Amicus
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Everest...K2...Denali...Faraway.... A handful of the world's summits exude drama and controversy. In the case of Faraway, that mainly relates to which of several possible bumps on a ridge in Moultonborough in the Ossipees, northeast of Mt. Roberts and south of Black Snout, deserves the name. In a spirit of scientific adventure akin to what must have motivated Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, buckyball1 (jim f.) and I decided to explore all of them in one fell swoop. It was also a nice Fall day and jim was looking for a respite from his punishing Maine bushwhacks.
Background. The Bald Peak Colony Club is a posh golf resort on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in Melvin Village, a couple of miles south of the Ossipees. It was founded nearly 100 years ago, and a Plan of Locale said to date from its early years, while it is wildly inaccurate, is the oldest map I've seen to mention "Faraway." Its inaccuracies make it hard to be certain which peak the mapmaker had in mind, but the best guess of many of us is that it is one of the two bumps you'll see in the horseshoe formed by the High Ridge Trail, in Ossipee trail maps, such as the excellent one by Trail Bandit and the various others published by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust. They are over half a mile below the high-point of the Faraway ridge, which is festooned with some sort of electronics tower and some solar panels, reached by a very clear utility trail running north from the High Ridge Trail and shown by Trail Bandit's map. That high-point appears on current topos as x2,782, and is widely (but not universally) considered to be "Faraway" these days.
The USGS Board on Geographic Names carries much authority when it comes to linking names and places, but unfortunately they have not bothered with Faraway. Thus, I attach little significance to the fact that the USGS survey maps slap down the word "Faraway" a little south of those bumps. Neither bump gets an "x" or an elevation and the location of the word may relate to the well-known "Faraway Mtn. Lookout" at the south point of the High Ridge Trail, right where the word appears, rather than to those bumps.
The Old Carriage Road. An earlier version of the LRCT map which shows many details omitted from the current edition shows what looks like an old carriage road, which I thought might be the same one shown in that Bald Peak Colony Club Plan of Locale, peeling off that utility trail near its beginning and heading south over the two horseshoe bumps, ending on the south bump. We determined to check that out, but first enjoyed a wonderful stroll up the Mt. Roberts Trail from the hikers' parking lot at the bottling plant. The ledges gave us a wealth of wonderful Autumn views - foliage past its peak but still colorful.
After taking the utility trail to the Faraway summit, we found what I assume was the starting point of the old road, just a little past the chain and roller near the beginning of the utility trail. It was hardly distinguishable from the surrounding forest, but did wind upwards to the north bump in just a couple of hundred yards. From there, it became more pronounced, with some supporting stonework, as it headed .1 mile south to its terminus at the south end of the south bump plateau. There were no views from the north bump and limited views SW, through leafless branches, of the Lake from the south bump. The USGS map makes the north bump look a little higher, but both of our altimeters gave that honor to the south bump, mine reading 2,725 ft., vs. 2,720 for the north bump. We thought we might find a canister or jar somewhere, but diligent searching of both bumps turned up nothing. Instead of retracing our steps, we dropped down from the end of the old road straight south to a point on the High Ridge Trail just about 20 feet east of the Faraway Mtn. Lookout, with its bench. The woods were open and this was easy 'whacking.
Cold Spring Trail - Shortened. To make a loop for ourselves, we continued east on the High Ridge Trail until we hit the Cold Spring Trail, which takes you to the road that runs from the Castle to the Spring, in a series of huge switchbacks. We cut a bunch of those out and saved a few miles by following an old skidding road that runs straight south from about the fourth switchback. So, we enjoyed a wonderful Fall day in the woods - mellow hiking and the cause of scientific knowledge advanced.
Lesson learned. We Romans have a saying: "Cessante causa cessat effectus," or as you might put it, if the cause disappears, let the effect disappear. If that 1919 golf course promoter meant one of those horseshoe bumps by "Faraway," it could only have been because that old carriage road was then new and really a road. It isn't anymore, so let logic prevail and the summit be "Faraway," as the AMC, Brent Scudder and other sage authorities have agreed.
