rocksnrolls
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I decided to head out to Evans Notch for some hiking last week. A few years back I had been on the NH side of the notch, traversing the Baldface-Royce Ridge with a bunch of RoTters. It was one of the most enjoyable hikes of my life, and I have longed to return since then. The long drive to get there (4+ hours) has meant that other hikes have taken priority until now.
I started with a loop hike up Caribou Mtn. I got ScenicNH to join me as he, too, had never been up on this one. I'm always happy to find another of the places he's never been to in the WMNF, as they are few and far between.
We started out on the Mud Brook Tr. Thankfully it was not very muddy, despite the recently finished rain storm. SNH and I hadn't hiked together in quite a while, so this easy-graded trail provided us with a great chance to talk about what we had been up to lately.
The brook crossings were easily dealt with and we eventually arrived at some ledges below the summit. We stopped to soak in the southern view and take many pictures. It felt great to be in the mountains again!
Continuing on, we reached the open summit of Caribou. We took in the huge view while looking around for evidence of the old shelter that used to be up there. This is an amazing vantage point for seeing the Baldface Range, the Moriah ridge and the Speckled Mtn ridge from close up.
We continued in our counter-clockwise route to the junction with the Mt Caribou Tr. ScenicNH said it looked like a great spot for an old lumber camp, so we looked around a bit for any evidence of one. I imagine he’ll be back sometime to investigate further.
After that, we headed downhill, looking forward to checking out Kees Falls. We came across a waterfall to the left of the trail. It was fairly nice, and as we tried to get closer for some photos, I barely managed to avoid calamity on the slippery rocks. Gladly I was able to survive, leaving with a few scrapes and a nice bump on one of my shins. Also gladly, SNH hadn’t gotten his camera out yet, so my tumble was not preserved for posterity.
Heading down the trail we soon came across another waterfall. This one was to our right, and was even more impressive. with a drop of about 25’. We decided we'd think of them as the Upper Kees and the Lower Kees. I suppose the latter is the official Kees Falls. It was easy to follow the herd paths to the bottom of this 2nd waterfall, so we did so and took more pictures. It was only a couple more miles back to the car from the Falls, so it would make an excellent short hike if you just want to check out the Falls.
After saying our good-byes, I headed to my motel for this trip – The Birch Bend Motolodge in Shelburne. It’s a nice little place and so convenient to Evan’s Notch that it’ll probably be my choice when I next head up to explore that area. It was bought by a nice couple about a year ago (it was previously called the Gateway and before that the Jo-Mar (spelling?)) and they’ve been working on getting it fixed up and modernized. It’s got only a dozen rooms, two with single beds. My room was tidy, the bed was comfortable, and the water in the shower was hot and plentiful with good pressure. Mike and Rebecca were very friendly and accommodating, even supplying me with an icepack for my bruised shin. I highly recommend this place for anyone looking for reasonably priced lodging in this area.
After heading to Gorham for some breakfast, I made it to The Bricket Place to start my next hike – Speckled Mtn. To the sounds of the renovations being done to this historic building in the middle of Evans Notch, I geared up and noticed quite a few cars in the lot. So much for dreams of having a mountain to myself .
I started with the Blueberry Ridge Tr, planning to follow the route suggested in the WMG for a loop hike. Very soon after leaving my car, I came upon the Bickford Slides Loop. Curious about what the Bickford Slides were, I followed the herd path-looking trail downhill to explore the lower slides. I was expecting a debris field of some sort, but it turned out to be more like a flume. A deeply-carved channel in the rock with water rushing through it. I followed it downhill until it leveled off, taking many pictures along the way. The trail this way was very rough and often was side-sloping on a steep slope. I think it was well worth the effort.
