Mahoosucs: On-Trail (mostly) Trek to Low-Altitude Destinations (23-May-2010)

When thinking about short hikes to low altitude destinations, perhaps names like Wocket Ledge and Dream Lake don't roll off the tip of your tongue quite as readily as say Mt. Willard or Sawyer Pond.

Anyway, this past Sunday (23-May), I headed up the Peabody Brook Trail to access Wocket Ledge and Dream Lake. These are two places I'd never visited. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I think the Peabody Brook Trail was once part of the Appalachian Trail, serving as the "bridge trail" between the Carter-Moriah Range and the Mahoosuc Range prior to the Centennial Trail being built in 1976.

Since I'd already been to Giant Falls, I decided to bypass the spur path to the waterfalls on this particular trek. Instead, I continued northward to the point where the trail crosses Peabody Brook and begins to head more easterly toward Dream Lake. At this point, I opted to go off-trail and bushwhack northward for a few tenths of a mile to intersect the Mahoosuc Trail just a bit east of Wocket Ledge.

A few hundred feet before intersecting the Mahoosuc Trail I came upon a trail that was oriented in the same east/west direction as the Mahoosuc Trail. At first I thought it was the Mahoosuc Trail. However, it didn't feel right, and there were no white AT blazes in sight. So I continued northward just a bit farther and soon arrived at the real Mahoosuc Trail. In thinking about this later, I wonder if the first trail that I came upon was perhaps a former segment of the Mahoosuc Trail before a re-route? Or, possibly could it have been part of that buffering corridor which is located on either side of the AT??

Okay, to get back to my hike, I finally arrived at Wocket Ledge (a rather odd-sounding name that could've been coined by Elmer Fudd). There might have been a good view from here at one time, but now it's a bit overgrown and so the view is somewhat restricted by trees. Below is a slightly zoomed snapshot of the Presidentials taken from this ledge.


It's not my intent to be disrespectful to Wocket Ledge, but I think the trailside views from the Peabody Brook Trail are just as good as the views from this ledge. Below is a photo of one of the trailside views that are located just a bit north of the spur trail to Giant Falls.


From Wocket Ledge I headed eastward on the Mahoosuc Trail to get to my next destination which was Dream Lake. In my opinion, the view from the northeast end of this lake is exceptional. Seen "floating" on the horizon is Mt. Washington on the left with Mt. Adams on the right, with a portion of Mt. Clay in between. About the only thing to dislike about Dream Lake is that there's no really comfortable place to sit and enjoy the views.

I wish that the lighting had been better when I was there, but hey . . . you can't have everything. Below is one slightly zoomed photo from the northeast shore of Dream Lake.


Below is yet another Dream Lake photo, but taken from a different location along the northeast shore.


After admiring the views from Dream Lake, I returned to the trailhead via the Peabody Brook Trail. There are a lot of bog bridges all along the eastern shore. They are all in good shape and appear to be no more than a few years old.

Even though the bog bridges are in good shape, the Peabody Brook Trail has a few issues which begin roughly where the trail has a short ladder (about 1.8 miles or so from the trailhead). From that point forward to the beginning of the bog bridges, there are multiple blowdowns, and the trail is in major need of brushing. I wouldn't go so far as to say that this segment of trail is a "war-zone", but it certainly could be described as the sight of a minor skirmish! This wasn't a problem for me since many of my bushwhacks take me through similar conditions, but it might be an issue for those who prefer a well-groomed trail.

Overall, I found this relatively short hike to be very pleasant. It was made even nicer by interspersing a bushwhack between the Peabody Brook Trail and the Mahoosuc Trail which transformed this into a loop-hike of sorts. I was impressed enough with Dream Lake to make a return visit sometime. I'll likely consider doing it as a completely on-trail hike by using the Peabody Brook Trail, Dryad Falls Trail, and Austin Brook Trail. This would require a short road walk between trailheads (or I'd possibly do a bike-spot).

1HappyHiker

You always take us to places we rarely see in the whites. These are great...but you just make my list longer. Inspiration...not a bad problem to have!

Great pics Happy Hiker

Beautiful shots John!

