Maineman
New member
After hiking Sandwich Dome via Black Mountain Pond Tr last week, I returned to the scene of the crime to hike Mt Israel this week.
It was another stunningly beautiful drive once I left Route 25 - I could clearly see that Chocorua & Whiteface were coated in rime! Off in the distance there appeared to be a squall blowing across Squam Lake. As I turned off of Sandwich Notch Rd toward Mead Camp, it began to spit some form of moderately frozen precipitation.
The trees have really held their leaves well on this side of the range this season, making for a truly beautiful golden canopy - even in the flat light of a fairly grey morning. Oscar, my schnauzer-poodle mix was raring to go, following the scent of three hikers & their dog who started about ten minutes before us.
The Wentworth Tr was in good shape, although in a couple places the footbed was obscured by leaves and required a bit of looking around to find the right way. Although it is a sustained climb (1700 ft in 2 miles) the ascent went by easily, at one point the precip picked up substantially but soon subsided. Near the top, there is a nice moderate ledgy section that I enjoyed. Everything had a layer of rime/snow and couldn't have been prettier.
At the Wentworth/Mead Tr junction, I stopped to have a drink and a nibble - Medjool Dates with wasabi almonds stuffed inside (Mmmm!!!). The wind was blowing and it was rather cold so I wrapped Oscar up in his "jacket" I made out of the sleeve of an old synthetic fill coat I had.
After our break we popped up to the summit of Mt Israel for a slightly obscured view of Sandwich Dome, due to the cloud which had settled upon it's summit. We set off down the Mead Trail, making excellent time despite stumbing several times on roots obscured by the thick bed of leaves.
Soon the ground was bare once again and the sun was shining, which felt great. At the Guinea Pond Trail junction we turned right toward the pond, last time I was here I mistakenly thought that the WMG said the spur was flooded by beavers which apparently is no longer the case. This time I chose to stay on the south bank of the river instead of crossing it twice. At the spur the sigh post remains but no sign. The spur was easy to follow, a little spongy in one spot before crossing a mossy old bog bridge but overall no problem. Guinea Pond is quite large, but not particularily attractive compared to the very scenic Black Mt Pond nearby.
I retraced my steps to the Mead Trail junction and continued along on the portion of the Guinea Pond Trail that was new to me. I soon came to a sign that read "<- Guinea Pond Snomo" and another that said "Guinea Pond Trail ->".
The path labelled "snomo" was clearly the continuation of the RR grade that is the Guinea Pond trail, but it lead straight into a pond! A bridge was floating out in the middle of the pond/road - it did not look appealing!
I recalled that WMG said the trail had been relocated onto an old logging road past a wet area. The sign pointing to Guinea Pond (back the way I had come from) was positioned in such a way that it appeared I needed to take a sharp left onto the north bound section of the snowmobile trail, across a clearing in the powerlines. Soon I was on an "old logging road" but it looked a bit obscure to be the right way. I followed it for quite a while, the leaves here were very deep and there easily could have been a treadway under there somewhere but eventually I turned back until I was at the signs once again.
I took a less sharp path left of the watery pond/trail and thought "aha! Now I'm on the right path!" But soon the path became very wet and braided, with lots of beaver paths and piles of moose poop. I turned toward where the trail should be and tried to bushwack through but shoe engulfing muck holes forced me to retreat.
Back at the signs for a third time I decided to try and reach the bridge/island on the regular path. The flooded trail varied between 9"-12" deep but the bottom was stable so I just started thrashing through. Oscar was having none of this and was balking at the prospect so I gave him a ride on my shoulders, one of the benefits of a 15 lb dog!
After reaching the far "shore" it was smooth sailing and I soon saw where the detour split off - had I continued through the wet braided trails of moosepoopville just a bit further I would have seen where to reconnect with the main trail.
I reached Sandwich Notch Road sooner than expected and made good time to the Bearcamp River Trail trailhead. Beebe Falls was an unexpected treat, I can't wait to come here on a hot day sometime! I followed the yellow blazes along an excellent path and soon my journey was over.
