Iron Mountain, New Hampshire

Monday was a hot, hazy and humid hiking day with barely a breeze. We thought a short little hike wouldn’t that require much effort would be perfect for weather conditions like these. We were wrong, any hike in this type of weather requires an effort.

Our decision was made to hike Iron Mountain in Jackson NH. We had attempted this mountain, one fall, but when we drove up to the trail head there were no views, all socked in. As this is on the 52 With a VIew List we knew we wanted to wait till we had a chance to see the mountains that surround this one.

After parking below Hayes Farm, we started up the grassy hill.

I just kept thinking, as we walked this grassy bit, I would be happy here with just a bench, the views were so spectacular, even on a hazy day.

We entered the woods by the sign.

Into the woods we ambled for a short distance, then out on another grassy field and returned to the woods. At around .3 miles we began the climb up. Parts of this trail are eroded and I wouldn’t hike it right after we have a major rain storm.

Due to the absence of a cooling breeze and humidity increasing, we didn’t snap a great amount of photos, we just wanted to keep going.

We did encounter one rock slab and coming up to it I thought, this might be long and arduous, however in true White Mountain style, nothing is as it appears to be. It was minor and easy.

After this little section, we were treated to an outlook, about 20 yards off to the right. It granted us a fine view of the Presidentials.

In .3 miles from this view you summit Iron Mountain, where an old fire tower used to stand. This is a no view mountain.

After briefly checking out the ruins, we scurried on the path to find the south cliffs, where the views were to found. The only sign denoting the path was this piece of wood. At this point, cairns helped to guide our way.

It was a descent to the cliffs with one steep section.

Around 1.5 miles the trails splits if you go to the left you are heading towards the mine. We met a man coming up from that area. He said he searched for the mine but couldn’t find it, so he abandoned his quest. We veered right to the cliffs. The views that awaited us were justified to be on 52 With a View List.

If wasn’t so darn hot, I think we would have easily spent an hour or two exploring all over the rock slab, just enjoying the views. We quickly retreated back to the woods, out of the blazing sun.

We quickly made it back to our car from the cliffs (only about 60 minutes). We briefly stopped twice on the descent. Once to chat with a man and his daughter who were going to try to find the cliffs (it was the man’s third attempt to reach them, signage is poor) and one more time to snap photos from the field.

After the hike we drove the short distance to The Sunrise Shack in Glen for a burger, salad and a brew. I would highly recommend this place for an after hike food stop.

It was a great little hike, one I would repeat in cooler weather and in the fall to see the colors displayed.

The Details: Around 3 miles, elevation gain of 1100 feet, 3 hours.

August 18, 2015 0

Georgiana Falls Path

Another spectacular day in the White Mountains. We were short on time and had to leave the longer hikes for another visit, so we decided a hike to Georgiana Falls. It would give us the oh wow factor in a short amount of time. We were not disappointed.

The path started at the end of Hanson Farm Road. Parking was ample. We went through an opening in the gate and walked under Route 93 twice.

The walk at first was very easy.

Slowly the easy trail gave way to trail that was a rooty and a bit rocky. Harvard Brook remained on our left.

Boulders started to line the trail and had us going over them. Follow the red blazes that were very easy to see.

The first views of the falls were after an altar of lovely green moss.

We continued up, climbing over boulders.

Shortly we reached a lovely pool at the lower Georgiana Falls. At this point, Mike kept repeating “oh man, oh man.” This was about .7 mile mark. I continued on ahead.

I was a bit ahead and started echoing his sentiments, but maybe with a curse word or two added in. I or rather we, were in disbelief at how beautiful these falls are.

We knew that more falls existed, so up we went.

The fungus on this log didn’t look real, it was so shiny.

Right after seeing the fungus, I found a perfect viewing spot, well until the mosquitoes discovered me. Mike went on ahead to scout out the trail. I started to go, but lost the trail. So I returned to my spot, until he returned. He then called me (yes, on the cell phone) to tell me where to pick up the trail, though the thunder of the cascades made it hard to hear him.

Mike brought me up to this spot, where the red blazes ended. We looked down on Route 93 and admired the views. We stood and snacked at this perfect spot.

After a while, we descended. We decided that this area deserves more time than we had. We really want to return and spend more time exploring this area and maybe find that bog.

The hike was a little over 2 miles and we spent a little over 2 hours in this area.

June 26, 2015 0

The Nubble

Hiking The Nubble or Rather, Just Follow the Moose Scat…

Today we hiked the unblazed trail to the Nubble or known as Haystack Mountain.

