Mountain Wandering

BLACK MOUNTAIN (SANDWICH): 1/20/16

On a cold, windy day I headed into the Smarts Brook area for a snowshoe bushwhack to the 2732-foot Black Mountain on the SW ridge of Sandwich Dome. The major part of the whack involved climbing from the Smarts Brook Trail to the Algonquin Trail on the south side of Black, an idea inspired by a trip John "1HappyHiker" Compton did a few summers ago. The cover was thin in the conifers, but great snowshoeing was found in the open hardwoods.

Smarts Brook, starting to freeze over, seen from the Yellow Jacket Trail.

I took a look at the day's objective from the beaver pond along the Smarts Brook Trail.

A frozen cascade on the brook I followed up to the ridge. Will have to come back and check it out in summer.

After skirting several old logging cuts, at 1750 ft. I emerged in an expansive open hardwood forest that extended all the way up the slope.

An interesting assortment of trees.

Good snowshoeing!

More hardwoods.

Near the head of this little valley the wind was ripping pretty good and there were some snowdrifts.

Nearing the top of the broad ridge south of Black Mountain.

Looking for the Algonquin Trail on a 2400-ft. plateau.

Somehow I crossed the Algonquin Trail without realizing it, so I ended up bushwhacking to the col on the east side of Black, following this little drainage for the final pitch.

The Algonquin Trail, at last, in the col.

A neat open glade in the col.

Whacking up the ridge to Black.

After tussling with some dense snow-laden scrub, I emerged on the great view ledge on the south side of the summit. I had been to this view ledge once in summer, but the vistas were limited by fog. Today the views were endless, with Mount Monadnock easily visible far to the south. The closer south view looks at the Campton Range with Lower and Upper Hall Ponds at their base.

Wild country on the NE side of Sandwich Notch. The area in the foreground is within the Sandwich Range Wilderness. The Belknap Range is on the horizon left of center through the "other" Sandwich Notch, between Dinsmore Mountain and the Squam Range.

Mount Israel and the Ossipee Range.

The massive shoulder also known as Black Mountain looms close at hand, with the snowy summit of Sandwich Dome behind on the left. The Algonquin Trail climbs very steeply up this shoulder, with excellent views. It would be a tough climb in winter. Perhaps the first traverse of this rugged ridge was fashioned in 1876 by AMC members Charles E. Fay and G.C. Anthony. On their way down they ascended the lower Black Mountain. Wrote Fay in Appalachia: "This method of descent offers nearly every variety of style and difficulty: long reaches of windfalls among tangled growth where progress is reduced to a minimum; reaches of rapid transit over the bare crest; and withal some extremely difficult clambering down through the small growth (deciduous and evergreen) that finds a scanty foothold on the rocky southerly side of this ponderous spur. The views are fine save to the north and northeast."

A Boreal Chickadee stopped by for a visit with a few pals.

Down-look.

A cairn at the summit.

On the way down, a peek at the Osceolas.

Cliff-faced Sachem Peak with the Osceolas beyond.

Sachem Peak and Jennings Peak.

Back on the Algonquin Trail - looks like winter up here.

Rough snowshoeing on the steep pitch down from the col.

Here is where I crossed the Algonquin Trail on my upward bushwhack. Don't know how I missed it!

Late afternoon in the hardwoods.

Golden light towards the end of a fine day.

FOOL KILLER LEDGE: 1/22/16

On a cold, crisp day I enjoyed a sunny snowshoe bushwhack with Cath Goodwin from the Sabbaday Brook Trail to a favorite ledge on the northern spur of the Fool Killer. The top of this large, open slab offers a unique perspective on the Sandwich Range Wilderness.

In the photo below taken earlier in January from Mount Passaconaway, the Fool Killer Ledge is the snowy patch in the foreground, lower right.

We walked 0.7 mile up the Sabbaday Brook Trail to the first crossing of Sabbaday Brook. On previous trips to this ledge I had shortened the bushwhack by following the trail for about 1.5 miles. Today the brook did not look safely crossable here, and that was likely to be the case for three more crossings. So we left the trail here and bushwhacked along the west side of the stream. After some annoying sidehilling at the start, we found pretty good going.

We set a leisurely pace, pausing often to admire interesting sights in the forest, such as these snow-capped shelf fungi.

We passed the Wilderness boundary beside a tributary brook.

Open hardwoods!

Cath spotted this unusual intertwining of a maple and a beech.

Good snowshoeing was enjoyed in the sunny woods.

Another interesting tree, getting a grip on granite.

Consistent with previous trips in this area, the woods were predominantly open.

Cath admiring a towering hemlock.

This is a big tree!

Park-like bushwhacking.

We passed through an extensive open stand of hemlock and spruce.

Getting steeper.

The final approach took us on a steep ascent through open spruces followed by a fairly strenuous sidehill traverse on a slippery crust.

The sun-washed ledge opened an unusual view up the Sabbaday Brook valley to East Sleeper, with Mounts Passaconaway and Whiteface beyond - the heart of the Sandwich Range Wilderness.

Looking east to Potash Mountain, Mount Chocorua and Mount Paugus.

Zoom on Potash and Chocorua.

Cookie time!

The great wooded dome of Mount Passaconaway.

The big snowy ledge slab below.

The sun was amazingly warm here, with no wind. We were able to lounge comfortably for more than an hour.

Parting shot of Passaconaway & Whiteface.

It's hard to beat these woods!

Late afternoon light on "South Potash."

The ice is slowly building up on Sabbaday Brook, but it will take another week or two of cold weather to build solid snow and ice bridges.

MIDDLE ACTEON PEAK, 1/25/16

On a gorgeous sunny afternoon I enjoyed an interesting bushwhack to the 2489-foot middle peak of trailless Acteon Ridge, a western spur ridge of Sandwich Dome. After an approach on the hard-packed Old Waterville Road and Yellow Jacket Trail, I used snowshoes the whole way, even though the cover was very thin in the softwoods. At the top sunny ledges provided fine views.

I climbed alongside this frozen brook for quite a distance.

A split boulder with a branch of the brook running through it.

The ice flow winds down through the hemlocks.

The "Yellow Jacket Boulder," a favorite playground for some local backcountry climbers.

Wide-open hemlock forest.

A cliff on the flank of Bald Knob.

Fangs in the forest.

In hardwood glades, the snow was deeper, but still only 6 inches or so.

A rock wall that goes ever on...

A triple-trunked white ash.

Another rock face looms ahead.

I climbed this steep ledgy slope dotted with a sparse cover of oaks.

Along the way, a small ledge with a limited view.

Peering back down at my route.

The upper part of the approach to Middle Acteon Peak was through surprisingly open conifer forest.

This snowy, sunny ledge beckoned for a leisurely late lunch break.

From here there's a massive view of Sandwich Dome and the two Black Mountains.

The lower Black Mountain, which I bushwhacked to the week before.

The lower Smarts Brook valley and the Campton Range.

This old slide patch on the flank of the higher Black Mountain looks interesting but tough to get to.

Nice spot to hang out!

More ledges a little higher up.

Sandwich Dome beyond Sachem Peak.

Jennings Peak, Sachem Peak and the Dome.

The sharp nubble of Jennings.

The densely wooded summit of Middle Acteon peak, with a small jar and register for peakbaggers.
The probable first ascent was in 1877 by AMC members F.W. Clarke and Prof. C.R. Cross, who were conducting barometric observations on the various peaks of Sandwich Dome. They gave it an elevation of 2545 ft.

Title page for the register. This ridge was actually named in the 1870s by AMC explorer Charles E. Fay for another Acteon, who was the last sachem, or chief, of the Pemigewasset tribe.

My name was in there from a previous visit in 2006, when Keith D'Alessandro and I bushwhacked down the ridge from spectacular Sachem Peak. (Photo by Keith).

A late afternoon vista.

Parting shot of the two Black Mountains.

Following my tracks back through the hardwoods.

This scene typifies the interesting terrain on this rugged ridge.