Another excellent day in the woods with my good buddy Oscar, and 1029 miles of redlining completed!
It was another stunningly beautiful drive once I left Route 25 - I could clearly see that Chocorua & Whiteface were coated in rime! Off in the distance there appeared to be a squall blowing across Squam Lake. As I turned off of Sandwich Notch Rd toward Mead Camp, it began to spit some form of moderately frozen precipitation.
The trees have really held their leaves well on this side of the range this season, making for a truly beautiful golden canopy - even in the flat light of a fairly grey morning. Oscar, my schnauzer-poodle mix was raring to go, following the scent of three hikers & their dog who started about ten minutes before us.
The Wentworth Tr was in good shape, although in a couple places the footbed was obscured by leaves and required a bit of looking around to find the right way. Although it is a sustained climb (1700 ft in 2 miles) the ascent went by easily, at one point the precip picked up substantially but soon subsided. Near the top, there is a nice moderate ledgy section that I enjoyed. Everything had a layer of rime/snow and couldn't have been prettier.
At the Wentworth/Mead Tr junction, I stopped to have a drink and a nibble - Medjool Dates with wasabi almonds stuffed inside (Mmmm!!!). The wind was blowing and it was rather cold so I wrapped Oscar up in his "jacket" I made out of the sleeve of an old synthetic fill coat I had.
After our break we popped up to the summit of Mt Israel for a slightly obscured view of Sandwich Dome, due to the cloud which had settled upon it's summit. We set off down the Mead Trail, making excellent time despite stumbing several times on roots obscured by the thick bed of leaves.
Soon the ground was bare once again and the sun was shining, which felt great. At the Guinea Pond Trail junction we turned right toward the pond, last time I was here I mistakenly thought that the WMG said the spur was flooded by beavers which apparently is no longer the case. This time I chose to stay on the south bank of the river instead of crossing it twice. At the spur the sigh post remains but no sign. The spur was easy to follow, a little spongy in one spot before crossing a mossy old bog bridge but overall no problem. Guinea Pond is quite large, but not particularily attractive compared to the very scenic Black Mt Pond nearby.
I retraced my steps to the Mead Trail junction and continued along on the portion of the Guinea Pond Trail that was new to me. I soon came to a sign that read "<- Guinea Pond Snomo" and another that said "Guinea Pond Trail ->".
The path labelled "snomo" was clearly the continuation of the RR grade that is the Guinea Pond trail, but it lead straight into a pond! A bridge was floating out in the middle of the pond/road - it did not look appealing!
I recalled that WMG said the trail had been relocated onto an old logging road past a wet area. The sign pointing to Guinea Pond (back the way I had come from) was positioned in such a way that it appeared I needed to take a sharp left onto the north bound section of the snowmobile trail, across a clearing in the powerlines. Soon I was on an "old logging road" but it looked a bit obscure to be the right way. I followed it for quite a while, the leaves here were very deep and there easily could have been a treadway under there somewhere but eventually I turned back until I was at the signs once again.
I took a less sharp path left of the watery pond/trail and thought "aha! Now I'm on the right path!" But soon the path became very wet and braided, with lots of beaver paths and piles of moose poop. I turned toward where the trail should be and tried to bushwack through but shoe engulfing muck holes forced me to retreat.
Back at the signs for a third time I decided to try and reach the bridge/island on the regular path. The flooded trail varied between 9"-12" deep but the bottom was stable so I just started thrashing through. Oscar was having none of this and was balking at the prospect so I gave him a ride on my shoulders, one of the benefits of a 15 lb dog!
After reaching the far "shore" it was smooth sailing and I soon saw where the detour split off - had I continued through the wet braided trails of moosepoopville just a bit further I would have seen where to reconnect with the main trail.
I reached Sandwich Notch Road sooner than expected and made good time to the Bearcamp River Trail trailhead. Beebe Falls was an unexpected treat, I can't wait to come here on a hot day sometime! I followed the yellow blazes along an excellent path and soon my journey was over.
Another excellent day in the woods with my good buddy Oscar, and 1029 miles of redlining completed!
