Sunday, August 24: Mt. Percival, RidgeTrail, down Doublehead

Six or so miles. On mountains that we only knew the first one. Gorgeous day in August. That all sounded okay to Hunter and me and also Samsun, recruited to hike with us on his week off from his basement located research job at Princeton. But the hike turned out to be challenging for a variety of reasons. Our intention was to leave one of two cars at the base of Doublehead - the endpoint. Thank goodness Hunter saw the tiny faded 3 foot high wood sign next to Rt.113 marking the Doublehead Trail, instead of noticing the town sign for Thompson Rd. that Samsun and I drove right past. We did a U turn to follow Hunter up the dirt road for less than a mile where there was a pull-off for the trail. According to the Squam Trails book, we were expected to hike this road - clearly drivable and with a parking pull off for 2-3 cars (we were the only one)at the start to the woods trail. We drove back to Mt.Percival and started up, including in our itinerary the connector path to Mt.Morgan which we did back and forth. It was a warm day with no wind - we were all hot - but the trail was well maintained and a pleasure to hike. Near the top, Hunter opted for "the cave trail" - which she found delightful (perhaps cool, too). Samsun and I took the shorter "cliff" trail - which did not actually have cliffs, any more so than any of the oversized boulders that we scrambled over on the Ridge Trail later. We posed for a photo at the top of Mt. Percival, but then moved on, hoping to minimize time in the sun. But the ridge was sunny. Sunny and shady, actually. Lots of bumping up and down over mammoth rocks and through scrubby pine. For the next 4 miles we met only 2 men - and it was a summer Sunday. This trail is not as well traveled as others we have hiked, so this may explain why the trail was much brushier and more difficult to follow. There were several times where we took wrong turns and had trouble finding the next yellow mark. This was of particular concern for us since we realized late that we had left our trusty map in the car waiting for us at the bottom of Doublehead. We did not realize how spoiled we had become by the level of maintenance given to the well-traveled trails. On this one, we never did see a marker for Squam Mt., although we walked across several high open areas that seemed to be a peak of some sort. Then, when we passed a lone walker and I asked him about the distance to Doublehead, he told us 10-15 minutes. In that time, we did pass what may have been one of Doublehead's peaks (where I expected to find the trail down), but there was no sign or trail. After that point, Samsun suggested we take a break for lunch on a nice looking cool mossy-faced rock. I slowed a bit when OUCH! I was stung! I started running, as did Samsun and Hunter. Unlucky Samsun, following me, was stung at least 3 times and the hornets(?), wasps (?) were chasing him still as he ran after me down the trail. Lucky Hunter somehow escaped the wrath of the insects. But Samsun and I were MOVING. The stings hurt! We ran down through the woods, crossed a stream and then found ourselves picking our way along this dark muddy swamp of a trail - with a few rocks but mostly black ooze and pools of water. In the rear, Hunter had difficulty negotiating the lousy footing, and Samsun and I turned around when we heard cries of upset as she stumbled through the muck. After that, we decided to take a break for lunch. It was not a happy lunch in spite of the delicious food (egg salad) Hunter had prepared to order for each of us. I was not happy that we hadn't seen signs designating the mountains. Hunter had not enjoyed the swamp. And she now pointed out that Samsun was getting a rash reaction to the stings, so Samsun was alarmed. At the sight of the first the first flying bug, we were up and walking (Hunter ate the rest of her sandwich in the car later). I proceeded to predict that we were beyond Doublehead, but Hunter had studied the map and remembered that all trails went down from that peak. Sure enough, we went up another incline and at the top, there were 2 signs - one pointing toward Sandwich, the other down Doublehead. And it was DOWN. It descended almost straight down for quite a stretch before leveling out to a grassy road for a ways, then back to a still somewhat level trail to the welcome car. In all, we were out for about 4 hours and 20 minutes - a memorable trip.

July 22, 2014

It's July. Late July. How did that happen? Hunter and I had to get out for the one day that we could with all the comings and goings of people in our lives in this busy month of summer. I opted for Five Finger Point because it was supposed to be a warm day and because I was (admittedly) sore from too much activity the day before. We decided to bring along Rumi, our #3 ranger, and his cohort this summer, Otis, who was out with us for the first time: a small pup who we kept on the leash as he pulled ahead with great anticipation for most of the 2.7 miles. Hunter had him tethered while I held onto Rumi. What might have been a milder walk was made considerably more exciting by the unending stops/starts and - well - wadings of the pups, as they loved the water, but would only wade in belly deep. The walk itself wandered alongside East Rattlesnake for an up and down uneven stretch before reaching the water's edge and the real reward of the point itself. It followed a loop along the edge of the water with several gorgeous openings to the cove and then the lake itself (where someone had erected a fun cairn near the point: you can see Hunter standing near it with the oblivious dogs). On the far side we could glimpse a crowd at "Jumping Off Rock" (is that the right name for it?) By the end of the walk we were very hot - the humidity added to the 80 degree heat - and the panting dogs had slowed to an amenable walk as we returned to the car on Pinehurst Rd.

