Panther 7/6/2019

[Tim Horn]

Completed the NEHH with Marie Fukuda on Saturday morning. We had been sitting on 99 of 100 for over 4 years and finally things came together for us to reattempt this hike.
We started out from a pull out on porter brook road at 6:30 AM. Fortunately it was cool, damp and overcast. The bugs were there to greet us as well.
. We followed the logging road until it branched and became overgrown. We took the right hand fork and followed it to just under the summit of the 3500 foot peak.
From there we soon met up with the border swath and it was just a matter of dealing with the bugs, the bog, wet feet and the bugs. Did I mention it was the buggiest day I have ever encountered. Black Flies, Mosquitoes, Horse Flies and no-see ums swarmed us all day save for a few minutes on the ridge when the wind was blowing 30 miles an hour. I was so grateful for the break. It was a morning to stay focused and keep moving so the swarms did not all land at once. We finally made our way across the bog somehow managing to keep our shoes on our feet. (If you have done this hike from Canada you enter the border swath north of the bog area) and made quick progress to the summit of Panther. We had a short celebration of our finish during which the bugs seemed to allow a short truce. We had a nice buggy walk back to the truck and were out of bug hell just before noon. Our hats are off to the Moose that snuffled our tent Saturday morning and got us up and out relatively early. Best alarm clock available!
If you have not been up to Cupsuptic Pond in a few years it is important to note that the bridge has been removed and you cannot cross Porter Brook by vehicle and access the pond anymore. There is active work going on in the Porter Brook drainage and around Dennison Bog so there are several alternatives to following the swath all the way from the pond. Taking the route from Beaver Pond Tote Road and starting your bushwhack north of Dennison Bog is likely going to be the best and by far shortest approach in the near future. Unless of course you cheat and start in Canada. Ha Ha Ha. My rules for the game only!
Happy Trails,
Tim

 

[peakbagger]

When did they change the name of Boundary Peak to Panther? (I can see part of Boundary Peak written on the cannister)

 

[Tim Horn]

Off the top of my head which has nothing on it so expect nothing. I seem to recall reading on a printed paper in the age before the internet that it was referred to as unnamed peak.
I then saw Boundary Peak when reading Mohammad's internet accounts but about the same time I saw a photo with the sign Panther on it above the cairn.
I like the name Panther better than Boundary or Unnamed Peak so that is what I used. I did read in a blog where some locals call it Panther Mountain but that source I would not trust.
Stan do you know the answer?

 

[Puma concolor]

Congrats and welcome to the list of finishers! Cool report.

Panther sign was definitely there two summers ago when I hiked it from the Canadian side. Didn’t look brand new at the time but I was still surprised since I’d never seen it referred to as Panther before.

Here’s what the sign looked like on 6/19/17 ...

Panther/Boundary/Unnamed Peak

 

[bikehikeskifish]

It was "Panther" at least as early as 2012...

Tim

 

[peakbagger]

My last visit is probably in the late nineties. Surprised it wouldn't be called Catamont instead of Panther given its location

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I've seen it listed as Border Monuments 445-446 Peak as well.

Tim

p.s. Congratulations on finishing the list!

 

[Salty]

Congrats Tim and Marie! Seems like a cool choice for a finish. Haven't been up that way, but hiking the swath in NH was a neat experience.

So here's the (somewhat) definitive Panther story. The sign was put up in 2010. I think the story with the locals calling it Panther (which is indeed unlikely true) is something that was guessed at, and then got passed around as being more factual. As was pointed out to me, "what's a local, anyway?"

Don't hold me to this, but I believe the reason for the name change was at least in part the feeling that Boundary (or worse, Boundary 455/456) was a bit dull. The name was found in an old Appalachia article which included a map. There was also a few references to "Panther mountain" near Dennison bog in a journal kept by some trapper who used to live out there in the late 1800s/early 1900s. Further, there was a list of mountains put out by some RR in Maine which listed a Panther mountain with 3650' of elevation or so -- but no coordinates or even reference to where.

I'm not sure of this either, but I thought I had heard that there was an explanation of this in the jar when the sign was put up.