Another stop on this dreary morning was a short walk up to Jeremy Hill in Pelham NH. This is just a quick 1 mile out-and-back.
Just past the gate there is a field of thorn bushes that were passible when I went but during summer months might be a little prickly.
The hardest part of this hike was finding were to park. It feels like you are parking in a driveway. But there is a gated trail/snowmobile trail that has a sign noting that is is a right of way path. I parked there out of the way making sure not to block the gate or any driveways.
easy trail/road to follow
The trail I parked by is not the one I needed to go down. I’m glad I looked at my GPS. I noticed that I wanted to go the opposite direction of the trail. After a little inspection I saw that the trail did continue in the right direction, but it was a bit hidden behind some overgrowth. If this was summer, then I would have not seen this at all.
Former Fire Tower site
I started down the trail. It crosses some thick thorn bushes but there was a clear path to go through. Again, if this was summer it might be a bit overgrown. There are also lots of no trespassing signs along the path as well.
The trail tuns more like an old road after the thorns. It is lined with a nice stone wall. After about .3 miles there is a junction and a path that goes gently up hill.
Another angle of this site
About a quarter mile up the road I came to the old fire tower location. The cement pad was all still in place with some metal from the structure sticking out. There were also several old rusty barrels and other odd artifacts scattered around.
The trail does a small loop around the high point and then I continued back down to the junction and back to the car. Overall, this trail is short and sweet. It is easy and pretty. But again this may have to do with the season and not having a lot of overgrowth.
View of the Uncanoonuc Mountains from Russell Hill
Date:
11-24-2024
Location:
Brookline, NH
Distance:
3.34 mi
Elevation Gain:
349′
Total Time:
1 hr 32 min
Parking:
3+ cars
Today was a dreary and rainy morning so I decided to combine a couple of small, short hikes to some old fire tower locations in Southern New Hampshire. Neither of them are still standing.
My first stop was to Russell Hill in Brookline. There is not a fire tower still standing but it was a good excuse to get outside.
The start of the trail off Mason Road.
I arrived at the parking location but noticed it was just a short walk up to the summit and there was another trail that would offer a better loop of the area. So I decided to go to the other parking location off of Mason Road.
There is a pull-off and an old logging road that leads to the trail. There is room for about 4 cars without blocking the gate. There are also two large logs blocking vehicle traffic to this area.
The road starts out with a small rise but is otherwise flat. Just after the small rise, I came came across a cellar hole connected to a bit of an old foundation. There were some old artifacts from the home scattered around and under the leaves.
I continued a short distance further and spotted what looked like an old truck sitting in the woods about 50 yards off trail. I went to check it out and it looks like and take some pics. It also looked like this truck was set on fire and burned hot. It was a somewhat newer truck judging by the size of the melted screen on the dashboard.
I set back out on the road which has a lot of twists and turns and other off shooting trails. My Gaia app was very handy in keeping me on track.
A not so old burnt out truckmelted dashboard
I found the junction with the trail up the hill. It goes through a large, cleared area. The path was mowed down when I went but off to the side it was very tall. This would be thick in the summer.
The trail is easy and steady going up just over 300’ to a lookout area. There is a large stone structure with a little wooden sign. Others have mentioned that this is an informational marker talking about the Russell Family who settled on this hill in 1757 and remained there for 9 generations. But there was no sign on this marker when I visited.
View point and stone structure
I continued along toward the wooded high point of the hill where the tower stood. There is a small cairn that marks the high point.
From here I followed the trail down the other side. Much of this area had been previously logged. I came to the junction of the small trail I was originally going to go up and continued along the loop.
Summit Cairn where the fire tower once stood
On my way down I came to another open area with an interesting cut tree. Much of this part of the trail looks like it could be very wet under normal conditions, but lack of steady rain this fall made it an easy pass.
I arrived back at the original junction that took me up the hill and continued back toward the car.
This hike had a lot to offer for such a short walk. Cellars, trucks, views, structures, artifacts etc.
It was a bright and crisp Sunday morning. My friend Jack invited me to join him on a hike up to the High Camp Site on the Timber Camp Trail in Waterville Valley. We were supposed to go up this spur the last time we hiked to Greely Ponds but did not have enough time.
Crisp air and blue skies as we set out.
When we got to the Livermore parking lot there were only a hand full of cars. It was sunny and about 26 degrees when we parked. We collected our things and grabbed our packs and we were off. Instead of walking on Livermore Road we took one of the ski trails.
We crossed the bridge and started out down Greeley Pond Trail. This was a different trail from when we hiked it a month ago. All the leaves were off the trees, and everything was so gray compared to before.