Monday, June 23 - Mt. Morgan

Was it after 2 o'clock when we started our climb up Mt. Morgan?!? Hunter and I are both morning people but we thought perhaps we might have company on the more popular trails, so we had held out until quite late before we set out - just the rangers 3 again. It was a warm start to the hike, and also buggy. We were armed with bug spray, but these were gnats, the kind that get right in your eye. The start to the hike was not propitious, but somehow the details fell away and it seemed quite effortless before we had covered the gentle gradual ascent to the stream which I remember as marking the start to the steeper section. The stream was almost dry and the steepness itself had to prove to me that that was, in fact, the stream that we had hiked to so often when Hunter and her siblings were much younger. We climbed to the ridge and then up the gully at the top which was also dryer than I remember from my past excursions. Because we had Rumi, the pup, we did not take the fun trail up the ladders. At the top, the breeze was cool and the wide-angle view, so rewarding. There were only 3 other people up at that time; in the past, we have encountered many more on the summit. The views in so many directions make it very rewarding, and the parking lot at the base helps with its accessibility. We scooted back down - 2 hours on Mt. Morgan. We were hot and ready for a swim in still cool Squam Lake.

Saturday, June 21 Cotton Mt. to Prescott Tr.

It was one of those breathtaking days in early summer where the air is crisp and the meadows are brimful of wildflowers and - well - how can anyone NOT want to be outside celebrating? As we climbed up Cotton Mountain, Hunter recalled how, just a few months ago, she had slogged through over-knee-deep heavy snow on that same trail. We spotted a snake slithering across the warm path at its start, before the open area- which is beautifully recovering from its past as a gravel pit - gave way to beech shaded woods. Cotton Mountain is short and steep but offers a view towards Little Squam before the tree leaves cover it, and then another along the length of big Squam which is always open. From the top of the mountain, we followed the Ridge Trail as it descended through pine woods and crossed a stream and headed up Livermore. There was a tree that had fallen right down the middle of the path which must have been very recent since we have noticed that SLA does a remarkable job of keeping the trails clear. Mostly, we are over and over again appreciative of the stone work across streams and mud and in steep areas that would surely erode without the thought and dedication of some hard working volunteers. As we took the Prescott Trail for the descent, we were aware of how much we preferred that trail in the other direction - climbing up it we tended to look up and to our right at the beautiful old forest. On the way down, sadly, we noticed more the other side of the trail and the prevalence of logging alongside. Again, we chanced on a tree that had not yet been pruned by SLA - note the look of upset on Hunter's face.

Wed., June 18 Rattlesnake: Pasture- Ridge-Col(part)

Unexpectedly, Hunter and I were both free to hike on a Wednesday. The weather looked a bit ominous, so we opted for another short loop on the Rattlesnake trails. We predicted they might be busier later in the summer, but at this point, we felt it was okay to take Rumi with us. The leash was precautionary. We did see another dog just as we were starting out. After that, we only saw one other person (on popular West Rattlesnake!!!) - a gentleman with a foreign accent who was as thrilled to reach the top of the almost entirely vertical Pasture Trail as we were in the humid heat. The view was rewarding, although we stopped only for a brief moment before traversing the Ridge Trail and descending the Col Trail where we had been so plagued by bugs on the ascent a few weeks ago. Even with bug spray, Hunter felt a mosquito bite. After that, she took off on a run down the steep trail and we were back at the car within 45 minutes of departure. We decided that the loop we took today was ideal for anyone looking for a steep, short hike with fewer people than the very busy trail on the other side of West Rattlesnake.

June 15 - East Rattlesnake: Butterworth - Ridge- Col (part)

Okay, we wanted to hike again. Again it was a weekend. The weather was superb: high 60's and windy. Hunter was getting over her cold, not yet completely mended. We decided to tackle another set of Rattlesnake trails. This time we would get dropped off my Nika and Scott at the start of Butterworth where there is NO public parking (that is an issue for an SLA trail, in my mind). We left our car at the end of the Col Trail. We also put on plenty of bug spray and carried more with us, which wafted back to me when Hunter sprayed on more, mid walk. The walk up Butterworth skirted some logging and was pine forest. I found it less attractive than the other side of the mountain in spite of the gorgeous trail work - see Hunter perched on the lovely stone work. The view from the top was breathtaking - looking south and east and somewhat west. We then descended along the Ridge Trail to the East end of Col. There were more sign of logging before skirting a swamp where Hunter spotted a large toad which was well disguised in the greenery (see photo).

June 7, 2014 -Rattlesnake: up from Pinehurst Rd

Hunter and I did not realize how busy our summer would be. We had hoped to have lots of time during the weekdays when we were sure the trails would be less crowded. We were surprised to find ourselves planning a hike for a Saturday morning. Because Hunter was coming down with a cold, we decided to do a close, shorter hike on Rattlesnake. We expected that surely we would meet many people and resent them : we decided not to take along Ranger #3, dear Rumi, since he can be unfriendly to stranger dogs. We drove to the trailhead on Pinehurst Road where Fiver Finger Points and various Rattlesnake Trails originate at a gate that specifies private property beyond. A lone hiker warned us at the outset that the mosquitoes were bad. We immediately realized I had forgotten my hat and the reppelant we would so badly need. The bugs were TERRIBLE. Even though I lent Hunter my sun prevention coat, they were relentless. It's too bad that the bugs were so insistent since the trail was quite beautiful - huge old, old maples and a sweet stream alongside the beginning stretch. And... other than the one woman, we met no one: as we hiked up the first part of Col Trail, across Ridge Trail and down the west end of Butterworth.