Today's trip was a "forest with a trail through it" kind of day. The skies were deep blue with nary a cloud, the foliage though a bit past peak was vibrant and the leaves went crunch, crunch under foot. The Wachipauka Pond Trail is part of the AT and we did an out-and-back from Route 25C, stopping for a picnic at the shore of the pond. There are numerous tent sites in this area, and no doubt a nice stop for the thru hikers.
The first section of the trail goes up and around the shoulder of Wyatt Hill. Like most of this hike, the trail passes through a beautiful, open, hardwood forest. There are many massive trees here, including red oaks, poplars and yellow birches. Most of the elevation gain en route to the pond comes here. Once over the height of land, it descends a bit and approaches the northwest corner of Wachipauka Pond. At this point you can follow the AT past Webster Slide or take a well-beaten (and obviously maintained) path along the pond itself. We chose this route. Following the pond for about 1/4 mile brings you to a picnic area / campsite, complete with a table, a fire ring (including a grate), and numerous sites to pitch a tent. The site includes an enormous pine, which is very visible from Webster Slide above.
After a leisurely lunch (and lots of swimming for the dogs) we headed for the Webster Slide Trail. To the left, the AT continues over Mount Mist (shown below above the pond) and to the right the Webster Slide Trail ascends Webster. This section gains as much elevation as the trip to the pond but in less than half the distance. There are stone walls in here and the land has flat sections with few trees. I was told the land was farmed at one point and to look for cellar holes south of the trail.
The trail continues around the northwest side of Webster, over the summit to several lookouts above the slide. I wandered down a little bit and indeed the drop off is pretty impressive. Descending 50-75' however removed the few minor obstacles to a view. To the northeast is Mount Moosilauke and to the south east is Carr Mountain, over the pond. On the point in the lower center is the enormous pine where the picnic/camping area is.
There were lots of blueberry bushes here, many still with berries on them, although they were well past their prime.
We returned the way we came, stopping for an apple break at the picnic area, and a swim for the dogs. Sibling rivalry exists in the canine family too, I guess as they were both too stubborn to let the other one bring back the stick. Eventually, however, the got on the same page and swam together each with one end of the stick in their mouths.
We did not see any moose but we saw 4 does along 112 on the way up to Kinsman Notch (and I saw a rather large, 12? point buck in my backyard last night when the motion detector set off the light.) They are out and about so be extra careful while driving.
Tim
The first section of the trail goes up and around the shoulder of Wyatt Hill. Like most of this hike, the trail passes through a beautiful, open, hardwood forest. There are many massive trees here, including red oaks, poplars and yellow birches. Most of the elevation gain en route to the pond comes here. Once over the height of land, it descends a bit and approaches the northwest corner of Wachipauka Pond. At this point you can follow the AT past Webster Slide or take a well-beaten (and obviously maintained) path along the pond itself. We chose this route. Following the pond for about 1/4 mile brings you to a picnic area / campsite, complete with a table, a fire ring (including a grate), and numerous sites to pitch a tent. The site includes an enormous pine, which is very visible from Webster Slide above.
After a leisurely lunch (and lots of swimming for the dogs) we headed for the Webster Slide Trail. To the left, the AT continues over Mount Mist (shown below above the pond) and to the right the Webster Slide Trail ascends Webster. This section gains as much elevation as the trip to the pond but in less than half the distance. There are stone walls in here and the land has flat sections with few trees. I was told the land was farmed at one point and to look for cellar holes south of the trail.
The trail continues around the northwest side of Webster, over the summit to several lookouts above the slide. I wandered down a little bit and indeed the drop off is pretty impressive. Descending 50-75' however removed the few minor obstacles to a view. To the northeast is Mount Moosilauke and to the south east is Carr Mountain, over the pond. On the point in the lower center is the enormous pine where the picnic/camping area is.
There were lots of blueberry bushes here, many still with berries on them, although they were well past their prime.
We returned the way we came, stopping for an apple break at the picnic area, and a swim for the dogs. Sibling rivalry exists in the canine family too, I guess as they were both too stubborn to let the other one bring back the stick. Eventually, however, the got on the same page and swam together each with one end of the stick in their mouths.
We did not see any moose but we saw 4 does along 112 on the way up to Kinsman Notch (and I saw a rather large, 12? point buck in my backyard last night when the motion detector set off the light.) They are out and about so be extra careful while driving.
Tim
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