buckyball1
New member
thought i'd do a brief trip report and impressions (YMMV; it surely will) on the chance a few people find something of interest in this group of peaks....Hayes/Success/Iron/Blueberry (Glencliff)/Black (Benton)/Potash
After spending the year finishing off the NEHH and 50Finest lists (almost) and with a two day weather window, I decided to do some trailed peaks I've neglected
Thursday Oct 25th
Hayes -near Gorham and reached by Centennial Trail (AT); enjoyed the hike and saw completely different perspective on familiar surrounding peaks-the trail was totally covered by leaves and the lack of or old blazing (a common thread on these hikes) made route finding in a few spots more difficult than easy bushwacks-- the trail is moderate, but the footing a bit tenuous with lots of smallish rocks hidden by the leaves-as you begin to ascend there are excellent views of the Androscoggin River; then some nice views from ledges/openings as you climb and the top/ ridge provides interesting looks at the Carters/Moriah along with the N Prezzies, Mahoosuc and Kilkenny Ranges-when you reach the ridge, Hayes is a few tenths of a mile south on the Mahoussuc Trail which would make a nice loop with a short car spot
Success-Success Pond Rd in great shape-the Success Trail is in super condition until you hit the ridge which leads to the AT--the ridge is a nice flat walk, but much of it was under water (and appears as if it would be much of the year)-the AT to the summit is "typical" and I enjoyed the large, flat top with an alpine meadow and excellent views in every direction
Iron -(near Jackson)-a short , steep hike on a badly eroded trail with almost no views from the top since the fire tower is gone and the trees have grown up-the superior views of the S Prezzies are from the trailhead parking area-nothing here to recommend unless you "must" hike it-another, "why is this still on the 52WAV list?"
One of the highlights of my little trip was seeing the full moon rise over mountains when I pulled off at the last overlook headed up the Kanc from Conway--nothing short of spectacular--then saw the sun set as I crested the highway and headed down toward Lincoln. I spent a cold night at Elbow Pond and wandered around at 2AM in the dazzling moonlight. It was in the 20s as I headed off to Blueberry on Friday morning.
Friday 26th
Blueberry-near Glencliff--if you go, the Sanatorium Rd is now High St and the North/South Rd is Long Pond Road-I found this the most enjoyable of the hikes with a trail of moderate slope and excellent footing. There were numerous long stretches of easy walking on smooth ledges and nice views of Moosilauke and the surrounding lowlands. A blanket of ground fog around a 1000' with small peaks poking through the soup like islands in the sea made for a surreal landscape-a nice open top awaits you.
Black (Benton)-with thanks to rocks/n/rolls-the parking area for the Chippewa Trail is about 3.1 miles from Rt 25 on the Lime Kiln Rd. There is serious beaver activity down low and you will need to walk upstream a piece from the trail to dance across a beaver dam. After an easy start, the trail is moderately steep with the middle section in the red pines sorely lacking in visible blazes. There are numerous excellent view spots on the last 1/3 of the hike and the summit itself is one of the nicest "small" summits in the area--worth it for this alone
Potash-maybe I was just getting worn down, but this was a smidge harder than the cakewalk I expected. Again the middle section of the trail really lacked for current blazes; you had to look for the trail depression, "eroded" roots sticking up from the forest floor's uniform leaf cover, and initilas carved in the trees. This wasn't a major problem, but I would think it might cause problems on what I assume to be a "tourist" trail. I hated the circumnavigation of the summit cone with rocky/rooty sidehilling, but the views from the top were truly spectacular.
As I neared the trailhead on my return from Potash a feline about 2-3 times the size of a house cat with a short tail and a grey brown color raced across the trail-I am clueless here.
a slightly punishing, fun two days
jim
After spending the year finishing off the NEHH and 50Finest lists (almost) and with a two day weather window, I decided to do some trailed peaks I've neglected
Thursday Oct 25th
Hayes -near Gorham and reached by Centennial Trail (AT); enjoyed the hike and saw completely different perspective on familiar surrounding peaks-the trail was totally covered by leaves and the lack of or old blazing (a common thread on these hikes) made route finding in a few spots more difficult than easy bushwacks-- the trail is moderate, but the footing a bit tenuous with lots of smallish rocks hidden by the leaves-as you begin to ascend there are excellent views of the Androscoggin River; then some nice views from ledges/openings as you climb and the top/ ridge provides interesting looks at the Carters/Moriah along with the N Prezzies, Mahoosuc and Kilkenny Ranges-when you reach the ridge, Hayes is a few tenths of a mile south on the Mahoussuc Trail which would make a nice loop with a short car spot
Success-Success Pond Rd in great shape-the Success Trail is in super condition until you hit the ridge which leads to the AT--the ridge is a nice flat walk, but much of it was under water (and appears as if it would be much of the year)-the AT to the summit is "typical" and I enjoyed the large, flat top with an alpine meadow and excellent views in every direction
Iron -(near Jackson)-a short , steep hike on a badly eroded trail with almost no views from the top since the fire tower is gone and the trees have grown up-the superior views of the S Prezzies are from the trailhead parking area-nothing here to recommend unless you "must" hike it-another, "why is this still on the 52WAV list?"
One of the highlights of my little trip was seeing the full moon rise over mountains when I pulled off at the last overlook headed up the Kanc from Conway--nothing short of spectacular--then saw the sun set as I crested the highway and headed down toward Lincoln. I spent a cold night at Elbow Pond and wandered around at 2AM in the dazzling moonlight. It was in the 20s as I headed off to Blueberry on Friday morning.
Friday 26th
Blueberry-near Glencliff--if you go, the Sanatorium Rd is now High St and the North/South Rd is Long Pond Road-I found this the most enjoyable of the hikes with a trail of moderate slope and excellent footing. There were numerous long stretches of easy walking on smooth ledges and nice views of Moosilauke and the surrounding lowlands. A blanket of ground fog around a 1000' with small peaks poking through the soup like islands in the sea made for a surreal landscape-a nice open top awaits you.
Black (Benton)-with thanks to rocks/n/rolls-the parking area for the Chippewa Trail is about 3.1 miles from Rt 25 on the Lime Kiln Rd. There is serious beaver activity down low and you will need to walk upstream a piece from the trail to dance across a beaver dam. After an easy start, the trail is moderately steep with the middle section in the red pines sorely lacking in visible blazes. There are numerous excellent view spots on the last 1/3 of the hike and the summit itself is one of the nicest "small" summits in the area--worth it for this alone
Potash-maybe I was just getting worn down, but this was a smidge harder than the cakewalk I expected. Again the middle section of the trail really lacked for current blazes; you had to look for the trail depression, "eroded" roots sticking up from the forest floor's uniform leaf cover, and initilas carved in the trees. This wasn't a major problem, but I would think it might cause problems on what I assume to be a "tourist" trail. I hated the circumnavigation of the summit cone with rocky/rooty sidehilling, but the views from the top were truly spectacular.
As I neared the trailhead on my return from Potash a feline about 2-3 times the size of a house cat with a short tail and a grey brown color raced across the trail-I am clueless here.
a slightly punishing, fun two days
jim
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