby, dirty and ripped. I've been looking for another pair of hiking shoes to replace them over the last two years. I’ve even looked for a new pair of the exact same ones, but I don’t believe Merrell even makes them anymore. I bought a pair of Keene boots last year which are comfortable in all, but I really don't like the style of them with the big black toes. No matter what new shoes I’ve tried in the past couple of years, I always seem to gravitate towards my Merrells when heading out on a hike.

Jill's new Patagonia Drifter A/C Hiking Shoes

I recently purchased a pair of Patagonia A/C Drifters. We receive Patagonia catalogs in the mail, but other than that I haven't really seen (or noticed) the brand in the stores. But I liked the style and the shoes had great reviews so I decided to try them. As soon as they arrived I tried them on and my first impression was they were very comfortable, had plenty of cushion and fit true to size. I have wide feet and it has been difficult to find hiking boots that are wide enough, these were plenty wide enough. They seemed to have a lot of support which is a key feature for my old ankle injury. One thing I didn’t like right away was they were heavy, which is different than my old, super-light Merrells. A quick comparison between these Patagonias and similar-sized Merrells shows that the Patagonias are about 4 oz. heavier than Merrells. After my initial try on, I was anxious to hit the trails and break them in. But I’d be lying if I said I didn't pack my Merrells in my backpack just in case!

Jill's Patagonia Drifter A/C on the summit of South Moat Mountain

So, Karl and I hiked South Moat in Conway, a moderate 5.6 hike. As we hiked along, I made a few adjustments to the laces and once I found my comfort level, they felt great! The upper portion of the trail was a bit steep with plenty of ledges so I was a bit worried about the trip down and how my feet would move in the shoes walking down the slabs. All I could think about was my awful decent down the Tecumseh ski trails in a new pair of Merrell boots (yet another failed replacement trial for my favorite Merrells). My toes were cramped and my feet slid so much I had blisters for weeks! But my feet stayed put in the Patagonias and I made it off the mountain without a single blister. It was also very warm the day of our hike and I found the shoes to be breathable. The only thing I’m not sure about is how waterproof they are, I read a couple of reviews saying that weren’t that good, but we didn’t come across any water on our hike.

All in all, I’m happy with my purchase and look forward to wearing them on a few winter hikes.

A Couple Days Left to Win a Free Copy of Following Atticus!!!

2011-11-09T15:50:00.000-05:00

Don't forget, there's still a couple days to enter to win a copy of Following Atticus by Tom Ryan! It's free and easy to enter. Visit this post for all the details. For now, I'll leave you with Tom's book trailer for Following Atticus below!

Tom Ryan's video trailer for Following Atticus

Some Nice Views on Mount Stanton and Mount Pickering

2011-11-07T21:08:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, I decided to head to the Bartlett area and hike Mount Stanton and Mount Pickering. I didn’t necessarily want to bag these peaks for peaks themselves, but more for other reasons. I’ve been on an Iron Mountain history kick lately, and I’ve heard the views over to Iron Mountain are phenomenal and really second to none for this mountain. I also knew that the Mount Stanton Trail was rather secluded and not heavily traveled other than the occasional backpacker making their way to the Langdon Shelter. So, aside from the peaks, I figured it would be nice walk in the woods, great views of mountains that can’t be seen easily from other points and some un-crowded trails.

Mount Stanton Trail was tough to follow with the leaves on the ground.

Slimy mushroom on the trail

The trailhead for the Mount Stanton Trail was easy to find, although it only had a small sign indicating its presence and the parking was roadside. I arrived at the trailhead at the same time as a hunter. I think he was just as surprised to see that I was walking in the woods for fun, as I was to see him hunting on a “hiking” trail. I stopped and chatted with him for a while and explained my intentions of heading up to higher elevations. He said his plan was to stay down low. It made me feel better that I ran into him before setting off so that he knew there were hikers in the woods, but that little bit of comfort didn’t stop me from putting on my hunter orange beanie cap (just incase)!

The trail was very difficult to follow at the beginning. It is blazed well, but I constantly had to look up to the trees for the blazes because the foot trail was not recognizable. This was in large part due to hardwood forest dropping its oak, birch and beach tree leaves. Once the trail began to climb, it did so pretty steeply and I can recall thinking the descent would be tough with the leaves on the ground and not knowing what was under them.

Ascending onto White's Ledge!

Mount Kearsarge, North from White's Ledge. Nice, first view of the day!