Petch

You could cut the road walk down on your proposed loop by including the trail up Mt Crag that cuts off the Austin Brook Trail. Then taking the trail from Mt Crag down to the north road. No real distance savings as it rouhgly parallels the road, but the views from Mt Crag are always worth a stop.

Great perspective of the Presidentials in the wedge at the far end of the lake! I think I like that one more than the Cherry Pond view. Thanks for taking us for the trip!

Near the spot where the pics of dream lake were taken, a memorial sits by the lake side.Did you happen to read the sign? Quite the spot to be laid to rest.

W7xman (Jim); Shawshank; PETCH: Hey . . . thanks guys for your compliments . . . much appreciated!

Peakbagger: You are so right about that! Mt. Crag is indeed always worth a stop. What a BIG view for such a little peak! The only reason I didn't include that scenario in my proposed loop is this. By the time I get down to the point on the Austin Brook Trail where the Yellow Trail takes off to Mt Crag, I'll be so close to the road that my "homing pigeon" instincts might kick in and I'll be tempted to continue on down to the road. But who knows, I might be equally tempted to make a return visit to Mt. Crag!

MarkJ: Mark, thank you for mentioning the memorial! However, I'm very sorry to say that I somehow managed to miss seeing it.
But, as you say, Dream Lake is "quite the spot", and I'm certain that I'll be paying a return visit and will be certain to look for the memorial then.

NeoAkela: Chris, I too am a big fan of viewing and attempting to get good snapshots of mountain vistas as viewed across lakes, ponds, etc. I don't know if you've explored the Pond of Safety but it's another great spot to get this type of photo. I keep meaning to go back there when there is more color. The rather drab photo shown below was taken from the north shore of the Pond of Safety in early Spring.

I've done that loop (Giant & Dryad) and it's really wonderful. Catch Dryad the day after a hard rain or in spring thaw when it really flows. My recollection is that a little bushwhacking (oh no!) is required to see it from below or even just to get to it from above.

Your Dream Lake shots are dreamy.

Outstanding!

One of our first hikes was up to Dryad Falls and we never made it to Dream Lake. We will definitely be returning soon. Thanks for reminding me of this area! Great pics and TR as usual!

KDT

MichaelJ: Glad you enjoyed the snapshots. And, I'm especially happy to have you confirm that the loop hike I'm "dreaming" about is worthwhile. It's always good to get this type of info from someone who has actually done the hike!

Kevin: Thanks for the kudos about my TR & photos! And yes, I think you, Judy & Emma would definitely enjoy trekking up to Dream Lake, regardless of whether you do it as a loop hike, or a simple "out & back" via the same route.

I'd definitely call it worthwhile, though we did it in spring thaw and apparently Dryad dries up in the later summer? I double-checked and getting to the lower portions of Dryad is definitely a 'whack, but I don't think that's an issue for you.
My pics

MichaelJ: Thanks for taking time to confirm the details about Dryad Falls. And yup, you're correct, a bushwhack won't be a problem!

Barkingcat: Clay, if you do go up to Dream Lake sometime, you might also be able to get some wildlife shots as well. There were ducks on the pond, and many other non-water birds in the surrounding trees.

Also, the beavers seem to enjoy this spot. In the split photo shown below, the top portion of the snapshot shows a close up of some of the lumber they're processing, and on the bottom portion shows a lakeside cabin that they've built!

Oh! And the moose seem to love the Dream Lake area as well. There were plenty of their droppings all around the lakeshore, but I didn't see any moose. However, I'm certain that if Forestgnome were to hike up there, he would have the patience and skill to get some terrific photos of the moose that live there.

Well done once again John.

I love these other hikes. I'm kind of tired of 4000 footers actually. Hopefully that wasn't a blasphemous statement!

My physical shape right now...just doesn't make a long and arduous trek up a 4k that enjoyable these days. Some are easier than others of course, but I've done all of those!

The hikes you post, help me to remember the other destinations out there. I used to stare at the map for long periods of time, and look around. I know I'll finish them at some point. I got 34/48 completed, so I'm kind of in the home stretch. But to have a true understanding of the beauty and allure of the whites, you need to go elsewhere. Thanks for helping us all to understand these things!

Dreamy!