Phillips Memorial Preserve begins on a small dirt back road, there was a pull off with room for a few cars at the trailhead. There is a small trail network that is well maintained and easy to moderate in elevation gain. The trails are well marked, though there were a couple intersections (due to my effort in trying to trace them all) where I got a little turned around and had to consult the map to make sure I was filling in all the pieces. I basically did an outer loop incorporating Stone Wall Trail first and then Shore Loop Trail, with an inner loop over Ridge Trail. Stone Wall Trail follows along a beautiful stone wall (imagine that!) and past an old quarry before joining Shore Loop Trail and descending down to Otter Pond. There were 2 benches to sit and enjoy the view. Ridge Trail takes you up to the high point where there was a picnic table and peekaboo view over to Mt Sunapee. There was a rogue trail at the top of Ridge Trail that seemed to be marked by a bird feather in a rock, I started to follow it, thinking it may lead to a viewpoint or something, but when it seemed to keep going, I backtracked and kept to the official marked trails. Ended up being just a pinch shy of 2 miles.

Feather seemingly marking a rogue trail

Little Sunapee Forest Association

My experience so far has been mostly positive with New London Conservation Commission Trails. There had only been 1 prior that I had not liked and found difficult to navigate, and that was Molly-Charles Trail at Cordingley Preserve. The Little Sunapee Forest Association became the second and was much worse. It may have been the time of year with all the fallen leaves hiding the footbed, but the lack of decent trail markings and signage was not helpful. Parking is at a boat launch about a tenth of a mile down the road. The trail begins at a gate with a small sign saying Yellow Trail. I ended up doing the trail in reverse, which didn't help with my navigation as I had trouble trying to decipher the description backwards (this could entirely just be me and no fault of the description itself). At the first intersection I went right on the Orange Trail, which quickly became wet and muddy and messy. I reached the intersection with the Blue trail, which has a sign on a tree set back from the actual intersection. From here the condition of the trail was drier and a little more pleasant. When the trail reaches Little Sunapee Rd, bear left and look for the orange blazes. I knew the other end of the Blue trail intersected along here and I had planned on doing a loop of that trail and retracing the Orange that I had just done. I happened to catch sight of a tiny piece of purple flagging and looked left as it looked like a trail was going that way. I then caught sight of a tiny piece of blue flagging and thought, I wonder if this the Blue trail. I followed and sure enough, a little ways in the actual blue blazes began. There was no other indication that I saw though other than that purple flagging. Oddly enough about halfway along, the standard NLCC orange blazes also started. At the intersection with the Yellow Trail I had a little trouble finding where Blue went. Head down and left here and the blue blazes follow along the valley briefly before climbing back up on the other side. I rejoined Orange this time passing Blue and going all the way to Burnt Mill Road and a gate. The description the way I read it, says that the Red trail was across Burnt Mill Road from the gate.. which it is, but a little ways down the road. I spent way too much time looking directly across the road, I even walked down a little bit, just not far enough and saw no sign of the Red trail. I considered going back to my car and driving to the other end, but figured it had to be there somewhere. There was a truck parked a little way down, so I headed for that to see if it was at the trailhead. It was, there was a gate and 2 red blazes on the tree. These would be the only 2 blazes I saw the entire time. The truck ended up belonging to 2 hunters that were right ON the trail, so be mindful if hiking during hunting season. The Red trail is essentially an old road, it was wet in some places and in others I had to completely guess where the old road went. The further in I got, the harder it became to follow. I reached a clearing, which appeared that the trail veered left, but a huge blowdown was blocking the obvious direction of straight ahead. I eventually made it to a gate at the other end of the trail, blocked by another huge blowdown. There was nothing at that end that would have indicated the trail began there either, except for a Forestry sign that wouldn't have made me think it was a hiking trail at all. I actually opted to follow the road back to the Orange trail, rather than backtrack on the Red trail. Both because I really disliked it that much, and I didn't want to encounter the hunters again. Back at Orange, I had to backtrack to Blue and this time I was going to take Yellow to complete the loop. I reached the intersection and saw yellow blazes heading right. This went to the road again and seemed to end. I saw another sign saying Yellow Trail on the ground, but couldn't see where it went. I could see a house not too far from here, so I knew it couldn't go left from where I was. I backtracked between Blue and the road several times looking for any indication of where the Yellow trail went. Just as I was giving up and starting to head back to Blue to go back the way I had initially come, I spotted a yellow painted stake in the ground and then another going straight where Blue went left. Gosh, I was frazzled by this point and just wanted to be done. I was able to follow Yellow for the most part easily enough from this point though some of the blazes were very faded and difficult to see. At a wire fence, head left and follow that until you reach a brook and I-89 is right there, which was a weird juxtaposition from feeling like being in the middle of nowhere! This was actually a pretty area (despite the highway traffic) though the blazes were still hard to see at times. I made it back to the gate and was never so thankful to see the road and walk back to my car! One and done on those trails for me.

Strava Activity

Yellow Trail on Little Sunapee Rd

first intersection with Orange Trail

Purple flagging marking Blue Trail

the tiny piece of blue flagging I had seen plus an actual blaze

NLCC markers for a bit as well as blue blazes

sign for Blue/Orange is back off the trail a bit

end of Orange trail on Burnt Mill Rd

Red trail off Burnt Mill Rd

the other end of Red trail at Messer Hill Rd

Intersection of Blue/Yellow.. those Yellow go to the road, don't follow

Yellow follows a wire boundary fence for a bit

at the I-89 turn

Shepard Spring Trail

Rounded out the day with a quick half mile loop around Shepard Spring Trail. Parking is roadside at the trailhead on Mountain Rd. This one was well marked in the traditional orange NLCC markers and is a simple straightforward wander through the woods, passing a small spring. A couple of quirky finds helped redeemed the frustration from the previous trail.