SACHEM PEAK: 1/28/16

On a gorgeous winter day I returned to Sandwich Dome's Acteon Ridge to climb its highest and finest summit, the cliff-faced Sachem Peak. I had been here twice before on spring trips, the last time 10 years ago, but in winter it was a whole different experience. It's a marvelous place at any time of year.

Here is Sachem Peak seen from the lower of the two Black Mountains across the valley...

...and from the Smarts Brook Trail down in the valley.

I approached the bushwhack with a 2.5 mile walk up the Smarts Brook Trail. Here is a morning view of the beaver pond beside the trail, 1.6 miles in.

From the trail I made a creative crossing of Smarts Brook, where the ice was thick in some spots and alarmingly thin in others.

The ascent began in an extensive area of open hardwoods, snowshoeing through about 6" of powdery snow.

Higher up, I passed this bulky boulder.

As the woods transitioned to softwoods, I passed this lengthy icefall fronting a band of ledge.

Another view.

Then I made a long traverse through a remarkably open forest of mostly spruce. Here, the snow cover was more like 3-4".

The open forest went ever on.

This appeared to be a tote road from a long-ago logging operation.

At the end of the traverse, I made a short, very steep climb to gain the crest of the ridge.

Not far along the ridge I came to the first sunny view ledge, facing south and southwest.

It was clear enough to see Mount Monadnock on the horizon.

Sachem has two summits, a lower western shoulder and the true summit to the east. Both have expansive areas of open ledge. It took some maneuvering to get up onto those massive western ledges. After hitting a couple of dead ends I found this steep little way up.

The first reward was this western view to Middle Acteon Peak (where I had been three days earlier), Welch and Dickey, and Mount Moosilauke in the distance.

To the left of Middle Acteon Peak I could peer down to a pair of ledgy southern spurs of Bald Knob that I had visited in December.

It was wonderful to be snowshoeing across open ledges.

Approaching the top of the western shoulder.

Ahead, I could see the nearby true summit of Sachem and Jennings Peak beyond.

The ledges afforded excellent views to the north.

The Osceolas, with the Hancocks seen through Mad River Notch.

Scaur Peak and North Tripyramid peer over the slope of Jennings Peak.

The full length of the Tecumseh Range is on display, from the summit down the long ridge to Dickey and Welch.

The two Black Mountains seen across the middle of the Smarts Brook valley.

A clifftop view of Sandwich Dome at the head of the valley.

The woods on the ridge were thicker than those in the valley.

I approached the open true summit of Sachem Peak along a little open crest. The elevation of this summit is somewhat of a mystery. The current USGS Waterville Valley quad shows a spot 2784 ft. elevation on the western shoulder, which must be a typo as it is inside the 2840-ft. contour. It's assumed that this should be 2874 ft. This quad shows no additional contours for the true summit, which is clearly incorrect. My GPS read 2877 ft. on the western shoulder and 2983 ft. on the true summit, and you make a noticeable climb heading to the true summit. On Google Earth the elevations measure approximately 2875 ft. and 2965 ft. respectively, which seems about right. The old 15-minute USGS Plymouth quad showed the western shoulder at 2970 ft. and the true summit at 3070 ft. - about the right proportion, but 100 ft. too high. The first measurements on Sachem, taken barometrically by AMC explorers F.W. Clarke and Prof. C.R. Cross in 1877, gave elevations of 2967 ft. and 3050 ft. for the two summits. The new LIDAR technology should soon provide a definitive elevation, whenever it comes to the southern Whites.

This summit drift was the deepest snow I've seen this winter.

A view looking back to the west from the high point. Moses Sweetser, 19th century guidebook editor, wrote of Sachem: "The third peak is one of the finest in the mountains and has been called 'Chocorua in miniature.' It is a needle of white rock accessible only on the W and E sides and girt with overhanging cliffs above. It is inaccessible on the N or S." Acteon Ridge was named by AMC stalwart Charles E. Fay for the last sachem, or chief, of the Pemigewasset tribe. Since this is the highest peak on the ridge, Fay logically applied the name "Sachem."

Jennings Peak and Sandwich Dome. The Sandwich Mountain Trail traverses that gentle ridge.

A cliff-edge view across the broad part of the valley.

It was comfortable enough to sit here for a while.

The rocks at the high point of Sachem.

Heading back to the west along the ridge.

The upper Smarts Brook valley.

High clouds moving in from the west.

A weird pastel light on Welch & Dickey.

The expansive western ledges.

Shadows on Sandwich.

Along the edge.

Shadows on Tecumseh. Just below here I had the pleasure of watching a singing White-winged Crossbill.

Last view of the day.

Late afternoon light in the hardwoods.

HOGBACK MOUNTAIN: 2/2/16

It was a fine sunny and comfortable day for a snowshoe bushwhack with Mark Klim to Hogback Mountain, a wild, ledgy SW spur of Mount Tecumseh. We saw lots of interesting stuff in the woods and enjoyed great views at the top.

Early in our bushwhack we came across what we thought might be bobcat tracks.

And there were many deer tracks as we meandered through an extensive hardwood forest.

Wild Turkeys had also moved through the area.

We stopped to admire this great old bear tree.

Bracket fungus adorned the lower trunk of this old giant.

Woodpeckers have been working diligently on this weathered trunk.

Mark leads across the first of two small brooks we crossed during a long traverse across the slopes of Fisher Mountain.

This was one of the biggest burls we've ever seen.

This looked like a "bear's nest" in the top of a tall beech.

Open hardwoods were the rule for much of the bushwhack. The snow was shallow and crunchy but actually provided some decent 'shoeing.

Our route led us up through a portal of sorts past this interesting boulder.

This looked like coyote tracks and scat, at an elevation of about 2400 ft.

An unusual rock formation on the flank of Hogback Mountain.

After one false start that dead-ended in impassable rocky terrain, we found a good route up onto the ledges of the northern summit of Hogback (2754 ft.).

We made our way out to a spectacular west-facing perch, where we could look over nearby Fisher Mountain to many distant ridges.

Mark takes in the views to the Carr-Kineo-Cushman region, with the fields of Mill Brook valley visible on the left.

A great spot to relax in the sun for lunch.

A stellar view of Mount Moosilauke, wearing a small cloud-cap and displaying the ice cliffs on the Jobildunk Ravine headwall.

A happy bushwhacker.

We made our way to a secluded north-facing ledge. Here we could study the long SW ridge of Mount Tecumseh rising above the Haselton Brook valley, a wild and trailless area. This region, now largely forgotten, was extensively described in Moses Sweetser's comprehensive 1876 guidebook to the Whites. Sweetser personally ascended Mount Tecumseh (whose pointy summit is seen at the top right corner) by two routes from this area and reconnoitered a third. "The Hogback" he described as "a massive pile of white rocks fringed with trees."

The view also takes in the SW spur of Green Mountain (L) and Foss Peak (R). This scrubby, ledgy area was apparently burned in a large forest fire around 1820.

The view to the northwest.

The ledgy lower ridge of Tecumseh's Bald Mountain.

The Kinsmans, the Cannon Balls and Cannon Mountain.

The snow was deeper in the scrub on this north-facing slope.

Sandwich Dome and a shadowed Jennings Peak.

This is the wild side of Tecumseh.

Next we whacked across a broad scruffy saddle to the open ledges of Hogback's southern summit (2770 ft.).

From here we could see the dark side of Dickey Mountain.

King of the hill!

A different perspective on the Tecumseh ridges.

Looking over Fisher Mountain's broad dome.

A nice expanse of ledge hidden away from civilization.

A last look before heading down.

Weaving through the spruces on the flat saddle.

Descending through open glades.

Afternoon shadows in the hardwoods. It was an excellent bushwhacking journey.

DICKEY NOTCH: 2/5/16

Following a light snowfall through lunchtime, I headed out for an afternoon wander. With a 2:00 pm start I couldn't go too far, so I opted for an old favorite: a walk through Dickey Notch between Dickey Mountain and Cone Mountain, then a bushwhack loop back over a spur of Cone Mountain for some windswept vistas. The snow cover was miniscule after Wednesday's rain and warmth, in some places consisting of a half-inch of new snow atop bare ground, so the snowshoes went for a free ride today.

