Is She Making it All Up?



October 17, 2007

In case you'd like evidence that I'm really doing it, here's a snap taken by hiker Dave.

Earlier in the day I had met John, who told me he got separated from his two buddies the previous night and was trying really hard to find them.

Here on Baldpate, I found Dave and Ed, the missing pair. Dave revealed that he and John are brothers (!), and Dave hinted that his brother had actually "lost" them and opted to go on ahead by himself.

The view from the top of Baldpate extends north to Lake Umbagog - a place I plan to go canoeing some day when I've had enough of the ups and downs of hiking.

High Altitude Weather

October 16, 2007

Here I am at the top of Mt. Carlo in the Mahoosucs. It's "only" at 3600 feet but just going up a couple of thousand from the valley floor, the weather is completely different. Yesterday freezing rain fell here (though not down below) and this morning as the sky clears, the frosted tips of the spruces give me a preview of winter.
Luckily the ground did not freeze yet, so the path is drying quickly.
I love these ridge-top bog habitats!

The Working Forest

October 16, 2007

A reminder that the Northern Forest is a working landscape ... On this day the first couple of miles of the Notch Trail, an access trail to the AT from the north-west, picks its way through a logging corridor. A cloudy morning is clearing, so while up ahead the ridge line is in clouds, behind me the sun shines on the valley in all its orange glory. Nearby, big trucks are working, so my hike is accompanied by the sound effects of heavy machinery all the way to the Carlo Col shelter.

Maine Fall Foliage


October 16, 2007

Aiming to catch peak fall foliage several times, - here on the Maine-New Hampshire border I'm about to tackle my last missing section of the Mahoosuc Range.
I head out Success Pond Road from Berlin, NH for the Notch Trail to stash my bike and here, maybe 12 miles up a dirt logging road from the nearest pavement, I meet this guy (waiting for a ride?). At the end of the day he's still there.