We started off the trek at a lot off of Gale River Road.

We walked a snowmobile corridor for about .6 miles. Along this corridor, there was one window of views out.

We then veered right, by a small cairn.

The trail entered a deep forested area, that was muddy, slippery and just so beautiful.

We crossed a brook by another cairn, however that was in error and backtracked to the cairn, remaining straight on the trail. Silly moose tracks really led us astray on that one.

Don’t follow the moose path, keep the cairn to your right, don’t go left and cross the brook here, like we did.

Well I went across and had to come back, oops.

Finally on the correct trail, we slide over very wet rocks and had shoes sucked in by mud. We then crossed over the rock slab and listened to the gorge above raging. We had to keep a look out for all the moose scat, that lined the unmarked trail, so we didn’t end up stepping in it.

As we neared the summit, the sun shined through the trees beckoning us to keep going. Up I go.

The rocky ledges came into view and we started the scramble up on them.

Thankful for all the blueberry bushes I held on to both coming and going.

There was one very narrow part, that sent me into panic mode and I did have a brief sit down strike that I was going no further. However, reason and the fear of regret of not summiting took over and I continued my scramble up, sometimes on my knees.

Once up top, we oohed and awwwwed at the views.

After taking pictures and snacking, we began the descent. I sat and scooted on my behind for most of the descent off of the peak. It made it easier for my short legs and fear of falling to descend that way.

Once we were off the ledges, we spent some time, absorbing the beauty of the forest.

I did have a few falls due to slippery rocks, my feet became one with the mud on a few occasions and I did impale myself on a stick pitching forward in a fall. Other than those minor mishaps, I LOVED this hike.

Overall it was a little over 3 miles, a little over two hours. I am so happy to finally have hiked the Nub and hope it remains off the beaten path.

June 24, 2015 0

Bridal Veil Falls – June 27

Taking a nap to the soothing sounds of the falls

The forecast called for fog and storms this afternoon. I have a fear of lightning, so below tree line was the only option. Our friend Tim, owner of the cottage we stay at, loves this hike. Three years ago when he invited us up he insisted this was a must do hike. Well, isn’t everything in the White Mountains, at some point, a must do hike?

It was just a short drive to Franconia for us and the trail head was easy to find, on Coppermine Road. Plenty of parking, as we witnessed at the end of the hike (more about that later). We started the hike on Coppermine Road, a packed dirt road.

At the .4 mile mark hang a left onto the trail.

It is a pleasant and easy stroll along the trail, walking at times close to the Coppermine Brook.

We never spotted the famous Bette Davis marker, thanking the man (her future husband) who discovered her lost in the woods. Well truthfully, I forgot to look for it because I was so busy focusing on the smells, sounds and beauty of the forest.

Right before we came upon the shelter, a sign notified us we are in a Forest Protection Area.

Forest Protected Area — Forest Protection Area

At 2.3 miles, a bridge appears, crossing over the brook.

From here we passed the shelter, where an outdoor recreational group of teens were staying. There were packing up from their overnight. Right past the shelter are the falls. First you have to do a short rock hop to get to the falls.

Once at the falls, we lucked out and had them all to ourselves, the kids staying at the shelter didn’t arrive after packing up. I quickly took off my shoes and waded in the cold mountain water. Yes, I did let out a little yelp, it was cold, but oh so refreshing. Mike did a little venturing, but the rocks up to the next set of falls were slippery and the path way was blocked by blowdowns, so he descended.

We sat around for about 35 minutes. I caught a quick snooze on the perfect rock.

Time to head back. On our way back we noticed that the group at the shelter had left, however they didn’t finish putting out their fire. Mike took care of that.

The air was so warm and the water so cold, that fog was hovering over the water. This picture isn’t blurry or doesn’t have water on the lens, it is our attempt to capture that fog that just sat over the water.

When we hit the road walk, I said to Mike, a group is coming up. The group was 129 people from a Catholic Kids Summer Camp. I am thinking 129 people at once is to many for any trail. When we got to our car, another bus pulled in carrying at least 30 more kids from a different group. So happy we had the falls to ourselves. I just can’t image all those people up there.

As for the weather, no storms rolled in all day by us, maybe we could have been above tree line, but I’m not a big gambler and glad we played it safe. We had a great hike in beautiful scenery.

The Details: 5 miles out and back, 1100 elevation gain. Total time was 2 hours 38 minutes, that includes our time of hanging at the falls. Great family hike.

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June 27, 2013 4