Last Sunday I took a break from the Adirondacks and ventured out in New Hampshire. Whichway and I (and Whichway's dog Delilah) are pursuing the New England Fifty Finest list at a somewhat leisurely pace, and we decided to climb Mt. Shaw in the Ossipee Range of New Hampshire. Neither of us had ever been on that range before, but I knew Amicus had, so we invited him along. He had, in fact, hiked there extensively about five years ago and proposed a traverse including Shaw and several other peaks in the area.
On the day of the hike, however, there were thunderstorms predicted for the afternoon, so we changed our plans to a somewhat shorter hike, up Banana Trail over Black Snout Mtn. to Shaw, and then back by way of Thunderbird Trail. As it was, we had a few scattered drops right at the beginning, and then no more rain (at least until I was driving south on NH16 after supper, when it was like driving through a waterfall).
Banana Trail is a really pleasant walk. There are many gentle ledges with good if somewhat hazy views, including Lake Winnipesaukee, some beautiful wood lilies, some meadowsweet, and lots and lots of blueberries, many of which were ripe. They also afforded a breeze, which kept the hot day from being uncomfortably so.
The final push up to the carriage road near Black Snout is pretty steep, but doesn't last long. We visited Black Snout, and then went on to Mt. Shaw on Black Snout Trail.
On the way back we started down Thunderbird Trail, which leaves our ascending route in between Shaw and Black Snout. We quickly discovered that that trail is in much worse shape than the last time Amicus had been on it. The trail surface was very overgrown in places, and there were blowdowns everywhere. It did, at least, have lots of blazes; if it hadn't we wouldn't have been able to follow it at all. After a little while of that, a quarter mile at most, we decided to turn around and go back the way we had come up. Not only was it a better trail, but it would have views, breezes, and blueberries. So that's what we did. The haziness was noticeably less than it had been on the way up, improving the views, and there were still lots and lots of ripe blueberries.
We saw only one other group of people on the hike (not counting a car on a short road walk from where we parked to the trailhead), a dozen or so mostly boys going up when we were going down.
The only negative for that day was the two ticks I found on me, although neither of them had embedded itself in my skin when I found it.
I'm now at 31 for the New England Fifty Finest, and Whichway's at 41.
I'd like to thank Whichway for yet another great day on the trail, and Amicus not only for his companionship, but also for sharing his extensive knowledge of the Ossipee Range.
Here are the pictures.
--
Cumulus
NE111: 113/115 (67/67, 44/46, 2/2); Cat35: 23/39; WNH4K: 29/48; NEFF: 31/50
LT NB 2009
"I don't much care where [I get to] --" said Alice, "-- so long as I get somewhere," ...
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
- Lewis Carroll
On the day of the hike, however, there were thunderstorms predicted for the afternoon, so we changed our plans to a somewhat shorter hike, up Banana Trail over Black Snout Mtn. to Shaw, and then back by way of Thunderbird Trail. As it was, we had a few scattered drops right at the beginning, and then no more rain (at least until I was driving south on NH16 after supper, when it was like driving through a waterfall).
Banana Trail is a really pleasant walk. There are many gentle ledges with good if somewhat hazy views, including Lake Winnipesaukee, some beautiful wood lilies, some meadowsweet, and lots and lots of blueberries, many of which were ripe. They also afforded a breeze, which kept the hot day from being uncomfortably so.
The final push up to the carriage road near Black Snout is pretty steep, but doesn't last long. We visited Black Snout, and then went on to Mt. Shaw on Black Snout Trail.
On the way back we started down Thunderbird Trail, which leaves our ascending route in between Shaw and Black Snout. We quickly discovered that that trail is in much worse shape than the last time Amicus had been on it. The trail surface was very overgrown in places, and there were blowdowns everywhere. It did, at least, have lots of blazes; if it hadn't we wouldn't have been able to follow it at all. After a little while of that, a quarter mile at most, we decided to turn around and go back the way we had come up. Not only was it a better trail, but it would have views, breezes, and blueberries. So that's what we did. The haziness was noticeably less than it had been on the way up, improving the views, and there were still lots and lots of ripe blueberries.
We saw only one other group of people on the hike (not counting a car on a short road walk from where we parked to the trailhead), a dozen or so mostly boys going up when we were going down.
The only negative for that day was the two ticks I found on me, although neither of them had embedded itself in my skin when I found it.
I'm now at 31 for the New England Fifty Finest, and Whichway's at 41.
I'd like to thank Whichway for yet another great day on the trail, and Amicus not only for his companionship, but also for sharing his extensive knowledge of the Ossipee Range.
Here are the pictures.
--
Cumulus
NE111: 113/115 (67/67, 44/46, 2/2); Cat35: 23/39; WNH4K: 29/48; NEFF: 31/50
LT NB 2009
"I don't much care where [I get to] --" said Alice, "-- so long as I get somewhere," ...
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
- Lewis Carroll