From the Dickey side of the Welch-Dickey Loop Trail, I followed the Brown Ash Swamp Bike Trail into Dickey Notch. Back in the 1930s and 1940s this section of trail was described as the Dickey Notch Trail in the AMC White Mountain Guide, but after World War II it slid into oblivion. The floor of Dickey Notch holds a chain of small beaver ponds, with a rocky knob - the northeastern spur of Cone Mountain that I would climb - presiding above.

This is a scenic stretch of trail.

An example of beaver clear-cutting.

A beaver lodge with a dam beyond.

Looking back down the chain of ponds.

A stately stand of hardwood in the heart of the notch.

Boulders along the trail.

This stand includes some tall specimens of white ash.

A big yellow birch along the bushwhack route.

Cone Mountain through the trees. The beech in the center is a good bear tree.

Approaching the long saddle that joins Cone with its northeastern spur.

A frozen mini-pond on the saddle.

The semi-open summit of the northeastern spur. Lots of lichen up here, I tried to step carefully.

A strong NW wind was clearing the skies. This view looks towards Mounts Kineo and Cushman.

Mount Moosilauke beyond the fields of the Mill Brook valley.

Mounts Flume and Liberty emerged from the clouds, while Lincoln and Lafayette remained smothered in grey.

Peering north to spurs of Mount Tecumseh: Bald Mountain, West Tecumseh, ledgy Fisher Mountain, SW Green, and Green Mountain. The wind was fierce at this viewspot.

Zoom on Fisher and the Green peaks.

Dickey Notch and the Black Mountain ridge of Sandwich Dome.

The two Black Mountains, with the summit of Sandwich Dome just visible on the L.

The west face of Dickey Mountain, seen across the notch.

Looking up at Cone Mountain and its north-facing ledges.

Big twin oaks on the saddle.

Starting the descent in late afternoon.

EAST OSCEOLA SLIDE: 2/8/16

With a morning/early afternoon unexpectedly free, and a small snowstorm scheduled to move in, I opted to repeat a close-to-home bushwhack in Mad River Notch from three years ago: partway up along an old but still open slide on the steep flank of East Osceola.

For the approach to Mad River Notch and Upper Greeley Pond I used the Greeley Ponds X-C Ski Trail off the Kanc Highway, 1/4 mile west of the hiking trailhead. Though snowshoeing is sanctioned on this trail (while bareboot hiking is not), I wouldn't use it if the snow were soft, to preserve the ski tracks. On this day there was 1/2" of powder atop a solid crust, so my snowshoes were hardly denting the trail, and there was new snow on the way later in the evening.

Trail map posted at the trailhead.

The trail passes this neat split boulder halfway to the Upper Pond.

Lots of open hardwood on this route, in contrast to the darker woods on the Greeley Ponds hiking trail.

Approaching Mad River Notch.

The height-of-land in Mad River Notch, where the X-C and hiking trails merge.

Upper Greeley Pond from its north end.

The east side of the pond opens a wide view of the sprawling, rugged east face of East Osceola, scarred with crags and slides. I've seen this view many times, and it is always impressive.

The northeast cliffs, under which the Mount Osceola Trail passes.

I launched the bushwhack from the corner of the Upper Pond. For part of the way I followed the former lower section of the Mount Osceola Trail. Abandoned about 30 years ago, the old footway is fading away...

...and in some places has been obliterated.

In good snow years this slide is occasionally run by adventurous backcountry skiers and boarders. Not this winter! According to Waterville Valley historian Nathaniel Goodrich, this slide came down around 1892.

Working along a steep bank overlooking the slide. The crusty snow was good for bushwhacking.

The Tripyramids beyond the "K1 Cliff" on Mount Kancamagus. To get these views, it was necessary to bushwhack through dense vegetation along the edge of the slide.

A couple of weeks ago, Chuck Woodman, manager of Lahout's Summit Shop in Lincoln, did a solo climb of this entire slide, using ice tools and crampons most of the way.

Looking over the brink of a dropoff to the "K2 Cliff" on Mount Kancamagus.

Another angle on Tripyramid from a little higher up.

On the way down I followed a steep section of the old trail for a little way, then headed back into the woods.

Down lower, I emerged on the gentle lower part of the slide, covered with crusty snow rather than ice. Going up, the ice flows start here.

It was fun snowshoeing down the slide track back to the trail.

A turn in the slide track near the bottom.

Back at Upper Greeley Pond, a profile of the Painted Cliff fronting a SE spur of East Osceola.

IRENE'S PATH, WATERVILLE FLUME & THE SCAUR: 2/11/16

I enjoyed a nifty snowshoe trek into the Waterville backcountry on a cold, cloudy day with frequent flurries. Snow cover was thin and scratchy in some places, with a few icy spots hidden by a thin layer of dry snow, but there was fine powder to be found up on the ridge and deep in the valley.

I started out late morning on the familiar Livermore Trail, which offers this glimpse of Flume Peak and the ledgy knob known as The Scaur as you approach the Depot Camp clearing.

What were formerly the Kettles Path and the top 0.2 mile of the Scaur Trail have been combined with a 1.1 mile section of newly built trail to create Irene's Path, named for 2011's devastating Tropical Storm Irene. The new section replaces the former Flume Brook Trail, which was badly washed out by the storm and permanently closed.

This is one of the Kettles, bowl-shaped hollows formed when ice chunks were left behind by the glacier and later melted. The Kettles Path and was first opened about 1890 by Arthur L. Goodrich, who wrote an early guidebook to the Waterville Valley.

The path runs between two kettles, with slopes dropping off on either side.

A towering white pine near the third kettle.

Figuring that the steep conifer-wooded stretch of trail on the north side of The Scaur might be icy, I decided to bushwhack up an open hardwood slope around the east side of The Scaur, rejoining Irene's Path up on the ridge.

A bonus on this route was a close look at the cliffs of The Scaur from below.

It is a rugged little nubble!

Have never heard of any rock climbing here.

A beautiful hardwood forest slope.

A fine old sugar maple.

This maple is prominent looking down from the top of The Scaur.

I rejoined Irene's Path by this "Rock of Gibraltar."

For a half-mile the new trail runs along the ridge eastward from The Scaur.

Snow hides the ferns that carpet the flank of this boulder.

I like this little spot on the trail. It looks very "Sandwich Range."

Appearing a little more wintry up here.

Good snowshoeing in the open hardwoods.

From the ridgecrest the trail descends along a sideslope into the Flume Brook valley.

This section was beautifully constructed by the professional Off the Beaten Path trail crew. It works its way down through some very rugged terrain with a couple of steep switchbacks.

As it continues to descend towards the Waterville Flume, Irene's Path passes an outlook with a striking view of the Osceolas, a bit fuzzy with fog and flurries today.

To the north, a profile of Mad River Notch.

Several cliffs can be seen on the west end of Mount Kancamagus.

The trail reaches the floor of the Flume Brook valley amidst some rough terrain.

New trail signs at a seldom-visited junction.

Heading up the spur trail to the Waterville Flume. There was about 6 inches of powder here atop a thin but solid base.

A pile of debris from Tropical Storm Irene blocks the entrance to the Waterville Flume.

Looking into the flume from the brookbed below.

Downstream, Flume Brook was severely scoured by Irene.

Cool crags on the west wall of the flume.

Looking up Flume Brook inside the flume.

Before Irene there was a rough dead-end path up along the right edge of the flume.

Irene obliterated part of that footbed and now there's a pool of water there.

I bushwhacked up to the top of the east wall of the flume, where I found a view down the valley, obscured by clouds.

Higher up along the edge I could peer down into the chasm, with a snow squall blowing through.

From there I whacked a short distance up to the Old Skidder Path, and came down along it on a steep and difficult sidehill.

Approaching the base of a big rock slab/slide.

Looking up at the iced-over slab.

Making tracks in the powder on the lower section of Old Skidder.

Back up on the ridge along Irene's Path, I admired one of nature's sculptures.