The pine corridor at the start of the Greeley Ponds trail
The first part of this trail went quickly. There are some nice fine evergreen corridors and again some beautiful bare Birch trees. Eventually we got to some of the elevation on the trail.
At this point the trail starts to climb again steadily. We could see the brook we followed in get further and further below us. This trail is in great shape and looked to be cleared out by the trail maintainers. All the water bars were clean and the trail looked raked in some areas.
A White Birch corridor as well
Once we reached the Hight of land on this trail we knew we were not far from the Timber Camp Trail. When we got there, we took a quick break and some photos before our accent.
The Timber Camp Trail will take us to the High Camp site. It starts off somewhat moderate as it angles up the slope. Then it switches back sharply and then again angles up.
Sandy outcrop with some killer views of the Tripyramids
We reached a large sandy clearing that we could climb up that offers some beautiful views of the Tripyrmids and we could see over to the Kancamagus Highway through the Greeley Pond gap.
We could also see on of the pull offs just above the Hancock Trailhead. I’ll have to look for this spot next time we stop at that outlook. We continued up for a ways longer. The trail started to level out a bit as we followed the brook up.
Beautiful Views of the Rripyramid
After a bit of walking, we finally made it to the site of the High Camp. There were a couple of artifacts left around the camp. We first saw a 55 gallon oil drum up there. We inspected it and made sure there was nothing gruesome inside. (you never know).
We also found some old metal jugs and some cables around the property. There is a cairn in the middle that marks the location of the camp. There is also a heard path that must lead out to the East Osceola Cliffs for climbers.
An old barrel from the old camp.
We decided we had followed it long enough and started to head back to the camp. Once we got back Jack brewed up some coffee and snacks. We hung out for a bit and enjoyed the sunshine.
Afterwords we cleaned up our stuff and started to make our way back down. The return trip seemed to go much quicker. We made it back the sandy clearing we stopped at in a short amount of time to see if we could spot a helicopter we heard. So we took a few more pics while we were there.
Enjoying some coffee at the High Camp.
Before we knew it we were back on the Greely Pond Trail and began the march back to the lot. There was a small decent, but the majority of this trail is flat. We made it back to Livermore Road and walked back to the car.
This was a fun hike and it is pretty laid back with only about a 1000’ of elevation over a number of miles. It would be fun to camp overnight up at the High Camp sometime. Spooky but fun.
I had some time this morning and was looking for something quick and easy to hike. I had remembered that I wanted to check out Mt. Agassiz in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. This was a bit of a drive, but it seemed more exciting than watching TV.
Hikers Welcome at Your Own Risk Sign on the gate at the beginning of the hike
When I left my house, it was bright and sunny but by the time I got up to Lincoln, clouds were getting a bit thicker and darker. They were also creating some interesting shapes and swirls above me.
Large boulder on the road.
I overshot the trail head. It looked like a driveway to me at first but then noticed a small place for 2-3 vehicles to park but really only two can fit there. There were a few other spots a little further in.
I started up the road and soon after got to a gate with a sign that said no vehicle traffic, but hikers were ok. So, I ducked under the wires and continued to walk. The road climbed pretty steady right from the start.
An interesting Angle of the Observatory
After a bit of hiking, it levels out a bit and then a little further it starts climbing a little steeper for a way. There were some sort of sheds or shelters along the road. I came across a bench on the side of the trail. I figured this was a halfway bench.
Summit Geo Marker for Mt. Agassiz
The road had one steeper section then it angled up toward the summit. From the start, the road was roughly paved from years ago. Most of the road is dirt and in good condition. I passed some trails on my left that showed up on my GPS. It turns out that these are downhill mountain bike trails.
Side view with wooden door
Just around the corner from these trails, the old observatory came into sight. It is a beautiful stone building but in great disrepair. I made my way around the building and took several different photos.
Around the back there is a small staircase that leads to a small lawn outlined with a metal railing and an amazing view. There is a bench there to if you choose to sit and enjoy the scenery. I stayed for a few more pictures and sometime just enjoying the view.
Backside of the Observatory
I could see Mt. Hale, Garfield, Mt. Cleveland and Cannon Mountain. Lots of others especially looking west toward Vermont. And I had this all to myself.
I headed back toward the trail and made my way down. The way down was much quicker. I was at the halfway bench before I knew it.
The lookout bench in the back
I was close to the bottom when I saw a gentleman walking up. As I looked up, my foot slipped into a small rut and I fell, in front of the only person I saw all day. I picked myself up, a little embarrassed but otherwise fine.
I made it back to the car without any other incidents. This hike is a neat little gem. It was pretty short and offered some great views. I kept thinking that this would be a great place to shoot the stars on a clear winter night.
