I’ve wanted to visit this crash site for a long time. It was a bit of a maze getting to the plane crash site but once you are there it is a short and easy hike.
As the story goes.. On January 24, 1963 the B-52C bomber lost control during a training flight and crashed in to Elephant Mountain near Greenville Maine. A total of 9 members were on board, 7 of them died in the crash. 2 were able to eject and survived.
Date:
7-31-2020
Location:
Greenville, ME
Distance:
0.5 mi
Elevation Gain:
90′
Total Time:
25min
Parking:
10+ cars
Difficultly Rating:
Easy
From the start of the trail there is debris along the trail. Lots of small pieces of the planes body. As you get closer to the main debris field there are lots more pieces of metal and rubber. Full tires from landing gear and in the middle part of the cockpit with a stone black that has the names of those who died etched on it.
We continued on through the labyrinth of wreckage. Pieces of metal lodged high in trees. You can’t even imagine the kind of explosion that would have caused this kind of destruction.
This was a fun hike and I’m glad we made the stop on the way up to Baxter State Park. If you are ever in the area of Moosehead Lake in Maine I would highly suggest this short easy hike.
This is a great campground that is not far from Moosehead Lake in Greenville Maine. This is a small family focused campground. There was a camp store where you check in. There I met the owners, who were very friendly. We purchased some fire wood and headed to our camp site.
Our site was “tent site 5”. This was a simple site that you could drive right onto. Their was a picnic table and a fire ring. The site was also very flat and grassy. There was also a mulched area that was soft to set up a tent on.
Date:
7/30/20 – 7/31/20
Location:
Greenville, ME
Price:
$36
Site Number:
Tent Site 5
Toilets
Flush/Shower
Max People Per Site
4
Parking:
1 car
Dog/Pets:
No
Hammock:
No
This site is pretty open to the road and some sites are a little close together but over all it did not seem like people were on top of each other. This site worked perfect for us as a place to camp before continuing on to Baxter State Park.
The next morning we stopped in Greenville, Maine where the Mt. Katahdin Boat docks.
A buddy and myself decided to take a road trip up to Baxter State Park in Maine for some fishing and hiking.
The whole trip would be 4 nights and 5 days including travel time. Baxter State Park is home to Mt. Katahdin, Maines highest peak and the northern terminus of the Application Trail.
Date:
7/30/20 – 8/3/20
Location:
Baxter State Park, ME
Distance:
1000+ mi RT
Outing Time:
5 days
Reason for Trip
Fishing/Hiking
Baxter State Park is also home of the best fishing in New England. The park is real wilderness. There is no running water anywhere in the park. You have to bring your own water or filter if from lakes, ponds or streams. There is only one small dirt tote road that runs along the western side of the park. The rest of the park you have to access on foot.
Baxter State Park is located in the far north woods of Maine and is a 5-6 hour drive from our starting point. On our trip up we decided to visit a B52 Bomber site near Moosehead Lake. This small detour would take us a little out of our way but worth the side trip. So we decided to stay the night at Moosehead Family Campground in Greenville Maine and make our way up to Baxter the “back way”. This was an adventure as most of the “roads” are all dirt and very bumpy.
On our way many of these dirt roads split into logging roads and it can be hard to tell which is the correct (less bumpy) way to do. We stopped in the town of Kokadio to make sure we were still on the right path. The lady that owned the restaurant, campground head quarters, convience store, liquor store and gas station assured us we were on the right track. She also told us the gas pump was located out back. “be sure to remember how much gas you got” she said.
Once we got to the park we headed to our first campsite at Kidney Pond. All the campsites here have cabins. The next day we went to Slide Dam. From here we walked up and fished the Nesowadnehunk River. The water was low but still moving well.
After that we proceeded up to Trout Brook Farm Campground where we would spend the night at one of the group tent sites. After we set up we explored the northern park area and just out side the park for some fishing locations. We were also able to stock up on ice and some other creature comforts from a great campground store just outside the park. Most of the group sites were in an open field. That evening a full moon rose over the mountains. It was beautiful.
The next morning we broke down our site and headed up the road to hike the Five Ponds Trail and try our luck in some of the remote ponds along the way. Once we were done we headed down to Nesowadnehunk Field Campground.
Once we arrived to Nesowadnehunk Field we when to check in but there was no ranger on duty for the next few days. So we made our way to our cabin and found it open and ready for us. We got some wood and got a fire going and in the morning we set out for a little fishing along the Nesowadnehunk River before packing up and heading out. On our way out of the park we stopped one more time at Slide Dam.