Evening sky over the Rock of Gibraltar.

Obscured sun over Mount Tecumseh.

I made the short, steep side trip to The Scaur over thin snow and ice. It had suddenly cleared, revealing fine wintry vistas.

Looking towards Mount Tripyramid and Lost Pass.

Sandwich Dome with Noon and Jennings Peaks.

Jennings Peak and Acteon Ridge, where I've enjoyed several bushwhacks over the last couple of months.

Alpenglow on Middle & South Tripyramid.

Looking down, I could see my bushwhacking tracks from earlier in the day. I highly recommend the snowshoe trek to The Scaur and Waterville Flume. It offers varied forests, interesting sights and a real sense of wintry remoteness. Some challenging spots, as well. I should add that until we get more snow, the steep pitch leading up to The Scaur has some icy spots that are better handled with sharp Microspikes or even crampons. I got down this stretch with MSR Denalis, but it wasn't pretty. By trail the whole way, it's about 6 1/2 miles round trip with around 1250 feet of elevation gain.

GOODRICH ROCK AREA: 2/17/16

On a warmish partly sunny day following a strange weather day of 4" wet snow, then 2" of warm rain, I spent an interesting afternoon exploring in the "land of the boulders" on the flank of Mt. Osceola.The parking lot for the Livermore Trail was a skating rink, and the first part of the trail was icy in places and closed to skiing. Greeley Ponds Trail was mostly hard-packed snow.

By the Goodrich Rock Trail junction there's a good view of the Mad River, still iced-over after the heavy warm rain. I wouldn't trust that ice!

The Goodrich Rock Trail is a redliner's delight - lots of interesting stuff to see.

Partly buried rock steps on the initial stiff climb.

Lots of fine hardwood forest on the lower half of the trail.

The first of many interesting boulders.

The trail goes through this crack.

I had no problem getting through with snowshoes and a bulky pack.

Looking back through from around the corner.

This assemblage of huge rocks is known as the Davis Boulders. They were named for J.W. Davis, a summer resident of Waterville Valley who built the first trail here in the late 1890s.

A cool overhang.

Another passage between boulders.

Greenery in February.

A portal view into the forest.

This crevice is an optional route. A great trail for kids!

From the Davis Boulders I bushwhacked east and then north up through open hardwoods, in search of a potential view rock spotted on Google Earth and in a couple of photos taken from viewpoints to the east.

Here there is a hint of the Tripyramids beyond gnarled old trees.

Tall yellow birches.

Woodpecker work.

A peek at North Tripyramid and its slide.

A magnificent maple.

Leaving the bright open hardwoods, I climbed through darker woods and rougher terrain, seeking my objective rock.

I found the possible view rock - a huge steep-sided boulder 150 ft. in elevation above Goodrich Rock. But I was unable to work out a way up onto the top of the rock to see a view.

Side wall of the rock.

With deep snow it might have been possible to get up on the rock from the back end, but not this winter.

From there I bushwhacked down through some scrappy terrain to Goodrich Rock. From this vantage I could see that the slope of rock above the top of the ladder was glare ice.

This is one of New Hampshire's largest glacial erratics, discovered in the late 1800s by Arthur L. Goodrich.

The ladder from below.

Goodrich Rock is on the "Terrifying 25" hiking list, and today it was more terrifying than usual. I switched snowshoes for spikes and climbed to the top of the ladder where this view awaited. No way I was going to attempt that without crampons, especially coming down to the top of the ladder.

Heading down from the rock on an icy stretch of trail, I caught this glimpse of Sandwich Dome and Jennings Peak.

An old-style WVAIA sign. There are very few of these left on the trails.

A natural table at the base of Goodrich Rock.

This giant rock, I call the "ocean liner." Rock climbers have dubbed it the "Old Old Wooden Ship."

A peaceful evening in the hardwoods.

EAST OSCEOLA VIEW LEDGE: 2/18/16

A sunny, crisp day beckoned for a return visit to a ledge on the north ridge of East Osceola with a unique view into Mad River Notch. Though many trails are at present icy and unappealing, the snow conditions (in areas where there is enough snowpack) are great for snowshoe bushwhacking. I first visited this ledge in March 2013 with master bushwhacker J.R. Stockwell, en route to a mostly off-trail ascent of East Osceola.

Starting off the Greeley Ponds X-C Trail a short distance in from the Kancamagus Highway, I bushwhacked SW through brushy hardwood forest up to the long, gentle ridge that runs NW from the cliffs that overlook Mad River Notch and the Greeley Ponds.

JR and I passed this boulder-hugging tree on our 2013 trip, and I went right by it again this time. What are the odds?

The ridge bushwhack was not super-thick, but was generally scrappy with many, many branches to push through. At times, safety glasses were handy.

There were occasional open stretches, too.

A big spruce towering among the smaller trees.

A twisted birch.

There was a nice corridor here, which reminded me that in the 1980s the WMNF proposed relocating the Mount Osceola Trail along this ridge. But ultimately the relocation was made under the cliffs on the south side of the ridge.

This was the deepest snow of the day, almost a foot!

The upper part of the ridge was pretty steep and scratchy.

The final approach to the ledges, after wandering around a confusing flat area for a bit.

Found them!

This is the Mt. Willard of Mad River Notch, looking down the glacier-carved valley past the Greeley Ponds. When we first saw this three years ago, it immediately became one of my favorite off-trail vistas.

Lower Greeley Pond, with Mount Tripyramid, a long arm of East Sleeper, and the northern Flat Mountain beyond. Flume Peak is seen under and just right of South Tripyramid.

Tripyramid, with some sun on the North Slide. Part of the "K1 Cliff" is seen in the foreground. (K stands for Kancamagus.)

Around the corner to East Huntington and Mount Tremont.

Time passed quickly sitting in the sun on this south-facing perch.

East Osceola loomed close by to the SW, under the low winter sun.

An icy slide on the steep flank of East Osceola.

The west knob of Mount Kancamagus, displaying the "K2 Cliff." The Goodriches of Waterville Valley roughed out a trail to this cliff a century ago. The terrain looks nearly impossible. A 1915 map by Arthur L. Goodrich shows that the trail came up the ridge descending to the right. There was also a crude path to the K1 Cliff. Both were short-lived.

Shadows creeping into the Notch. After two hours lounging in the sun (in February!), time to head down.

On the way down, I caught this glimpse of Franconia Ridge and Owl's Head through the trees.

A mini birch glade.

Late day sun on Mount Huntington.

The Osceolas from the best viewpoint on the Kancamagus Highway. The ridge I ascended to the ledges runs across the middle of the photo.

MOUNT TECUMSEH: 3/1/16

On a sunny, fairly cold day I returned to an old standby and spent a leisurely day taking in crystal-clear views from various vantage points along Mount Tecumseh's ridgecrest.

Extensive patches of bare ground in the hardwood forest on the lower part of the Mt. Tecumseh Trail made it hard to believe it was March 1st.

My favorite tree along the trail.

A view of the Tripyramids, Sleepers and Mt. Whiteface from the second of three herd paths that lead across to the ski slopes.

Ice dominated the first 1.3 miles of the trail. Some of it was bulletproof after a cold night and tested the limits of Microspikes. I was carrying full crampons as backups. At this point shown here hard-packed snow started to mix with the ice, and the upper half of the trail was ideal for Microspiking.

East Osceola and Mt. Kancamagus seen from the edge of the ski trail at the end of the third herd path.

The climb goes ever on along the mile that leads up to the ridgecrest.

Trail junction on the ridge.

The summit of Mt. Tecumseh, where in recent years unknown parties have been expanding the eastern view by cutting trees in front of the summit ledge.

This tree cutting is unauthorized, although a $5,000 fine sounds a bit severe on a mountain that has 50 ski trails, with more on the way, and a monstrous communications tower on its south ridge.

The Osceolas, Mt. Carrigain and the Presys from the summit.

Tripyramid, Mt. Passaconaway and the Sleepers, with the bare slopes of the old Snows Mountain Ski Area below.

