Mt. Monadnock (3,165 ft) 5-16-17

Distance: 5.10 mi.
Elevation: 1,773 ft (overall) 1,962 ft (total)
Time: 1:45 (Summit) 3:18 (Total)
Trails: White Dot Trail, White Cross Trail, White Arrow Trail, Amphitheatre Trail, Smith Connecting Trail, Cliff Walk Trail, Lost Farm Trail, Parker Trail

In order to avoid the normal crowds on the main trails from the State Park Headquarters, I opted to hike from here after work on a weekday. This plan worked well and I didn't see anyone else heading up, and not many heading down. I needed to hike from here for my personal project of remapping trails with my newer GPS. Today I wanted to get the White Cross Trail checked off the list.

The hike up went smoothly, or as smooth as it can over a heavily worn rocky trail. The only real problems were the unrelenting swarms of black flies below treeline and the amount of trash that was left along the trail. Apparently someone decided they needed to constantly use toilet paper to blow their nose or wipe sweat off their face or something. And they didn't seem to think they needed to carry out those pieces of paper either.

Heavily worn trail

This route starts off a little bit gradual and then gets steeper once the White Dot and White Cross Trails diverge. Once the climbing starts, the trail also becomes more and more rocky. So many hikers have hiked this route over the years that much of the soil has been worn and eroded away. Due to this, you'll see multiple paths just off trail from hikers trying to avoid the rocks. PLEASE try to stay on the trail as using these paths just tramples vegetation, increases erosion, and progressively makes the trail wider and wider. If brush or debris is blocking a path, that means that you shouldn't be using it and it was blocked off by park officials.

More rocks along the trail

Once you start getting closer to treeline, the trail levels back out some, but still keeps gaining elevation. You will also see less large rocks scattered along the trail replaced with more large sections of exposed rock. This is where most probably consider the trail to get more enjoyable as it isn't quick as steep and you don't have to keep stepping from rock to rock to rock. Above treeline, you'll want to keep an eye on the painted blazes on the rocks to keep you following the correct path.

The mountain casting a shadow

Miles watching as the sun gets closer to setting

I got to the top a little while before sunset was ready to occur. There was only one other hiker at the time and we talked for a bit before I started taking pictures and he sat to enjoy the view. Knowing I wasn't taking a direct route back down, I left the summit before sunset actually happened. I made sure I was still above treeline when it did happened, but also got a head start on my descent so I wouldn't have to put on my headlamp quite as early.

The sun setting

Muted colors looking away from the sun

Sunset

I headed down the White Arrow Trail and worked by way over to Bald Rock before needing to take out my headlamp. I didn't need it quite yet, but knew that as soon as I left Bald Rock I would be into more dense forest and it would come in handy soon. I continued down the Cliff Walk Trail until I reached the Lost Farm Trail and headed back towards the trail head I started at. The Lost Farm Trail had a few minor issues as far as downed trees go. but I also saw a couple of deer just off trail in the darkness. When I got back to the parking lot, I was the only car left.

Route for the day

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Waterfalls & Redlining 5-6-17

Distance: 4.02 mi.
Elevation: 1,491 ft (overall) 1,770 ft (total)
Time: 1:11 (Dome Rock) 2:11 (Total)
Trails: Howker Ridge Trail, Kelton Trail, Inlook Trail, Randolph Path

I had a morning planned in Berlin, NH but nothing for the afternoon. So in order to make the nearly 3 hour drive more worth it, I planned this relatively short loop as a hike for the afternoon. It would go past at least one waterfall, but also get me 4 miles of redlining done along the many trails on the northern side of Mt. Madison and Mt. Adams.

The trail started a bit wet, but easy going. Lots of Trout Lilies and Violets were in bloom near the start. As the trail neared Bumpus Brook, it got a bit steeper and then went past the first waterfall, Stairs Fall. This waterfall was nice and had a could view of it from the trail. Continuing up, the trail passes Devil's Kitchen shortly before Coosauk Fall. This waterfall was also nice, but had a limited view from the trail. Venturing down to the brook, there was really only one area good enough for pictures as well.

