October 31, 2010 Hike #3
I've got just enough time for one more small hike. I would hike up to Province Pond. I began on the Province Brook Trail.
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My first thought was "Where is the trail?", but if you go to the left of the sign about 20 feet you are on a wide open trail. It's wide because it is also a snowmobile trail.
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I went over three snowmobile bridges.
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By the time I reached the last one I was at the pond. I was surprised to find that it was manmade. There was a birm holding back the water. I went slightly off trail to get a better look.
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Either this is new or some work on it was just done. The ground under my feet had new straw laid down and new grass growing up.
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From here there was a nice view of Mount Shaw, not to be confused with the Mount Shaw in the Ossipee Mountains. There were rock ledges on the lower peak which looked to provide a great view if anyone is every inclined to bushwhack there.
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The south end of Providence Pond
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The trail continued along the east side of the pond.
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I saw an arrow where the snowmobile and hiking trail split.
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There is a shelter by the northwest corner of the pond.
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The trail turns and goes a little further north than needed before turning south and leading to the shelter. The outhouse has very limited privacy.
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I reached the northwest corner of the pond.
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Providence Pond Shelter
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I walked down to the edge of the pond.
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There was a herd path that stayed close to the north end of the pond. I took this until it led me back to the trail. It was such an easy trail that I jogged most of the way out. Well, that's it for the weekend. I'm on call at work next weekend so this is my last hike for a while. I have Veterans Day which is also my birthday off from work, so I've got 11 days to think about what I want to hike next.
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