I finally made my way up to White’s Ledge, which was a pretty lengthy strip of ledge with some great views east toward Mount Keasarge, North, and some restricted views to the south and west toward Attitash Mountain. After making my way over White’s Ledge, there was a very steep and slippery ascent up to the summit. The summit was actually pretty large and on the eastern portion, had some good lookouts to Kearsarge again, with the Doubleheads in the background. Views of Attitash were also much better, although the sun’s position was hindering any good shots I was able to take of it.

On this southern (sunny) side of the summit, there were a ton of snakes. I'm pretty sure they were sunning themselves and unfortunately, I kept almost stepping on them. As one would hiss at me and move away aggressively, I’d take a step back and almost step on another one! I was able to get a few shots of them and hopefully I didn’t really step on any of them. They were all harmless garter snakes…I think!

Mount Attitash from the summit of Mount Stanton

The Doubleheads, Black Mountain and I think, one of the Wildcat peaks

As I made my way across the summit, I came to the ledges on the northern side of the mountain. Here, I found the first of the leftover snow from a snow storm a week earlier. I also got my views of Iron Mountain that I had been anticipating. I was floored at how large it looked, not just from a height perspective, but also from a mere bulkiness perspective. You could easily make out the summit, Green Hill and Duck’s Head. The views over toward Jackson also unveiled a better view of the Doubleheads, Black Mountain and a snow topped, Wildcat peak. To the left of Iron Mountain, was the Presidentials, and of course, as it usually is when I’m up north, Mount Washington was in the clouds.

One of many snakes on the summit of Mount Stanton

Tree trunk growing over a rock on the summit of Mount Stanton

The whole time I was admiring the views the north, a northerly wind was pounding on me hard. Of course, I started to get a chill in my sweaty clothes so I figured it was time to get moving. I had a difficult time picking the Mount Stanton Trail back up after these northern ledges. I walked around a bit and finally found the trail descended the northwestern slope of the mountain, not the western slope as I had assumed. Once I found some blazes on some ledge, I headed down into cover from the wind.

What I believe is Carter Notch over Green Hill

Mount Washington...yes that's right...you have to look through the clouds!!!

On my descent of Mount Stanton, the landscape changed dramatically. The hardwoods turned into a red pine forest quickly. It was very nice out there and peaceful. I no longer had the sound of the rustling leaves at my feet. The trail descended steeply and it wasn’t long before I was in the col of the two mountains. Here, I found the White Mountain National Forest boundary cairn. It was painted red and had a pipe driven into the ground at this location. There were also two “Bearing Trees” marked with aluminum signs dated 1981. This spot was obviously a corner point of the WMNF boundary lines. From that point on, the trail also had red blazes and National Forest Boundary signs kept popping up every now and then. Another interesting feature in the col was a water hole, It was probably 20 feet in diameter and it looked like it collected runoff water from the mountains.

Cairn at the WMNF boundary

Bearing Tree sign, one of two that I found

Boundary signs on the trail up to Mount Pickering

The hike up to Mount Pickering was steep in some places, but not as steep as the ascent to Mount Stanton. The red pines gave up to a hardwood forest again and I was making more noise in the leaves than a crashing moose. The trail subsided quickly and before I knew it, I was on the large, flat summit of Mount Pickering. I made my way past the high point and over to the north ledges, which again, gave me very nice views of Iron Mountain. I was also able to see Mount Langdon and The Crippies (what a sketchy name) from this point. I hung out for a bit and then continued west on the Mount Stanton Trail. I had heard that the ledges just over the summit had great views, and I couldn’t determine if the ledges I was just on were the ones in question. After descending for about 0.3 miles, I made the call that I must have already been on the “great views” ledge.

Water hole in the col between Mount Pickering and Mount Stanton

Another snake, this time on the summit of Mount Pickering

So I started my journey back to my truck, retracing my footsteps back up to Mount Pickering. This is where I started getting tired and one of the reasons I hate in-and-out hikes. Something about re-climbing a peak you just did, does not appeal to me. I was hoping, however, that maybe some of the clouds would retreat around Mount Washington’s peak and I would be able to get a nice, snowcapped shot…didn’t happen though. Something worth mentioning was a water hole on the summit of Mount Pickering. I didn’t notice it when I traveled westbound on the summit, but on my return, it is very noticeable to the left of the trail (northeastern portion of the summit). It was approximately 30 feet in diameter and was obviously filled with the remains of some melted snow. It seemed a bit out of place up there, but neat nonetheless. Oh, and on my way back, I almost stepped on yet another snake sunning itself in the middle of the trail.