Peering into the Ravine of Avalanches, under Tripyramid's North Slide. I did an interesting bushwhack in there back in January.

This photo, which we found at the Osceola Library in Waterville Valley, shows how the ravine received its name after the landslide onslaught in 1885.

The broad mass of Mt. Kancamagus, with the K1 Cliff visible on the left.

The Franconia Range, Owl's Head and Mount Garfield beyond Scar Ridge, from a limited viewpoint I visited by descending 0.1 mile down the Mount Tecumseh Trail heading towards Tripoli Road.

After returning to the summit for more views, I continued to an "off-trail" southern viewpoint for a vista of wild ledgy southern spurs of Tecumseh and distant southern horizons.

Sandwich Dome beyond the upper Waterville ski slopes.

From the Sosman Trail along the west side of the summit cone there's a glimpse down to the trailless ridge of Bald Mountain, the SW spur of West Tecumseh.

Then I followed the Sosman Trail south to two more viewpoints. This trail along the south ridge was laid out by and named for Leland Sosman in the late 1960s. At the time Sosman was the trails chairman for the Waterville Valley Athletic & Improvement Association.

The Kinsmans, Cannon and the Franconia Range beyond the broad crest of West Tecumseh, from the western Sosman Trail viewspot.

The Franconia Range behind the main summits of Scar Ridge.

The Moose, under high gray clouds moving in from the west.

The eastern Sosman Trail viewpoint.

Late afternoon light on the Osceolas and Presys.

A short bushwhack revealed this distant view to the SW, including Stratton Mountain far off in southern Vermont. On the right side of the photo, Mt. Ascutney rises beyond Stinson Mountain, and Stratton Mountain is the next distant peak to the left.

The summit cone of Tecumseh from the Sosman Trail.

Nasty ice at the junction with the lowest spur to a ski trail viewpoint.

On the lower part of the descent I took a bushwhack detour through open hardwoods on the north side of the trail.

It was late in the day, but I found a small bog I had been looking for, which I'd spotted on Google Earth.

On the way back to the trail, I passed this neat ledge. After a truly leisurely day on Tecumseh, I made it out just before dark.

LOST PASS: 3/4/16

On a day of soft flurries and peeks of sun I enjoyed a 12-mile snowshoe ramble with Mark Klim into the intriguing Lost Pass, a remote and beautiful nook of the Sandwich Range Wilderness.

After a quick 2.2 mile walk up the groomed Livermore Trail, we scooted across a bridge over Slide Brook and snowshoed through hardwood forest up the Cascade Brook X-C Trail, part of the Waterville Valley Nordic trail network. This trail was ungroomed and closed to skiing, and looked like it had not been open all winter due to inadequate cover. Were it open and groomed, we would have needed a WV trail pass.

There were many bear trees along the trail.

We also spotted some bear "nests" high in the branches of beech trees.

At the upper end of the XC trail is the clearing of Cascade Camp, a logging camp that presumably was in use in the 1930s. Snows Mountain is seen in the background.

From there we followed the route of the old Woodbury Trail, originally opened in 1902 as a long route from Waterville Valley to Mount Whiteface. Its mostly open corridor along an ancient logging road is easy to follow and is still occasionally used by backcountry skiers and snowshoers. It is generally too wet for summer use.

Mark savors the quiet, deep in the Cascade Brook valley.

Some sections of this historic trail run alongside Cascade Brook.

The stream was pretty well-frozen, even in this wacky winter.

A brookside mushroom tree.

This corridor was remarkably open.

Mark checks out a moose scraping, high up in the valley.

Approaching the head of Cascade Brook through wild fir forest.

Here we veered off to explore some beaver meadows to the NE. A frozen brook provided a convenient route part of the way. Part of Sleeper Ridge is in the distance.

Old beaver cuttings.

A songbird nest.

South Tripyramid presides over this wild, remote area. This solidly snowpacked meadow made a fine lunch spot.

Spiry conifers give the area a northwoods look.

South Tripyramid and its two South Slides, through the flurries.

We investigated another beaver meadow beyond.

The broad crest of West Sleeper.

We returned to the head of Cascade Brook, crossed it, and headed up into Lost Pass proper through open woods.

A trail was opened through this gap around 1860, connecting Waterville Valley (via the valley of Snows Brook) and Whiteface Intervale in the Wonalancet area, but it was soon abandoned. The route was reopened in 1905 by Nathaniel Goodrich and others, this time using the Woodbury Trail up Cascade Brook as the approach from Waterville, but within a decade or so it became obscure again, and Goodrich then named the area "Lost Pass." Three drainages descend from this broad height-of-land between Sleeper Ridge, Snows Mountain and the northern Flat Mountain. The rolling, hummocky terrain is extremely confusing, and on each of several visits over the years I have gotten turned around at some point. Today was no exception.

A split boulder near the high point of the pass, at an elevation of about 2900 ft.

Though the forest in the area was generally open, there were exceptions, such as this thickly wooded knoll.

We found winter up here in this unusually snowless season. Pretty good snowshoeing, if a bit crusty on top.

Approaching the large beaver meadow on the south side of the Pass. This expansive opening is, to me, the very heart of Lost Pass.

Mark surveys the scene from atop a boulder. Part of the northern Flat Mountain is in the background.

The outlet at the south end of the meadow. From here a brook flows two miles south to Flat Mountain Pond.

Looking north across the meadow to South Tripyramid.

It's easy to get lost up here!

Mark heads for the sun.

Savoring one of the sweetest spots in the Sandwich Range Wilderness.

A spot of sun felt good on this generally cloudy March day.

The sun lights up the South Slides.

Hard-frozen snow made for ideal travel across the meadow. This area is too wet for summer visitation.

An outlying spur of East Sleeper overlooks the meadow on the east.

Parting shot from the north end of the meadow.

Old logging machinery near the bottom of the Cascade Brook X-C Trail.

Here is a view of the Lost Pass area taken from near the top of the South Slide of Tripyramid.

RETURN TO MIDDLE ACTEON PEAK: 3/8/16

With a somewhat constricted time frame on a gorgeous sunny, springlike Town Meeting day, I took a new route to a favorite ledge I had just visited six weeks earlier. I got a late morning start after voting in the town election. This time, instead of approaching from the Smarts Brook area, I headed up the north ridge of Middle Acteon Peak from Rt. 49 near High Brook. It looked like a nice line on the USGS map, and it more than lived up to expectations. The woods started out open and stayed that way until just before the summit. Snow cover was pretty thin, but provided good snowshoeing on the way up, with wet new snow atop a solid base. Luckily the wet snow did not clump on the snowshoes.

Welch and Dickey Mountains through the trees.

I climbed through this stellar open hardwood glade at around 2200 ft. Worthy of the Catskills.

The route led through open spruces on part of the upper ridge. The snow cover was wafer-thin in here.

A neat layered ledge, again reminiscent of the Catskills.

Day-glo moss.

At 2400 ft. was another fine hardwood glade, with a filtered view of North Tripyramid and Jennings Peak.

Magical forest.

Spruce blowdown in the summit area. Within a few days there may be no snow at all up here at 2480 ft.

The destination ledge - sun-warmed and bone dry! The Black Mountain ridge looms across the Smarts Brook valley.

The Campton Range stretches out beyond the lower Smarts Brook valley.

The lower Black Mountain, Sandwich Notch and the Squam Range.

Earlier this winter I ascended the foreground ridge en route to Sachem Peak.

Sprawling Sandwich ridges.

Jennings Peak and Sachem Peak.

Snooze time!

Melting snowshoe tracks show the way down. Miocrospikes were the choice for the descent in the now-slippery snow.

Late afternoon light, time to get back for Town Meeting!

SNOWS MOUNTAIN: 3/11/16

After a morning trip to Concord, I enjoyed a 4 1/2 mile meander over this Waterville mountain on a brilliant March afternoon. The trails were a mixed bag of bare ground with some long sections of snow and ice. The Microspikes went on and off a number of times.

