Whitton Ledge and Foss Mountain (NH), 07/18/09

[rocket21]

Whitton Ledge and Foss Mountain, NH, 07/18/09

Warning: This is a poor imitation of a 1HappyHiker trip report.


I believe the first time I noticed Whitton Ledge was on a Mt. Chocorua hike. I find obscure, smaller peaks to be quite interesting.

Whitton Ledge and Whitton Pond

No public roads reach Whitton Pond, so I decided to bushwhack in from the west. I followed a beautiful brook:

And soon arrived at the shore of Whitton Pond:

Other than a few kayakers and one or two cottages, the area is untouched:

The dock visible in this photo is in front of a cottage which has no vehicular access. The cove is a to-scale replica of the one on Gilligan's Island:

Soon after bypassing the cottage (which sits on its own peninsula of sorts), I bushwhacked up to the base of a large slab. While I wanted to go straight up the slab, the bottom was still wet from the earlier rain. I ended up bushwhacking around and going up the top 1/3rd or so:

Above this slab, I soon came to a sharp cliff. Looking more closely, I observed a bunch of metal stuff - cable, clamps, etc. - an old quarry!

Above this, I found a marked trail and followed it east to some nice views of Whitton Pond, the Ossipees, and Mt. Israel:

I'm not sure where the trail ends up east of this point, but I backtracked west and followed it along the top of the ridge. Chocorua, of course, dominates the views:

The trail continued along some more slabs, before ending on a subpeak. From there, I bushwhacked back to the pond and then down.

Continued...

 

[rocket21]

...continued

The second hike of the day was nearby Foss Mountain. I wanted some blueberries to fill store-bought shortcake cups. I had been e-mailing with Amicus about some 'whacky adventure he was planning for the following day. Since Foss is a very short and rewarding hike, it seemed to fit into both of our Saturday pre-dinner schedules.

The wood lilies were on full display near the Foss Mountain Trail:

Near the north peak of Foss, we had a welcome breeze:

Since we were picking blueberries, Amicus made sure he wore appropriate colours:

Though hazy, the views from Foss were still great. Kearsarge North can be seen, though the Presidentials were obscured by clouds. A few blueberry pickers can be seen as well:

While Amicus had an appetite for views, I had a hunger for blueberries, so I left him at the summit whilst I loaded up on some excellent wild low bush blueberries.

 

[loanshark]

Whitton Ledge

Sounds like a nice relaxing hike. Nice pictiures.

 

[1HappyHiker]

Warning: This is a poor imitation of a 1HappyHiker trip report.

There are some things that are not worth imitating!
Now on the other hand, your Bill Cosby imitations are a worthy endeavor!

Nice report Jeremy . . . my kind of adventure!

 

[Amicus]

Whitton Ledge looks well worth exploring. I like to learn about places like that in my general vicinity.

As to Foss, I've loved it since discovering it for myself 20 years ago. The path to the open summit ledges is less than half a mile, so it is a perfect finale to a day spent doing other things. The skies were too hazy for really good views Sat., but this profile of the Ossipees may give you an idea:

As to the blueberries, there are acres of them there - more than any other place I know. rocket21 once worked in the blueberry biz, so I had the sense to follow him to a choice patch, where I gorged (in moderation):

 

[kltilton]

Whitton Ledge and Pond are a neat spot. The trail leading off the back of the ledge may lead over to the old granite quarry near the B&M ledge that overlooks Madison. Another unique view.

 

[forestgnome]

Nice! Great shot of the wood lily