Clear skies and crisp temperatures make for great night time shots of stars. So my buddy and I headed up north to capture what is left of the Milky Way in September.
We first grabbed a first come first serve site at the Covered Bridge Campground. Hung the hammocks and then headed out to take some photos.
Our first stop was Rocky Gorge off the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire. Lighting up the foreground was a little difficult and the Milky Way was not lining up with our shot. Since the moon was going to be rising at around Midnight we decided to keep moving along.
Date:
9/12/20 – 9/12/20
Location:
Crawford Notch, NH
Distance:
200+ mi RT
Outing Time:
2 days
Reason for Trip
Night Photography
I’m not saying this is a picture of aliens but I’m pretty sure it’s aliens.
As we drove we spotted a moose on the side of the road. Then we saw a couple fo foxes. Lots of wildlife this night.
We headed up to Crawford Notch and decided to photograph the Crawford Depot building. This is a historic train station located in the notch.
We spent some time at this location photographing the building from different angles and playing with some light painting.
I was happy with the way most of the images came out.
After we were done shooting we headed back to camp. Then took a scenic ride back to a view more pics on a bright and sunny day.
Let’s go camping on Labor Day Weekend. This was our bright idea two weeks before Labor Day.
We started looking at some of our favorite campgrounds and everything seemed to be all booked up in New Hampshire.
We enjoy trying new places so we decided to try a campground we had never been to. After a little more searching we found Timberland Campground in Shelburn, NH.
It had many of the amenities that we enjoy like a pool, walking trails, pet friendly, fire rings, etc. They only had 2-3 sites left. We knew they would not be the best sites since it was Labor Day but we decided to go for it. So we reserved tent site 7.
Date:
9/4/20 – 9/7/20
Location:
Shelburn, NH
Price:
$26 Per Night
Site Number:
Site 7
Toilets
Flush/Shower
Max People Per Site
8
Parking:
1 cars
Dog/Pets:
Yes
Hammock:
Yes
We got to the campground on Friday afternoon around 5pm. We checked in at the store and then made our way to the site.
The tent site is in a small cul-de-sac of tent sites and ours was the last one on the loop. Site 7 was a bit awkward and looking around at the other sites in the loop it was also the smallest and our least favorite. But we decided to make it work.
The site shaped like a narrow “L”. It was also very rooty so we were limited on where we could set the tent. Once we got the tent set up we set up the rest of camp.
Below us was a large group of campers that were having a good time and were a bit loud but again, we knew this was Labor Day and this would be going on at every campground.
As the night went on the group below us congregated to a fire pit below us. It seemed a bit awkward for us to be facing down at the larger group. I’m sure it seemed weir to them too having people looking down.
The next morning I went to the store to get a campground sticker. The camp owner asked what site I was at and when I told her she smiled and said they too heard the group.
I asked if all the sites up there were full and she said there was a cancellation and two sites in the circle were not being used. We asked if we could move our site and they said to go ahead.
We looked at the other sites and decided to move our tent down to site 5. About 30 feet away from our current site. At least now we were not facing the large group. This site was much larger and flatter and over all much more enjoyable.
The only draw back to this campground was that it was close to the road. Tractor trailers and motorcycles frequent this road and when they drive by it is hard to hear if someone is talking. Especially if there is a motorcycle ride going by. (There are several on Labor Day Weekend).
Again we made the best of things and enjoyed the camping trip. We spent a lot of time at the camp cooking with our new Dutch Oven. We tried cooking all kinds of things; Pulled Pork, Frittatas, muffins, pancakes, and hash over the course of the weekend.
The campground had a nice river walk and lots of great places to fish or swim. It also had a heated pool. We didn’t go in but seemed like it would be nice.
Over all the campground had a lot of variety of sites. The bathrooms were clean and the owners were very friendly.
During the day we took a ride up to Berlin, NH to check out Jericho State Park. Neither of us had ever been. We knew the park catered to ATV riders but were surprised to find out everything else the park offered.
When we got to the parking lot we went and talked to the ranger and he let us in (We have NH State Park Plates so we don’t have to pay the fee). There is a beautiful beach on Jericho Lake, a nice bath house with flush toilets, picnic area with grills and a campground. The park is mostly pet friendly so we all took a walk around to check everything out.
As we walked through the campground we saw lean too sights, cabins, RV sites and tent sites. Many of them were on the water or at least had great views of the water. We both said that we would have to try this campground sometime and rent some ATV’s. Over all we were very impressed with this State Park.
I enjoy exploring new trails up mountains I’ve been to many times. I was looking at my map of the Wapack Trail and noticed that I had never taken the Raymond Trail to the summit of Pack Monadnock.
So after some work and chores on a beautiful Sunday afternoon I decided to take a ride and check out this trail.
The trail head is a dirt parking lot. There is another parking lot a couple of hundred feet down the road that goes to the Cherry Pond trail as well. The lot looked a bit bigger but was full.
Date:
8-30-2020
Location:
Peterborough, NH
Distance:
3.4 mi
Elevation Gain:
920′
Total Time:
2 hr 23 min
Parking:
4+ cars
Difficultly Rating:
Easy
The Raymond Trail starts with some ups and downs until the junction with the Cherry Pond Trial. From here it climbs steadily for about a mile.
