It was a busy (and rainy!) weekend so I was looking for a short outing; some place nearby, perhaps with a waterfall and some colorful fall foliage – a great combination to photograph on a cloudy day. So I checked my friend Eli Burakian’s book Hiking New England Waterfalls for some ideas. Ahah! True’s Brook, just south of West Lebanon; amazingly, after 36 years living in the Upper Valley, I’d never visited True’s Ledges along True’s Brook. It was roaring with runoff from the weekend’s heavy rains, and not in great shape for photographs, so I snapped a few with my iPhone and decided to wander on up the road and over into Meriden. Come see what I found!
Hiking through the clouds at the peak of fall foliage.
Fall has finally arrived, with cooler weather and the hint of color in the leaves of hardwood trees around our home. Because we live at the bottom of the river valley, the advent of fall color at home means that the foliage is reaching its peak beauty at higher elevations, and further north. So, I was itching to get out, and selected a moderate hike in the White Mountains: up Mount Starr King and then across the Kilkenny ridge to Mount Waumbek. Beautiful! read on.
The Upper Valley Land Trust recently conserved a large area of forest on the slopes of Stonehouse Mountain in nearby Orford, NH. It’s not a well-known peak – indeed, its tree-covered summit doesn’t quite poke above 2,000′ and offers no views. But when I learned they had laid out a new hiking trail to its top, and realized it was a short drive from my home, I had the urge to investigate. The advent of fall leaf-season was the clincher. Read on.
Last weekend I was lucky to snag the last parking spot at the trailhead for the Osceola peaks, even at 7:30am on a Sunday morning. Today I could not find any parking near my desired trail, in the heart of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I found a parking lot –distant but empty – for a roadside waterfall, and studied the map. I could walk back up the road (emphasis on UP!) or I could bushwhack alongside the waterfall and its brook and join the trail further up slope. It was super steep… but the route would avoid a roadwalk and save time, right? I decided to go for it; wow, was I in for a treat! Sometimes a little bad luck turns into an outstanding opportunity. Read on!
I pulled into the parking lot at 7:30am on a Sunday morning… and it was full. Well, nearly full; I snagged the very last spot available. Other hikers milled about, readying their backpacks for the hike to Mount Osceola. Yes, it is a beautiful sunny weekend in September, prime time for hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. But, gosh, I thought I was an early riser. I thought I’d beat the crowds. I’m glad I came when I did… and it was worth it! read on.
David on the summit of Mount Osceola, with the ridge to East Osceola in the foreground. Mount Washington is in the far distance, just to the right of “OR” on my cap.Continue reading “Mount Osceola”
I found a new location for my wildlife camera that is creating a feast of images: the backyard apple tree. The apples are ripe, falling from the tree, and feeding the entire neighborhood! Check out this two-minute video review of the local deer, fox, woodchuck, turkey, possum, and porcupine.
The woodchuck stands to watch and listen – keeping one eye on my camera.
We are fortunate to live along the Connecticut River in a rural part of New Hampshire – in the town of Lyme, just a few miles north of Dartmouth College and the Town of Hanover. Surrounded by farmland and forest, and situated in that interstitial space between the forest and the river, we are regularly treated to wildlife sightings. Over the years I have seen and heard moose, deer, bear, fox, coyote, porcupine, skunk, raccoon, groundhog (woodchuck), beaver, mink, fisher (maybe), … not to mention birdlife like turkey, bald eagle, hawk, osprey, egret, heron, goose, duck, loon, and countless other songbirds and waterfowl. And yet, I am certain there is far more happening in our yard and around our house than I happen to see, especially at night. Sebastian, our cat, has surely seen it all… but he’s not talking. So I was pleased to get a pair of wildlife cameras for my birthday. I set up one by the river and one at the edge of a woodpile; here’s what I’ve seen so far.
The neighbor’s dog, “Timber”, caught on the wildlife camera.
A groundhog visits our yard, caught on the wildlife camera.
The gallery includes four captures, in still and video:
A quick hike to the shortest of the NH 4000-footers.
I wanted to go hiking this weekend, ideally somewhere new — but had little time. So I picked Mount Tecumseh, the shortest of the 48 NH peaks over 4,000 feet in elevation, because it is relatively close to home and only 2.5 miles from trailhead to summit. I had not been there since 1995, so it felt like a new hike! As always, it’s a good day to be out… read on.
A remarkably challenging loop over two of the smallest NH 4000-footers.
I could not remember the last (only) time I hiked Mount Whiteface and Mount Passaconaway, two non-descript peaks in the eastern section of the White Mountain National Forest here in New Hampshire. My records show that I climbed in 1996, when I was wrapping up my effort to climb all 48 of the NH peaks over 4,000 feet in elevation. Today, when I drove along the dirt road and approached the trailhead, a strong memory flashed into my head… a memory of the meadow beside the parking area, of remote farmhouses nestled between the road and the burbling brook known as the Wonalancet River, of plodding down that dirt road after a long hike with friends. Today, 27 years later, I was back because it seemed like a nice opportunity to revisit some trails and peaks I’d seen before but since forgotten. Read on!
An abbreviated but beautiful overnight hiking trip.
We had planned this outing for months, and I was jealously guarding these dates on my calendar. Alex and Jeff and I were determined to make a four-day, three-night backpacking trip in the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF), here in New Hampshire. The weather had other plans, with heavy rain and strong thunderstorms in the forecast. We squeezed our trip into two days, and it all turned out well; read on!
David Kotz 