Favorite view of the day, Iron Mountain with its magnificent South Cliffs in view!

Retracing the col was tough. I was tired at this point and you’re either hiking down a steep section or up a steep section. There is no flat section between these two mountains to take a "rest" on! I recall thinking the ascent back up to Mount Stanton’s summit, through the red pine forest, would be the last, tough push I would need to make. I did finally make it up there and took a couple last shots of the great views over to Iron Mountain, as I could not help myself.

The Crippies and Mount Langdon

Stairs Mountain poking up in the background

The descent from Stanton was a real pain in the neck. On the steep sections, I had to hold onto trees as I stepped down. The oak leaves were piled on the trail and it was wet between them and the rocks. I feel as though I skied down the trail more than I hiked down it. I finally came to White’s Ledge again and decided to eat my lunch in front Mount Kearsarge. The peanut butter sandwich I made was excellent and gave me some energy to finish up the remaining mile or so that I had. Again, I struggled through some steep sections and then got lost near the beginning of the trail since I couldn’t tell where it was.

Old arrow sign I found on the trail...I like these old weathered signs!

When I finally made it out to my truck, I could see the hunter was still out and about. A couple women, with intentions to hike the trail, were getting ready as I was pulling away. I warned them to put on any orange they had as there were hunters around and it would be a safe thing to do. They informed me that they didn’t have any orange, so I decided to part with my orange beanie cap and handed it over to them. I figured the loss of $0.99 (for the hat) was worth contributing to some other fellow hiker’s safety.

Mount Chocorua over Chocorua Lake on the drive home

On the way home, I really felt like stopping at the Dairy Queen at the junction of Rt. 16 and Rt. 302, however, it was closed for the season. I figured it was the Big Guy’s way of telling me that I shouldn’t eat unhealthy crap on the ride home. So, instead, I headed north on Route 16 and made my way over the Jackson Covered Bridge into my favorite village. I stopped at the White Mountain Café and Bookstore and picked up a large, decaf coffee for the two hour ride home. It was excellent as expected. Truly, another great day in the Whites!

Kearsarge North from White's Ledge

2011-11-06T09:34:00.001-05:00

I hiked up Mount Stanton and Mount Pickering this weekend. There were some really nice views to the north on both peaks. I hope to get you a trip report soon. But until then, here's a quick picture of Mount Kearsarge, North from White's Ledge!

Some History on Iron Mountain...

2011-11-02T20:17:00.000-04:00

Iron Mountain, as seen from the summit of South Moat, in the foreground of Mount Washington!

Iron Mountain has always been an intriguing mountain to me ever since the first time I noticed it on my trail map. I would even go as far as saying it is my favorite mountain. The mountain and its trails seem to stand alone, secluded from the vast trail network that New Hampshire houses in its backcountry. One can reach the trailhead by traveling up a secluded, dirt road, a few miles out on Iron Mountain Road, off from Route 16 in Jackson. The road climbs a few hundred feet in elevation in these couple miles and dumps you off at an old pasture and farmhouse, with spectacular views to the Presidentials. The trailhead itself is known to be one of the best views you can obtain on this hike, being picturesque in both the foreground and background landscapes. As one would imagine on such a secluded trail, the Iron Mountain Trailhead is simply marked with a homemade wooden sign that simply says “TRAIL”.

Iron Mountain Trailhead Sign, Taken September of 2009

View up to Mount Washington from the pasture at the trailhead, phenomenal views

Wildcats from the first viewpoint just below the summit

This mountain is very rich with history, although, there is not a whole lot of published information on it. In the 1800’s, as the name alludes, the southeastern slopes were used for iron mining. Prior to these mining operations, the mountain was actually called Baldface, I'm assuming for the large and bare rock exposed on its southern slopes! The only publication I can find that narrows down the timeline for these mines was from the 1922 edition of the AMC White Mountain Guide, which says on page 241, “They (the mines) were worked about 1872.” It also goes onto explain that there was once a hiking trail that ran from Jericho Road (which runs on the south side of the mountain) up to the mines by way of an old carriage path that was actually used to gain access to the mines when in operation. It gives a good account of the mine layout, explaining a 60 foot tunnel and an old mine shaft filled with water. When I made my way down to the mine area by way of the published spur path on current maps, I think I found the large shaft filled with water and found dumps of ore deposit on the slopes. I did not find the tunnel to speak of. However, I can say that the spur path we ascended was very difficult to follow and even more difficult to backtrack, as it was marked with small cairns, made up of only two or three small rocks. 100 years later, there is no published trail that leads up to the iron mines from Jericho Road. In fact, even a USGS map from 1942, only 20 years later, shows no sign of a trail connecting the two points.