I started off on the north leg of the Snows Mountain Trail, which begins with a climb up an open slope of the former Snows Mountain Ski Area.This small area dates back to the early 1940s, when it had a rope tow. Later, T-bars and then a chairlift (the latter still present) were added. Snows Mountain ceased regular winter operations in the mid-1990s, though it did open for one day on February 28, 2015. Partway up I looked back for a fine view of Mount Tecumseh.

The Snows Mountain hiking trail enters the woods at this sign. The lower part of the trail was mostly bare ground thanks to recent unusually warm weather.

At 0.7 mile I turned left onto the Greeley Ledge Trail. This is one of my favorite short paths in the Whites, just 0.2 mile long but with several interesting features. This neat rock resides in a fine stand of mature hardwood.

A trailside ledge band.

Mossy rocks along the trail.

Greeley Ledge itself no longer has any distant views, but does provide a down-look to the forest below.

This sign marks the upper end of the trail at the top of the old ski area.

Up here I ran into Ken and Janice Muehlberg, longtime customers at the store, who were out for an afternoon stroll via the Cascade Path and Elephant Rock Trail.

There's a fine view of Mount Osceola from the top of the ski slope, including a nice look into the Osceola Brook ravine.

I continued down the Upper Snows Mountain XC Ski Trail, where the season was obviously finished.

Trailside art.

Next I took an unofficial connecting path across the north loop of Snows Mountain Trail and on to the south loop, which I figured would have less ice and snow due to its sun exposure. Hooray for sunshine and bare ground!

This is always an enjoyable trail to traverse, and only rarely will you encounter other hikers.

I negotiated several icy stretches en route to the SW-facing outlook near the top of the south loop.

In the last couple of years unknown parties have cut a number of trees below this ledge perch, significantly expanding the view. From the left side of the opening you see Mount Tecumseh and its long southern extension beyond the village of Waterville Valley.

There's a long view down the broad valley of the Mad River. Mount Cardigan and even Vermont's Mount Ascutney can be spotted in the distance,

By dropping carefully down the right edge of the opening you can gain a vista of Jennings and Noon Peaks and Sandwich Dome.

I made a short but steep bushwhack down to a precarious perch atop a precipitous crag.

This spot offered an unusual view of Sandwich Dome seen across the Snows Brook valley.

Sandwich Dome, Jennings Peak and Noon Peak wrap around the cut of the Drakes Brook valley.

An old-style WVAIA arrow points the way up to the crest of the ridge.

The loop junction is at 2800 ft. It's a mile bushwhack from here eastward to reach the true summit of Snows Mountain (3060 ft.).

A 0.1 mile spur leads east just inside the Sandwich Range Wilderness to a ledge with a restricted stand-up view of Sandwich Dome and Jennings Peak.

I headed back along the north loop, which follows the crest of the ridge. I soon passed this warrior tree.

On this ridge there are many yellow birches with "character."

This is my favorite tree along the trail.

By scrounging along the north edge of the ridge I found a peek at South Tripyramid.

On the way down I cut over to the top of the old ski area again, where I could see the groomers at work up on the Tecumseh ski slopes.

I enjoyed a walk down the mostly dry grassy ski slopes, with more mountain views in the upper part. A nice way to close out the loop.

"THE BEAK": 3/16/16

The trek on this 50-degree, sunny-to-cloudy day included a three-mile walk up the Mad River valley from Waterville and a bushwhack from the Greeley Ponds Trail to a unique rock formation with an excellent view on the west side of Mt. Kancamagus.

There was a bit of new wet snow atop the old ice on the trail, good for animal tracks. These looked like coyote. With the warm temperatures, the ice softened up and Stabilicers were sufficient for traction.

The Mad River, running free.

A hardwood draw along the section of Greeley Ponds Trail that follows a former part of the Timber Camp Trail.

A welcome stretch of bare ground, with the western spurs of Mt. Kancamagus seen through the trees.

The new bridge over the Mad River on the relocated Greeley Ponds Trail.

A peek up at the impressive Painted Cliff on East Osceola.

The bushwhack started out steep and fairly thick, then segued into some pleasant going.

There were a number of interesting rocks along the way.

Pretty good whacking.

Mushroom tree.

An inviting forest scene with rocks and an old leaning maple.

The terrain got a lot rougher as I approached my objective - boulders, dark woods, and treacherous patches of ice. I carefully worked my way up and across to the base of the towering rock formation that I call "The Beak" for the way it juts above the trees like the bill of a gargantuan bird.

Another angle from below.

The narrow and airy final approach to the top of The Beak. The hardest part was getting around the branches of the spruce out at the end.

Rugged terrain up here!

Big dropoffs on three sides.

The open viewing perch is out at the end of the prow-shaped crest of the rock. One part of the view looks south down the Mad River valley to Sandwich Dome and neighbors.

The Dome and Jennings Peak, with a good look into the Drakes Brook ravine.

The Greeley Brook basin on East Osceola is striped with old logging roads from a hurricane blowdown salvage operation. I'm trying to determine whether it was 1938 or 1954. The gravel bank viewpoint on the Timber Camp Trail can be seen left of center.

Franconia Ridge through Mad River Notch.

A broadside view of East Osceola. The Painted Cliff is on the left, the stripe of the 1897 slide is in the middle, and the cliff-faced arm above the Greeley Ponds is on the right.

The Painted Cliff. In the 1930s a trail was roughed out to the base of the cliff by Waterville Valley trampers, but it was obliterated by the 1938 hurricane.

This is quite a perch, with room for only one hiker.

Looking up at the K1 Cliff. (K is for Kancamagus.) Somehow a trail was roughly blazed up there, presumably by Nathaniel Goodrich, around 1910, but it didn't last long.

A zoom on K1, showing its many sharp clefts.

There was just enough flat space to recline for a while.

Lots of interesting rocks in the area, this one seen on the way down.

On the way back I followed a decommissioned section of the Greeley Ponds Trail south to the new bridge. Here the trail was washed out by Tropical Storm Irene.

This stretch did provide some nice views of the Mad River.

For a quarter-mile there was a stream running down the former trail route.

On the way back I took a side trip up the Timber Camp Trail for the view from the gravel bank.

Spring snow on an old hurricane salvage logging road followed by the Timber Camp Trail.

The gravel bank viewpoint.

This spot has a unique view of the Waterville backcountry, including Scaur Peak, Flume Peak and the Tripyramids.

Zoom on the Tripyramids. The white spot under Middle/South Peaks is a huge icy slab that rises above the Old Skidder Trail.

The long southern ridge of the western spur of Mt. Kancamagus.

The K1 Cliff from a distance. I first spotted The Beak from here in 2005 and paid it a visit that spring. With a careful look it can be spotted under the talus slope beneath the cliff.

The K2 Cliff overlooking the Greeley Ponds.

The Painted Cliff looms. Fine views are available from the talus at the base of the cliff, but the bushwhack approach is very gnarly with large rocks and dangerous holes.

Heading down, a long stretch of trail had melted off during the day. Yay for spring!

GANDALF CAVE & OTHER BALD KNOB DELIGHTS: 3/18/16

After waiting out some dreary morning weather, I spent a crisp, sunny afternoon on a bushwhack loop taking in several points of interest on the west and south sides of Bald Knob (Acteon Ridge). The woods were 100% snow and ice free!

At the start I walked partway up the Old Waterville Road to grab two geocaches. One is at a small cemetery near the homestead of Moses Foss, one of the early (1820) settlers in the Mad River valley. Perhaps this gravestone was for his son.

Pleasant walking on the Old Waterville Road.

Old stone walls line part of this original road route up the valley.

A nameless stream slides through a sluice on the SW side of Bald Knob.

The west slope of Bald Knob is home to an amazing assortment of boulders, a number of which have named climbing routes. I enjoyed a leisurely (and careful) climb up through this rocky maze.

This jumble of rocks is perhaps in the area called Skyfall by climbers because it looks like boulders rained from the sky.

Clad in ferns and lichens.

As you climb the steep slope the boulders just keep coming.

I worked a winding way up around to the top of this behemoth for a break spot.

Looking out from the top o' the rock.

Nope, not going that way.

