Crotched Mountain Town Forest - Part 2

 I was surprised to find myself first car this morning in the Farrington Road parking area. The day was crisp without being cold. I initially started in spikes, but took them off after about 100ft of hiking as the thin layer of snow was so sticky it was balling up underneath. I was fine the remainder of the day in just my boots. I headed down Link Trail, which was glorious in the morning light. At the intersection with Bullard Hill Road, where most head straight across to Summit Trail, I turned right and headed down Bullard Hill Road, with the intent of doing a loop on the East side of the forest, as opposed to the west side loop I did a couple months ago. I was unsure what the trails were going to be like as these trails are not widely written about. I saw my only other person on this section, a pooch with his human doing a run. Bullard Hill Road is mostly level and was easy going. There was a large blowdown at the intersection with Scot's Trail, but I was able to step over it. I took a left onto Scot's Trail and finished the last couple tenths I needed between here and Summit East Trail. This section was a little wet and muddy. The worst part was as the day warmed, the snow that had fallen in the previous 24 hours all came melting down on me, it was basically like hiking in the pouring rain! I was soaked, but had layers so I never felt cold thankfully. After crossing an open area, I re-entered the woods and arrived at the Summit East Trail intersection. I took a right here and started what I knew would be the most elevation gain of the day up to the Old Mountain Road intersection. It started off very wet and muddy, and I had to do some careful rock hopping to keep my feet as dry as possible. Once the climb started, it firmed up. While definitely a climb, I was surprised at how moderate it felt overall. No views along this part. I reached Old Mountain Road and took a right, saving the steepest section of Summit East Trail for one more planned loop in this area. Old Mountain Road was just that, an old road. I don't know what these trails are like in other seasons (old roads can sometimes be a mess in Spring/Summer) but with the inch or so of crunchy snow I had, I enjoyed my hike way more than I had anticipated. As the road continued it came out on an open field and a wonderful view across to the Wapack Range, I was even surprised to find a bench to enjoy the view! Back at the other end of Bullard Hill Road, I took a right and completed my loop. Some dark clouds were rolling in, but it was all bark and no bite thankfully. This section was also wet and muddy in several places, but being an old road, it was wide enough I could skooch around for the most part. There was a decent descent on this section, the worst part was snow covering slippery leaves! Back at the Link Trail/Summit Trail intersection, I stayed on Bullard Hill Road which continued back to Farrington Road. This section was alongside a brook for much of the way, which was very pretty. Quick road walk and I was back at my car, this time not surprised to see several cars in the lot. 