Trout Lilies were in bloom down low

Stairs Fall

Coosauk Falls

Soon I turned onto the Kelton Trail where things started to get steeper. A bit above Kelton Crag, it started to rain lightly and I put my pack cover on. I stopped at The Outlook to take a picture showing how cloudy it was and the rain started picking up more. I quickly put the camera back in the bag and kept hiking. At the upper junction of the Inlook Trail (the highest point of the hike) I decided it was time for my raincoat. From here back to the car it rained pretty steadily and I didn't take my camera back out, even though there were some interesting spots on the trail.

Small brook

The Outlook

The Inlook Trail had lots of exposed rock, so I took my time descending so I wouldn't slip in the rain. At the junction with the Randolph Path and Brookside Trail, I was glad I didn't need to cross the brook. While the crossing could have been done with care, I don't think it could have been done without my boots going at least part way under water. The descent down the Randolph Path was smooth sailing with good terrain that got wetter and wetter as I neared the bottom. Near the end of the trail there was plenty of standing water with some of it pretty deep for a trail.

Route for the day

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Mt. Monadnock (3,165 ft) 4-29-17

Distance: 7.81 mi.
Elevation: 1,602 ft (overall) 2,464 ft (total)
Time: 2:03 (Summit) 3:35 (Park HQ) 4:52 (Total)
Trails: Old Halfway House Trail, Side Foot Trail, White Arrow Trail, Pumpelly Trail, Red Spot Trail, Old Ski Path, White Dot Trail, Parker Trail, Old Toll Road

Since I didn't get much hiking in during the winter, I've been getting anxious to get out again for a while. Finally I had a weekend with decent weather and minimal obligations. Since I did have some obligations though, I decided to get in another hike of my local mountain, Mt. Monadnock. Today's hike was a chance to check off another day of the year hiking it and with my planned route remap a few more trails with my newer GPS. A long term goal I have for Mt. Monadnock is to hike it in every calendar day of the year, and today would be my 80th different day on the calendar checked off. A more short term goal is remap all the trails from low elevation to high with my newer GPS. I've done this before and it's a fun way to plan routes and revisit places on the mountain others don't normally go.

For today's hike, I started at the Old Toll Road trail head by hiking up the Old Halfway House Trail. The trail was in good condition with one small treetop leaning over the trail. Other than that, there was a little bit of mud in the normal wet places and lots of small plants starting to sprout out of the ground and show some greenery. At the junction with the Cart Path, I headed right on the Cart Path to avoid the closed top section of this trail. I then walked up to the Old Halfway House Site for a quick break.

The forest starting to turn green

From here I headed up the Side Foot Trail which leaves right from the Old Halfway House Site. This was the first trail I wanted to remap with my GPS. Currently the sign is missing, but the post is still there and the trail should be easy to spot. This trail more or less parallels the White Arrow Trail, but is narrower and sees less traffic. Along the trail there were a couple blow downs that were easy to step over, but might direct some people to the side and just off the trail and the established tread way. Make sure to stay on the trail so as to not trample vegetation or speed up erosion. Once at the top of the Side Foot Trail, I headed left to the White Arrow Trail which I would take up to the summit without any issues along the route.

Along the Side Foot Trail

When I got to the summit there were very few people there, but quickly more and more were arriving. After spending some time taking pictures, I was ready to get away from the growing crowd and headed down the Pumpelly Trail for the junction with the Red Spot Trail. Once on the Red Spot Trail, I headed down for what seemed further than I remembered it being to the junction to the Old Ski Path. The Old Ski Path was the second trail I wanted to remap today, so I again headed back uphill. This trail sees very little traffic, but is still easy to follow. It was a bit wet in places as you can tell water flows down it in the spring. Once to the top of the Old Ski Path, I made my way quickly down the White Dot Trail through the increasing crowds to the Park Headquarters.

Summit view west

Summit view south

At the Park Headquarters I took a little break and enjoyed the "Meet the Mountain" program Antioch college was doing today. The best part for me was being able to see a Horned Owl and Red Tailed Hawk up close and listen to their handlers talk about them. I enjoyed seeing the animals, but still had plans for the afternoon and needed to keep hiking. I made my way around the reservoir to the Parker Trail so that I could make my way back to the trail head I actually started at.