I decided to forego checking out the upper slides and proceeded up the Blueberry Ridge Tr. And up it went! It was oderate-to-steep and I was glad I wasn’t in a hurry. I took my time, letting my out-of-shape body work at a comfortable pace. The summit of Blueberry Mtn had a lot of open ledges and multiple fine viewpoints to enjoy, so I lingered up there for quite a while before setting my sights on Speckled and continuing onward.
The woodsy hike up the ridge was beautiful. The canopy helped keep me from getting to much sun and the views that peeked out here and there made for an energizing hike. I had worried that I might not have the energy to do two 7+ mile hikes in a row, but the moderate weather and gorgeousness of the area certainly helped lift my spirits.
Reaching the junction with the Bickford Brook Tr, I contemplated the whack over to the nearby summit of a subpeak named Mt Ames. Doubting there would be so much as a canister to be found up there, I took a right and started up toward my goal for the day.
Half a mile and a few hundred feet of elevation gain, I was greeted by a truly magnificent view. It’s easy to see why there used to be a fire tower on this peak, as you could see in all directions for miles and miles and miles.
To start, to the west across the Notch, you get a tremendous view of the Baldface Range. Behind that and to the north, you can see across the Wild River to the Wildcats, Carters and Moriah. Beyond that, you can see Mt Washington perfectly framed by Carter Notch. Continuing northward and the toward the east, you see the Mahoosuc Range and then dozens of peaks in Maine that I couldn’t begin to identify. One person I met along the way claimed you could see as far as Mt Katahdin. I must have spent at least an hour up there enjoying the view.
The hike back to the car was as easy as could be. Mostly the trail follows the old access road for the fire tower. I had been thinking I would check out the upper Slides on the way out, but my feet had other ideas, and I was soon back at my car. I guess I’ll have to return sometime to see them – rumor has it you can ride down the upper slides??!
I headed back to the Birch Bend for a good night sleep. The next day I drove around Shelburne a bit, checking out trailheads and the like and then took a long drive home, heading west on Rt 2 all the way to St Johnsbury (wanting to check out a game store I heard was in that town – sadly it’s recently closed down) and then the long drive south on I91 to Mass where I stopped in Greenfield to go to Greenfield Games where I was pleased to find a slightly used copy of Serenissima, a game I’ve been looking for.
I started with a loop hike up Caribou Mtn. I got ScenicNH to join me as he, too, had never been up on this one. I'm always happy to find another of the places he's never been to in the WMNF, as they are few and far between.
We started out on the Mud Brook Tr. Thankfully it was not very muddy, despite the recently finished rain storm. SNH and I hadn't hiked together in quite a while, so this easy-graded trail provided us with a great chance to talk about what we had been up to lately.
The brook crossings were easily dealt with and we eventually arrived at some ledges below the summit. We stopped to soak in the southern view and take many pictures. It felt great to be in the mountains again!
Continuing on, we reached the open summit of Caribou. We took in the huge view while looking around for evidence of the old shelter that used to be up there. This is an amazing vantage point for seeing the Baldface Range, the Moriah ridge and the Speckled Mtn ridge from close up.
We continued in our counter-clockwise route to the junction with the Mt Caribou Tr. ScenicNH said it looked like a great spot for an old lumber camp, so we looked around a bit for any evidence of one. I imagine he’ll be back sometime to investigate further.
After that, we headed downhill, looking forward to checking out Kees Falls. We came across a waterfall to the left of the trail. It was fairly nice, and as we tried to get closer for some photos, I barely managed to avoid calamity on the slippery rocks. Gladly I was able to survive, leaving with a few scrapes and a nice bump on one of my shins. Also gladly, SNH hadn’t gotten his camera out yet, so my tumble was not preserved for posterity.
Heading down the trail we soon came across another waterfall. This one was to our right, and was even more impressive. with a drop of about 25’. We decided we'd think of them as the Upper Kees and the Lower Kees. I suppose the latter is the official Kees Falls. It was easy to follow the herd paths to the bottom of this 2nd waterfall, so we did so and took more pictures. It was only a couple more miles back to the car from the Falls, so it would make an excellent short hike if you just want to check out the Falls.
