North Pack via Ted & Carolyn

[Roxi]

I love 50 degree days in November! And while it would have been nice to head further north, I had enough time for a short hike today and headed to one of my favorite little mountains nearby - North Pack. Last month I hiked the Wapack and Cliff Trails from North to South Pack and back again, so today I wanted something different. Further down Mountain Road, before the Wapack trailhead, is another trailhead for Ted and Carolyn's trails. I love this pair! In previous years I've had the pleasure of seeing both a moose and Victory Garden's Roger Swain on Ted's Trail. It's a beautiful trail that follows a stream for a long way up before turning inward toward the mountain's peak. The stream today was filled to capacity and the large boulder with the wooden footbridge had a waterfall running off it. The sound of water flowing throughout the first half of the hike was truly enchanting. The trail was completely covered in leaves, and wet in spots, but easily traversed. A large German shephard quietly joined me for a short ways until deciding to return to whereever he had come from. Other than him, the only other creatures I saw on Ted's trail were several people of various ages adorned in bright orange. I miss the moose!

The top of North Pack offered excellent views of Mount Monadnock to the west. The temps were a little lower and the wind was a little brisker at the summit. A few other groups were at the top, so I didn't tarry. I enjoy hiking with others, but this was a day I wanted to enjoy the solitude of Nature as she prepares for winter's solstice. I headed down Carolyn's trail, a slightly shorter steeper trail than Ted's. Green moss shared space with patches of ice on both trails on the upper half of the mountain. Bare deciduous trees filled the forest on the lower half. Each month of the year, this mountain offers so much beauty, and it is so nice to observe its seasonal changes. I'm grateful to have it so close by. Until next month...

 

[Dugan]

A very nice spot... Dugan four-legs and I favor making a loop of the Cliff and Wapack trails. From the top of the cliffs are the one place I have a sure wildlife sighting of an animal I've not seen anywhere else - alerted to it by a former companion hiker-dog.

 

[bigmoose]

I've been up North Pack and South Pack maybe a half dozen times each and I thought I'd taken all the trails, including the Cliff Trail and the one that ascends South Pack from the west. I poked around once looking for the other trail up North Pack as shown on the topo but didn't find it. Any hints?

 

[Roxi]

I've been up North Pack and South Pack maybe a half dozen times each and I thought I'd taken all the trails, including the Cliff Trail and the one that ascends South Pack from the west. I poked around once looking for the other trail up North Pack as shown on the topo but didn't find it. Any hints?

As you drive up Mountain Road from Lyndeborough/Greenfield, half-way up the road on the right, before the stone house, is a little dirt parking area big enough for about 2-3 cars. Directly across the road is the trail head for both Ted and Carolyn's trails. You'll see a small sign as you cross the road and enter the wooded area. Follow the yellow plastic rectangles nailed to the trees and you'll soon come to where Ted's and Carolyn's trails split. Both trails have connectors to each other on the way up and will eventually come together again before the summit. If you continued all the way to the top of Mountain Road, past the stone house, you'd come to the trailhead for the Wapack trail. Hope this info was helpful! Oh, and there's no tower on North Pack. The tower is on South Pack, which you can see from the summit of North Pack. But it's the view of Mount Monadnock to the west that captures my attention.

 

[bigmoose]

Thanks! The Ted & Carolyn might be a nice Thanksgiving morning hike.
The trails between the Purgatory Chasm/Falls over in Wilton are nice this time of year, too, especially Janet's Trail. Maybe I'll make it a twofer.

 

[Roxi]

Thanks! The Ted & Carolyn might be a nice Thanksgiving morning hike.
The trails between the Purgatory Chasm/Falls over in Wilton are nice this time of year, too, especially Janet's Trail. Maybe I'll make it a twofer.

Ok, now I need your help. I used to live in Wilton, but don't recall the trails you're talking about. How do I get to the trailheads? Weather permitting, I also hope to be doing a Thanksgiving day hike.

 

[GlennS]

While we're on the subject of the Cliff Trail on North Pack....What's up with that massive cairn just off the trail below the cliffs? Does it have some meaning or is it a just a monument to useless cairn building?

 

[brianW]

I believe "Hiking the Monadnock Region" has Purgatory falls as one of the hikes. It would include directions to the trail. Very good guide for the area.

 

[Barbarossa]

While we're on the subject of the Cliff Trail on North Pack....What's up with that massive cairn just off the trail below the cliffs? Does it have some meaning or is it a just a monument to useless cairn building?

I've always suspected the latter, but enquiring minds like mine want to know the rest of the story.

 

[Quietman]

The porcupine that lives in the rubble at the bottom of the cliff built it. He got jealous of beaver's huts and had to have one of his own!

Is that your wildlife sighting Dugan?

 

[bigmoose]

Roxi-
Follow the Milford bypass west...rte 101...to the intersection with old rte 101 west of Milford. Go straight across the Souhegan River, following the unnumbered road north through farmland to a four-way. Continue north across this intersection and soon you'll see a parking area to the left surrounded by skinny saplings in a gravelly area. The parking area isn't much more than a mile north of 101. (Coming from Amherst, it might be quicker to take old 101 into Milford, then River Road to the 4-way at the farm, and turn right....)
The trail heads west from the parking area to the lower Purgatory Falls, just a few minutes walk. Another trail splits off this trail before it reaches the falls...this one follows the creek upstream, crossing the creek on bridges...it goes through rhododrendron stands and nice woods. There are a few benches streamside for quiet contemplation. Eventually the trail is bisected by a snowmobile track, but you'll find trails continuing to parallel the creek upstream, cresting high above the upper falls which sit in a deep gorge. The trail ultimately ends on Purgatory Hill on the other side of the road from Echo Valley Campgrounds...several miles from your starting point. Of course you might prefer to park here at the top and take the trail south. But I think the lower end has more to offer.
It's a beautiful creek, although the water quality isn't exactly pristine.

I hope you find it & enjoy it.
jt

 

[Roxi]

Thanks, BigMoose!