I have never gotten around to visiting Red Rock Pond in the Pemi until yesterday. I have read various descriptions over the years of the normal route and when a friend mentioned it was on his list and he had the week off this week, we picked 9/5. We met at the Lincoln wood parking lot around 8:15, the Lincoln Woods trail closure is still in place. It was odd as the route in from the old parking area on the other side of the river has been loamed and mulched and therefore any heavy equipment is no longer able to access the area. There is a small orange utility vehicle small enough to drive over the suspension bridge an few accessories stored parking lot side of the bridge, but no activity around and no vehicles parked that looked like work vehicles. Unless they start late or are camping out, It sure didnt look like anyone was working on this day.
We took the East Side trail in and waded across the river near the old step stone crossing. At worse it was mid thigh deep with some planning. From there we made a good pace up past red rock brook. I knew the old grade would be coming in along the slope and kept an eye out for grade intersecting the trail. It was quite obvious along the slope and the intersection with the FBT was fairly obvious although there are some trees that obscure it. I was just using an altimeter and map. We ran the length of the RR spur and picked up the older logging road upslope but at some point we dead ended and elected to slab upslope. We encountered a lot of dry slides running for quite a distance upslope. Eventually we rounded to corner and hit the westerly most outlet brook of the ravine which was totally dry. We didnt really find the herd path. We climbed up the brook for awhile but then it started to fill with blowdowns. The woods got thick but we could see an opening so we pushed on through staying somewhat east of the center of the pond. We soon came up at the pond and took a break and enjoyed the views. The extra bushwhacking had eaten up some time so we headed down, this time picking up the herd path and following it right down to spur.
Once we hit FBT we made good time, it was cooling down so we didn't stop a lot, we did encounter a group of young adults backpacking in. Given the forecast, it sure didnt look like they had proper gear with them and given that the majority of the clothing was cotton and canvas type sneakers, I expect they had a rather cool night.
When we got to the bridge on Lincoln Woods trail, we thought about going down it but decided to ford the river. When we got back to the parking lot around 6PM, there was no trace of workers or vehicles.
Overall a enjoyable hike to a remote spot. It will be interesting to hear the reported progress from folks this weekend on the LBT as it sure looks like they are far enough ahead that they dont need to work on it during the week.
We took the East Side trail in and waded across the river near the old step stone crossing. At worse it was mid thigh deep with some planning. From there we made a good pace up past red rock brook. I knew the old grade would be coming in along the slope and kept an eye out for grade intersecting the trail. It was quite obvious along the slope and the intersection with the FBT was fairly obvious although there are some trees that obscure it. I was just using an altimeter and map. We ran the length of the RR spur and picked up the older logging road upslope but at some point we dead ended and elected to slab upslope. We encountered a lot of dry slides running for quite a distance upslope. Eventually we rounded to corner and hit the westerly most outlet brook of the ravine which was totally dry. We didnt really find the herd path. We climbed up the brook for awhile but then it started to fill with blowdowns. The woods got thick but we could see an opening so we pushed on through staying somewhat east of the center of the pond. We soon came up at the pond and took a break and enjoyed the views. The extra bushwhacking had eaten up some time so we headed down, this time picking up the herd path and following it right down to spur.
Once we hit FBT we made good time, it was cooling down so we didn't stop a lot, we did encounter a group of young adults backpacking in. Given the forecast, it sure didnt look like they had proper gear with them and given that the majority of the clothing was cotton and canvas type sneakers, I expect they had a rather cool night.
When we got to the bridge on Lincoln Woods trail, we thought about going down it but decided to ford the river. When we got back to the parking lot around 6PM, there was no trace of workers or vehicles.
Overall a enjoyable hike to a remote spot. It will be interesting to hear the reported progress from folks this weekend on the LBT as it sure looks like they are far enough ahead that they dont need to work on it during the week.