Great Horned Owl

Red Tailed Hawk

The Parker Trail is the third and last trail I wanted to remap today. It's an easy trail to follow and is never that steep. It crosses a few brooks and is wet in a couple spots, but it also goes by two large glacial erratics as well. The trail had two blow downs that were easy to get over, but the trail adopter was doing a guided hike out here today, so they should now know about them as well. The hike back to the Old Toll Road went well, except for the large items of trash that I picked up along the way. I'll never understand why someone can pick up trash and put it somewhere easier to see, but can't just carry it out themselves. Once back to the Old Toll Road, I walked down it briefly before cutting just into the woods to get back on the Old Halfway House Trail so that I could also grab a glove that was hanging on a tree that I didn't grab while hiking up the mountain. Then it was a quick walk back to the car.

Glacial erratic next to the Parker Trail

Route for the day

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Pico Peak (3,957 ft) 2-4-17

Distance: 5.90 mi.
Elevation: 1,820 ft (overall) 2,054 ft (total)
Time: 1:56 (Pico Camp) 2:25 (Summit) 4:03 (Total)
Trails: Shelburne Pass Trail, Pico Link

Finally having a chance to get back hiking the NEHH list, I picked Pico Peak for today. Trail reports made conditions seem good and it was a shorter drive from my house with potential for views. It seems like most people hike the Shelburne Pass Trail in winter rather than using the Long Trail. This route is more direct, shorter, easier to navigate, and access to ski slopes allows for a bit of variation with it as well. Not being a huge fan of ski slopes myself, my plan to to use them as little as needed and stay to the hiking trails. Even though this means a steep climb from Pico Camp up to the slopes just below the summit.

The trail was easy to find behind the trail head kiosk and quickly bears to the right and starts uphill. The trail has a steady gentle incline and continues this way most of the way up to the ski slopes. There are spots with short flat sections before gently climbing again. The trail stays in the open hardwoods during its lower sections and seemed to be protected a bit from the wind by the terrain on the right. After getting close to a section of ski trail briefly, the trail did soon come to a section that seemed pretty windy. The trail briefly follows the top of a ridge here though and has little to deflect the wind.

A nice easy start to the hike

There are a couple small brook crossings along this route, but none of them were very big at all. Easy step overs except for one, which was only a little awkward due to snowshoes and exposed rocks. Getting higher up on the mountain, the trail works it's way into the softwoods and starts through a few very gradual switchbacks. You might not even realize you have made the turn on the switchbacks in a couple spots. The switchbacks made it so that the trail was still a nice gradual incline and easy to hike up. Everything was also well marked and easy to follow. In the winter though, the closer you get to the ski slopes, the more likely you are to see ski and snowboard tracks which could make route finding a bit trickier with other possible paths.

Hiking through a winter wonderland

After a few of these gradual switchbacks, the trail comes out onto the ski slopes. There is a nice view here, although only in one direction really. This seems to be as far as many people hike at least this time of year. Above here I only saw one other hiker, but saw many below it and talked to multiple others who only went this far. After enjoying the view briefly and taking a few pictures, I started up the left side of the ski trail. On a tree that is in the ski trail, you can actually see one blue blaze that today was trying to hide in the snow covered branches. If you stay to the left, you'll see the hiking trail head back into the woods quickly. Honestly, it felt like less than 100 feet that I was on the ski slope. Today there were oranges signs at each junction of the trails, but they could be missed if you aren't paying that much attention.

View from the ski slopes

From the ski slopes to Pico Camp, the trail very gradually goes downhill. There isn't much overall elevation loss through here, but it does seem odd to be going downhill for this long of a distance. The trail again was easy to follow and was a nice walk over a few inches of fresh powder. When I got to the camp, there seemed to be a few old tracks that headed further past it, but none leading up to the spur trail that is here. Knowing it goes pretty steeply up the rest of the mountain, I looked around the small opening the camp is in and found it is just a few feet to the right of the camp with a small sign at the start. The sign of course had some snow on it as did the tree branches that were around it and partially blocking the start of the trail.

