Coppermine Trail after big rain

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Mohamed Ellozy

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It rained quite heavily during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, so on Wednesday (yesterday) I decided to hike Coppermine Trail, enjoying the raging waters in the brook on my way to the Bridal Veil Falls. Looking at the Pemi from the bridge near the Woodstock fire station I saw that I would not be disappointed!

The hike starts with a road walk, followed by a wide trail. After about a mile I heard the brook, and bushwhacked a short distance to get a look at it. Rather pointless, of course, since the brook is visible from the trail from shortly beyond that point to the falls, but I was in a hurry to see it:

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I tried, not too successfully, to get some pictures that gave a better feel for the raging water, and uploaded a few to my album Coppermine Trail, Nov 30 2011. This is perhaps the best of the sorry lot :(

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Sitting at the shelter I felt in a playful mood, and photographed water flowing over a rock at four different shutter speeds. This at 1/10th of a second to get the silky effect:

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and this at 1/200 second to get the action effect:

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Then on to the falls for the final shot:

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Notes on the trail conditions: The trail was very wet, with very few drainages, so lots of water flowing down it. I probably spent more time clearing the few drainages (note: a hoe would have been more efficient than hiking poles!!) than taking photos. Also there are two short stretches where Hurricaine Irene (not really, see roadtripper's post below) has washed the trail out, here is one of them (bright sunlight did not help with the photo :():

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Also, all the way up to the falls (elevation 2,100 feet) I did not see a single snowflake. I wonder how much snow remains higher up.
 
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I have found that hiking poles (with large baskets not the trekking nubs) are... not completely useless for clearing drainages. Certainly better than hands! I actually find them convenient to have around in case there are some tight spots where a proper tool doesn't fit. :D
 
The Coppermine Trail is an quite enjoyable hike to the falls. Several years ago we began the hike just as the snow was beginning to dust the trail. By the time we reached the falls everything was coated in several inches of glistening snow. You did a fine job on the photos!

Donna:)
 
Great falls shots! I'll definitely have to check out this trail sometime. How did the trail get its name? Does it lead to an old copper mine...as you would presume?

Thanks,
Karl
 
Hi Karl, this hike is on our list, nice job! Did you happen to find the mystery rock with the plaque put there supposedly by Betty Davis?
 
Notes on the trail conditions: The trail was very wet, with very few drainages, so lots of water flowing down it. I probably spent more time clearing the few drainages (note: a hoe would have been more efficient than hiking poles!!) than taking photos. Also there are two short stretches where Hurricaine Irene has washed the trail out

Thanks for the info on the trail conditions. This is actually my adopted trail. The two washed out sections were actually washed out well before Hurricane Irene. They've been like that for at least a year. The good news is that they dry out incredibly fast. I bet if you went up today or tomorrow they would be dry again.

The last time I did maintenance was about four weeks ago and I cleaned all the drainages along the way. I will take a fresh look in the spring and see if it is feasible to add a few new drainages.
 
Great report and photos!

How did the trail get its name? Does it lead to an old copper mine...as you would presume?l

Karl, according to Robert and Mary Julyan's book "Place Names of the White Mountains", the Coppermine Brook "received its name from the copper mine on its banks. Copper ore was mined here for many years in the 1800s and smelted in the iron foundry in Franconia."
 
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