Piles of rocks I found next to a shaft with water in it

I found some rocks with drill marks in them down in the mine area

Some of the best views on Iron Mountain can be seen from the southeastern slopes on what is called the South Cliffs. This wide open ledge has great views all the way to Sandwich Range. It is an easy hike down from the summit and is close to the junction with the current Iron Mine Spur path. I recall sitting on these ledges with Jill, no one else in sight, and feeling that it was extremely peaceful. We enjoyed the views and really fell in love with the spot. My understanding is, the only place that you can really get a good view of the South Cliffs (from another location) is Mount Pickering and Mountain Stanton. These cliffs are a great location to go if you feel like spending time in the White Mountains by yourself.

View as you walk onto the South Cliffs

The summit is another historical location. Apparently, many years ago in the 1800’s, you could stand on this summit and have fine views toward the village of Jackson, NH. Today, the summit has a lot of tree growth on it and views are limited or nonexistent. The way to get up there today is by way of the Iron Mountain Trail from the field and farmhouse that I described in the beginning of this post. It is a steep, somewhat eroded path, but there are some really fine viewpoints on the way up toward Mount Washington and the Wildcats. On the summit, are remnants of the old fire tower that once stood tall. It was a wooden tower, thirty feet in height and was in operation from 1939 to 1948, and then sold in 1949. Some wooden ties, rusted hardware, a broken down platform and some concrete leg supports are still on the summit. I’ve even found a USGS Reference Mark on the summit, but have never found the Benchmark that goes with it.

Fire tower that stood on the Iron Mountain summit in the 1940's. Picture from New Hampshire Fire Towers Website

Remnants of the fire tower that once stood

More debris of the tower

USGS Reference Mark on the summit

Another trail that was used by hikers to make their way up to the summit was from Route 16. It was a trail that was blazed by W.A. Meserve of Jackson, NH in 1905. I’m not sure what the name of this path was or if it ever had a published name. The trail left from a pasture behind the old Iron Mountain House, which was built in 1861 and closed in the late 1980’s. It ultimately burned down in the year 2000 and the Red Fox Pub was erected in its place. This trail meandered under the now wooded cliffs of Duck’s Head. Here’s another interesting fact. Duck’s Head used to be known as Iron Bluff, a sub-peak of Iron Mountain. It is labeled Iron Bluff on the 1896 USGS map, but labeled Duck’s Head on the 1946 USGS map. Okay, back to the trail. It split near the top of Duck’s Head, where you could go to the, at the time, open ledges over Jackson or head west to the Iron Mountain summit. This route also took you over another sub-peak known as Green Hill. This trail no longer exists. I’m not sure if it is still bushwhacked from time-to-time or not.

Left Map: 1896 USGS Map, showing the peak near Route 16 as Iron Bluff

Left Map: 1942 USGS Map, showing the peak near Route 16 as Duck's Head

Click the image to make it larger

Current published trails on a modern AMC map

Iron Mountain was also the home of a ski area, Iron Mountain Slopes. It is considered one of the lost ski areas in New Hampshire and I believe it was located just south of the Fire Fox Pub on route 16, but I can’t say for sure. There is a website, New England Lost Ski Areas Project, that has a lot of information on this historical slope. It looks like one of the organization's members bushwhacked the old slopes a while back and found many of the ski area’s equipment still on the mountain side. There are pictures of the old rope tow equipment as well as the summit return building just about falling in. The summit return building still has all the old wheels for the ropes, an old stove and even the motor that ran the tow. The ski slopes have completely grown in with tree growth and are nearly impossible to make out with the comparison pictures on that site. I can imagine it is really cool to stumble across this historical equipment when walking through the woods.