This old birch grew to a respectable size in this rocky terrain.

Bald Knob is a steep-sided little peak. Bushwhackers who choose a direct route up or down often get "cliffed out."

A huge rock roof high on the west face of Bald Knob. Inside this formation is "Gandalf Cave," with a climb through a crack called "Gollum's Escape." This is documented on the Mountain Project website as part of the "Upper Cliff.".

Another angle on the roof.

A side view of the Upper Cliff.

I tried three different approaches to get on top of the Upper Cliff for the view, but each had one dicey or slippery move that I wasn't comfortable making solo in such rough terrain.

I did find one spot along the base with a view out to the Campton Range and beyond.

Looking across the base of the cliff.

One of several caves in the area.

This one is a little spooky.

Another cave.

From the Upper Cliff I whacked across to the big open ledge on the south spur of Bald Knob. A nice spot to relax in the sun.

Welch & Dickey Mountains seen across the steep face of Bald Knob.

Cone Mountain with Carr Mountain in the distance.

View of Sandwich Notch.

This is an expansive ledge.

A comfortable hangout spot.

Next I whacked eastward to a long ramp of ledge on another spur.

A graceful oak against the sky.

More oaks line the edge of the ledge, with the two Black Mountains beyond.

Nice late afternoon light.

Wonderfully weather-gnarled.

Looking across to the Black Mountain ridge with the Sandwich Dome summit on the left.

Ledge and sky.

Leafless oaks are closing in on this ledge.

A lower section of the long ramp of ledge.

Looking back up the lower ledge.

The ramp plunges into the forest.

Open hardwoods below the ledges.

A random ledge step in the woods.

Bare ground hardwood whackin'. Bring on spring!

BALD MOUNTAIN RIDGE: 3/22/16

Mark Klim and I visited a half dozen viewpoints on a bushwhack up the long SW ridge of Mt. Tecumseh to the shoulder called Bald Mountain. We enjoyed lots of interesting sights and 95% bare ground. This was a repeat of a favorite bushwhack of mine. It was fun to introduce it to a fellow off-the-beaten-track enthusiast. Spring bushwhacking at its best.

Our approach led us through an extensive area of old apple orchards, presumably maintained by the WMNF for their wildlife value.

We assumed this was not an official USFS sign on the bridge over Haselton Brook.

Hasleton Brook, which flows for several miles down through the remote valley between the Bald Mountain ridge and the complex of ridges comprising Green, Hogback and Fisher Mountains.

A quadruple hemlock.

This was a large bear!

Early spring is a great time of year in the hardwoods.

A flock of wild turkeys had scuffed the leaves up here.

A massive old maple.

Bearing the scars of many storms.

A large oak along a rocky rib.

The first ledge outcrop along the ridge.

First vista across the valley to the SW spur of Green Mountain (L) and Hogback Mountain (R).

Looking SW to Stinson Mountain.

A beautiful open hardwood col. Mark and I both love the hardwoods in the Catskills, and this reminded us of that fine mountain range.

Mark leads a steep climb out of the col.

The feet of a T-Rex?

Park-like woods.

A rocky slope.

One of several outlooks along the next section of the ridge.

The hardwoods march right up to the base of the cliffs.

Looking down the Haselton Brook valley to Cone Mountain.

The first view up the valley to Mt. Tecumseh.

Gazing across the valley at Hogback and Fisher Mountains.

Icy ledges on the shady side of Fisher Mountain.

The wild western spur of Hogback Mountain. Mark and I bushwhacked up there back in February.

Another outlook along the ridge.

Slabs and hardwoods.

Yup, it's steep down there!

Looking back.

A fresh moose track in snow and moss. We followed these for quite a distance.

There was moose poop all along the ridge, even in the thickest woods.

North to Cannon Mountain and the Franconia Range.

At the upper end of the lower part of the ridge (2420 ft.) are the most open, expansive ledges.

Looking up to the head of the valley. Bald Mountain rises on the left.

Hogback and Fisher are now back down the valley.

Great spot for a lunch break.

An angled view of the wild, ledgy spurs of Green Mountain.

A quartz intrusion in the mostly schist bedrock.

Fine outcrops of the ridge's metamorphic rock.

The col at the base of the steep climb to Bald Mountain.

A little higher up the ridge, another gorgeous hardwood col.

Yet another viewpoint partway up to Bald Mountain.

The most dramatic viewpoint I've found on this ridge is along the 2940-ft. crest of Bald Mountain.

This spot commands a sweeping view over the Haselton Brook valley and far off to the south.

There's also a striking view directly across to the ledgy spurs of Green Mountain and the dark, almost spooky ravines between them. One of these ridges was called "Spring Mountain" in Moses Sweetser's 1876 guidebook to the White Mountains, which described three bushwhack routes up Mt. Tecumseh from this "back" side. In the mid-1800s there was a mineral spring house located somewhere down on the floor of this valley.

Impressive granite ledges stripe this spur. About 20 years ago three of us snowshoed up onto these slabs. An amazing spot.

Wild, ledgy terrain.

Hogback, Dickey and Fisher Mountains.

This is a perch.

A happy bushwhacker.

Looking down from the viewspot.

Mark checks our return route on the map.

After a little probing we found a NW outlook on the breezy and rather icy west side of Bald Mountain, taking in Moosilauke, Kinsman Ridge, Cannon and the Franconias.

In the foreground was a little-known region on the south side of Loon Mountain and Tripoli Road.

Scar Ridge with the Franconias beyond.

On the steep descent off Bald Mountain.

Magnificent open glade in the col below.

Rest stop before the descent into the Haselton Brook valley.

The upper drop into the valley was pretty steep through nearly 100% hardwood forest.

The work of an industrious Pileated Woodpecker.

Shavings at the base of the tree.

A well-used bear tree.

Heading for home through hardwood heaven.

BELKNAP WOODS and RED HILL: 3/27/16

On a murky-to-sunny Easter Sunday afternoon Carol and I headed down to Center Harbor for some Lakes Region hiking and geocaching. Our first stop was the Squam Lake Association's Belknap Woods property, off Rt. 25B a mile down from Rt. 3. This 90-acre woodland has a nice trail system that features a 1.5 mile loop around a beaver pond. There's actually a geocache hidden somewhere (out of sight) in this photo.

The trails meander through attractive woodlands with many hemlocks.

The beaver pond was tranquil on this nearly windless day. We logged three geocaches around the loop.

Around 2:15 pm we started up the Red Hill Trail, hoping that the persistent undercast would clear in time for some summit views. The 2,650-acre Red Hill Conservation Area is owned and stewarded by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, which has authored several major conservation success stories in recent years. There are now six maintained trails on the slopes of Red Hill. This kiosk is located a half-mile up the Red Hill Trail, which mostly follows the old fire warden's jeep road to the summit. At this point the Cabin Trail, completed a couple of years ago, forks off to the right and provides an alternate route to the summit. That would be our descent route.

At this junction is a foundation marking the site of a 19th century homestead.

A well-preserved foundation.

Halfway up the trail, the skies suddenly cleared, granting us a sunny late afternoon.

Although we found six geocaches on this hike, the one at this location eluded us despite a determined search by Carol. We were one in a long string of "DNFs" (did not finds) and it seems this one has disappeared.

Near the top we took a short side trip down the unofficially maintained Red Hill Loop Trail to grab a cache at a beautiful meadow with a partial view of Lake Winnipesaukee.

This grassy area is very attractive but would be crawling with ticks later in the spring. Somewhere on this hike I picked up the first two wood ticks of the season.

According to A Field Guide to New Hampshire Firetowers, by Iris W. Baird and Chris Haartz, the fire tower atop Red Hill was built by the state in 1927, using land and money donated by Center Harbor summer resident Ernest B. Dane. Its height was increased in the 1930s and again in 1972.

