.December 17, 2006 With church in the morning and the sun setting around 4:00 pm, it doesn't leave much time for hiking. Regardless, Lynn, Madison, and I headed over to the eastern edge of the White Mountains for a short hike. This is such a small hike we won't even be going up a mountain, just a hill.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Almost immediately we came across a single gravesite. This was a very old gravesite. The date of death was 1848. Another indication that it is old is the size of the tree that has grown up right next to it.
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The trail descends down for a tenth of a mile or so before coming out on a dirt road. The main trail follows the road, but we decided to cross the road and follow the trail that goes down to Horseshoe Pond. The trail here is not marked well. There was also a lot of water making the trail even more difficult to follow, but we found our way to the pond.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ This very wet area could have used a few more of these bridges.
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The beavers have been busy.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ This small loop was tough to follow. We ended up doing a little bushwacking but found our way back to the main trail. As we walked through the green forest with no snow, I almost forgot it was December.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ This is where the steepest part of the climb was. It wasn't too bad and within about 20 minutes we reached the junction with the Conant Trail.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ From the Conant Trail it was only another .2 miles to the summit of Lord Hill. Here's Madison on the summit with a piece of Horseshoe Pond below.
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There are several short trails in the area. Lynn decided to stay at the top and read while Madison and I checked them out. I brought a thermarest sleeping pad for her to sit on. Madison and I began going down the south side of Lord Hill. About 50 yards down there is even a better view. From here it is obvious how Horseshoe Pond got its name.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Madison and I dropped into the col between Lord Hill and Pine Hill. I'll have to hit Pine Hill on another hike. We made a right hand turn up an unmarked trail until we got to Mine Loop trail. We followed this back to the top of Lord Hill. We found that Lynn made herself quite comfortable. Had I been gone any longer, she would have had curtains up and a welcome mat out.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ With the exception of bypassing the pond, we returned the same way we came up. This would be a great hike for kids or those who are looking for a small hike. The hike is short, but still offers a great view even with a low elevation of only 1,257 feet.
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