Making My Own Trail in Lebanon

[grouseking]

I was bored Saturday afternoon (8/14) so I decided to create my own trail, and use a few other trails that already existed. The destination....Storrs Hill in Lebanon NH. It was about a 1.5 mile walk from the apt to the hill, then it immediately climbed. I went up a ski trail, that had tall grasses and pricker bushes. It was pretty darn steep, so the views of Lebanon and the surrounding hills opened up quite fast.

Panoramic

If you are familiar with Leb, you will recognize this area...

At the top of the ski area, a beaten path went up through the woods to the actual top of the hill. It emerged out of the woods, thru a nice field and had some pretty decent pastoral views west towards the Greens.

Lookin SE-ish

Clouds looked painted yesterday

Then down the hill I went, first along an old path, then it disappeared, so I kind of had to make my own path...well, basically I was bushwhacking down the hill along a stream. My next destination was a larger stream, so I knew this would eventually lead towards it.

Occasionally the trail would suddenly reappear, like below

But most of the time it was next to impossible to follow, and I would just be walking thru a bunch of ferns, that were sometimes as tall as my knees and sometimes my waist.

Well, before I long, I made my way down the hill and towards the stream...called Great Brook. Sadly, the water was low, and the pics of cascades I wanted to take were not very good.

One fun thing about this area...I met a very young hiker, who was all about giving me mud and rocks as presents. He is obviously a hiker in training.

Hope you enjoy!

grouseking

 

[DougPaul]

Occasionally the trail would suddenly reappear, like below

When bushwacking on animal trails, I found they tend to appear and disappear. They are generally easier to follow than not, and sometimes lead you through an area which might otherwise be hard to navigate, such as though large rocks.

Doug

 

[1HappyHiker]

Hey Phil . . . you've proven what many of us have discovered, i.e. there are numerous ways to have a wonderful hiking experience.
Going to 4K peaks and other popular destinations is also great, but it's not an essential ingredient!

 

[grouseking]

When bushwacking on animal trails, I found they tend to appear and disappear. They are generally easier to follow than not, and sometimes lead you through an area which might otherwise be hard to navigate, such as though large rocks.

Doug

Yup, that is def true. I'm pretty sure it wasnt an animal trail, just a really old people trail, because it occasionally had red blazes. But I bet animals use it more than people these days.

 

[DougPaul]

Yup, that is def true. I'm pretty sure it wasnt an animal trail, just a really old people trail, because it occasionally had red blazes. But I bet animals use it more than people these days.

Ah yes, animals don't usually mark their trails with paint blazes, axe blazes, cairns, or machine cut branches/logs...

A friend and I were once following a long-abandoned trail in the ADKs. Parts of it were in such good shape that the tredway looked new.