Bumfagging Hill, North Face Route

[Trail Bandit]

The name of this hill was enough forme to investigate more. Bumfagging Hill, at 601 feet, is the highest named summit in Barrington. A search on Google provided litle information but did lead to a thread on this site from a couple of years ago.
http://vftt.org/forums/showpost.php?p=244042&postcount=53
Mary and I went today to find out the true scoop. First we just followed the ridge up from Rt.202 but soon ran into a nice woods road and followed it all the way to the summit where there is a fallen cairn with a hat. There are no views but there is a side loop off the main trail that goes by burned down house foundation that had nice views, years ago. On the way down, we followed a different and even nicer woods road back down to Rt. 202 & 9.
This latter route is a nice woods road all the way. Starting on the south side of Rt 202, across the road from Canaan Back Road, there is a set of green buildings. Photo 1. Also there is the start of the woods road marked Pillsbury Dr. as on photo 2. Photo 3 gives an idea of the difficulty of the trail. Photo 5 is the burned house, and photo 7 is the summit cairn. Ok, NO VIEWS FROM THE TOP but it is a nice walk. I will leave it to others to find out how the hill got it's name.
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[Amicus]

Bumfagging Hill, at 601 feet, is the highest named summit in Barrington.

That's just what the Wikipedia entry for Barrington asserts. Moreover, another website gives the elevation of Nippo Hill as 580 feet. Nonetheless, my topo map shows Nippo Hill topping 660 feet [not], which would make it Barrington's King Summit [but it isn't]. Am I going blind? [Maybe blind, maybe just stupid.]

I will leave it to others to find out how the hill got it's name.

I suspect it derives from "bumfeg,", which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as an (obsolete) humorous synonym for "to flog, thrash." Maybe the colonists flogged their laundry up there, or thrashed miscreants.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

... I will leave it to others to find out how the hill got it's name.

Perhaps the person who named the hill went on to help write screen plays like "Johnny Dangerously" and created characters like Roman Moroni who often referred to his opponents as "You fargin sneaky bastages".

Then again, maybe not.

 

[Trail Bandit]

Hi Amicus,
When I first read your response and looked at the Nippo Lake area, I WAS WORRIED! On a first look it seemed that your assessment was correct but on closer inspection, it seems that the contour lines on the USGS map of that area are at 10 ft intervals. The summit of Nippo hill appears to be less than 600 ft, actually, 541 feet.
http://www.mountainzone.com/mountains/detail.asp?fid=7485756

 

[DougPaul]

Moreover, another website gives the elevation of Nippo Hill as 580 feet. Nonetheless, my topo map shows Nippo Hill topping 660 feet, which would make it Barrington's King Summit. Am I going blind?

I get:
* 573 ft off my 24K NG topo DEM.
* 580+ ft off my 24K NG topo contours
* 564 ft off my Garmin Topo US 2008 DEM (100K scale)
* 541 ft from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=139:2:2975475581477456::NO:RP::

Take yer choice...

Doug

 

[Amicus]

Trail Bandit and Doug Paul:

Right you are. Nippo Hill is just another Barrington also-ran. Long live King Bumfagging Hill!

No one yet has a better guess on its etymology, at least.

 

[SteveHiker]

No one yet has a better guess on its etymology, at least.

Oh I'm sure that people do. They just aren't printable.

 

[Sasquatch]

You should have hit up stonehouse pond and it's little crag while you were there! I have been avoiding this local hill because of the name but now that it's clarified I will have to check it out...

 

[bryan]

cool. will have to add this one to my local list of places to check out. any land ownership issues with hiking in this area that you know of?
thanks for the report.

bryan

 

[skiguy]

Oh I'm sure that people do. They just aren't printable.

Absolutley "Proctological" my dear Watson!

 

[Trail Bandit]

Hi Bryan,
there were no "Posted" or "Keep Out" signs to be seen anywhere. The woods roads are obviously part of some snowmobile network, with signs, and maintenance work being done. I would not park in the yard of the green buildings, just to not cause trouble. Hopefully this will not be posted on some hiking site as THE PLACE TO GO, with maps, pictures, etc. Maybe I already did that but I hope not to repeat the Larcom Trail scene. There are plenty of places to park along Rt. 202 or on Canaan Back Road and just walk to the trail head. The trailhead is marked with a town sign "Pillsbury Rd" with PVT at the top. This usually means that the road is not town maintained and not KEEP OUT. It is a nice walk and the roads continue through the woods in several directions. NO, I am not going to make a map!

 

[SteveHiker]

If you're really into these 600 footers with interesting names, there's one in Alstead near the intersection of Rt 123 and 123A that you should check out sometime. (I have no idea of the public vs private status of it though).

 

[Trail Bandit]

I am a little dismayed at how the general feeling about "private land" in this state is changing. Aside from White Mountain National Forest and the state and local parks, all the property is private. The NH Fish and Game has a little to say about the topic and it is worth reading. I have copied it belw. Hopefully, most private land will be open to the public but things are changing.

Common law in New Hampshire gives the public the right of access to land that's not posted. You won't find that in state law books, because it is common law, going back to the philosophy of New England's early colonists and supported over the centuries by case law. Our forefathers knew the importance of balancing the need for landowners' rights with that of the public good. On one hand, the landowner can make decisions about his or her land. On the other hand, the public should have limited rights to use and enjoy that land. The colonists held similar democratic notions about rivers, lakes, fish and wildlife.

Today, it's easy to take this notion for granted. In New Hampshire and elsewhere in New England, we enjoy a long, proud tradition of public use of private land.

This tradition also comes with a risk. A landowner who finds trash, disrespect or other problems can easily decide to post his or her land.

Residents of some Western states find this notion of private land/public use very strange. Hunters in some states pay hundreds of dollars in annual fees to landowners to hunt their lands. It's just another cost of hunting.

Other states have what's called reverse posting. Access is limited to land that's specifically posted for that use. If it's not posted, you can't go on it.

 

[FARMER]

Hey Sasquatch! I was looking at the map and I think you could hit Bumfagging hill right out your front door via the atv trails etc. Would this be considered "backdoor action" ?

 

[giggy]

best name for a peak ever!

 

[una_dogger]

Nice to "see" you back, Trail Bandit.

 

[leaf]

can a 601 foot hill have a north face?

 

[RoySwkr]

can a 601 foot hill have a north face?

The steepest peak I've been on lately was the S face of Rowell Hill in Hill, dusting of snow on oak leaves and ground frozen so feet wouldn't dig in. Trees too far apart, I actually wished I had a rope to go down it.

That is private land too (unposted).

 

[Sasquatch]

I appreciate the info about using private land. I always feel like i'm trespassing when a trail leads me through someones backyard.

 

[Trail Bandit]

Hi Sasquach,
The whole idea of the public/private deal is that you should not bother the owners. Several of the woods roads leading to Bumfagging Hill, lead to someone's back yard. i either turn around or detour through the woods.
IT IS THEIR SPACE and we have to respect that no matter what the rule book says. The lines drawn can be confusing.
Happy trails