Soon I came to the steeper rocky pitches that took me to the summit. The rocks took a little maneuvering in some spots but over all were not that difficult to navigate.
Once at the top I enjoyed some views of Mt. Monadnock and North Pack. There were a few people up there but it was not over crowded due to the park limiting people because of COVID-19.
I started down back down the trail. On my decent I took my time going down the rocky steep section. I tend to go a little slower and more careful when hiking solo. Soon I made it back to my car.
This was a fun trail to take. It was not over crowded like other trails on this mountain. I would recommend this trail to new hikers and I’m sure kids would have a blast.
Barnes Field is a group site located near Dolly Copp Campground in Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire. The field area has 10 large group sites located in a road loop . Each site can accommodate about 8-10+ tents.
Each site on the outer edge is set away for each other and the ones in the middle could be combined if you had a really big group.
Each site had a picnic table and a fire ring. Some of the larger sites hold up to 25 people and have a very large fire ring that a lot of people can fit around.
We were staying on Site 7 which is in the middle of the circle. The group were were with had rented out the whole campground and everyone was congregating at site 6 next door to our site. So this worked out to be very convenient.
Date:
8/15/20 – 8/16/20
Location:
Barnes Field Gorham, NH
Price:
$40
Site Number:
Site 7
Toilets
Pit Toilet
Max People Per Site
8
Parking:
2 cars
Dog/Pets:
Yes
Hammock:
Yes
Because this site is in the middle of the circle there were paths leading out in all directions. Kind of like the hub of a wagon wheel.
Our site was hammock friendly so I was pleased to hang my Chameleon hammock. I knew I would sleep good. We had a total of 3 hammocks hanging at our site.
During the night time some of us sat under the stars and watch the Perseid Meteor shower dance above us. This is a great campground for a family reunion, party or get together.
After spending a fun night with a lot of great people at Barnes Field. My buddy Mistah Jay and I decided to go up Pine Mountain. A small hike that was recently added the 52 With a View list here in New Hampshire.
After breaking down the camp, eating breakfast and saying goodbyes to some friends we made our way to the trail head.
The trail head was just a mile or two up the road from the campground and we arrived we saw there was a bit of a road walk. We continued to drive down about another quarter mile thill there was a gate and more parking. We set off down the road about 11:15 AM.
Date:
8-16-2020
Location:
Gorham, NH
Distance:
4 mi
Elevation Gain:
842′
Total Time:
3 hr 0 min
Parking:
4-10 cars
Difficultly Rating:
Easy
After about a mile of road walking we arrived at the ledge trail. This trail was moderate and then got a little steeper once we got to the ledges.
once we got to the bottom ledges there were magnificent views of Mt. Madison and Pinkham Notch. And the views just got better as we got higher.
When we got to the top of ledges we saw a nice notched seat cut into the granite slab. In the seat was cut “Carol Williams Horton” who was once the owner and who the Horton Center is named after.
We then made our way to the summit where there is some concrete blocks that used to hold a Fire Towner. Beyond the summit was a small loop trail that would take us back to the road. On this trial there were several outlooks with views of the town of Gorham and Chapel Rock.
Chapel rock is a large rock formation that is used for church services by the Horton Center.
As we came to the next junction there was a trial to the Horton Center that told hikers this was private property and to not go down. Another trail lead to Chapel Rock so we proceeded down that way. There was no service so we proceeded up Chapel Rock for a look.
Again there were great views of Pinkham Notch, Pine Mountain and Mt. Madison as well as the Carter Range and Cater Notch. After a few pictures we headed back to the junction and made our way down to the road and back to the car. My GPS died on the way down but the whole hike was about 4 miles and took us 3 hours with lots of time taking in the views and pictures.
This was short hike but really had some amazing views. It does look like it could get a little crowded on the weekends but still worth the views. This would be a fun family hike that does not take up your whole day.
This was the final night of our Baxter State Park tour. The only site that was left was Camp Cozy. The only cabin on the campsite.
The campground it self is spread out over a field of wild flowers. There are lean to sites, tent sites, walk-in sites, a bunk house (that was not open because of COVID-19). and our Cabin. We pulled in after making the drive from Trout Brook Farm.
View of the cabin from the side
We pulled in and went to check in with the ranger. When we got to the ranger cabin there was a sign saying that there was no ranger on duty for the next few days. So we went to the cabin, it was unlocked. And set up camp there for the night. At first the bugs seemed to start to swarm but then a steady breeze picked up that kept the bugs a bay.
Picnic table and fire ring sitting next to a large field
With the winds came some light rain. It was actually comfortable after hiking in the heat and humidity. Both of us were glad that we had a cabin and a bed to sleep on.
The inside of the cabin
The cabin came with two twin beds, a wooden table, one wooden table, one wooden rocking chair and one wood stove. Out site there was a small covered porch to the cabin with to folding metal chairs. Very simple and comfortable.
Outside it was like we had a little yard in the large filed. There was a fire pit and a picnic table. The fire pit had a metal grate for cooking. This seemed to be the standard throughout the park.
For dinner we had a fresh homemade loaf wheat bread, some Maine red hotdogs, and some dehydrated chili in a bad. So we cooked it all up and had some mighty find chili dogs. With a side of Mac and cheese.
The Little Neosowadnehunk Stream is supposed to be good fishing