Before and after image of the Iron Mountain Ski Slope: Taken from NELSAP.org

Summit Return Building, still up on the slopes: Taken from NELSAP.org

Rope Tow structure, with trees growing around it.Taken from NELSAP.org

Iron Mountain will always be one of my favorite mountains. I think, back in its heyday, Iron Mountain was a very significant landmark to the village of Jackson. Even the small bridge on Route 16 over Ellis River, just north of junction with Green Hill Road (once called Iron Mountain Road) was known as Iron Mountain Bridge.The mountain was well-known and could be accessed from many different paths, but now only one secluded trail leads to its summit. It once had sub peaks named after it, which have now been renamed, forgetting about the origins. It has been mined and skied, but the evidence of this is buried in the woods and is difficult to find. It has had a fire tower planted on its summit and dismantled shortly after. I believe the summit has even been used for surveying or map making at one time since I found the USGS Reference Mark up there. I feel as though Iron Mountain has lived out its life and is now a forgotten peak. As I have said in many of my posts, I hope to retire to Jackson, NH or possibly even move up there sooner. If I do get up there one day, I will certainly hike this mountain often; find all the old paths that were once blazed and all the historical remnants left behind of better days on Iron Mountain!

Sources: Some information and pictures for this post were taken from the following, great sources. I encourage you to go to these sites or review these books!

New England Lost Ski Area Project: http://www.nelsap.org/nh/ironmt.html
New Hampshire Fire Towers: http://www.firelookout.org/towers/nh/iron.htm
1922 Edition of The AMC White Mountain Guide
The White Mountains by Moses Foster Sweetser
VFTT Post by 1HappyHiker

Win a Copy of Following Atticus by Tom Ryan!

2011-10-27T21:57:00.001-04:00

Here’s a great giveaway opportunity for two lucky Live Free and Hike readers. I was able to get my hands on two…yes, two copies of Following Atticus by Tom Ryan! I’m sure many of you out there are familiar with this new book hot off the presses and many of you probably already have a copy. However, this is your chance to get a “free” copy for someone else in the house hold or to possibly giveaway as a thoughtful Christmas gift.

Now, I haven’t read the whole book yet. And, in fact, I’m ashamed to say that I’m still near the beginning because I’m a slow reader and I’ve been short on time as of lately. What I have read so far is riveting. My wife, however, has her own iPad version of the book (that’s right, we purchased two copies…apparently we can’t share) and is halfway through it already. She says it is incredible. Tim and Robin of Appalachia and Beyond say this book will leave you “with a heart-warming sensation - a newly acquired approach to the way you view life”.

Here is Amazon’s Product Description

Middle-aged, overweight, and acrophobic newspaperman Tom Ryan and miniature schnauzer Atticus M. Finch are an unlikely pair of mountaineers, but after a close friend dies of cancer, the two pay tribute to her by attempting to climb all forty-eight of New Hampshire’s four-thousand-foot peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity. In a rare test of endurance, Tom and Atticus set out on an adventure of a lifetime that takes them across hundreds of miles and deep into an enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland. Little did they know that their most difficult test would lie ahead, after they returned home. . .

At the heart of this remarkable journey is an extraordinary relationship that blurs the line between man and dog, an indelible bond that began when Tom, following the advice of Atticus’s breeder, carried the pup wherever he went for the first month of their life together. Following Atticus is ultimately a story of transformation: how a five-pound puppy pierced the heart of a tough-as-nails newspaperman, opening his eyes to the world’s beauty and its possibilities. It was a change that led to a new life among the mountains; an unforgettable saga of adventure, friendship, and the unlikeliest of family; and an inspiring tale of finding love and discovering your true self.

So, here is how you can enter to win this book.

Entry 1: Simply, leave a comment on this blog post explaining why you want this book!

Entry 2: If you have a Facebook Page (fan page or personal page), share this posting on your FB page explaining the contest. You must come back to this page and leave a separate comment (separate than the other entries), letting me know that you did indeed share these details on Facebook.

Entry 3: If you have a Twitter Account, share the following feed: “@LiveFreeAndHike @TomandAtticus Win a Copy of Following Atticus http://bit.ly/sASqk7 #book #hiking #nh” You must come back to this page and leave, yet again, another comment (separate from the other entries), letting me know that you shared this feed on Twitter.

Entry 4 and 5: That’s right; this one is worth two entries. If you have a blog, write a post regarding this giveaway and link back to this posting. And again, you must come back to this page and leave another comment (separate from the other entries), letting me know that you wrote a blog post regarding this giveaway.

So, you have a chance to enter five times in all. If you get all five in, you would have left four separate comments. If you make an initial comment here, share on Facebook and Twitter, you will need to leave three separate comments. Get the gist? Pretty easy, right?