Pico Camp

The trail from the camp was steep and had a number of low hanging branches. There was a lot of snow clinging to all the trees and branches around. Luckily it was cold enough that anything falling on my didn't melt and get me wet. Instead, some of it seemed to freeze to parts of my pack at times. The trail is easy to follow up to where it crosses a ski trail. Here the snow was deep and showed no signs of previous traffic. There is however a small indicator on a post to help show where the trail crosses, follows the side of the ski trail, then turns back into the trees. Back in the trees, the trail stayed much as it did before until I got to one blue blaze partially showing from under the snow on a tree. Here, I couldn't see any other blazes in either direction I thought the trail might go. To make things worse, there were ski and snowboard tracks all over which made looking for other hiker tracks impossible. My two options were either straight or left. Straight looked like it had more promise of hiker tracks on it and there was no indication in the blazes of a turn in the trail. After going a short distance though, it became apparent that straight was wrong, but since I could see the ski trail in front of me, I just went for it. Once on the trail, I followed it uphill the short distance to the summit.

Where is the next blaze?

Pico Peak Summit

Killington from Pico

I walked around the summit a bit making sure to find the high spot and checking out what was around. Unfortunately, the clouds made the views a bit less than ideal. That combined with a temperature in the single digits meant I didn't really spend much time up top after exploring around. I had a snack and adjusted my gear, then headed back down. I stuck to the right of the ski trails and paid attention to the edge of the trees. I wanted to know where the trail should have brought me to if I hadn't gotten off of it. After going downhill just a ways, I found an orange rope going across an opening with a "Trail Closed" sign on it to keep out the skiers and snowboarders. This was where I should have come out. I went under the rope (like many skiers and snowboarders have) and headed down the trail. Blazes were still hard to find, the the ski/board traffic basically followed the hiking trail all the way down to the spot I stopped earlier wondering where the trail went.

From here down, stayed on the trail and followed my tracks all the way back to the car. The descent was quick and easy with many others still headed up. Some only planning to go to the slopes then turn around. There was even one group bringing sleds up and planning to slide down the slopes. I can't imagine that is within the rules, but it sounded like they have done it before. In the end, this hike ended up being easier and quicker than I expected. I wish the skies had been more clear, but if you stick to the trails, there really aren't lots of viewpoints anyways. The ski slopes also all look in mostly the same direction.

On the fast and smooth descent

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Mt. Monadnock (3,165 ft) 12-27-16

Distance: 5.73 mi.
Elevation: 1,660 ft (overall) 2,438 ft (total)
Time: 2:05 (Bald Rock) 4:07 (Summit) 5:26 (Total)
Trails: Old Toll Road, Parker Trail, Cliff Walk Trail, Smith Connecting Link, Amphitheatre Trail, White Arrow Trail, Sidefoot Trail

After a hiking slump and not getting out much, it was time to take advantage of my job giving us all a week off and get back onto the trails. I had been hoping to do something bigger this week, but other plans made that harder to accomplish, so I planned for Mt. Monadnock after a morning appointment. This hike would get me to a nice round 5 summits of the mountain for the year and check off one more day of the year in which I have hiked the mountain. I'd also take a route that would get me onto some trails I want to remap with my newer GPS and red line in winter conditions. Two other sub-goals I have for myself on the mountain.

Normally I prefer not to hike up the Old Toll Road, but today I wanted to hike the entire length of the Cliff Walk Trail, so I needed to use the road to get to the Parker Trail part way up it. The road was a little icy, but walkable without traction. At the start of the Parker Trail there were only a few inches of snow, so I decided to keep going without my microspikes. This trail has pretty gradual grades and from this end only goes up slightly before heading downhill to the other end. Once going downhill, there was some running and standing water in the trail. This section is damp in the summer, and recent warm temps were melting snow. With careful foot placement (and waterproof boots), I was able to stay dry just fine.

Parker Trail

After taking a short break at the base of the cliff Walk Trail, I decided to continue up without traction. The actual climbing started now, but the snow still wasn't that deep and I hadn't been slipping around yet. It doesn't take too long to come upon the only trail ladder on the mountain. This ladder was redone earlier in the year since at least one wooden rung had broken. After this the trail levels out some and becomes more of a walk in the woods for a little bit. The trail then dips down into a bit of a ravine before climbing right back up the other side. It was here that I put on my microspikes. The snow still wasn't deep, but the leaves underneath were making things slippery.

