Damselfly
Active member
Along with bushwhack companions Ray Caron, Lew and Jenny Dow, and Michael LaRoss, we braved the BUGS!! to traverse Dartmouth and Deception.
We set our shuttle by campsite #7 on Cherry Mt. Rd, and set off from the Cog RR base as Jefferson Notch Rd. was still closed. Hiking the Boundary Trail and JNR to the height of land took about 1:20, but it was cool and pleasant - and no one seemed to mind the extra road walk.
We crested the height of land went down the road about the tenth of a mile, to stay on the north side of the ridge. From there we pretty much followed a 3000' contour, rising up onto Dartmouth from the NE. Lew found a moose shed about .2 from the summit, which he place in a tree on the summit. This section, at a leisurely pace, took us 1:45.
After eating our fill of bugs, we followed the NW shoulder down off the summit, staying slightly on its north side. We dropped a bit, and followed a 3100' contour around to the north of bumps and sub-peaks that lay between Dartmouth and Deception. We moved steadily through this 2.75 mile section, approaching a much denser and thick Deception summit from the north. Moving about this summit was a bit trickier. This section, between peaks, took us about 3 hours.
From there it was a pretty straightforward westerly route back to the cars on Cherry Mt. Road. We had to slab diagonally on slopes that wanted to pull us NW... so I kept my GPS out and fed bearings to Lew, who led with a compass in hand. We found a second shed about .4 from the road, which I carried out.
Bugs were bad..... but there were loads of wildflowers... the temps were perfect, and the company grand.
NHHH #93/108 & 94/108 (closing in!)
Beth Zimmer
We set our shuttle by campsite #7 on Cherry Mt. Rd, and set off from the Cog RR base as Jefferson Notch Rd. was still closed. Hiking the Boundary Trail and JNR to the height of land took about 1:20, but it was cool and pleasant - and no one seemed to mind the extra road walk.
We crested the height of land went down the road about the tenth of a mile, to stay on the north side of the ridge. From there we pretty much followed a 3000' contour, rising up onto Dartmouth from the NE. Lew found a moose shed about .2 from the summit, which he place in a tree on the summit. This section, at a leisurely pace, took us 1:45.
After eating our fill of bugs, we followed the NW shoulder down off the summit, staying slightly on its north side. We dropped a bit, and followed a 3100' contour around to the north of bumps and sub-peaks that lay between Dartmouth and Deception. We moved steadily through this 2.75 mile section, approaching a much denser and thick Deception summit from the north. Moving about this summit was a bit trickier. This section, between peaks, took us about 3 hours.
From there it was a pretty straightforward westerly route back to the cars on Cherry Mt. Road. We had to slab diagonally on slopes that wanted to pull us NW... so I kept my GPS out and fed bearings to Lew, who led with a compass in hand. We found a second shed about .4 from the road, which I carried out.
Bugs were bad..... but there were loads of wildflowers... the temps were perfect, and the company grand.
NHHH #93/108 & 94/108 (closing in!)
Beth Zimmer
