grouseking
Well-known member
11/11/05
It was a perfect day for a low elevation hike to a couple back country ponds. Snow was flying and the wind was blowing to a point where there was quite a chill in the air. We originally wanted to check out the Tunnel Brook Ponds.....but I felt like checking out East Pond instead...although I have been there before. Last time I checked them out from the Kanc...which was an awesome trip through beautiful forests. Today was a good day for the tourist loop since there would prob be few if any out there...we saw no one the whole day.
We started up the East Pond trail and made good time, arriving at the pond in about 30 minutes. As the elevation increased, so did the minor blowdowns....more on that later. The pond was as I remembered...beautiful...but the snow was flying moderately so that gave the mood an extra winter charm. Last time it was cold but very gray and kind of boring weatherwise. The water was emerald green...looked inviting to jump in
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We didnt spend too much time there because we wern't sure how the Little East Loop was. From a previous report I heard that there were blowdowns galore. I didn't bring my saw and I didn't bring my mother so we had to fend for ourselves. Seriously we had to fight through blowdowns every 5-10 feet in some areas. It got to the point where if we could crawl under a tree, it was an easy blowdown. Most required some bushwhacking around. On a few occasions we lost the trail because a blowdown completely obscured the path..about 1/2 mile from Little East. Where the going got real tough, we followed a moose's tracks who followed the path of easiest resistance...man i can only imagine how rough it was for him if it was tough for us!
Finally, about 90 min passed....1.7 miles later and we arrived at the pond...which naturally was flooded! We bushwhacked around to find a good view and snapped some pics. Then I found some moose hair on a tree...that guy must have been thru the area recently....just missed it. The hike down and back was a pleasant one minus two things...my usual once a hike fall into the snow/mud.....and the walk through the nearly clear cut area of decidious forest near the bottom...very ugly indeed. But oh well. Great trip!!
East Pond
Part two-Lonesome Lake
Day two of by backcountry pond trips took me to Lonesome Lake to snap winterlike photos of Franconia Ridge, and to introduce my friend Meredith to the wonders of that area. Trip up was unevenful and somewhat slick...some had crampons but we did fine without. That trail really is quite boring but it gets you there pretty fast. We got to the lake and I went wild taking photos especially of Franconia Ridge and I think I got a few good shots that could be blown up. (Maybe I'll sell them ) We stopped at the hut for a bit and talked to the croo member who is a Plymouth State Alum (so am I and Meredith currently goes there). We chatted a bit and then headed out on the around the lake trail, where I got....yes....even more shots of Franconia Ridge, the Cannonballs and an interesting shot of Mt Liberty. We finished the hike around 1:30...4.5 hrs after starting and Meredith only took one fall! It was quite slick. Some may not consider Lonesome Lake..or any bodies of water in NH backcountry ponds, but just look at the view! As long as I don't hear the highway, I'm set.
Lonesome Lake
grouseking
It was a perfect day for a low elevation hike to a couple back country ponds. Snow was flying and the wind was blowing to a point where there was quite a chill in the air. We originally wanted to check out the Tunnel Brook Ponds.....but I felt like checking out East Pond instead...although I have been there before. Last time I checked them out from the Kanc...which was an awesome trip through beautiful forests. Today was a good day for the tourist loop since there would prob be few if any out there...we saw no one the whole day.
We started up the East Pond trail and made good time, arriving at the pond in about 30 minutes. As the elevation increased, so did the minor blowdowns....more on that later. The pond was as I remembered...beautiful...but the snow was flying moderately so that gave the mood an extra winter charm. Last time it was cold but very gray and kind of boring weatherwise. The water was emerald green...looked inviting to jump in
. We didnt spend too much time there because we wern't sure how the Little East Loop was. From a previous report I heard that there were blowdowns galore. I didn't bring my saw and I didn't bring my mother
so we had to fend for ourselves. Seriously we had to fight through blowdowns every 5-10 feet in some areas. It got to the point where if we could crawl under a tree, it was an easy blowdown. Most required some bushwhacking around. On a few occasions we lost the trail because a blowdown completely obscured the path..about 1/2 mile from Little East. Where the going got real tough, we followed a moose's tracks who followed the path of easiest resistance...man i can only imagine how rough it was for him if it was tough for us! Finally, about 90 min passed....1.7 miles later and we arrived at the pond...which naturally was flooded! We bushwhacked around to find a good view and snapped some pics. Then I found some moose hair on a tree...that guy must have been thru the area recently....just missed it. The hike down and back was a pleasant one minus two things...my usual once a hike fall into the snow/mud.....and the walk through the nearly clear cut area of decidious forest near the bottom...very ugly indeed. But oh well. Great trip!!
East Pond
Part two-Lonesome Lake
Day two of by backcountry pond trips took me to Lonesome Lake to snap winterlike photos of Franconia Ridge, and to introduce my friend Meredith to the wonders of that area. Trip up was unevenful and somewhat slick...some had crampons but we did fine without. That trail really is quite boring but it gets you there pretty fast. We got to the lake and I went wild taking photos especially of Franconia Ridge and I think I got a few good shots that could be blown up. (Maybe I'll sell them
) We stopped at the hut for a bit and talked to the croo member who is a Plymouth State Alum (so am I and Meredith currently goes there). We chatted a bit and then headed out on the around the lake trail, where I got....yes....even more shots of Franconia Ridge, the Cannonballs and an interesting shot of Mt Liberty. We finished the hike around 1:30...4.5 hrs after starting and Meredith only took one fall! It was quite slick. Some may not consider Lonesome Lake..or any bodies of water in NH backcountry ponds, but just look at the view! As long as I don't hear the highway, I'm set.Lonesome Lake
grouseking