My pictures are here, but reordered so that the bumps come before the summit of Faraway.
Background. The Bald Peak Colony Club is a posh golf resort on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in Melvin Village, a couple of miles south of the Ossipees. It was founded nearly 100 years ago, and a Plan of Locale said to date from its early years, while it is wildly inaccurate, is the oldest map I've seen to mention "Faraway." Its inaccuracies make it hard to be certain which peak the mapmaker had in mind, but the best guess of many of us is that it is one of the two bumps you'll see in the horseshoe formed by the High Ridge Trail, in Ossipee trail maps, such as the excellent one by Trail Bandit and the various others published by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust. They are over half a mile below the high-point of the Faraway ridge, which is festooned with some sort of electronics tower and some solar panels, reached by a very clear utility trail running north from the High Ridge Trail and shown by Trail Bandit's map. That high-point appears on current topos as x2,782, and is widely (but not universally) considered to be "Faraway" these days.
The USGS Board on Geographic Names carries much authority when it comes to linking names and places, but unfortunately they have not bothered with Faraway. Thus, I attach little significance to the fact that the USGS survey maps slap down the word "Faraway" a little south of those bumps. Neither bump gets an "x" or an elevation and the location of the word may relate to the well-known "Faraway Mtn. Lookout" at the south point of the High Ridge Trail, right where the word appears, rather than to those bumps.
The Old Carriage Road. An earlier version of the LRCT map which shows many details omitted from the current edition shows what looks like an old carriage road, which I thought might be the same one shown in that Bald Peak Colony Club Plan of Locale, peeling off that utility trail near its beginning and heading south over the two horseshoe bumps, ending on the south bump. We determined to check that out, but first enjoyed a wonderful stroll up the Mt. Roberts Trail from the hikers' parking lot at the bottling plant. The ledges gave us a wealth of wonderful Autumn views - foliage past its peak but still colorful.
After taking the utility trail to the Faraway summit, we found what I assume was the starting point of the old road, just a little past the chain and roller near the beginning of the utility trail. It was hardly distinguishable from the surrounding forest, but did wind upwards to the north bump in just a couple of hundred yards. From there, it became more pronounced, with some supporting stonework, as it headed .1 mile south to its terminus at the south end of the south bump plateau. There were no views from the north bump and limited views SW, through leafless branches, of the Lake from the south bump. The USGS map makes the north bump look a little higher, but both of our altimeters gave that honor to the south bump, mine reading 2,725 ft., vs. 2,720 for the north bump. We thought we might find a canister or jar somewhere, but diligent searching of both bumps turned up nothing. Instead of retracing our steps, we dropped down from the end of the old road straight south to a point on the High Ridge Trail just about 20 feet east of the Faraway Mtn. Lookout, with its bench. The woods were open and this was easy 'whacking.
Cold Spring Trail - Shortened. To make a loop for ourselves, we continued east on the High Ridge Trail until we hit the Cold Spring Trail, which takes you to the road that runs from the Castle to the Spring, in a series of huge switchbacks. We cut a bunch of those out and saved a few miles by following an old skidding road that runs straight south from about the fourth switchback. So, we enjoyed a wonderful Fall day in the woods - mellow hiking and the cause of scientific knowledge advanced.
Lesson learned. We Romans have a saying: "Cessante causa cessat effectus," or as you might put it, if the cause disappears, let the effect disappear. If that 1919 golf course promoter meant one of those horseshoe bumps by "Faraway," it could only have been because that old carriage road was then new and really a road. It isn't anymore, so let logic prevail and the summit be "Faraway," as the AMC, Brent Scudder and other sage authorities have agreed.
My pictures are here, but reordered so that the bumps come before the summit of Faraway.
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