.October 7, 2006
I know I said that I have driven as far as I am willing to drive on a Saturday to hike a section of the AT, but in an attempt to finish New Hampshire this fall, I've decided to go for it. Lynn is crewing me today. Today is a small hike of just under 10 miles along with a couple of bonus miles. It's a long drive and we have to get back for Lynn's dad's birthday party. Madison and I headed off from Route 25C. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As usual, the AT can't just be namd the AT in New Hampshire, but has to take on another name. This time it is the Ore Hill Trail.
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Madison and I took the short side trail to the shelter.
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Madison at the Ore Hill Shelter. Being a rescued dog she was a little leery when I said we would be checking out a shelter.
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Madison checks out bog bridging for the first time.
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We headed up Route 25C for a hundred feet or so.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Lynn met us here. We are about halfway done for the day.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The trail changes names again. Now it is the Wachipauka Pond Trail. Just under five miles to go.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Lynn hiked in with me for a while and then turned back. Madison went with her to keep her company. Lynn will meet me at the other end on Route 25. Route 25A, Route 25C, and plain Route 25. Confusing isn't it.
I hiked up to the top of Mount Mist. At 2,230 feet, not a big climb, but the highest elevation I would reach on the trail today. I almost missed this small sign nailed to a tree on the summit.
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There weren't any views right from the trail today, so I took this short trail to a scenic view.
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The view was kind of obstructed, but I was able to look out through a hole in the trees. I could see the edge of Wachipauka Pond.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I plan to take the side trail to Webster Slide Mountain. There should be a much better view from there. Two lady hikers showed up with a beatiful, friendly yellow lab. The dog reminded me of Runtrail's wonderful dog Tater. I talked with the hikers for a few minutes. Looks like they are doing the exact same hike as me today, including the side trail to Webster Slide Mountain. I said good bye and figured I would see them again later. A few more minutes down the mountain and I came to the side trail.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ There was no mileage listed but I read on the Internet it was .9 miles. It's not part of the AT and it's far from being a 4,000 footer but it is a peak in the White Mountains, so I guess I'll hit it. Eventually I would like to hike all the mountains in the Whites that have trails to the top. The trail started off easy but within a few minutes it got very steep. It was steep, but short. I reached the summit, but my view was somewhat obstructed again. I saw a picture that someone had posted on the Internet that was unobstructed so I knew there was a spot somewhere. I climbed part way down the mountain and got a tremendous view with the foliage at or near peak.
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A look back at Mount Mist
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A look down to Wachipauka Pond.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I took a long break here and enjoyed the awesome view. I headed back up towards the summit and noticed a sign this time. This sign is easy to miss from the other direction.
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As I headed down, I met the lady hikers I had seen earlier. I let them know they were almost there and shared with them where they needed to go to get the best view. I continued down the trail and back to the junction with the AT.
Once back on the AT, I almost missed the trail. Right after the sign, the trail takes a sharp left. With all the fallen leaves on the trail it was hard to spot. An unmarked trail continues straight. This trail must go to Wachipauka Pond. It looked from the map that the AT went right around the edge of the pond, but as I soon learned, it doesn't get close enough for a view. So if you want to see a close up of the pond, I assume you go down this trail.
A few minutes later I saw something quite unexpected. Again I am amazed what you find on the trail sometimes. There were two men coming from the other direction on the AT. They were carrying a canoe.
"You must be lost," I said.
"We're looking for the ocean," one of the them joked.
"Then you are very lost."
"We brought this in from Route 25."
Knowing that was almost two miles I added, "It must be light weight."
"Yes, it's made of canvas."
I can't believe they did this. This was a fairly easy section of the trail, but there were still bends and twists and rocks to step over. I realize it was light, but I can't imagine negotiating something so big along the AT. I was laughing so much at what I saw, I forgot to take a picture. Part of me thought it was ridiculous to go through so much trouble. Then I realized I shouldn't throw stones. After all, I am willing to drive for hours just to go hiking.
More bog bridging.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A little while later and I met Lynn and Madison coming from the other direction. Another ten minutes and we were done coming out at the start of the Wachipauka Pond Trail. I still can't believe those guys carried that canoe all that way.
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Only two more New Hampshire AT hikes left. One is 16 miles and the other is 18. Hopefully I can get them in before the snow flies. We had a tough time getting home. It took us 2.5 hours to get to the trail today, but ran into 3 traffic jams on the way home. At one point because of the Fryeburg Fair in Maine, it took us 90 minutes to go 1.5 miles. It was awful. It took a grueling 5 hours to get home, and we were very late for the birthday party.
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