Wooden ladder/stairs on the Cliff Walk Trail

Further up the trail, there were more exposed rocks and the snow became more patchy in places. I left on the spikes because there was ice and slush mixed in that could have easily made things slippery. As the trail continued up the ridge past the many lookouts, the wind stayed mostly off of me. It was windy today, but the trees and other terrain do a surprisingly good job of protecting you on this route. It wasn't until shortly before Bald Rock that I actually put on a layer other than a short sleeve shirt under my windbreaker. Once I was up onto Bald Rock though, I was glad I had the extra layer on my upper body and was wondering if I was going to be wishing I had put one on under my pants by the time I reached the summit.

Cliff Walk Trail near the Noble Trail junction

The summit from Bald Rock

The hike from Bald Rock back to the White Arrow trail is pretty easy except for the immediate descent down off Bald Rock over what can become icy terrain and one small scramble where you will probably have to use your hands to pull yourself up over a large rock. Both of these obstacles were pretty easy to avoid today.

Just after coming onto the White Arrow Trail, there is a normally wet area that wasn't froze up with the warm temperature today. Many people have been going around it, but with waterproof boots I was willing to hop across the stepping stones. This didn't work out that bad today as the rocks were easy to pick out with them forming humps in the snow. Even in winter, I prefer not to go off trail making side paths that damage vegetation on the mountain. There was also an icy section just past this that wasn't bad to negotiate with some care and while wearing Microspikes. It looked like some people had been slipping around here a lot though.

Once above treeline, the trail was largely exposed rock with some patches of snow and ice in places and between rocks. I was able to pick and choose a way through that was easy enough to do plus keep me from walking over too much bare rock and dulling up my spikes. But eventually, just before the last climb up to the summit, I decided it was better to take off my spikes and just stick to the rocks. While the spikes provide great traction on ice, they can be a bit awkward on bare rock when it gets steeper. With bare boots again, the final climb to the summit went quick and easy.

Very little snow above treeline

While it was sunny at the summit, the higher than normal winds meant most people didn't stay long. Sneakers and sweatpants seemed to be the outfit of the day for most people, so they weren't well prepared for the conditions and they didn't hang out long. Some just long enough to tag the summit and turn around. Being well prepared, I actually spent a while at the summit taking pictures, leaning into the wind, and looking at the views I already know so well.

View west from the summit

View southeast from the summit

View northeast from the summit

For the decent, I keep the Microspikes off until just about treeline. I had to be careful in my foot placement at times, but for the most part it was easy going and I even passed other who were struggling with some sort of spikes on their feet. Once near treeline I knew it would be icy and snowy enough to need spikes until I got back to the Old Toll Road.

The descent went smoothly and I decided to take the Sidefoot Trail to avoid what I suspect was a mess of a trail along the White Arrow Trail as it sees so much traffic with much of that traffic not being prepared for the usual conditions of the trail. The Sidefoot Trail had seen some recent activity, but it's also developing some good sized ice bulges. Without any snow built up on top of them for added traction, they could be slick and difficult for some. Careful foot placement for a good trip down though without any falls.

Ice bulge on Sidefoot Trail

All in all the hike went well today and it was nice to be back out after a couple months not hiking much of anything. Also fun to get back to this mountain when the sun is shinning. Add in the extra wind for fun and it's even better. Having been to the summit 84 times now, I enjoy the quiet days and the days where the weather adds a little something to the hike.

Route for the day

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE

Thoreau Falls, Thoreau Falls Bridge, Shoal Pond 10-8-16

Distance: 22.2 mi.
Elevation: 1,537 ft (overall) 3,288 ft (total)
Time: 2:39 (Thoreau Falls) 4:33 (Bridge) 7:51 (Shoal Pond) 10:21 (Total)
Trails: Ethan Pond Trail, Thoreau Falls Trail, Wilderness Trail, Shoal Pond Trail, Ethan Pond Trail

The primary goal for this hike was to go see the bridge along the Thoreau Falls Trail. The bridge is in danger of being torn down with the possibility of replacement or complete removal. Knowing there were other unbridged water crossings on this route, I had planned to do this during the summer when water was low and the daylight hours were long. The summer got away from me, so I was already losing out on long days, but due to a dry summer and early fall, I still had lower water levels for the crossings.

