Exploring logging roads around the Gale River Loop

Mohamed Ellozy said:

As DougPaul has said, the old snowmobile trail first goes almost due west almost all the way to the Bethlehem Reservoir...

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Just curious, having walked in that area myself a bit before: how evident is the reservoir? I realize it's no longer in use, but besides the labeling on the map, what signs are there that this is a former reservoir?

JJHikes said:

Just curious, having walked in that area myself a bit before: how evident is the reservoir? I realize it's no longer in use, but besides the labeling on the map, what signs are there that this is a former reservoir?

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I saw no evidence of it, but then I was not looking for it.

Thanks for the research, ME. It seems to be as I feared, that the snowmobile trail loops too much to be a viable short cut back.

JJHikes said:

Just curious, having walked in that area myself a bit before: how evident is the reservoir? I realize it's no longer in use, but besides the labeling on the map, what signs are there that this is a former reservoir?

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I thought I remembered a building and low dam, but maybe I'm thinking of elsewhere. Just follow the old Garfield Trail up the brook and go straight where the trail crossed.

The WMNF is proposing a bike path from Skookumchuck to Twin Mtn partly along old Rte. 3, but their map on page 9 shows the existing snowmobile trails:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/whi...ents/twin_mtn_rec/scoping_report_20060614.pdf

DougPaul said:

The missing bridge appears to me mentioned in the WMNF bridge status report: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/conditions/bridge_status.html

District: Ammonoosuc
Trail: Franconia Snowmobile Trail
Note: The bridge that was damaged was on a bypass section of the Franconia Snowmobile Trails. Thus, there are no plans to replace it. The primary route has safe, intact bridges. If this section of trail becomes a primary route again, this decision will be revisited.

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I had not noticed this post at the time, or at least did not give it the attention it deserves.

I distinctly remember that snowmobile trail being active a few years ago, and now it is abandoned. I sort of wondered why, but never gave the subject much thought until today, when I realized that DougPaul had provided the answer!

I hiked Garfield last week expecting to go up the Heritage Trail to Garfield Trail and down the logging road, but as the Heritage Trail signs have been removed and I didn't find it going up I had to reverse that route.

As per the base note, I won't say anything about the HT except to speculate that it was once the snowmobile trail due to bridge width and may in part have followed old logging roads. When the new logging roads were built, the snowmobile trail was moved to that route and I speculate that with the HT signs gone it will also follow the logging road now.

Note that this is/was an official trail in the WMNF that is ignored by trailbaggers as it is not in the WMG.

RoySwkr said:

I hiked Garfield last week expecting to go up the Heritage Trail to Garfield Trail and down the logging road, but as the Heritage Trail signs have been removed and I didn't find it going up I had to reverse that route.

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When I skied the Heritage Tr (~.5mi east of GT to the fallen bridge ~1mi west of the GT), I only found one sign, perhaps ~.5mi west of the GT. It was almost one of those "you have to know you are on it to find the sign saying that you are on it" situations. (There were no junctions or features of note near the sign.)

As per the base note, I won't say anything about the HT except to speculate that it was once the snowmobile trail due to bridge width and may in part have followed old logging roads. When the new logging roads were built, the snowmobile trail was moved to that route and I speculate that with the HT signs gone it will also follow the logging road now.

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Back in the late '70s, I recall snowmobile tracks on the HT where it crosses the GT. After that, the snowmobiles took the Gale River Loop Road past the G trailhead. IIRC a few years ago, the snowmobiles were again routed along the HT until the bridge was washed out, after which they again took the GRLR.

Agree-the bridges on the HT right next to the GT (one on each side) were clearly built for snowmobiles, IMO.

Note that this is/was an official trail in the WMNF that is ignored by trailbaggers as it is not in the WMG.

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Doesn't go to or offer any easier access to any summits... Also minimizes snowmobile--hiker contact.

Doug

DougPaul said:

Doesn't go to or offer any easier access to any summits... Also minimizes snowmobile--hiker contact.

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I have used it my last 3 Garfield hikes, particularly useful if doing Garfield-Galehead with one car.

The latest WMG and especially SNHTG contain a lot of multi-use trails which IMHO would better have been left out, I'm just surprised that this useful one was ignored.

Another example is the Franconia Notch bike path which is often used by walkers and segments are heavily used by hikers, but if you want distances you apparently need to go to ME's website.

In the first post of this thread I described logging roads/snowmobile trails that can be used to link the Garfield and Gale River Trails. Later in this thread I described a possible, but long, link between the Garfield and Skook trails. It is obvious from the AMC map that there is a logging road/snowmobile trail (part of Corridor 11) that goes from the Gale River Loop to Haystack Road, and can therefore be used to connect the Gale River and North Twin trails.

It is clear from the map that it is long, with quite a bit of elevation gain. Since it did not seem to be a viable option for a Twins-Gale loop with one car I did not "explore" it. I put the word explore in quotes, since, given that it is a major snowmobile trail, there was no question about its continuity and maintenance.

Today I was not in the mood for a "real" hike, but wanted something more interesting than my usual walks on Rt 175 or Tripoli Road. So I decided to go do it, measuring its length and elevation gain with my GPSr.

Years ago I had driven on the Corridor 11 from the Gale River Road to the gate on a trip to PAtN. The road to the gate is still well maintained and fully driveable. From the gate to the second gate at its junction with Haystack Road it is wet, with quite a bit of shrubby growth. Beyond that I walked Haystack Road to the trailhead, and returned to my car.

The distance, according to my GPSr, is 5.1 miles each way There are about 550 feet of elevation gain going from Gale River Trailhead to the junction with Haystack Road, and almost exactly the same in the opposite direction. Going to the Twin trailhead adds about 250 feet of elevation gain.

At the highest point of the traverse there is a big recent clearcut on the northern side of the trail, and it gives a good view on the far northern peaks. That, I believe, is the only redeeming feature of that route

Like the Skook to Garfield segment this is probably too long to be really useful in doing a loop. I do not expect to hike it again.

Good work ME, I've driven to the W end and hiked a little from the E end but was always too lazy to walk across.

For your next project, try the woods road that leaves Haystack Rd on the R maybe .2 miles before the end. The Forest map shows it running parallel to the Little River for over a mile, I'm wondering about it as a way to avoid the brook crossings in April.

RoySwkr said:

For your next project, try the woods road that leaves Haystack Rd on the R maybe .2 miles before the end. The Forest map shows it running parallel to the Little River for over a mile, I'm wondering about it as a way to avoid the brook crossings in April.

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From the map it seems to end a short distance before the first crossing. Since that crossing is easily bypassed by the bushwhack it seems to offer little help. I very much doubt that it would go as far as the third crossing, but who knows ...

Not a high priority, but something I may do on a day when I feel like exploring logging roads.