.February 11, 2007
It's Sunday afternoon, and I have half a day to get a hike in. I decided to head over to North Conway, New Hampshire again. On the way, I went by Norway Lake. Each year they have snowmobile races on the lake. The races are usually held in January, but because of the unusually warm January that we had, the races were put off until February. No one was racing yet, but there were plenty of vehicles that drove out onto the lake.
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Today, I am trying someplace new. Rather than hike in the White Mountains, I am hiking in the Green Hills Preserve. This is a downgrade in terms of elevation, but certainly not in terms of the views. I'm not expecting any really steep climbs, so I am taking Madison with me. She hasn't gotten much winter hiking in yet. I don't want to take her any place that is steep and icy. She can handle either one, but not both together. Is there such a thing as doggie crampons??
I parked on Thompson Road. There was a sign for Pudding Pond. As yummy as that sounds, I'll have to check that out another day.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I walked .2 miles up to a kiosk. The trail to the right went to Pudding Pond. I turned left toward Middle Mountain.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The trail was well packed down, but I came to one icy spot. Before I could stop Madison, she took one slide down the icy path. I wish I could have caught a picture of that. We both found a way around.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I came to junction. One way went up to Peaked Mountain and the other to Middle Mountain. I'll hit both today, but headed off to Middle Mountain first. There is also Rattlesnake Mountain just south of Middle Mountain, but there is no trail to it. Middle Mtn must have got its name by being stuck inbetween Peaked and Rattlesnake. It wasn't a big mountain, but after a fairly decent climb, I reached the summit at 1857'.
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There were views to the east ...
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...and to the south.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I ran most the way down the mountain until I came back to Peaked Mountain Trail.
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It was time to go up again. The last two tenths I would have to go up and back down so I left my pack behind. It was only two tenths but it was steep. I got a great view over to the White Mountains. I could see Moat Mountain that I climbed yesterday. I could make out most of yesterday's route which I marked in orange.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ After another minute, I was at the summit.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ It was a little over a 100 feet lower than Middle Mountain, but I think it had better views. I could see in almost every direction.
Looking southwest to Mount Chocorua
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Looking west to the Moats
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Looking south to Middle Mountain
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Overlooking North Conway
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The skies were gray again today. The only blue I could find was looking southeast.
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"Come on Madison, time to head down."
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I made it back down to the main trail and picked up my pack which must have gained weight while I had it off. Has my pack been eating my snacks again?
I continued down Peaked Mountain Trail and got a great view of Mount Washington. A blue sky would have been great about now. A white capped mountain with gray sky doesn't come out that well in a photograph.
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I got a view over to the ski resort on Cranmore Mountain
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I highly recommend hiking in the Green Hills Preserve which also goes by the name 'The Nature Conservancy'. It is a great place for smaller hikes without missing out on great views. There are still several trails in the Green Hills that I didn't get to today, so I look forward to coming back.
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