1HappyHiker
Well-known member
About a week ago I accompanied Steve & Chris on a bushwhacking adventure in the Kilkenny region to explore a ledge on the Unknown Pond Ridge. From that ledge, Steve spotted some beaver ponds in the valley below us, plus he also spotted a ledge high up on a ridge across the valley. So, another adventure was hatched!
Nothing was finalized about this follow-up visit to the Kilkenny until late in the evening of the day before the trip. And unfortunately, a last minute situation prevented Chris from joining Steve and me this time around.
The highlight of this trek was the visit to a pond known by many as "Bishop's Pond". However, this tiny pond located about 0.3 mile south of Unknown Pond is unnamed on any map that I've come across. This is a pond that Steve has visited on several past occasions, but it was a first for me.
When we arrived at Bishop's Pond, the sun was low in the sky and was just over the shoulder of The Horn. So, getting a decent photo was challenging. The photo below is the best I could manage under these circumstances with my point & shoot camera. (And yes, the white stuff you see around the edges of the pond and on The Horn is a light dusting of snow that fell the evening before our trek.)
Bishop's Pond
On the way to Bishop's Pond, we made side trips to check out the beaver ponds and the ledge that Steve had spotted during last week's Kilkenny adventure.
Our first stop was the beaver ponds. They proved to be quite scenic and well worth the side trip. Shown below is one of these ponds with the Unknown Pond Ridge in the background.
Beaver Pond
There was plenty of evidence of "busy as a beaver" activity around the shoreline.
After visiting the beaver ponds we then headed for the ledge located at about 3,400 ft elevation. This bushwhack involved minimal "whacking" of bushes! Nearly the entire distance from the beaver ponds to the ledge was very easy trekking through a wide open and very handsome birch forest.
We located the ledge with relative ease. However, unlike the ledge we had visited the week before, this particular ledge had no open bare rock. There were trees growing all the way to the edge of the ledge, plus trees from below were tall enough to further obstruct the view. So, we had to really "work at it" to find our views.
We did manage to find a number of views here and there. Perhaps the best view was a sweeping vista eastward toward the Mahoosucs, as shown below.
So, for certain there will be other forays into the Kilkenny, but for the time-being at least, this might be it for awhile.
1HappyHiker
Nothing was finalized about this follow-up visit to the Kilkenny until late in the evening of the day before the trip. And unfortunately, a last minute situation prevented Chris from joining Steve and me this time around.
The highlight of this trek was the visit to a pond known by many as "Bishop's Pond". However, this tiny pond located about 0.3 mile south of Unknown Pond is unnamed on any map that I've come across. This is a pond that Steve has visited on several past occasions, but it was a first for me.
When we arrived at Bishop's Pond, the sun was low in the sky and was just over the shoulder of The Horn. So, getting a decent photo was challenging. The photo below is the best I could manage under these circumstances with my point & shoot camera. (And yes, the white stuff you see around the edges of the pond and on The Horn is a light dusting of snow that fell the evening before our trek.)
Bishop's Pond
On the way to Bishop's Pond, we made side trips to check out the beaver ponds and the ledge that Steve had spotted during last week's Kilkenny adventure.
Our first stop was the beaver ponds. They proved to be quite scenic and well worth the side trip. Shown below is one of these ponds with the Unknown Pond Ridge in the background.
Beaver Pond
There was plenty of evidence of "busy as a beaver" activity around the shoreline.
After visiting the beaver ponds we then headed for the ledge located at about 3,400 ft elevation. This bushwhack involved minimal "whacking" of bushes! Nearly the entire distance from the beaver ponds to the ledge was very easy trekking through a wide open and very handsome birch forest.
We located the ledge with relative ease. However, unlike the ledge we had visited the week before, this particular ledge had no open bare rock. There were trees growing all the way to the edge of the ledge, plus trees from below were tall enough to further obstruct the view. So, we had to really "work at it" to find our views.
We did manage to find a number of views here and there. Perhaps the best view was a sweeping vista eastward toward the Mahoosucs, as shown below.
So, for certain there will be other forays into the Kilkenny, but for the time-being at least, this might be it for awhile.
1HappyHiker