The view from Red Hill has been celebrated for centuries. Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Herman Melville and other 19th century luminaries climbed to its broad summit.
“A more charming and delightsome view with the naked eye is not perhaps to be seen in America,” wrote visitor Isaac Hill in 1840.
“Whoever misses the view from Red Hill, loses the most fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable view, from a moderate mountain height, that can be gained from any eminence that lies near the tourist’s path,” enthused the Rev. Thomas Starr King in his classic 1859 book, The White Hills.
Pretty high praise for a summit that barely pokes above 2000 feet. The secret to Red Hill’s preeminent prospect lies in its strategic location between New Hampshire’s two largest lakes - Winnipesaukee and Squam – with the lofty Sandwich Range (seen below) to the north and the humpy Ossipee Range to the east.“

The high peaks of the Sandwich Range: Tripyramids, Sleepers, Whiteface and Passaconaway.

Passaconaway and Whiteface.

Sandwich Dome, anchoring the west end of the range.

The iconic Chocorua, on the eastern end.

Humpy, ledge-scarred Mount Paugus, often overshadowed by its more glamorous neighbors.

Lake Winnipesaukee beyond the eastern spur of Red Hill.

East to the Ossipee Range.

Mount Shaw, highest of the Ossipees.

Shimmering Squam Lake to the west.

There's a good view of Winnipesaukee from the ground, next to the old warden cabin. Trees have obscured ground views in other directions.

A happy geocacher.

Start of the Cabin Trail.

The upper half of this trail is a delightful narrow footpath winding down through a fine oak forest.

Nice evening light.

A massive old maple.

The old hunter's cabin which gives the trail its name.

The lower part of the Cabin Trail is a woods road that passes through an interesting area of maple trees and old stone walls. This was a rewarding 3.6 mile loop with 1350 feet of elevation gain, not counting a couple of short geocaching side trips.

FISHER MOUNTAIN BUSHWHACK: 3/30/16

It was a gorgeous spring day for a bushwhack up this ledgy southern peak of the Tecumseh Range from the Shattuck Brook valley on the south. It had been ten years since I'd been to the top of this 2609-ft. gem - a lesser-known neighbor of the popular Welch and Dickey Mountains - so a visit was long overdue.

I approached via Forest Road 23A off Mill Brook Rd., where I parked by a Forest Service gate. There was a recent dusting of snow on the ground, but by day's end it was gone from all save the most shaded spots.

Heading up the Shattuck Brook valley, for a little while I followed a remnant of what I assume was the USFS Shattuck Brook Trail. It was shown as a rough woods road on official WMNF maps from 1917 through the 1930s, and as a trail in 1941 and 1942. It dead-ended high in the valley. It was never described in the AMC White Mountain Guide, but the 1945 Supplement noted that it had been abandoned by the USFS.

A boulder family.

The south slopes of Fisher are cloaked in an expansive hardwood forest.

Spring beauty!

Open woods continued all the way up to the crest of the ridge.

A park-like glade.

The rock on the left could pass for the head of a T-Rex.

A roof cave.

Shelves of rock indicate an approach to ledgy terrain.

This big smooth slab was the first ledge I found on the top of the mountain.

My first objective was an expanse of ledges on the NE side of the broad, flat summit of Fisher. From here I could see Sandwich Dome and its southern shoulder, Black Mountain, peering over the long ridge that joins Dickey Mountain with Foss Mountain.

Gazing north to the higher peaks of the Tecumseh Range.

Looking across to Dickey Mountain. I knew I'd get an even better angle on this vista from my next ledge destination.

This SE-facing ledge shelf is one of the best of the many vantage points on Fisher.

From here, Dickey Mountain appears as a wild, sprawling mass rising walling in the Shattuck Brook valley.

A closer look at Dickey and its western ledges. I had originally hoped to extend the trip across the valley to some of those ledges and come down the Dickey Mountain Trail, but I could see that many of the slabs were very icy, so I decided to devote the rest of the day to the Fisher neighborhood.

Distant views south extended to Mt. Kearsarge and other horizon landmarks.

Cone Mountain and Dickey Notch.

Early spring perfection.

A weather-beaten pine.

Next I bushwhacked north to the flat, scrubby summit, stepping carefully to minimize trampling of lichens. The unofficial trail up Fisher from the SW ends here. In the late 1800s this was called the "Elkins Fisher," after the Elkins Farm at its base, to distinguish it from "Middle Fisher" (now called Hogback Mountain) and "Fisher Mountain," which is now a nameless SW spur of Green Mountain. An early ascent of today's Fisher was made by guidebook Moses Sweetser around 1875: "The Fisher-Mt route is entered directly from the Elkins farm by crossing long upland pastures and traversing a belt of tangled forest. Then the tourist attacks the bare white ledges of Fisher Mt., whose summit is reached after an hour's breathless clambering. Pleasant views are opened in the S. and W., and in advance is the white crest of Tecumseh." In 1877, AMC member F.W. Clarke (who gave the three Fisher names noted above) and companions ascended all the Fisher peaks and other spurs of Tecumseh with aneroid and mercurial barometers. Fisher Mountain was measured at 2621 ft., only 12 ft. higher than the elevation shown on the current USGS map.

A preview of the great northern vista.

I made my way down to this large NW-facing ledge, the best perch on Fisher and one of my favorites in all the Whites.

The wide vista includes Moosilauke, Wolf, the Kinsmans, Cannon and the Franconia Range.

The Franconia Range.

Mount Moosilauke, showing the ice cliffs in Jobildunk Ravine.

The long Bald Mountain ridge closes in the Haselton Brook valley.

Mt. Tecumseh, the Hogback (formerly Hedgehog), pyramidal SW Green (the original Fisher Mountain), and Green Mountain.

Another great place to hang out. From here I could contemplate the route Mark Klim and I had followed up the Bald Mountain ridge a week earlier.

The fields of the Mill Brook valley, with Stinson, Carr and Kineo beyond.

Back down in the upper glades.

From here I made a loop diversion to three ledge outcrops on the SW ridge of Hogback Mountain. This was the first, with a window view to Cone Mountain.

The third and highest ledge area was the most open of the trio.

Another angle on Dickey. This spot felt very remote late on a balmy spring day.

This projecting slab was the neatest seat of the day.

Descending to Shattuck Brook through a wild and unkempt forest.

Open woods, once more.

Shattuck Brook, deep in the valley.

An amazingly flat section of the valley floor. It didn't last, and soon enough a steep sidehill pushed me to the south side of the valley.

Bullwinkle pellets.

A remnant icefall on the brook.

Pesky hobblebush and uneven footing prompted me to cross back to the north side. At the crossing, I enjoyed this downstream view.

Evening in the Fisher hardwoods.

Dusky birches.

A nameless tributary meanders through the forest.

More boulders.

An odd couple near the mouth of the valley.

DICKEY MOUNTAIN LEDGES: 4/5/16

On a sunny but cold day following a coating of snow the previous day, I waited til 2:15 to launch a short hike to off-trail and on-trail ledges on an old favorite, Dickey Mountain. I figured even with below-freezing temperatures all day, the slippery snow coating would melt in the sun on these south-facing slopes.

Spectacular blue sky presided on the Dickey Mountain Trail. The inch of snow that had fallen the day before had, indeed, melted in the sun. No mud today as the high temp was ~28 degrees.

Nice whacking across a hardwood slope en route to an off-trail ledge.

April is the time for sunny south-facing ledges.

This is a fine ledge perch overlooking Dickey Notch and Cone Mountain. The wind was whipping but the sun was warm.

Dark cliffs front a 1689-ft. spur of Cone Mountain.

Sprawling Mount Kineo dominates to the west.

After an hour's sojourn in the sun, I wandered around for a while in the hardwoods on the west side of Dickey.

Snow lingers on a slope with less sun exposure.

Heading back to the trail I visited another ledge.

Looking out to the SW.

Late in the afternoon I arrived at the huge lower slab on the Dickey trail, one of the great ledge perches in the Whites.

The summits of Dickey and Welch loom to the NE.

There are many, many ledges on the slopes of Dickey.

The rocky nubble of Welch.

Looking south to the Campton Range and Sandwich Notch. One of the motivations for visiting this ledge was to scout the route for a planned trip to Mount Weetamoo the next day.