Strava Activity

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Daniels Mountain & Chesterfield Gorge Natural Area

For the second year in a row, my 15 year old and I went on a Veterans Day ramble. Grateful for the opportunity to do so and appreciative of all the Veterans out there allowing us our freedoms. It was another bluebird day. We took a 2 hour drive to the Keene area and I ventured onto the Wantastiquet Mountain area of my AMC South redlining spreadsheet for the first time. We did the Daniels Mountain trails from Plain Road in Hinsdale. This is a narrow dirt back road, but I was amazed at how much traffic there was. There was a small pull off with room for a couple cars a few hundred feet from the trail head. The trail head itself was tricky to spot (of course obvious once found). I had to use a downloaded .gpx track to help me determine exactly where it was. The trail immediately descends very briefly and crosses a small brook with a lovely little cascade and rather deep pool. The trail then starts climbing and alternates between short steep pitches and flatter areas, making it a nice little cardiac workout for about 0.8 miles to the wooded summit. Being Fall, the trail was completely covered in leaves, and I was thankful for the well blazed trail to help us navigate as the footbed was not obvious at all in some places due to the leaves. Once at the Daniels Mountain summit, we did the Daniels Mountain Loop Trail in a counter-clockwise direction. At just over 2 miles, the trail is a lovely meander through the forest. We had some peekaboo views with the trees having lost most of their leaves. There was one lovely view across to Wantastiquet Mountain from an area called ONeil Ledges. Another ledge area called Moon Ledge had clear views across to the nearby Vermont countryside. That was it for anything with views, but the stroll through the forest was just as pretty, especially with the sunlight hitting at just the right angles to make it all seem rather enchanted. After completing the loop and back on Daniels Mountain summit, we returned the way we came slipping and sliding our way down the leafy, steep pitches and back to the car.

Strava Activity

Chesterfield Gorge Natural Area

Also in the AMC South Trail Guide and just 15 minutes from where we were on Daniels Mountain is the Chesterfield Gorge Natural Area. Access is on Rt 9 in Chesterfield at a Wayside Parking area with picnic tables and a seasonal visitor center. The Gorge has a 0.7 mile loop trail that heads down into the Gorge with lovely views of a waterfall before crossing over on a bridge and looping back up. We figured since we were in the area and the trail is so short, we'd quickly nab this one as well for my spreadsheet. Being off season, the park was relatively quiet, we saw a few groups. I imagine in Summer it's quite bustling. The recommended route is counter-clockwise as the views coming back up are clearer in that direction. Very pretty area with several benches to sit and enjoy along the way. Thanks to some recent rains, the waterfall was flowing well.

Strava Activity

Sunday, November 7, 2021

Trout N Bacon Trail

I'm recovering from another surgery which turned into a thankfully minor bout of pneumonia, so it's been a few weeks since I've been able to get out. I was itching to do so, but obviously needed to take it easy. I opted for the Trout N Bacon Trail in Stoddard and brought my 15 year old with me. We were doing it as an out and back, though I have seen many make it a loop with a road walk back to their cars. I figured out and back was the better option in case I needed to turn around at any point. I had read in the AMC South Guide and on various trip reports that several areas of this trail could be hard to navigate. This is always good information to have beforehand, so you are hyper aware and conscious of being careful. The Guide also states that parking is best a few tenths before the trailhead as the road is rough. Due to a recent logging operation, the road is now smooth and easy to drive right up to the trailhead, and there is a pull off area with room for 2-3 cars. A sign marking the trail can be seen from the road. The trail follows a small brook for about a tenth of a mile before intersecting an old road, could be a snowmobile trail, or just an old road. Turn right here, there is a small arrow nailed to a tree and follow the road for about half a mile or so, gradually ascending. The trail is marked with yellow blazes. As the trail leaves the road, there is a Conservation Property marker and another small arrow nailed to a tree. Turn right here and then ascend a little more steeply towards Bacon Ledge. The trail is well marked and our only issue today was all the leaves that a typical Fall hike has hiding all the ankle rolling rocks and roots. The lower section was also quite wet and muddy, but we were able to rock hop or skooch around relatively easily. There are also lots of small blowdowns that were easily stepped over. Right before reaching Bacon Ledge, the trail hits a relatively steep, short section including a rock scramble that for me was a hands and knees job. We were blessed with a very clear day and Bacon Ledge provides the only real views along the trail overlooking Island Pond in Stoddard. Beyond Bacon Ledge is where I had read the sometimes difficult navigating took place, and while we definitely noticed a distinct change in trail maintenance, we didn't find it quite as difficult as I was expecting. There were 2 spots between Bacon Ledge and Round Mountain where we really had to stop and look for the next blaze, and I had a downloaded track that also helped ensure we were on the right path. The trail is definitely well blazed, just some of the blazes are a little faded and you have to look extra hard to find them. Round Mountain, which is on the NH 500 is wooded with a big rock marking the summit. The trail down to Trout Pond was definitely more rustic, but still marked the entire way. My kiddo did manage to wander off course several times just by not paying attention, which is why I made sure he stayed relatively close to me so I could redirect him when needed. At the approach to Trout Pond you cross a field with some long grasses and then the pond opens up and is very beautiful. It was perfectly quiet and crystal clear for us today. Nancy Mountain reflecting in the pond is the icing on the cake. We backtracked the way we came uneventfully finally seeing our first 2 people ascending Bacon Ledge as we were coming down.

Strava Activity