"Being Profusely Blazed" 1936 Guidebook: Moosilauke, Kinsmans, and Outlying Mountains

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Fisher Cat

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"Being Profusely Blazed" 1936 Guidebook: Moosilauke, Kinsmans, and Outlying Mountains

Here it is, the Final Chapters:Moosilauke & Kinsmans
P393-Tunnel Ravine Trail-“This picturesque,though steep and rough trail, lies in a ravine S of the ridge which bears the Benton Trail.As it is most used for descent it will be so described.It leaves the Benton Trail .4m below the summit of Moosilauke,soon reaches and descends bare ledges, marked with white paint,a slide,then the brook at its foot,passing a DOC shelter. Shortly before the shelter it turns S from the brook and follows a logging road to the Tunnel Brook Trail.Following the latter N,Bungay Corner on the Kinsman Notch Rd is reached in 4.25m,or, turning S, Glencliff will be reached in about 5.5m.”
P395-Moosilauke Ski Run-“Hells’ Highway”-“This racing course extends E and S from a point(4096ft)on the Carraige Rd about .5m below its junction with the Glencliff Tr, to the junction of Gorge Brook and the Baker River. From the road, the run drops about 920ft in .5m on the E slope of South Peak to Gorge Brook Ravine, with a maximum grade of 38degrees for a short distance. In this section the run is from 30-110ft wide, requires 20in of snow, and is for expert skiers only. The lower portion of the trail,1.1m in length,descends 750ft by grades of 5 to 14 degrees. This section, 6-10ft wide and requiring 10-12in of snow, is suitable for intermediate skiers.”
P396 Jobildunk Ravine-“From Ravine Camp follow logging road E a few hundred yards, then leave L on Asquamchumauke River Trail to DOC Jobildunk cabin,2m. Beyond this, there is no regular trail;but the river may be followed for about 1m N to headwall. The latter may be climbed by a difficult scramble, the easiest being on the L.In 1933 a route was blazed from a point just below the cabin to a shoulder of the E ridge of Mt Moosilauke, whence a line of cairns leads to a summit camp,about 1.75m. The trail to the cabin is suitable for skiing.”
P398&399 Kinsman Ridge Trail-“Once an AMC trail from Kinsman Notch Road to the Profile House site, its status changed when the WMNF took over about 2,75m of its central portion. At present,’ the AMC has no through trail along the Kinsamn Ridge from Franconia Notch to Lost River,although there is a through trail route.”
P404-Jeffers Mtn Trail-“Jeffers Mtn(3100ft)is the highest point of the Hogsback Ridge. The trail leaves Blueberry Mtn Tr and follows the crest of the ridge. It passes Cold Spring in .5m. It turns downhill(N) before reaching the cliffs at the NW end of the ridge,and,at 2.9m ends at Black Mtn Trail.”
P407-Black Mtn(2836ft)-“This mountain,in Benton,possesses attractive natural features, in addition to the ancient limekiln at its base.First there is Indian profile, a rock showing feathers and all, visible from Long Pond Tr in the pasture just beyond where the Southwest Tr branches upward.On the Southwest Tr, just above the evergreen patch, a sign points to Devil’s Den, a jumble of cliffs and boulders S of the path(R in ascending).On the summit, near the brink of a precipice,is Tipping Rock, a boulder that sways at the touch.” If you close your eyes and listen real careful, the sound you hear is that of lawyers salivating.
P408-Sugarloaf(2608ft)-“This peak may be approached from the Limekiln Rd on the W, but there seems to be no trail at present. It is said that the WMNF plans to construct one to the summit from the Black Mtn Tr about .5m S of its intersection with the Long Pond Tr.”

At first, I didn’t know what this last chapter would yield, now I’ve found it has some great info in it. So without further ado, the final chapter “Outlying Mountains”:

P411-Mt Percival-“Enter W of the abandoned house and follow a cart track through the two old stone walls to a field. Water is found part way up to the W of the trail(sign). The upper part of this trail is steep. The caves near the summit, spoken of in old guide books, are difficult to find.”
P414-Mt Prospect-“in Holderness commands a fine view up Franconia Notch. The first part of the Blue Tr is on Owl Brook Farm.It leaves the highway at a sign 200ft W of the old Buzzel Huckins farm, now occupied by W.W. Colby..the trail proceeds to the summit, and .25m beyond to Miser’s Cave.” Buzzel Huckins, another classic name.
P416-Mt Whittier-“The N & E peaks of the Ossipees appear not well-known, and considerable confusion exists as to names.The N summit, good authority affirms, is ‘Whittier’, being appropriately so named at a party held on the mountain in the poet’s honor. The Chocorua map labels as ‘Whittier’ the peak lying W across Stiny Brook.”
P423-Moose Mtn-“This long high mountain ridge on the E part of Hanover culminates in N Peak (Mascoma map), separated from the slightly lower South Peak by a deep col. Through this gap runs the old road laid out by Governor Wentworth in 1772 from Wolfboro to hanover.”
P424-Croydon Mtn-“is the highest peak in a long range of ridges in Cornish,Grantham,Croydon, and Plainfield. It is, however, entirely within the 25,000ac preserve of the Blue Mtn Forest Association, otherwise known as Corbin Park, and contains many deer,elk,wild boar, and other animals, including about twenty buffalo.” Interesting mention of elk & buffalo.
P426-Mt Cardigan-“Firescrew to the N is so called because of the spiral of fire seen for miles around when the mountain was burned in 1885.”
P431-Duke’s Ski Run-“Named for Duke Dimitri von Leuchtenburg, who scouted its location, the main trail leaves the Parking Space beyond the Lodge and ascends through open pastures and woods, the high ridge that runs E from Firescrew and forms the N slope of Shem Valley.”
P432&435-Mowglis Tr-“this trail, formerly the Orange Heights Tr, was turned over to the state in 1921,to be maintained by Mowglis, a camp for boys..From Hebron PO, go W on the Groton road 4m to the fork where the abandoned Orange road begins. Thence the route follows the old road S about 3.5m mostly steady upgrade to the height-of-land. Thence the path makes a steep and rough descent of about 100yds to ‘Cilley’s Cave’ a lonely, rocky retreat, where it is said a hermit once lived.”
P436-Mt Kearsage-“is on the towns of Andover, Salisbury,Warner,amd Wilmot.It was probably discovered shortly after the landing of the Pilgrims.On a very early map(Gardner’s) it appears as ‘Carasarga’, but since Cardigan’s map of 1816, ‘Kearsage’ has remained the accepted spelling.”
P446&447-Monadnock-Red Cross Trail-“within .25m beyonf Dingle Dell junction the trail climbs sharply up the ledges by the Switch-Back and reaches the first open rocks..Not far above the Switch-Back a final scramble up the rocks brings one to the Plateau with its impressive view of the summit dome of which Thoreau wrote so enthusiastically. His campsite of 1860 is close by the trail on the R at the E edge of the plateau, but is unmarked.”
P458-Watatic Mtn-“from Watatic the summit trail descends NW through spruce woods taken over by the State as a bird sanctuary, then across pastures over Nutting Hill to the cellars of the Nutting place, settled by James Spaulding just before the Revolution, and continued by his son-in-law, James Nutting, until about 1840. The old pump log is still in the well.”
P459-Barrett Mtn-“The Wapack Tr traverses the ridge of Barrett Mt nearly 3m long, partly wooded, with four summits, There are numerous outlooks..In the saddle between the third and fourth summits, the location of one of the oldest roads from MA to the hill towns, known as ‘Boston Road’, built in 1753,is crossed.”
P460-Kidder Mtn-“The Wapack Tr crosses the western slopes of Kidder Mt, named in honor of Reuben Kidder of New Ipswich, a provincial country squire. From Wapack Lodge the trail crosses the highway,a small pasture,a spring on the L,and beyond another pasture 5/8m from the Lodge,turns L into an ancient highway,long disused. The trail descends gradually from the Livingston place, and in 5/8m reaches an abandoned road on the L, which leads in .75m to the ruin of a Revolutionary period glass works, set up by Robert Hewes of Boston in 1780 with the aid of Hessian deserters who were glassmakers by trade. The plant burned shortly after its completion. The ruins of the old furnace remain.”

Well fellow hikers, that’s it. Hope you enjoyed it! I have no grand conclusions. Tramping was definitely different in 1936. The homey feel is gone, but the desire to be out and hike/tramp is just as strong with us as it was with them. Agreed that without the efforts and conservation of people, whose names remain largely unknown, we are greatly indebted. If anyone else has any observations or thoughts on what has changed, I’d be glad if you shared them.
Thanks again for reading!
 
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