Gadwah Notch Trail June 21, 2014

One of our favorite places in the North Woods is the Nash Stream Forest. One of our favorite trails systems meanders here, the Cohos Trail. We love the long unpaved road to get to the trail heads. We love the solitude of the forest. We love beauty of the Cohos Trail. In order to celebration the summer solstice we returned to the land we love, the Nash Stream Forest. Today we would venture out on the Gadwah Notch Trail for a few miles.

The trail begins at the end, the end of Nash Stream Road.

Follow the yellow signs of the Cohos Trail

Our feet followed an old woods lane, while we listened to trickle of Pike Brook.

Along the way we spotted evidence of moose, bear and other woodland creatures.

After 22 minutes of walking we arrived at Cathedral Meadow. What a delightful place that just appeared.

We walked another 1/2 mile, admiring the woods and flowers along the way, until we reached the next smaller meadow and the trail turning to the right.

Moran Meadow to the left, trail to the right

The flowers were almost ready to burst in the meadow. One yellow flower did stand out though.

Turning away from the meadow we went up the lane, with some mud hopping adventures.

We followed the trail for another 1/2 mile.

We entered Muise Bowl, a natural amphitheater.

We walked a little further passed the Bowl, and turned around at 2.5 miles, not making it to Bulldozer Flat. We hit an area that was very wet, boggy and just didn’t have the desire to slog through mud or high grass today. We hoped the moose would have blazed a clear cut path, but I think they even turned around in the seeps.

The return was full of great views and we enjoyed the moments of just being in a such a tranquil place, free of manmade noise that clutters our ears.

We spent a great 2 and 1/2 hours exploring the Gadwah Notch area. We tramped 5 miles in total. We will return to do this again and go further next time. The Nash Stream Forest and the Cohos Trail are a very special area, free of crowds, full of beauty.

Responses

Doug Kerr

June 22, 2014 at 5:08 am

Thank you for this trip report! I am really excited about getting up to this area this summer. I’ve been spending time hiking the Presidentials this spring but they are already very crowded. Last week I was in the Pemi Wilderness area and there were less people but the campsites were still full. I’m really look for some quiet and it looks like this may be just the place!

1. hikergal
  
  June 22, 2014 at 5:49 am
  
  Thank you for reading. I’ve written about a few other trails in the Nash Stream Forest, it truly is a place to escape.
  here are some of my links to that area:
  
  Happy Hiking
  
Lisa

June 22, 2014 at 4:45 pm

Sounds like you had a great day! Too bad the trail wasn’t a little better travelled (I hate mud and high grass, too, since I’m scares to death if snakes)

1. hikergal
  
  June 22, 2014 at 5:40 pm
  
  Thanks Lisa, it was a great day. I’ve learned to have fun with mud, even shoe sucking mud. However, the tall grass just screamed tickville to me and I wasn’t up to picking them all of of me. Happy Hiking to you.