Pack Monadnock - Raymond Trail

 I had 4 trails left in the entire Wapack Area, and had been putting them off as I know it's a busy area, and I prefer it more quiet. However, redlining doesn't allow for what we like and don't like ;) It was forecast to be unseasonably warm (80 degrees at the end of October!) so Laura and I headed out. We planned a car spot at Miller State Park, beginning at the Raymond Trail on East Mountain Rd in Peterborough. I made my reservation the night before and we attempted to get there as early as possible to beat the majority of the crowds. Raymond Trailhead has room for 3 cars and a couple more roadside if parked smartly. It was a gorgeous morning with the light filtering through the trees making the leaves glow. A car pulled up besides us as we were gearing up and a man got out, not seemingly prepared or really knowing where he was and started out very slowly along the trail. He made us feel very uneasy, so we decided to walk down the road to the overflow parking at Cranberry Meadow trailhead and take the side path up to the Raymond Trail hoping not to bump into him again (we didn't). The sign says 0.5 miles to the additional parking, but it was more like 0.2 and we were on our way. It was muddy down low, but nothing too crazy. We rejoined Raymond Trail after about 0.3 miles and a gentle ascent. The trail basically climbs the entire way with a couple short reprieves. Some of it was on the gentler side, some was quite steep and rocky. It was very, very leafy (being Fall and all) and the leaves were dry for the most part, so in some places it was quite slippery which slowed us down a lot more than anticipated. The terrain was a mix of roots, pine needle bed and big rocks to climb over! All the variety. It was very pretty and definitely the more quieter way to ascend this mountain. We only saw 1 person on our way up. At about 1.6 miles, Raymond Trail crosses the Wapack Trail and continues a few hundred feet to another branch of the Wapack Trail where people were hawk watching. I feel like this has been happening every time I've visited this mountain! We took a left on the Wapack Trail and started the Summit Loop Trail, marked with red dots. We got a bit confused where it left Wapack as there was no sign but if you look carefully there are red dots on the rock ledge, and then where the trail branches off to the right you can see a dot on a tree a little way down. This trail was a little more rugged than I had anticipated (thinking it was advertised as an easy loop for those who may have driven up the auto road to follow). We followed around with some peekaboo views through the trees till we reached the auto road junction and "Boston View" signage. The views today were very hazy, and the skyline was not visible. We picked up Spruce Knoll Trail which takes you 0.3 miles out over a knob (and the town of Temple highpoint) to a bit more of an open view in the same direction as the "Boston View". We backtracked to the auto road and crossed around to finish up Summit Loop which descended down to the Wapack Trail and back up to the Raymond Trail intersection. We crossed back over the summit to Marion Davis Trail, which begins just next to the store. The first half of this trail was very steep and rocky and particularly slippery and somewhat wet as well, which made footing sometimes of a challenge. Even on the less steep sections, all the leaves hid holes, rocks and roots. This trail was VERY busy, as I anticipated. And as always, I was amazed at the amount of people seemingly unprepared. Yes, it may only be a little under 1.5 miles, but the trail is far from easy. I don't know why it still surprises me to see so many people like this! We made it down safely, picking up my car at the Miller State entrance and drove back around to Raymond Trail to pick up Laura's car. That's a wrap on the Wapack Trail. Overall, I loved this whole area, some of my favorite trail sections to date!

Strava Activity

Raymond Trailhead

Cranberry Meadow Trailhead

where the side path from Cranberry Meadow rejoins Raymond Trail

some of the terrain on Raymond Trail

some steep climbs up rocks as well

where Raymond Trail crossed the Wapack Trail

Summit Loop Trail

the "Boston View"