The comments will only be accepted until midnight on November 11th and I will draw the winners on November 12th. I will use Random.org to randomly draw the two winners. If you win and I have a way to get in touch with you, I will. However, I don’t have contact information for everyone, so you’ll need to check back here on November 12th to see if you won.

For more information on Tom and Atticus and the book Following Atticus, visit there blog or their Facebook page! Good luck to everyone who wants one of these copies!

Some History on South Uncanoonuc Mountain

2011-10-25T21:48:00.000-04:00

I had a few free hours on Saturday, which is very rare these days with a newborn, work and school. I decided to take full advantage of the time and head into the woods. I needed a location not too far from home and a short round trip time, as I needed to be home for something later in the evening. I decided to target the summit of South Uncanoonuc Mountain in Goffstown. This is certainly not a desirable destination for most hikers as the views are very limited and the summit is riddled by radio towers, but I had different agenda on this day. I was in search of a little bit of history!

South Uncanoonuc Mountain, as I’ve already said, is home to many huge radio towers on its summit. However, at one time, it was actually a tourist attraction in New Hampshire. It is one of many lost ski areas in New England. You can read about its history ski history here. It also had an incline railway that brought tourists, as well as skiers, to the top of the mountain. The railway was similar in nature to the Cog up Mount Washington, in the sense that it went straight up the side of the mountain. However, the train ran on electricity, not biofuel or coal. The south summit was even home to multiple fire towers and even a resort hotel at one time.

A portion of the Incline Trail that may represent an older photo I found on the web. I got this idea, of trying to compare the current trail to the past photo from 1HappyHiker Blog Posting: Meanderings around North Sugerloaf!

Same thing as previous posting...Idea from 1HappyHiker

The “Incline” railway, as it was called, was put into service 1907 and was halted in 1941 when a fire destroyed 500 feet of its tracks. The train climbed 800 feet in elevation when ascending at a 35% grade, which is pretty steep. It cost tourists and skiers $0.15 for a ride to the summit and $0.25 for a round trip ticket! Some great information on this railway system can be found on this site.

Chipmunk checking me out!

Old foundation in the woods next to the trail.

The railway bed that the Incline Railway once climbed is still on the mountain and easily acceptable to hikers. I decided to take this path up to the summit in hopes to see some historical artifacts and piece some of the old pictures I found on the web together.

Old Rail Ties in the Woods with Hardware

The trail was consistently steep as I expected. You begin by crossing a small bridge over a brook and the climbing begins. The footing is pretty good on the first half of the trail. There was one creepy cabin on the right of the trail, soon after the bridge but had no trespassing signs on it, so I stayed away. Soon, the good footing gave way to lose rock and gravel, like the bottom of a slide trail. However, I’m assuming this was just the foundation for the old rails.

Pipe with bracket in the woods. I'm not sure what it was used for.

Weathered rail with hardware. I assume this was part of the rail system.

There was one great viewpoint to the southeast a little ways up the Walker Trail, which made its way into the Incline Trail about halfway up. I did a little bit of bushwhacking just off the trail when I thought I saw something that may have historical significance. In doing so, I think I found the sites of a few old cabins, with broken down wooden structures, old porcelain covered metal sinks and more. I finally came across some older railroad ties with large bolts through them which I’m sure was part of the Incline Railway at one time.

Views over toward Manchester

Views of some mountains in the distance, not sure what mountains, though.

I finally made my way onto the summit, and as many who have described it before said, it was covered with radio towers and the constant humming of their base stations. I was surprised to see that they were not bunched together, but instead had their own little plots of land, scattered over the large, flat summit. I made my way to the highest point and started searching for a U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Traverse Station Benchmark. A lot of the information such as the year, number and position were not marked on this disc, so I have no idea how long it was up there.

One of the towers on the summit

I eventually headed back down the way I came up, via the Incline Trail. I was really happy with this short hike because I was looking for some evidence from the past and found it. I found some really cool railway ties with old hardware in them. I wondered why these pieces were left behind while all the other ties were brought down. I wondered how many tourists traveled over these ties that were now left to rot in the woods. I wondered who originally installed this tie up on the mountain and if he was a nature lover as well.

U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Benchmark!

I was also really happy about finding a new Benchmark…these things have become addictive to me. It’s the first one I have found from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. I wonder why this specific Benchmark was installed and when. I wonder how many people walked over it, not even knowing it was there. I know I certainly walked over it a few times, and I was actually looking for it.

