SpencerVT
Member
I finished the NH 200 Highest on Scott Bog Peak Saturday.
West Prospect and Perry Ponds Peak:
First we took the Day Rd out of Pittsburg to Perry Stream Rd for like 6000 miles north. We parked at the end of the road along the Perry Stream, which is about 0.9 miles below the 4th Connecticut Lake. Except for some really bumpy culverts, the road was in pretty great shape.
We followed a herd trail along the Perry Stream up toward the 4th Connecticut Lake for about 0.6. Make sure and wear XL fly fishing waders because the herd trail was wetter than a tsunami on a rainy day. Then we turned and b-lined it for the border swath and took the swath to the summit of West Prospect. The tree that the canister is on is blown over making it tough to find, but we did.
Headed back down to Perry Stream and then cut along a contour up the ridge toward Perry Ponds Peak. One thick conifer band, but otherwise nice woods and an easy canister to find. Then descended directly off the summit back to the end of the Perry Stream Rd where the truck was parked.
On https://www.nhmountainhiking.com/perry.html it makes it sound like you can cut over from Route 3 to the Perry Stream Rd somewhere near Deer Mountain. There is a snowmobile trail which cuts over, but you definitely cannot drive on it. We tried one road to cut over to Route 3 to save time getting to Scott Bog mountain. On the road there was a downed spruce tree. My wife Renee jumped out of the truck to pull it back so I could squeeze the truck past it. She pulled it back as hard as she could. Right as my truck was driving through the top of the tree snapped like a chicken bone, projecting the top 2 feet of the tree as a whaling harpoon into my wheel well above my front tire, and catapulting Renee over the border into Quebec. It was lodged in there like a bullet in wet cement. Next thing I notice smoke is pluming out from the front of my truck. The dry pine needles coupled with the heat in the wheel well started to set the branch ablaze. Smoke starts billowing out, and all I can think of is that we're going to be stranded out here in the arctic circle of New Hampshire, light years from anywhere.
I thought to myself: "Well at least we'll have my truck-bonfire to keep us warm tonight while we're stranded out here."
I immediately jumped out and saw the branch lodged in my truck smoking worse than a fog machine at a Pink Floyd concert. Without hesitation I lurched into the wheel well and yanked the branch out with all the strength I had to avoid my truck turning into Chernobyl.
It worked.
I extracted the branch and the smoke stopped.
We wisely abandoned the idea of trying to cut over to Route 3 and instead drove all the way back out to the Day Rd, back to Pittsburg, and then up Route 3 north to Scott Bog. We parked along the rd and took as direct a line as we could to the summit. Some nasty cliffs and thick spots which are hard to avoid. This summit also has a canister on a tree which is blown over, but it was much easier to find. The summit was just a chaos of blowdowns everywhere.
I have now finished the NH 200 Highest. Headed back to Maine now to continue working on the 770.
West Prospect and Perry Ponds Peak:
First we took the Day Rd out of Pittsburg to Perry Stream Rd for like 6000 miles north. We parked at the end of the road along the Perry Stream, which is about 0.9 miles below the 4th Connecticut Lake. Except for some really bumpy culverts, the road was in pretty great shape.
We followed a herd trail along the Perry Stream up toward the 4th Connecticut Lake for about 0.6. Make sure and wear XL fly fishing waders because the herd trail was wetter than a tsunami on a rainy day. Then we turned and b-lined it for the border swath and took the swath to the summit of West Prospect. The tree that the canister is on is blown over making it tough to find, but we did.
Headed back down to Perry Stream and then cut along a contour up the ridge toward Perry Ponds Peak. One thick conifer band, but otherwise nice woods and an easy canister to find. Then descended directly off the summit back to the end of the Perry Stream Rd where the truck was parked.
On https://www.nhmountainhiking.com/perry.html it makes it sound like you can cut over from Route 3 to the Perry Stream Rd somewhere near Deer Mountain. There is a snowmobile trail which cuts over, but you definitely cannot drive on it. We tried one road to cut over to Route 3 to save time getting to Scott Bog mountain. On the road there was a downed spruce tree. My wife Renee jumped out of the truck to pull it back so I could squeeze the truck past it. She pulled it back as hard as she could. Right as my truck was driving through the top of the tree snapped like a chicken bone, projecting the top 2 feet of the tree as a whaling harpoon into my wheel well above my front tire, and catapulting Renee over the border into Quebec. It was lodged in there like a bullet in wet cement. Next thing I notice smoke is pluming out from the front of my truck. The dry pine needles coupled with the heat in the wheel well started to set the branch ablaze. Smoke starts billowing out, and all I can think of is that we're going to be stranded out here in the arctic circle of New Hampshire, light years from anywhere.
I thought to myself: "Well at least we'll have my truck-bonfire to keep us warm tonight while we're stranded out here."
I immediately jumped out and saw the branch lodged in my truck smoking worse than a fog machine at a Pink Floyd concert. Without hesitation I lurched into the wheel well and yanked the branch out with all the strength I had to avoid my truck turning into Chernobyl.
It worked.
I extracted the branch and the smoke stopped.
We wisely abandoned the idea of trying to cut over to Route 3 and instead drove all the way back out to the Day Rd, back to Pittsburg, and then up Route 3 north to Scott Bog. We parked along the rd and took as direct a line as we could to the summit. Some nasty cliffs and thick spots which are hard to avoid. This summit also has a canister on a tree which is blown over, but it was much easier to find. The summit was just a chaos of blowdowns everywhere.
I have now finished the NH 200 Highest. Headed back to Maine now to continue working on the 770.
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