Spruce Knoll Trail from the Boston View

finishing Summit Loop

hawk watching

looking over at North Pack from the summit

so many leaves

Pisgah State Park - Hinsdale Trail

 Hitting a notoriously wet trail the day after a lot of rain was probably not the smartest idea, but it's done, and I'm no worse for the wear ;) I headed to Pisgah to pick up one of the last 3 trails I have left in this park. My last time having to drive in to one of the interior parking lots. Reservoir Road seems to be rougher each time I drive on it, thankfully it's only just over a mile long. There was already a car there when I arrived, but I never saw anyone while out. I geared up and headed up the gated section of Reservoir Road that climbs a short, steep, partly paved hill. I'm never ready for a steep climb right off the bat, so I took lots of breather breaks, and soaked in the Fall Foliage glory around me. The ground was wet and I was a bit concerned it would be slippery with all the leaves down, but I had no issues. A group of 4 ATVs passed me on my ascent. I made it to the top and took the left at the fork towards Hinsdale Trail. Primarily a snowmobile trail (if there is ever enough snow to open it), it is currently closed to motorized vehicle traffic, but like Dogwood Swamp Trail, park manager Kim had told me it was open to hikers, with the understanding it was likely very wet and muddy. Not long after starting, there is a fork. The right branch is gated and leads a short ways to a wonderful spot on the shores of the reservoir. The trail continues over a spillway, which the AMC South Guide cautions to avoid if the water is high.. which it was, so I did. The spillway bypass is the left branch of the fork and was my first (but definitely not last) encounter with major mud. It skirts around and down then back up slightly to the other side of the spillway and another lovely view over the reservoir. From here the trail crosses the top of a dam before continuing into the woods and out to the park boundary. There were no significant spots along the trail with views or anything to see, but on the brief portions of dry trail, I can see why some have said it was one of their favorite trails in the park (including park manager Kim). Very lightly traveled, since it doesn't actually go anywhere and you have to double back, there is a remote and somewhat enchanted feel about it.. particularly at this time of year with the golden yellows and on this day with the overcast atmosphere, the colors were popping. There were a couple of sections with flagged bypasses of particularly flooded areas, which were easy enough to follow if not completely broken in yet. I remember Kim telling me there were 12 bridges along this trail, so I was counting.. and there were in fact 12! Some were very short, but there were 12 nonetheless. A key clue to how wet this area actually is. Just over 1.5 miles from the start of Hinsdale Trail, there is an unmarked T-intersection (there was some orange flagging tape but no signs). Despite all the no ATV signs, the group of 4 who had passed me earlier, were heading back. I later wondered if they were in fact Friends of Pisgah volunteers scouting the trail because upon my return at the very start of the trail was now a very definite "Closed" sign in place in the middle of the trail. I took the left branch of the intersection first and headed out 0.8 miles to the park boundary. Although the AMC South Guide does describe the trail as going all the way to Rt 63, Kim had advised me that at the park boundary, where the private land starts, the "bridge" is in fact an old truck bed which he felt was not safe enough to go over and really would prefer hikers didn't (even though the land beyond is not under his jurisdiction). I heeded his advice, and called that the end of the of trail. I could see the truck bed bridge that Kim had told me about and beyond that was a cabin, so honestly I was happy to call that done. I backtracked to the T-intersection and this time headed straight on a spur that leads about half a mile to another lovely view over the reservoir. I enjoyed a few moments of solitude there before retracing my steps all the way back to the car! I passed another ATV and dirt bike as I was descending Reservoir Rd, otherwise I saw no one else all day! Just 2 more trails/1 hike and I will be done with Pisgah State Park!

Strava Activity

Reservoir Road driving in

bottom of Reservoir Road heading up

Hinsdale Trail off Reservoir Road

the overflowing spillway I did NOT cross

one of 12 bridges on this trail

looking back at the spillway from the other side

it was wet

which side is the trail ;)

my turnaround point at the park boundary

the t-intersection

along the spur to the reservoir

sign that appeared at the trail start while I was out on the trail

not seen: how steep this road actually is

always so grateful to see my car after a long hike!

Pisgah State Park - Chestnut Hill Trail

 Today was a practically perfect hiking day. Having been off the trails for 3 weeks, I wanted something on the easier side of things, so I headed back to Pisgah State Park for one of my 3 final planned hikes to complete redlining. I chose an 8 mile loop that began/ended at Fullam Pond Parking lot, which closes to vehicles for Winter.. another reason I wanted to get this one done before the snow falls. The temperatures were perfect in the 50s/60s with no wind. It started sunny but turned cloudy. The colors of Autumn this year are moving fast, due to all the rain we had over the Summer I have heard. I was blessed with some pops of color to brighten up the day. The best part, I saw not a single soul in 8 miles and then only 1 dirt bike as I was driving out. Old Chesterfield Road was in the best shape I've experienced to date with only a couple of very short rough areas. I needed the 2 tenths of Old Chesterfield Road between Fullam Pond and Chestnut Hill parking areas, which is why I chose Fullam Pond for parking. I headed up Old Chesterfield Road from the gate at the Chestnut Hill lot and made good time to Lily Pond Trail, the only trail I'd hike today that I hadn't been on at all. It started off a little messy with some mud and debris and a small very flooded section that there was no real skooch around without getting your feet a little wet. Beyond that was a large blowdown and I was starting to think this was going to be a slog for a mile. However after that it opened up and cleared out and was a lovely trail. There were some peekaboo views over to the pond, with a couple of herd paths that led to better views. The trail then turned and descended gently to meet up with North Ponds Trail. I turned right onto North Ponds Trail and started the climb to my highpoint of the day at Reservoir Trail. This was a repeat of my very first hike at Pisgah in reverse. I turned left onto Reservoir Trail and descended down, passing Parker Trail and Pisgah Ridge Trail and continuing on to Chestnut Hill Trail. This is one of my favorite sections in the entire park. I've done it a few times now in both directions and it goes from being a tighter trail to wide open pines. Rolling ups and downs without being technical in any way. I've enjoyed it each time. Chestnut Hill Trail went up from this point, and again, it wasn't technical in anyway, but I was tired by now so it felt a lot harder than it actually was. the trail bypasses the summits of 2 bumps (named Pisgah Mountain -Middle Peak and Chestnut Hill on Peakbagger) before descending down to pass the intersection with Parker Trail and back to the Chestnut Hill parking lot. I found this trail a little messier, a little muddier and I actually encountered some mosquitoes which was a surprise in this cool weather! Once back at Chestnut Hill parking I backtracked along Old Chesterfield Road to the Fullam Pond lot and my car! Just 2 more pre-planned hikes at Pisgah and I will have completed the entire park!

Strava Activity

Fullam Pond parking lot

Old Chesterfield Road from Chestnut Hill parking

the flooded section on Lily Pond Trail

magical light on Lily Pond Trail

Lily Pond Trail and North Pond Trail intersection

Reservoir Trail and North Pond Trail intersection

my favorite section along Reservoir Trail

Pisgah Ridge Trail and Reservoir Trail intersection

Chestnut Hill Trail off Reservoir Trail

Chestnut Hill Trail