1HappyHiker
Well-known member
Hiking solo today, I opted to pick up where Zman & I left off last weekend before we got sidetracked by attempting to summit Mt. Lowell (see Report).
Before getting sidetracked, our original goal was to investigate unique viewing possibilities within the Carrigain Notch by doing some short whacks to some low altitude spots on the side of Mt. Lowell. Today, I wacked to two such spots, and for very little effort, I got some HUGE rewards.
The first whack of the day was to a spot less than a tenth of a mile off the Carrigain Notch Trail. From here, there are good views to the south with Mt. Passaconaway looming over the backside of Green’s Cliff.
And, there are views to the NW toward the Bonds with the Franconia Range in the background.
Plus, you’ve got Vose Spur right in your face.
The second whack of the day was just a little over 0.2 mile off-trail. It was a very steep climb, but it was soooo worth it, and it was by far the star attraction!! It’s a “keeper”, meaning I’ll be going back there again from time to time!!
The view looking through the Zealand Notch from this vantage point is particularly nice, not to mention unique!
But the Zealand Notch view is just a small part of the ENORMOUS vista from here. The view stretches from the Franconia Range to the Willey Range. (The photo below doesn’t capture the Willey Range portion of the view, but the photo just below it does focus on the Willey Range)
Below is a shot focusing just on the Willey Range.
And, although the quality of the photo below is not particularly good, it shows another unique view from this location, i.e. the juxtaposition of Vose Spur and Carrigain.
Bottom Line to All This: I’m certain that others have already discovered these fine views just a short distance off the Carrigain Notch Trail. But regardless, they were all new to me, and well worth the small amount of effort to whack to them.
Using the Signal Ridge trailhead as the starting & ending point, the round-trip trek took just under 5.5 hours.
1HappyHiker
18-Sep-2008
Before getting sidetracked, our original goal was to investigate unique viewing possibilities within the Carrigain Notch by doing some short whacks to some low altitude spots on the side of Mt. Lowell. Today, I wacked to two such spots, and for very little effort, I got some HUGE rewards.
The first whack of the day was to a spot less than a tenth of a mile off the Carrigain Notch Trail. From here, there are good views to the south with Mt. Passaconaway looming over the backside of Green’s Cliff.
And, there are views to the NW toward the Bonds with the Franconia Range in the background.
Plus, you’ve got Vose Spur right in your face.
The second whack of the day was just a little over 0.2 mile off-trail. It was a very steep climb, but it was soooo worth it, and it was by far the star attraction!! It’s a “keeper”, meaning I’ll be going back there again from time to time!!
The view looking through the Zealand Notch from this vantage point is particularly nice, not to mention unique!
But the Zealand Notch view is just a small part of the ENORMOUS vista from here. The view stretches from the Franconia Range to the Willey Range. (The photo below doesn’t capture the Willey Range portion of the view, but the photo just below it does focus on the Willey Range)
Below is a shot focusing just on the Willey Range.
And, although the quality of the photo below is not particularly good, it shows another unique view from this location, i.e. the juxtaposition of Vose Spur and Carrigain.
Bottom Line to All This: I’m certain that others have already discovered these fine views just a short distance off the Carrigain Notch Trail. But regardless, they were all new to me, and well worth the small amount of effort to whack to them.
Using the Signal Ridge trailhead as the starting & ending point, the round-trip trek took just under 5.5 hours.
1HappyHiker
18-Sep-2008
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