The Hikers
New member
4th of July found us headed for the Benton Range to check out a couple more WAV's. About .7 up Lime Kiln Road we found the traihead for Black.
We dutifully unloaded any unnecessary items from our packs to lighten them ,knowing it was going to be a pretty warm day.
After the initial start for the trail you come out on an old logging road. No sign tells you to go right or left, but a sign for the Lime Kilns points left. So we correctly went right, and refound the trail a little further down the road.
The climb was gradual at first, then reached ledges and some steep sections.The trail floor was dry pine needles, calling for caution, especially on the way down. We stopped at a lookout and took a few pictures, but the real views were up on top, and they were spectacular from open ledges that went on and on.
We saw Moosilauke with Blueberry in front, our old pal (???) Mt. Wolf ,The Kinsmans, and up into the Notch.
The cliffs brought to mind marble cake, or chocolate fudge swirl Ice Cream....oops, must be getting hungry.
We took a few more pictures, and I made a feathered friend
Joyce got herself into some trouble at "Tipping Rock"
But Macho Man Saved her
We went back down (carefully) sliding on pineneedles and loose ,dry soil. Near the bottom I took a wrong turn sending us uneccessarily through some mud.
From the Chippewah Trail it was only a few miles to the Traihead for Blueberry.We decided to go in from the Long Pond Road, as the write -up indicated it was a little shorter, and the day was heating up. As we reached the summit of Blueberry we followed along the ridge on bare rock for a good portion.This kind of open ridge is one of our favorite hikes.Unfortunately the views from Blueberry were not all that spectacular. We met a small group on top and shared band-aids with them. The best view from this mountain is of the slide on Moosilauke.
We went back down pretty quickly, our minds dreaming of a dip in a nice cold stream or lake.We stopped and asked a local about swimming places , and he directed us to a local fishing pond. We checked it out, and decided....no thanks. Further down Rte 25 we saw people swimming in the Baker River. We stopped there and got that refreshing cool down that we needed.
2 more WAV's done on our list. Next week we head for the ADK's to add some more of those to our list,
We dutifully unloaded any unnecessary items from our packs to lighten them ,knowing it was going to be a pretty warm day.
After the initial start for the trail you come out on an old logging road. No sign tells you to go right or left, but a sign for the Lime Kilns points left. So we correctly went right, and refound the trail a little further down the road.
The climb was gradual at first, then reached ledges and some steep sections.The trail floor was dry pine needles, calling for caution, especially on the way down. We stopped at a lookout and took a few pictures, but the real views were up on top, and they were spectacular from open ledges that went on and on.
We saw Moosilauke with Blueberry in front, our old pal (???) Mt. Wolf ,The Kinsmans, and up into the Notch.
The cliffs brought to mind marble cake, or chocolate fudge swirl Ice Cream....oops, must be getting hungry.
We took a few more pictures, and I made a feathered friend
Joyce got herself into some trouble at "Tipping Rock"
But Macho Man Saved her
We went back down (carefully) sliding on pineneedles and loose ,dry soil. Near the bottom I took a wrong turn sending us uneccessarily through some mud.
From the Chippewah Trail it was only a few miles to the Traihead for Blueberry.We decided to go in from the Long Pond Road, as the write -up indicated it was a little shorter, and the day was heating up. As we reached the summit of Blueberry we followed along the ridge on bare rock for a good portion.This kind of open ridge is one of our favorite hikes.Unfortunately the views from Blueberry were not all that spectacular. We met a small group on top and shared band-aids with them. The best view from this mountain is of the slide on Moosilauke.
We went back down pretty quickly, our minds dreaming of a dip in a nice cold stream or lake.We stopped and asked a local about swimming places , and he directed us to a local fishing pond. We checked it out, and decided....no thanks. Further down Rte 25 we saw people swimming in the Baker River. We stopped there and got that refreshing cool down that we needed.
2 more WAV's done on our list. Next week we head for the ADK's to add some more of those to our list,