I really love history. Combine that with hiking and nature, and it is really my passion!

A couple great websites where I got some of the information for this post and got the older pictures for this post are:

http://home.comcast.net/~drat/Uncanoonuc.htm
http://www.nelsap.org/nh/uncanoonuc.html
http://www.gotopinardville.com/uncanoonuc_mountains.htm

Book Review: Goodnight New Hampshire...For The Kids

2011-10-20T20:49:00.000-04:00

So, this isn’t really a book review for adults, but rather a book review for children. We bought a book for Lylah, before she was even born, called “Goodnight New Hampshire”. It is written by Adam Gamble and Anna Rosen and published by Our World of Books. From what I understand, there is a whole series of “Goodnight” books. We chose “Goodnight New Hampshire” for obvious reasons.

The book has hard pages and has lots of colors, so it keeps our four-month-old’s attention pretty well. It starts off saying hello to many different objects and people throughout the Granite State, including white tailed deer, pink lady slippers and children hiking on the Presidential Range. The reader is able to visit a New Hampshire country store, the ski slopes and apple orchards. Finally, the book ends by saying goodnight to Mount Washington, the highest peak in New Hampshire. Maybe the best page of all is the end, where a father is tucking in his child for the night. A picture on the child’s wall is the Old Man of the Mountain himself.

So, I give this book two thumbs up and would highly recommend it to anyone with an infant at home that loves New Hampshire and wants to teach their children about all the great things in this wonderful State!

South Moat Mountain With My Favorite Hiking Partner!

2011-10-14T20:51:00.000-04:00

Jill and I finally got back out and hiked a mountain together. Jill hadn’t been on a real hike since we traversed the Franconia Ridge in September of 2010 because of the pregnancy and having a newborn. So, this Columbus Day, my mother was nice enough to watch Lylah for the day and we headed north.

Jill and I at the trailhead! She's really excited!

Bridge over Dry Brook

We chose South Moat Mountain, because of its size and short trail. We still needed to keep time in mind for this outing since we knew traffic was going to be pretty bad on the way home. Also, I had hiked South Moat back in April and I recall it being rather difficult for me, but I figured that was due to hiking on a really warm day, with full winter gear and rotting, deep snow. I also remember the summit being awesome. It had 360 degree views and not too crowded. I think it is certainly one of the more underrated summits in the Whites!

Some nice colors up on the ledges!

Mount Chocorua popping in the distance from the ledge views

We started out on the trail at 10am and the temperature increased quickly. The bottom portion of the trail is easy and fairly flat. However, the upper portion is pretty steep and I believe you climb close to 1,500 feet of elevation in 1.4 miles or so. So, needless to say, we both thought this trail was pretty tough. The views from the ledge areas to the south are phenomenal. Chocorua dominates the skyline and makes you want to drop your pack and camp there for the day. We didn’t see many people on the summit and the views were pretty good, except for a bit of haziness. Mount Carrigain, the Carter Notch, Mount Kearsarge, the Baldfaces, Mount Passaconaway and many other mountains were all in view. I also found a Benchmark up there, although it was not a USGS or NGS Benchmark, but instead it was a New Hampshire Benchmark…new to me!

Some more nice colors!

What I believe to be Mount Carrigain in the distance. Too bad it was hazy!

The best part of the whole day was that I got my hiking partner back. Since 2009, Jill and I have been hiking and falling in love with New Hampshire’s North Country, together. The two of us are like peas and carrots on the trail. I think our strong points complement each other in a very motivating way. When she needs encouragement, I give it to her and when I need encouragement, she gives it to me. And when we’ve finished laboring on the trail and set foot on the summit, we sit and really appreciate the time we’ve spent together, what we’ve accomplished and enjoy the wonderful views of the mountains before us. I wouldn’t change this for the world. She is by far my favorite hiking companion and always will be.

Carter Notch in the distance. I feel this shot would have had nice color if not for the haze!!!

Jill and I with the NH DPW&H Benchmark at the summit

The traffic on the ride home wasn’t as horrible as we had thought it would be. When we finally made it home, it was nice to see the munchkin (Lylah) greet us at the door with a huge smile. It was obvious that she definitely had a fun day with Grammy. We missed her a lot throughout the day, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t love spending the day alone with Jill on South Moat Mountain.