The Feathered Hat
Active member
Trails: Zealand, Ethan Pond, Shoal Pond
Miles: ~11 out and back
Time: 5 hours (incl. 45 min., total, for lunch at Shoal Pond and visit to Thoreau Falls)
Cell phone coverage: None (AT&T)
Conditions: Zealand and Ethan Pond trails in great shape, with just a few muddy/wet spots. Shoal Pond Trail wet and muddy for the half-mile trek to the pond; also, the several puncheons on this trail, made from logs rather than planks, are very slippery where they're wet.
Special Equipment: None necessary. Ankle gaiters useful to keep trail duff out of boots. Bugs not an issue.
Comments: An easy yet beautiful hike with excellent views at several points. Zealand Trail was crowded, unsurprisingly, and Ethan Pond Trail had a few folks, but Tuckerman and I had Shoal Pond to ourselves. I had forgotten the pond is managed by NHF&G as a wild trout resource so didn't bring my fly rig. I certainly will next time I hike to the pond in wild trout season (April-Labor Day).
Steve B
The Feathered Hat
[email protected]
____________________________________
Tuckerman's report for dogs:
Zealand Trail seems to be a dog highway, so there are lots of places -- rocks, bushes, trees -- that require marking. Come prepared (even so, I had to refill at two streams to complete the job).
Not a lot of water on Ethan Pond Trail, but enough.
After junction with Thoreau Falls Trail there's a high bridge over Whitewall Brook on the Ethan Pond Trail, but it's not scary.
Shoal Pond Trail has excellent mud and puddles. There are some bog bridges too, which I totally don't get. Who would want a bridge over a bog?
Good swimming in Shoal Pond.
Frogs. Chipmunks. Canadian Jays. People. Human poop right on Ethan Pond Trail!
***.* 3.5 sniffs (out of four). T-Dawg says check it out.
Miles: ~11 out and back
Time: 5 hours (incl. 45 min., total, for lunch at Shoal Pond and visit to Thoreau Falls)
Cell phone coverage: None (AT&T)
Conditions: Zealand and Ethan Pond trails in great shape, with just a few muddy/wet spots. Shoal Pond Trail wet and muddy for the half-mile trek to the pond; also, the several puncheons on this trail, made from logs rather than planks, are very slippery where they're wet.
Special Equipment: None necessary. Ankle gaiters useful to keep trail duff out of boots. Bugs not an issue.
Comments: An easy yet beautiful hike with excellent views at several points. Zealand Trail was crowded, unsurprisingly, and Ethan Pond Trail had a few folks, but Tuckerman and I had Shoal Pond to ourselves. I had forgotten the pond is managed by NHF&G as a wild trout resource so didn't bring my fly rig. I certainly will next time I hike to the pond in wild trout season (April-Labor Day).
Steve B
The Feathered Hat
[email protected]
____________________________________
Tuckerman's report for dogs:
Zealand Trail seems to be a dog highway, so there are lots of places -- rocks, bushes, trees -- that require marking. Come prepared (even so, I had to refill at two streams to complete the job).
Not a lot of water on Ethan Pond Trail, but enough.
After junction with Thoreau Falls Trail there's a high bridge over Whitewall Brook on the Ethan Pond Trail, but it's not scary.
Shoal Pond Trail has excellent mud and puddles. There are some bog bridges too, which I totally don't get. Who would want a bridge over a bog?
Good swimming in Shoal Pond.
Frogs. Chipmunks. Canadian Jays. People. Human poop right on Ethan Pond Trail!
***.* 3.5 sniffs (out of four). T-Dawg says check it out.
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