Gotta Get a Name for this Place . . . Unknown Pond is Already Taken! (02-Jun-2009)

[1HappyHiker]

That song entitled “A Horse with No Name” kept running through my mind when doing a trek to “a pond with no name”. The pond I’m speaking of is in the Pemigewasset Wilderness about a half mile due south of the Zeacliff Trail. It’s shown in the map below with a white arrow pointing to it.

To get to this pond, I left the Ethan Pond Trail at its junction with the Zeacliff Trail and then took that trail for a short distance before heading off trail. It was easy going through very open woods, and I arrived at the pond in less than a half an hour. The pond rests in sort of a V-shaped depression. There’s probably a geologic term for this type of depression as well as for the type of pond contained by the depression. Perhaps this pond could be categorized as a tarn?

In terms of viewing this pond from up above, I checked with Steve Smith and he only recalls seeing it from one of the ledges on Whitewall Mountain. Has anyone else viewed it from any other location?

It’s an attractive little pond. I took photos from both its north and its south shore as shown below.

Un-Named Pond from North Shore

Un-Named Pond from South Shore

Exploring the un-named pond was certainly one purpose of my trek. However, another reason was simply to enjoy re-experiencing the scenic hike along the Zealand & Ethan Pond Trails en route to the pond. I think it’s particularly picturesque at the junction of the Ethan Pond & Zeacliff Trails. Below are a just a few of the many scenic vistas available from that location.

Whitewall Mountain

South View Toward Carrigain & Hancocks

On my return trip, since I was already in a “pond-mode” frame of mind, I did a very short off-trail jaunt to the west shore of Zealand Pond to get a photo (shown below) looking southward from that location.

So there you have it . . . my adventure to an un-named pond in the Pemigewasset Wilderness!


1HappyHiker

 

[Jason Berard]

I just checked the historical maps page at UNH's historical map site, and it wasn't named on any of those maps.

Cool spot! Many contemporary Artist's title their work "Untitled #3" or some such thing...you could follow suit and call it Unknown Pond #2.

How about "Pond below the Zeacliff"

 

[Barkingcat]

A tarn she be...

Very nice post and great photographs.

(I like your off-the-beaten-track trip reports.)

 

[rocket21]

Surreptitious Pond!

 

[Papa Bear]

Although it goes against our rationalist tendencies, it might be nice just to leave it without a name.

Someone had those thoughts

The Unnamed Lake
- Frederick George Scott (1861-1944)

It sleeps among the thousand hills
Where no man ever trod,
And only nature's music fills
The silences of God.

Great mountains tower above its shore,
Green rushes fringe its brim,
And o're its breast for evermore
The wanton breezes skim.

Dark clouds that intercept the sun
Go there in Spring to weep,
And there, when Autumn days are done,
White mists lie down to sleep.

Sunrise and sunset crown with gold
The peaks of ageless stone,
Where winds have thundered from of old
And storms have set their throne.

No echoes of the world afar
Disturb it night or day,
The sun and shadow, moon and star
Pass and repass for aye.

'Twas in the grey of early dawn,
When first the lake we spied,
And fragments of a cloud were drawn
Half down the mountain side.

Along the shore a heron flew,
And from a speck on high,
That hovered in the deepening blue,
We heard the fish-hawk's cry.

Among the cloud-capt solitudes,
No sound the silence broke,
Save when, in whispers down the woods,
The guardian mountains spoke.

Through tangled brush and dewy brake,
Returning whence we came,
We passed in silence, and the lake
We left without a name.

 

[Jazzbo]

How about "Un-named Pond"?

How about "Un-named Pond"? Kind of like Ulyssees trick on the cyclops when after he blinded the cyclops and cyclops asked who he was he responded No One. Then whne his buddies asked who blinded him he responded "No One" so they figured it was the gods who blinded him and truely cursed by the gods.

 

[Amicus]

The Unnamed Lake
- Frederick George Scott (1861-1944)

It sleeps among the thousand hills
Where no man ever trod . . . .

A nice poem, as I thought when I first encountered it somewhere in the Whites, as I recall, within the last five years or so. F.G. Scott wrote the poem in 1897 after a visit to a lake in the Laurentians, near St. Raymond, Quebec, so there is no White Mountains connection, but someplace - maybe Lonesome Lake Hut? - has posted a framed copy. Can anyone place that?

 

[SAR-EMT40]

Sonofabitch

You had to let the kitty out of the burlap, didn't you.

That was one of my favorite "unknown" camping spots. The topography was excellent. You were well hidden from everyone but within striking distance of a lot of other nice spots and views and hikes. Lots of fish and frogs and other visitors would come there also.

I'm sure it was a known spot and I haven't visited it in more than a few years so I don't know about recent activity. I do know when I use to go there, there was very little human activity visible. Definitely one of my top 5 spots.

Keith

 

[Mattl]

Shhhhhhhhhh!!...this one was supposed to be kept a secret. Oh well, I spent 3 days camping there once enjoying the area. I named the pond Hidden View Pond, since it can't really be seen from anywhere. Seems appropriate, maybe it catches on. It's rare in the Whites for a pond to not really be seen from any point. The reason being is it sits in a deep glacier carved out narrow valley. I think that a lobe of the last glacier may have dug out the valley then because it is so shaded, hung around longer and dug it even deeper. If you hike in from Whitewall Brook, it is a very steep climb to a the top of the small ridge. Walking along this ridge you will see geologic formations I have seen in few other places. I think that because most have worn down, this one stands out. There are "tufts" of rock jutting up in long piles along the top. They quickly drop off where the pond sits. I have always wanted to know the depth of the pond as well, since the southern end may actually have depth to it over 3 feet, then of course brook trout come to mind. The pond has a wild feel to it because of how dark it is, with the ridges, and lots of moss. We found a dead moose up on the ridge, just bones left. Neat place though.

-Mattl

 

[NeoAkela]

John, you seem to get everywhere! I had this spot on my list to explore the next time I was up in Zealand - I saw it on an online Topo map last year (along with "little" Ethan and some others) and was intrigued! I almost made it there this winter going past Ethan Pond but ran out of time and energy.

Looks like a wonderful hidden spot, and those are some beautiful photos! Guess I will move the secret unnamed Hancock pond up to the top of my list now!

I had noticed before and see on your map the water body in the sag to the east of Whitewall. Ever been there, or to the Field ponds?

Again, that is one cool trip report - thanks, John!

 

[1HappyHiker]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

Gosh, I hardly know where to begin. First of all . . . my apologies for exposing this secret spot! Other than some faint traces of a path here & there (could easily be animal activity), this place showed no evidence of human activity. So, it was somewhat surprising to learn that it is a favorite spot! But anyway, I suppose that if my posting isn’t picked up by a major news outlet, then perhaps this spot will still remain solely for use by the VFTT community.

Regarding suggestions for a name, it is tempting to refer to it by a name such as Stealth Pond (it’s there, but you can’t see it).
However, perhaps the best suggestion is to just leave it unnamed, as suggested by PaPa Bear in the poem he quoted which is entitled “The Unnamed Lake”.

 

[NewHampshire]

Looks like one nifty little place! You gotta cut this out John, I lost track already of places I need to visit thanks to you!

As for a name.....I think we should call it "Brian-aka-New-Hampshire-Is-one-awesome-dude" Pond. I think it has a nice ring to it!

Brian