After saying our good-byes, I headed to my motel for this trip – The Birch Bend Motolodge in Shelburne. It’s a nice little place and so convenient to Evan’s Notch that it’ll probably be my choice when I next head up to explore that area. It was bought by a nice couple about a year ago (it was previously called the Gateway and before that the Jo-Mar (spelling?)) and they’ve been working on getting it fixed up and modernized. It’s got only a dozen rooms, two with single beds. My room was tidy, the bed was comfortable, and the water in the shower was hot and plentiful with good pressure. Mike and Rebecca were very friendly and accommodating, even supplying me with an icepack for my bruised shin. I highly recommend this place for anyone looking for reasonably priced lodging in this area.
After heading to Gorham for some breakfast, I made it to The Bricket Place to start my next hike – Speckled Mtn. To the sounds of the renovations being done to this historic building in the middle of Evans Notch, I geared up and noticed quite a few cars in the lot. So much for dreams of having a mountain to myself .
I started with the Blueberry Ridge Tr, planning to follow the route suggested in the WMG for a loop hike. Very soon after leaving my car, I came upon the Bickford Slides Loop. Curious about what the Bickford Slides were, I followed the herd path-looking trail downhill to explore the lower slides. I was expecting a debris field of some sort, but it turned out to be more like a flume. A deeply-carved channel in the rock with water rushing through it. I followed it downhill until it leveled off, taking many pictures along the way. The trail this way was very rough and often was side-sloping on a steep slope. I think it was well worth the effort.
I decided to forego checking out the upper slides and proceeded up the Blueberry Ridge Tr. And up it went! It was oderate-to-steep and I was glad I wasn’t in a hurry. I took my time, letting my out-of-shape body work at a comfortable pace. The summit of Blueberry Mtn had a lot of open ledges and multiple fine viewpoints to enjoy, so I lingered up there for quite a while before setting my sights on Speckled and continuing onward.
The woodsy hike up the ridge was beautiful. The canopy helped keep me from getting to much sun and the views that peeked out here and there made for an energizing hike. I had worried that I might not have the energy to do two 7+ mile hikes in a row, but the moderate weather and gorgeousness of the area certainly helped lift my spirits.
Reaching the junction with the Bickford Brook Tr, I contemplated the whack over to the nearby summit of a subpeak named Mt Ames. Doubting there would be so much as a canister to be found up there, I took a right and started up toward my goal for the day.
Half a mile and a few hundred feet of elevation gain, I was greeted by a truly magnificent view. It’s easy to see why there used to be a fire tower on this peak, as you could see in all directions for miles and miles and miles.
To start, to the west across the Notch, you get a tremendous view of the Baldface Range. Behind that and to the north, you can see across the Wild River to the Wildcats, Carters and Moriah. Beyond that, you can see Mt Washington perfectly framed by Carter Notch. Continuing northward and the toward the east, you see the Mahoosuc Range and then dozens of peaks in Maine that I couldn’t begin to identify. One person I met along the way claimed you could see as far as Mt Katahdin. I must have spent at least an hour up there enjoying the view.
The hike back to the car was as easy as could be. Mostly the trail follows the old access road for the fire tower. I had been thinking I would check out the upper Slides on the way out, but my feet had other ideas, and I was soon back at my car. I guess I’ll have to return sometime to see them – rumor has it you can ride down the upper slides??!
I headed back to the Birch Bend for a good night sleep. The next day I drove around Shelburne a bit, checking out trailheads and the like and then took a long drive home, heading west on Rt 2 all the way to St Johnsbury (wanting to check out a game store I heard was in that town – sadly it’s recently closed down) and then the long drive south on I91 to Mass where I stopped in Greenfield to go to Greenfield Games where I was pleased to find a slightly used copy of Serenissima, a game I’ve been looking for.