I needed the longer days because I didn't want to just take the shortest route to the bridge, turn around, and then walk back. I planned a loop that would get me onto a bunch of new trails (13 miles of them) and create a nice loop past some interesting places. This plan would have me hiking over the bridge rather than just to the bridge.

I showed up at the Ethan Pond trail head just after 7am. With a 12 hr 39 min book time, this wasn't quite as early as I wanted, but I also didn't want to hike on less than 5 hours of sleep. After getting all my gear ready, I headed up the trail where you almost immediately cross the railroad tracks. The start of the trail is a bit eroded and worn down. But once the trail to Ripley Falls turns off to the left, conditions improve. You'll head up the steepest section of trail for the route from here before things level off and more gradually gain elevation before the start of the Willey Ridge Trail.

Tunnel of color along the trail

After the Willey Range Trail junction, it's just a bit more ascending until the high point for the loop. It start a bit steep and rocky, but gets better as you go. Soon you you are at the highest elevation of the day and begin the long gradual descent to the low point somewhere near the bridge basically. The Ethan Pond Trail has plenty of bog bridges along it's length, but most of them are at the higher elevations. Since I've stopped there before and had a long trip today, I didn't stop at Ethan Pond. There was some moose tracks in the trail near the pond and I got word that last night people staying at the shelter and campsite were kept up by a bear wandering the area and looking for food.

Leaves on the ground

From Ethan Pond down to the Thoreau Falls Trail seemed to go by quick. It's all downhill, there weren't many people out, and I've done this section before. So before I knew it I was at the junction and headed toward the falls. It's just a short distance to the top of the fall from the junction. Once I got to the falls, I was impressed with the whole area. I knew the area was nice, but I don't think I've ever looked at any photos of it before. The falls gradually drop down quite a bit of height while arcing around in a nice curve. And the view from the top of the falls out over the Pemigewasset Wilderness is much better than I expected.

The view from Thoreau Falls

Just after the falls, the trail drops off kind of steeply for a little bit. Here I started playing leap frog with a another hiker and his dog who had been camping in the wilderness all week. Eventually we both ended up about the same speed and spent quite a bit of time talking while hiking. I liked talking with him as he had some good stories about working in Shenandoah National Park. I also was able to tell him about some of the history the White Mountains and the logging that happened here in the past.

Once you make the quick drop at the start of the trail, it stays quite gradual with good footing. Before too long the trail comes onto the old railroad grade. There are a few places where the trail leaves the old grade, but it's mostly where the grade is too close to the river or has been washed out. For how this trail is, it actually went by pretty quickly. Perhaps it was having someone to talk to or having a river nearby (I always like trails that parallel rivers/streams), but it didn't seem to take very long before we were walking past the old site of camp 22 and then the bridge.

Looking upstream on the Thoreau Falls Trail

I had already determined that the bridge would be where I was going to have lunch. I was already planning a long stop here to explore the bridge, and it is just shy of the halfway point (mileage) for the day. I explored the area some looking for good views of the bridge for pictures. Then I walked under the bridge to get a closer look at the damaged areas. Once I had checked it out sufficiently, I opted to eat my PB&J sandwich and filter some water. I had brought along my Sawyer Mini today knowing I would be near or crossing plenty of water sources. I also didn't want to try and carry enough fluids for the entire hike right from the beginning. I've only used it a few times, but so far I like the filter. I think the full size version would probably be a bit quicker, but the mini still works fine I think. I don't think you would gain that much time with the bigger filter. The only issue I have found so far is filling the bag and finding a way to put it in the water without having the bag just close back up without taking in water. A small cascade in the stream helps with this though.