Previous plans for a different hike didn’t work out so my buddy Eric suggested checking out some local trails in Pelham, NH. The Gumpus Pond Conservation area seemed like a pretty good area to explore.
When we got to the lot the temps were in the high 20’s and the sun was out. There is room for about 10 cars in the Hinds Ln. parking lot. Liberty was excited for an adventure as well.
The first well built carn on this hike
We started out on the Whitetail Trail and decided to do a clockwise loop of the property. The trails on the property are in very good shape. Most are double track wide and are most likely used for snowmobiles in the winter.
There were also a lot of leaves down on the trail that were hiding some rocks, twigs and stumps for tripping on. At our first turn on the trial there was a nice cairn. A little further up there was another interesting cairn and a rock with an engraving on it.
Second well built cairn
As we continued on, we found ourselves on the Spalding Hill Road Trail. There were lots of stone walls and possibly some old foundations throughout the property.
Liberty sniffing around
We came upon a wet land with a little outcropping that offered some nice views. Back on the main trails there were also some interesting overhangs that looked like tunnels as we approached. We looped back up on the Skyline trail back to the Gumpus Hill Road trial.
Heading into the tunnel of sticks
After a bit we reached the Gumpus Pond Trail Parking lot, one of the other parking lots on the property. From here we continued up the Cottontail Trail. This trail had a nice open field we crossed.
We kept moving to the Beaver Pond Loop Trail. This trail skirts the edge of the pond with some beaver huts in the water and lots of downed trees by the beavers. Eventually this trail leads us back to the car.
Columns of trees
This was a great local hike without a lot of elevation. Most the trails are wide and well maintained. A few were a bit root-y but generally good footing. There were a few hunters out there so we all had our orange on. Especially Liberty.
I was up early to vote in the Presidential Election. After voting, I met up with my friend Laura and Onyx to go hike up Piermont Mountain in Piermont, NH.
Views from the summit of Mt. Piermont
The weather was overcast with some drizzly rain in-between, but the forecast said things would clear up by mid-morning.
The sign at the entrance to the camp
When we arrived at our destination, we realized we would have to park outside the gate at Camp Walt Whitman. The camp is private property, so we respected the sign and parked out by the road.
We walked down the road through the camp. The camp is pretty large and reminded me of the camp from the movie Dirty Dancing. After navigating our way through all the buildings, we finally found the trail head for the Pvt. Richie Green trail that would take us to the top.
Strolling through the camp
The trail starts out pretty easy, however there were a lot of leaves to go through that were hiding many of the rocks and sticks on the trail. Shortly after we hit our first moderate grade.
The sign for the Pvt. Richie Green Trail
After climbing a few hundred feet more the trail flattened out a bit. We were still going up just not as steep until we got to the last quarter of the hike. From here things become steep. We still had good footing just had to take a lot of big steps and needed use the trees to help pull us up.
An old bog bridge on a wet section of the trail
The trail does have some false summits, and it seemed to take us a little longer than we expected but we kept moving forward. We came to another steep pitch and at the top of it was a ledge scramble where we had to pull ourselves up with some roots from trees growing on it. Some areas were vertical.
There were a few water crossings on the way up. All were easy and passable.
After that there was one more steep section but was not as technical as the section before. So we kept climbing and eventually things started to flatten out toward the top.
Laura climbing up the steep part of the trail
Once we reached the ridge line, we entered a thick mossy forest, and we could hear the winds starting to pick up. Even a little rain started fall. The short ridge walk was very cool. It was nice to be in this mossy wonderland.
The mossy Ridge walk near the summit
This trail ended at a rocking outlook to the north east. There were still some clouds in the sky but they were high so we had some views while we were there. In fact, the only mountain we could not see the top of was Mt. Moosilauke.
Standing on the Summit of Piermont Mountain
We spent some time up there, had a drink and took some photos. Before we left, the sun started to peak out between the clouds, and by the time we put our packs back on, the whole valley was sunny.
Signed the canister at the top
On the way down we were moving a little slower than usual. The steep terrain, leaf covered trail and hidden hazards had us on our toes.
The cloud looks like a UFO landing on the summit of Mt. Moosilauke
There was a lot of slipping and stumbling on the way down, but we made it down safely. The steep part at the top was where we needed to be the most cautious.
View of the steep part on the way down
In the flatter areas I seemed to stumble a bit more on the hidden rocks and holes. We eventually made it down to the camp and walked back up to the car.
Sunny day on the way down.
Overall, this was a very casual hike and we were both pleased that we did not see a single person on the trail.