Neither of us ended up catching any fish on this trip but we both had a blast trying. It was a lot of fun exploring the park. I’m already looking forward to my next trip back.
A friend of mine and I decided to do a sunrise hike on Blue Job Mountain in Farmington NH. We both had plans later in the day and this was a short hike and ideal for a sunrise.
We headed out in a clockwise loop over Little Blue Job. This is an open summit with beautiful 360 degree views. You can see the mountains and the ocean.
When we arrived up at the top there was an undercast laying in some of the low lands that added some drama to the upcoming sunrise. The sky changed from a warm glow to a fiery red the sun finally popped up from behind a small hill in the distance.
Date:
7-25-2020
Location:
Farmington, NH
Distance:
2.4 mi
Elevation Gain:
396′
Total Time:
3h 7min
Parking:
10+ cars
Difficultly Rating:
Easy
After watching the start of a new day we headed up to the fire tower on Blue Job Mountain. We again had great views of the surrounding areas.
After a few more pictures we headed back to the parking lot. This is a great mountain for a sunrise hike. It’s not too long of a hike and it is pretty easy. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good sunrise.
For about a week I had tried to get a photo of comet Neowise. Every night I went out clouds would obstruct my view. But I went anyway just incase there was a brief break. Finally a buddy of mine asked if I wanted to try and catch it up in Stoddard, New Hampshire where the sky’s would be much darker. The weather looked really good so we went for it.
Date:
7-17-2020
Location:
Stoddard, NH
Distance:
100 mi RT
Outing Time:
4 hrs
Reason for Trip
Astro-photography
He had gotten permission to shoot from a local farm so we started there. We arrived around dusk and set up for a few shots. Many trees in the area were obstructing the view of the comet so we decided to leave the field and make our way to Wadleigh State Park where we could see the comet over Lake Kezar.
When we arrived at the state park there were a number of people already there. Some fishing, some with cameras and telescopes and some just there to watch. The weather was warm and a little on the humid side. The lake was still and made a perfect back drop for some astrophotography.
After a few test shots I decided to get close to the water and see if I could get the Neowise’s reflection. Much to my surprise it came out beautifully. So I composed a few more captures and was feeling pretty good about what I had.
By this time the Milky Way was starting to appear. So we packed up and headed back to the fields. We found an open field and set up. The Milky Way was beautiful. We stayed and took quite a few shots playing around with different settings.
We wanted to try one more spot quickly on the way out so we we headed back toward the lake for a few more shots.
Stoddard was a great town to shoot the night sky. Lots of dark sky and not as far a drive as up north. I’m looking forward to catching a few more images of Neowise before its gone.
For the Forth of July (2020) we were fortunate enough for be able to rent the Dolly Copp Pavilion in Pinkham Notch. This gave us the ability to have a gathering of people for a holiday BBQ and be able to social distance.
The ride up to Pinkham Notch is about 2.5 hours from our home in Manchester, NH. So some of us decided to rent a camp site if one was available. So we went to see if there was any open sites at the near by Dolly Copp Campground.
Dolly Copp Campground has about 177 camp sites and right now they are all first come first serve. Once we entered the site we meet up with one of the Camp hosts who said that they might have a few sites for us to choose from.
Date:
7-4-2020
Location:
Gorham, NH
Price:
$25 Plus $5 for each additional car.
Site Number:
170
Toilets
Flush/Shower
Max People Per Site
8
Parking:
1 car
Dog/Pets:
Yes
We told them that we were a group of 6 and han two dogs with us. We were interested in a site that was not real close to other sites. Especially since it was a holiday weekend.
The host recommend site 170. it was a walk-in site located behind their host camper. We took a look and it was secluded compared to other sites. From where we park we had to walk over a small bridge and then up a few stairs to where we wold set up our tents.
The site was flat and had a good amount of room for all our tents. It had a picnic table and fire ring as well. There were trees available if you wanted to a hang a hammock or two. The site was also near flush toilets and showers.
In the morning we took a short walk down the road to see the Centennial Sculpture. This is a spiral wood sculpture that was made from a fallen pine tree on the campground. It was pretty cool and worth walking too.
Our first trip to this campground was short lived but we will be back again. The location is perfect for anyone that wants to spend time in the White Mountains.