I know some hikers opt to cross the river using the rocks instead of the bridge since it has been deemed unsafe (to a degree). I was willing to still cross it myself, as was everyone else I saw here today. The bridge does lean a bit on the southern half of it and it gets a bit bouncy on that end too. All in all though, it didn't seem too bad crossing it. The underside is where it took most of the beating though from passing debris. While it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be, it's definitely seen better days. I hope they can come up with some sort of replacement for this bridge when they do make the final decision as to its fate. It would be nice to see something just like it be put back in. It's an interesting bridge and I can see how the crossing would be difficult to near impossible for a significant portion of the year without it. But, it's in a Wilderness Area and finding a way to follow the rules that go along with that and find a way to pay for it could seal its fate.

Looking across Thoreau Falls Bridge

Thoreau Falls Bridge

Underside of the bridge

After heading out from the bridge, I found the first of a few spots today where it looked like even the evergreen trees had foliage on them. So many leaves had fallen in the area that there were a bunch of them on the branches of the trees. The wind hadn't knocked them off yet. I guess having brightly colored leaves this time of year is so popular that even the trees without leaves want to get in on it.

Evergreen foliage

Being another old section of RR grade, the Wilderness Trail is pretty easy going. It starts off away from the river, but eventually gets right next to it. Enough erosion has happened over the years that the trail is a bit narrow in a couple places and sometimes leaves the RR grade for a bit to get around harder spots. Shortly before Stillwater Junction, the trail crosses the Carrigain Branch of the Pemigewasset River. Today the water was very low, but it looks like it can get pretty high here at times. An arrow made from rocks points the way across the river and a cairn has also been built in the river. The trail re-enters the woods a bit to the left of the cairn though going in this direction. Soon the trail will narrow up and get a bit tight feeling with the branches around you. This is short lived though as you then pop out at Stillwater Junction, a nice secluded spot in the woods.

Right off from Stillwater Junction the Shoal Pond Trail crosses the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River which was pretty low today but beautiful to look at with all the maple leaves on the ground and in the water. The trail also started off a little tight with branches encroaching on the trail. I think hikers taller than 6 ft would have to duck coming through here right now. I'm sure this trail doesn't see a lot of traffic in winter, but it would be even tighter then. The tight branches only last for a short while though.

Near Stillwater Junction

What didn't last for a short while though was the step over blow downs along the trail. Early on I thought to myself "I hope the whole trail isn't like this" while I was hiking over and under small blow downs. The trail isn't covered for the whole length with them, but it does have quite a few over the length of it in some areas there are a number of them close together. They were all easy to step over though, they just slow you down as you have to pay more attention to what your feet are doing.

Shoal Pond Trail

The Shoal Pond Trail crosses a couple small streams. At the second one I filtered more water as I was getting a bit low again and I figured flowing water would be better than still water from the pond. I also figured that once back on the Ethan Pond Trail I'd want to just keep moving and not make many stops. The trail also goes through some nice pieces of forest where the undergrowth is all moss or very short evergreens. The trail did start to get a bit rougher shortly before the pond though. This also added to the feeling that this is a bit slower trail to hike than the others I had been on today. Once at the pond, I took a little break and sat next to the water before hiking the remaining flat section back to the Ethan Pond Trail.

Shoal Pond

Once back on the Ethan Pond Trail, I tried to make up some time. I was ahead of schedule, but wasn't sure I could get the remaining 5-ish miles done before darkness set in. I started off doing well, but the distance covered today was getting me tired out a bit more than normal. Eventually I slowed back down to a more normal pace and just accepted I might need to use my headlamp. At the spur for the shelter I decided to take a break and have a seat on a rock. This proved to be a bad idea in the end as once I got started again, I was moving much slower. I think my muscles tightened up a bit and my feet got used to me not using them. After a while though, I was able to loosen up a bit again, but my pace only picked back up a little and my feet were still sore. After 20 miles of hiking, the last 2 miles took a while and it sure felt like I was going slow. I was certainly dragging a bit, but I was able to make it to my car without needing my headlamp, barely.

In the end, this was a nice long enjoyable hike. Even with sore feet and being tired afterwards, I had finished just over 2 hours under book time which surprised me. The hike did get me out into some nice foliage for an entire day though and got me to some beautiful areas in a secluded section of the White Mountains. I'd do this hike (or a similar one) again, but I think it would have been better if it were only 18-19 miles long. That was the point where I really started to get tired and slowing down. I would have been fine with the hike ending at that point.

Google Earth representation of the hike

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE