1HappyHiker
Well-known member
One of my adopted trails is Martha’s Mile which is the short segment of trail along the ridge which connects the two summits on Cherry Mountain, i.e. Mt. Martha and Owl’s Head. The trailhead for the Cherry Mountain Trail on Rt. 115 is less than a half hour from my home. So, today I decided to do the short hike up to Cherry Mountain to check the condition of Martha’s Mile.
Although the recent ice storm had a devastating impact on areas of NH south of “The Notch”, we folks above “The Notch” were more fortunate. Therefore, I really didn’t expect to find much if anything in the way of significant storm damage during my trek today. As it turns out, I was basically right (doesn’t always happen!!
). I did notice the “widow-maker” on the Cherry Mountain Trail that Rocket 21 limbed and reported in his 19-November Trail Conditions Report. Also, I took care of a minor blowdown on the Cherry Mountain Trail on my way up. That was it! Everything else was A-OK!!
As you might have already gathered, I went up the Cherry Mountain Trail, then traversed the ridge via Martha’s Mile to Owl’s Head, and then returned via the same route. By so doing, you actually summit Mt. Martha twice! Both times today when I was on Mt. Martha, the views in all directions were only so-so due to low clouds. However, from the Owl’s Head summit, I did get a nice view toward the Presidentials.
Presidentials from Owl’s Head summit on Mt. Martha:
It was nearly sunset as I was coming back down the Cherry Mountain Trail. The colors being cast by the setting sun through the woods was spectacular. It was one of those things where you just have to be there in order to experience the full effect. But anyway, the photo below sort of depicts what I experienced. And I’m sure most of you have had an experience similar to this, and therefore you can sort of “fill in the blanks”!
Sunset on Cherry Mountain Trail:
Just one last comment! The trail was unbroken all the way from the trailhead to the Owl’s Head summit on Cherry Mountain. I started my trek by barebooting, but quickly changed to snowshoes. The snow wasn’t really that deep (maybe 6 to 8 inches or so), but it had an icy layer on top. I found it annoying to be breaking through the crust with each step. With snowshoes, breakthroughs were reduced, and traction was greatly improved.
1HappyHiker
Although the recent ice storm had a devastating impact on areas of NH south of “The Notch”, we folks above “The Notch” were more fortunate. Therefore, I really didn’t expect to find much if anything in the way of significant storm damage during my trek today. As it turns out, I was basically right (doesn’t always happen!!
). I did notice the “widow-maker” on the Cherry Mountain Trail that Rocket 21 limbed and reported in his 19-November Trail Conditions Report. Also, I took care of a minor blowdown on the Cherry Mountain Trail on my way up. That was it! Everything else was A-OK!! As you might have already gathered, I went up the Cherry Mountain Trail, then traversed the ridge via Martha’s Mile to Owl’s Head, and then returned via the same route. By so doing, you actually summit Mt. Martha twice! Both times today when I was on Mt. Martha, the views in all directions were only so-so due to low clouds. However, from the Owl’s Head summit, I did get a nice view toward the Presidentials.
Presidentials from Owl’s Head summit on Mt. Martha:
It was nearly sunset as I was coming back down the Cherry Mountain Trail. The colors being cast by the setting sun through the woods was spectacular. It was one of those things where you just have to be there in order to experience the full effect. But anyway, the photo below sort of depicts what I experienced. And I’m sure most of you have had an experience similar to this, and therefore you can sort of “fill in the blanks”!
Sunset on Cherry Mountain Trail:
Just one last comment! The trail was unbroken all the way from the trailhead to the Owl’s Head summit on Cherry Mountain. I started my trek by barebooting, but quickly changed to snowshoes. The snow wasn’t really that deep (maybe 6 to 8 inches or so), but it had an icy layer on top. I found it annoying to be breaking through the crust with each step. With snowshoes, breakthroughs were reduced, and traction was greatly improved.
1HappyHiker