Strava Activity

Link Trail

right onto Bullard Hill Road

left onto Scots Trail

looking back on an open area of Scots Trail

right onto Summit East Trail

a wet/muddy section of Summit East Trail

right onto Old Mountain Road

along Old Mountain Road

right onto Bullard Hill Road to complete the loop

looking back at the ridge leading up to Crotched Mountain

Mt Watatic

 New Year's Day! We have had unseasonably warm weather for Winter and a lot of the snow has melted from the last storm. I decided to head out and attempt Mt Watatic again. This time I made the attempt to leave early enough to make it into the parking area before it filled. I was a bit anxious with the warmer weather and it being New Year's Day. I figured it would be a popular spot. It was, but I made it! I was 5th car at 840am. It looked icy, but I had seen a trip report from the day prior saying spikes were not needed. I packed them, but started out in just my boots. A few hundred yards in, I decided to put the spikes on, just so I wasn't having to actively pay attention to every step in order to not slip. At about a quarter mile, an intersection is reached. You can turn right to continue on the Wapack Trail/Mid State Trail up to the summit, or straight on the State Line Trail to create a loop. I opted for right and up to the summit and then would continue the loop from there. The ice almost immediately disappeared, but I kept my spikes on thinking if I took them off, I'd come across more ice and have to just put them back on again. There was a water crossing, then the trail goes through a giant split rock. The climb starts after this beginning with some stone steps. We had rain last night, so it was wet, and while there were small patches of ice, they were all easily avoidable. The climb is short and somewhat steep, but nothing crazy. I decided to take my spikes off about 3/4 of the way up. I was wearing Hillsounds after my Kahtoola spikes broke the day before, so I was worried about damaging these too on the bare ground. There was one view ledge with a big cairn, and a memorial for a hiker on the way up. As I could tell the summit was approaching, the winds picked up, and I put on my puffy. I popped out on the summit where there is a giant cairn and found one other hiker enjoying a hot drink. I took a couple pictures and headed over to a knob about a tenth away where the views were 360 degrees and much wider. I had this to myself! I could even see the Boston skyline! It was very windy, so I didn't linger and headed back to the summit to continue on the Wapack Trail/Mid State Trail to the NH state line. There were no views along this section, but my adoration of the Wapack Trail continued. I passed over Nutting Hill and past the old cart path that makes the shorter of the loop options. I passed and was passed by a steady stream of people, as I had expected, but everyone was spaced out so it wasn't overly crowded. The trail was a mixture of slush, ice, mud and leaves. I was able to continue in just my boots. Once I reached the NH border, that completed my section hikes of the Wapack Trail proper. I have some side trails to go back and complete, but the 21.5 mile Wapack Trail itself was done. It took me 5 hikes to me complete. I followed the border/stone wall a short way before coming to the State Line Trail with a marker for the MA/NH border. From here I followed this straight back to the car. This section was very wet and quite muddy, but with careful steps most could be avoided. I passed a lot of people in the last quarter mile, the icy part, and every single person asked me if it was icy the whole way. I answered honestly and said no.. but it always amazes me to see people unprepared for any sort of conditions, particularly in Winter. I carry my gear with me always. I was also surprised when I returned to the lot to see 5 cars parked along the side that is marked "No Parking This Side". This is how we lose access to these wonderful places when people don't abide by the guidelines. I'm glad I got out early, aside from the lot being beyond full, a side street across the road from the entrance also had cars parked as far as one could see. The summit must have been very busy by this point!

Strava Activity

stone steps at the start of the climb

first view ledge below the summit

Gary must have loved it here

views from the knob below the summit

Boston skyline!

continuing over the summit

Nutting Hill

at the intersection with the cart path, I stayed on the Wapack Trail

back at the border and that finishes the Wapack for me

another memorial

near the trail start, I caught a brief moment of quiet

apparently signs saying "No Parking" are just for decoration

New London Conservation Commission - Kidder Cleveland Clough

 Today I was super excited as I was back out with my best friend Laura, who is rehabbing an injury and subsequent surgery from earlier this year. I decided to take her to New London to Kidder Cleveland Clough Trail and Extension, as I knew there was little to no elevation gain. We parked behind the New London Outing Club and made the decision to just wear spikes as the snow looked more icy than deep. You cross a field and the trail goes into the woods. This trail is never far from civilization, weaving around between a few streets in downtown New London. A lot of it is boardwalk, which I'm sure is really pretty in Spring or Summer. Today we had some pretty yucky conditions. The recent warm weather and rains have washed almost all the snow away, leaving a mix of icy/slushy mess. This actually made walking along the boardwalks more tricky than it should have been, I slipped off the sides a couple times.. it was a mixture of high water/mud/ice alongside the boardwalks. The first spur off the main trail is about a quarter mile in and goes out to Spring Ledge Farm. Not really a trail as such, it basically follows the driveway for the farm out to the road. It was a complete muddy mess today, and with the farm being in the off season, there wasn't even anything pretty too look at to redeem itself. We did the out and back and continued on the main trail to a lollipop loop called Spring Ledge Loop. Another scenario, where I'm sure it's pretty in the Spring/Summer, today was just a slog through the woods. Back at the main intersection, I suggested we call it a day since the conditions just weren't fun, but Laura said "we're here, let's just finish it off"! Bless her, being her second real hike in several months. We took the last spur that goes across wetlands out to Pleasant St. This section was almost all boardwalks, and was a real mess with debris from the recent storms. We tried to clear as much as we could. The trees gave way to tall grasses before reaching Pleasant St. We decided to cross Pleasant St and do the Kidder Cleveland Clough Extension, which was basically another loop in the woods connecting Pleasant St to a neighborhood called The Birches. It was a little snowier on this side, but we did fine in our spikes. The loop is just under a mile in length. Back at Pleasant St, we retraced our steps, just as some rain started to fall, back to the car. 

