On the final day of my vacation we took a late-morning walk along the Ammonoosuc River, upstream from the Mount Washington Hotel. This is a beautiful mountain stream formed upslope in the Ammonoosuc Ravine on the slopes of Mount Washington. Along this section, it passes through several narrow cracks in the granite, forming cascades, waterfalls, and deep pools of cold, clear water. Beautiful, yes … but also a great playground on a hot summer’s day. Check out the gallery.
People swimming at the Upper Falls of the Ammonoosuc River, White Mountains.
Hike stats: Distance: 6.27km Time: 2h19 with many stops Gain: 54m
Today broke clear and cool. I wanted to get out for one more hike, before we had to head home. From the Mount Washington Hotel I have found many lovely, short hikes, doable before breakfast. I selected the most convenient, the short jaunt up Mount Willard. It’s one I’ve visited many times. It includes a nice waterfall and a grand view south along Crawford Notch.
View of the Presidential Range from near the summit of Mt. Pierce, White Mountains.
Back in New Hampshire, I spent the weekend at the Mount Washington Hotel in the White Mountains – with perfect weather and a grand view of the Presidential Range. Pam joined me for the two-night stay. On Saturday morning the day broke cool and clear so I headed a few miles down the road to Crawford Notch and headed up the Crawford Path. This path is the oldest continuously used mountain trail in the United States, dating to 1819. There were few people on the trail this early in the morning (7am), but that would soon change. Read on, and check out the photo gallery.
Two loop hikes separated by a popover and ice cream!
Thursday I had a full day with no real itinerary, so I decided to head to Jordan Pond and climb some of the peaks beside this lovely, deep, clear lake. Arriving at 8am was the trick – although filling fast, the parking lot still had a few spots. I strapped on my trusty pack and headed out for the first of two long loop hikes – with a sweet lunch stop in between. Read on.
My goal for Wednesday afternoon was to climb another one of Acadia’s ‘major’ peaks, Champlain Mountain, and finish in time to roll around the island to Thunder Hole before high tide. So, after a quick lunch in Bar Harbor – lobster & Brie cheese panini (gosh, they put lobster in everything here) I drove out in hopes of a parking spot. Amazingly, this trailhead seems little visited, and I was soon striding along the rocky ridgeline toward this eastern-most peak. It was a relatively easy hike – unlike some of the brutally steep trails I’d encounter elsewhere in the park – and the views were broad and luscious.
It was raining gently when I woke on Wednesday morning in Bar Harbor, so I took my laptop to a cozy café for a couple of hours of catching up with my photo editing. Two cups of chai later I was heading back out with my camera, thinking today would be a good time to trek over to Bar Island – which is only accessible at low tide, by walking across the wide sandbar that connects it to the shore in the town of Bar Harbor. (This sandbar gives Bar Harbor, and the town, its name.) Somehow I thought I was being clever in picking this walk on this gloomy day, but several hundred other people had the same idea.
For Tuesday’s hike I aimed at the main attraction – Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak in Acadia National Park (and the highest peak on the east coast!) [NPS] [Wikipedia]. Even though we were now clear of the July 4th holiday weekend, the park was still extremely crowded – every trailhead and parking area was packed to overflowing. I drove the park’s one-way Loop Road past several full parking areas, and looped back around to make another pass. Ahah! I lucked into one freshly opened spot in a parking area designed for four cars – as a bonus, my spot was in the shade. Read on for the full story and check out the photo gallery.
I pulled onto Mount Desert Island for the first time in nearly 30 years, eager to return to Acadia National Park. When we visited before, the weather was cold, cloudy, and drizzly. This week looks to be sunny and warm nearly every day, and I plan to make the most of it – hiking, exploring, and learning to use my new Canon R5 camera. For my first outing, I headed toward the western half of the island – as the NPS guide rightly advised me, the popular eastern side would be extremely crowded on this sunny national holiday.
I spent the weekend at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, for a DOC event. As part of the program, several groups hiked various routes up the mountain, converging on the summit. It was a glorious warm day!
I had the opportunity to spend this weekend at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, for a celebration of the 100th anniversary of a subset of the Dartmouth Outing Club known as Cabin & Trail. Although the celebratory aspect of the weekend was muted – by virtue of being postponed two years due to the pandemic – the real purpose of the gathering was in full swing. A couple dozen hardy alums gathered on Saturday morning for a day of trailwork, sweeping the trails of Mount Moosilauke to remove the winter’s debris of blown-down trees and sediment-filled waterbars (stones and logs used for diverting water from the trails). Although Friday night’s weather involved heavy rain, Saturday morning woke clear with only light clouds.
Saturday morning view from Moosilauke Ravine Lodge.
My group was assigned to hike up the Ridge Trail to the junction with the Beaver Brook Trail, where an illegal campsite had emerged over recent years – we needed to erase that campsite by filling it with debris that would discourage anyone from camping. Here’s the happy crew, after cluttering the campsite behind us.
The crew who erased a campsite at intersection of Beaver Brook and Ridge Trail: Lelia, Kevin, Jeff, Bernie; photo by David Kotz.
We then returned via the same route, chopping trees that had fallen across the trail, sawing off branches that overhung the trail, and shoveling out sediment-filled waterbars.
Jeff Greilsheimer ’94 chops blowdowns on Ridge Trail – with Mount Blue at rear.
We finished the day, dirty and tired, but satisfied by a good day’s work.
The Ridge trail crew: Bernie, Jeff, Kevin, David, Lelia.
Sunday broke even clearer, and sunnier, but sadly I had to depart. I’ll be back soon!
See the photo gallery – including some photos from one of the weekend’s organizers.
David Kotz 