Middle Sister and Carter Ledge trailwork 08-2010

[cooperhill]

1Happyhiker's post on his Carter Ledge / Middle Sister loop got me thinking about this one. I'm an adopter on the Piper trail of Mt. Chocorua and easily said Mt. Chocorua is one of my favorite mountains. After reading of the condition of the trail, I decided to head out and get some axe time and practice my left handed swing and overall chopping technique. I soon met up with Jim and Jan from CT who are the new forest service volunteer trail adopters on this loop. Over the course of 4 trips, I assisted them in taking out 20+ blowdowns, one of which was very large and a personal best (see picture below). The new adopters have been doing some great work on brushing the Middle Sister trail out. It is amazing how a infrequently used trail can revert back so quickly (see Basin Rim trail, Evans Notch if you want an example). Anyway, the trail work is still in progress but the trail is really coming back.

Before:


After (there is a whole lot of tree that you have to remove to get an axe cut right - still working on mine):



A few pictures here:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/578404222IhXdPL?vhost=outdoors

 

[1HappyHiker]

Chris . . . a HUGE thank you to you and to the new Trail Adopters for the work you've done and are doing!

And, although I don't have axe-skills that are even close to yours, I have axed more than a few blowdowns on my own adopted trails. Therefore, I have a deep respect and appreciation for the amount of time & effort it took for you to remove the blowndown shown in your photo. Awesome job!!

 

[Sasquatch]

Thanks for the work, I love runnin down that one and do the wetamoo/ sisters loop often.

 

[cooperhill]

Thanks. I still consider myself a novice in this but have been studying the "axe to grind" USFS publication. The trickiest thing is sharpening IMO. It's lots of fun at any rate.

A bit off the subject I was wondering about the history of this trail and found that the trail(s) didn't exist in 1931 but did in 1946 per my AMC White Mountain Guides. It seems to look a lot different and there is an interesting reference to a Steam Mill Brook trail. I posted scans and descriptions of the Chocorua sheets on the album page. 1946:



http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/578404222IhXdPL?vhost=outdoors&start=12

 

[1HappyHiker]

. . . A bit off the subject I was wondering about the history of this trail and found that the trail(s) didn't exist in 1931 but did in 1946 per my AMC White Mountain Guides. It seems to look a lot different and there is an interesting reference to a Steam Mill Brook trail . . .

Chris, regarding the old trail named the Steam Mill Brook Trail, parts of that old trail are still in fairly good shape. About a year ago, I used this old trail as a launch point for a bushwhack to Moose Pond. In case you're interested, click HERE for a link to the report that I filed on this Forum.

 

[cooperhill]

Pleased to report that the entire loop has been brushed out and has only a few minor step-over blowdowns. Middle Sister trail might be a nice winter route as adopters have really clipped the trail back.