Strava Activity

Behind New London Outing Club is the trailhead

after crossing a field, enter the woods here

not sure what this is/was.. it looks intriguing

slushy boardwalks

the 3 way intersection about a quarter mile in

end of the Spring Ledge Farm spur

on the spur out to Pleasant St was very messy

once out of the woods it was clearer, boardwalks under the snow

the Extension trail is just a loop

not sure what the viewpoint is, but nice memorial spot

Back at the Pleasant St side of Kidder Cleveland Clough Trail

New London Conservation Commission - Great Brook, Morgan Hill, Dura Crockett

 We had a significant rain/wind storm since all the snow, so I was unsure what the conditions would be like. I headed back to the New London area to tackle a few more trails and was met with plenty of snow still. I parked on Pingree Road, there is a trail entrance marked on a fence with a pullout that will fit a couple of cars. I geared up in snowshoes to start but packed my spikes just in case. The Pingree Connector takes you to Great Brook Trail. I was pleasantly surprised at a well packed snowshoe trail and prematurely got excited that the entire hike would be under such great conditions. I took a left onto Great Brook Trail, having done the section to the right on a previous hike of Bunker Hill Loop. The trail crossed a power line swath and followed Great Brook through the woods. I passed the Lower Cascades, which were spectacular in their frozen glory. The entire brook was so pretty I could have taken millions of pictures of all the ice formations. A fireplace from an old homestead was in the middle of the trail at one point before crossing a bridge and soon after taking a right onto an old road. This section of trail was a combination of ice and frozen leaves, so I opted to remove the snowshoes and put on spikes. Still trying to find my coordination in snowshoes, the spikes were a welcome respite and allowed me to quicken my pace slightly. I reached the Dura Crockett intersection but stayed on Great Brook, noting this as my return point. From here on Great Brook Trail, the clear sections decreased, and while the trail had been broken out, it was less traveled and became more of a slog. Remembering my last time in this area over the Summer, I was anticipating having to reach a clearing with an access road to turn onto Morgan Hill Trail, so I was surprised to find a trail head sign a little ways before the clearing, and realized I had gone slightly off course over the Summer to begin Morgan Hill Trail. I continued the few hundred yards to the access road to officially complete Great Brook Trail and backtracked to the Morgan Hill Trail sign. The few tracks I had been following had continued on Great Brook Trail, but Morgan Hill Trail was completely unbroken. I started in and felt badly for post holing in sometimes knee deep snow, but knew I couldn't put my snowshoes on in such deep conditions, and hoped there would be a large rock or branch sometime soon where I could change. There was a bridge and area that had melted, so I took the opportunity to change back into snowshoes and proceeded to basically break trail from here. I did see one set of boot marks, but they were only helpful in guiding the way, I was breaking trail and it was tough going. Heading up the incline (which is slight, but felt like Everest) I would take a step and slide back 2. I wanted to quit, but knew that wasn't an option! Finally I reached an area where the trail was melting a bit and there were some more tracks which made the going a little easier. I continued down to the other end of Dura Crockett Trail and contemplated continuing on my original plan of picking up Morgan Hill Loop Trail, which I had opted out of on my last trip in this area for the same exact reason.. I was getting very tired! Knowing the intersection was just a short distance down, I decided to see if it was broken out, and if it was, I'd do it, if not, I'd save it for another day. As it turns out, it was broken out/clear, so I decided to go for it. I changed back into spikes, as I knew I didn't have the energy to continue in snowshoes. The trail ascends to the Morgan Hill summit, also the high point of New London. With no views, I continued down to Kidder Trail. This side of the hill was pretty, but the snow was deeper, and was pretty chopped up with frozen post holes. I reached Kidder Trail and took a left. This returned me to the parking area I had used on my last trip and the beautiful views over to Kearsarge Mountain. From here I took a left and headed back up Morgan Hill Trail to the Dura Crockett Trail. Dura Crockett started out with just one set of boot marks. I knew I couldn't possibly do snowshoes again (I was just too gassed) so continued in my spikes. Thankfully it wasn't too deep, but it was definitely a trudge at this point. Not really paying too much attention to my surroundings, just wanting to be done, I kept my head down and plodded on. I reached a water crossing that had ice on it, and I hoped it would hold me as there really weren't any other options for crossing safely. I tested each step with my poles and safely made it across. From here, the trail was more broken out, it seems people had come that far, probably because from this point back the trail followed the brook again with more beautiful frozen cascades. I was happy because I knew once I got back to Great Brook Trail it would  be clear sailing and broken out trail. There was a lot of debris on the trails from the previous storms, but I was able to step over or duck around the bigger ones without too much hindrance. This really is a pretty area, and I highly recommend the sections along the brook. While having only seen it in Winter, I'm sure it's gorgeous in Summer too if there's enough water flowing along the cascades. 

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