Abandoned Trails in the Whites

[stopher]

Whackfest it is! The bandana will be there. (That was the trail I was thinking of. I just knew it by a different name. Give me a break, I'm only 54. Even the 1940 guide doesn't consider that part of the FMP trail.

Now, I've got no more bandanas to give away but who can tell me the name of the abandoned WODC trail that led to Potato Rock? And for extra credit, who can tell me why anyone would bother hiking to a modest boulder shaped like a potato?

 

[cooperhill]

"Now, I've got no more bandanas to give away but who can tell me the name of the abandoned WODC trail that led to Potato Rock? "

Arrow Path

 

[stopher]

Yup, Arrow Path. You people are amazing! I doubt I can come up with a piece of trail trivia that would stump the entire VFTT board but I'll give it one more try, and I'll leave the White Mtns (proper) to make it a little more challenging, but still near my home turf:

From what village would you start up a long-abandoned trail to reach a view ledge known as Sheepnose?

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

I walked the Kate Sleeper Trail as part of Tri's-Whiteface-Passaconway traverse about a month ago and thought that it was in excellent shape, well clipped and water bars fairly clean. I thought that the Dicey Mill Trail could use some additional clipping around mid-level. In general, I think the WODC, DOC, and RMC do a much better job with routine trail maintenance than either the AMC or USFS.

 

[stopher]

I thought that the Dicey Mill Trail could use some additional clipping around mid-level.

Yeah, I read your trail conditions report, Dr. D. The next weekend I and Larry, the adopter, were out there. That spot is a problem area since the ice storm of '98, as are many others. A few more years and the new growth will be high enough to discourage all the hardwood sprouting and herbaceous plants. VFTT trail conditions reports are a great resource for maintainers as well as hikers. AMC and USFS should read them.

Sorry, I don't mean to hog this thread. I just find both topics discussed here to be of interest.

 

[David Metsky]

In general, I think the WODC, DOC, and RMC do a much better job with routine trail maintenance than either the AMC or USFS. [/B]

In general, I think this is true. But I also wouldn't want to maintain the vast milage of extremely heavily used trails that the AMC and WMNF crews are in charge of, either. It's simply another order of magnitude.

-dave-

 

[evilhanz]

I have posted at a list of the 500 trails shown on the 1941 WMNF map. Hopefully someone with good OCR will convert this to text.

No Problem. plain-text, tab-delimited.

White Mountain Trails in 1941

 

[bill bowden]

Scaur Peak

A few weeks ago, we hiked up Pine Bend Brook Trail and followed a wide but unblazed/unsignposted trail over to Scaur Peak, lovely woods, fairly good views and a couple of seriously picturesque grey birches. There had to be a fair amount of traffic to keep this path open. Can any of the resident sages tell me whether this is the remnants of a once-maintained trail, (people) herd path or (moose) herdpath. there was plenty of evidence of moose along the way: scat, hair, cropped hobblebush and trampled bedding areas.

BTW, what kind of shape is the once-trail to Bemis in? I followed it after the 1998 ice storm and it had deteriorated quite a bit from cica 1996.

Bill

 

[bill bowden]

Hiking Fire Warden trail on Mount Hale

I'm going to try to hike the Fire Warden Trail on Sunday; have never hiked it before and could use suggestions on how to pick it up. The old map I have suggests it leaves the North Twin Trail shortly after the first Little River crossing.
If concerned about publicity for this abandoned route, please send private message or e-mail.
As is probably well familiar to readers of this thread, the Garfield Pond Cutoff between the Garfield Ridge Trail and the Garfield Trail is still in pretty god shape in spite of being abandoned around 1970.

Sooner or later I'll follow the Little River Trail into Guyot. A friend clalmed I led this trip many years ago but I swear I didn't. Was it you Dennis?

Bill the bushwhacker

 

[RoySwkr]

Hmm, I was thinking of doing it Monday...

The old map I have suggests it leaves the North Twin Trail shortly after the first Little River crossing.

At present many people seem to follow a herd path that stays on the same side and soon crosses a brook. This herd path continues to bypass the double crossing on the North Twin Trail so you have to watch for a L turn up.

Sooner or later I'll follow the Little River Trail into Guyot. A friend clalmed I led this trip many years ago but I swear I didn't. Was it you Dennis?

I have been on 2 winter AMC trips from Little River to Zealand-Guyot col, led by Dick Stevens and Gene Daniell. I don't think either you or Dennis was on either of them

Note that there is a difference between restoring abandoned trails and building new bootleg ones. I just talked to an AMC/Greenway/Trailwrights/SubSig type in the grocery store who said the Forest Service was trying to crack down on a 70-year old woman in Crawford Notch who built trails to Mt Hope and Duck Pond Mtn. They painted out blazes and threatened her with prosecution but she just laughed, apparently when her little finger hurt too much from arthritis she cut it off with an ax.

 

[bill bowden]

Roy, thanks for the hint

I know I sure wasn't on the trip (although I'd like to hike with you sometime), It would be a good question as to whether Gene or I should be more offended at being confused. Gene should probably be more upset.

I you are out there Gene, are you still hiking?

 

[Waumbek]

Bill, I wrote this 16 July 03 for another board (AMC). Maybe it will help. If not, search over there for the rest of the thread and maybe you'll turn something up. If you can't find the thread let me know and I'll look again for the material you're searching for:

In addition to the USFS firetower that was on Hale from 1928-1972, there used to be four trails approaching Hale, one from each major compass point: Hale Brook from the east; Lend-A-Hand from the south; Tuttle Brook from the north; and the tractor road, the Mt. Hale Tr. (aka Firewarden's Tr.) from the west. The last ran from the Little River Tr. to the Tuttle Brook Tr just north of the Hale summit. The Mt. Hale Tr./Firewarden's Tr. joined Tuttle Brook Tr. there and led south to the current summit. The first two are still officially maintained and appear on AMC maps, the second two are no longer officially maintained and do not appear on maps. With the demise of the firetower, I guess they decided to drop them even though people still apparently use the old firewarden's trail to ski the loop Mohamed describes above. The Tuttle Brook Tr. ran 4.3 miles, from the Hale summit over N. Hale almost all the way up to Rt 3 in Twin Mountain. Technically, this is the path you probably saw although it is also called "firewarden's trail" because the two overlapped for a short distance.

 

[RoySwkr]

I have posted a list of the 500 trails shown on the 1941 WMNF map. Hopefully someone with good OCR will convert this to text.

No Problem. plain-text, tab-delimited.

White Mountain Trails in 1941

The attachment below is the file from eh in alphabetical order with a few OCR errors fixed (maybe a dozen out of 500 trails, maybe one letter in a proper name, impressive!). I have retained the spelling from the original map.

Only 10 trails or parts thereof were closed to the public due to fire hazard from the 1938 hurricane. (That doesn't mean no blowdowns, just not extreme hazard.)
432 Clifford Brook (near Carr Mtn)
462 Gould Hill (SW corner near Swain)
370 Franconia Ridge (only S end over Osseo)
385 Thoreau Falls
381 Cedar Brook
277 Hancock Notch
355 Tecumseh E
371 Loon Pd
276 Nancy Brk
275 Mt Bemis
419 Birch Hill
8 Dartmouth (only near Israel River GS)