Wednesday, June 27, 2018

A group hikes Carter Dome, June 26th, 2018

Carter Dome today....with Ellen, Ginger, Susan, Lesley and Miss Ellie. 



And while the girls were taking the direct route to Carter Dome, Dick, John, and Doug went first to Middle Carter, down the ridge to South Carter, and finally to the Dome. Halfway up the final trail to the Dome, the guys met the gals as they descended. The guys' trip down took in Mt Hight, with its fabulous views.


Turtles hike Lincoln Woods Trail, June 26th, 2018

Turtles on their long hike of The Lincoln Woods Trail to Franconia Falls. A pretty easy hike, after crossing a suspension bridge, along an old logging railroad line. The strong currents coming down the mountain cascaded around giant granite boulders and through narrow crevasses before plunging into a pool and moving on to the next. We enjoyed watching many butterflies stopping to sun themselves... 





B group hike Cotton Mountain, June 21st, 2018



6 hikers joined in a beautiful hike up Cotton Mountain.  A beautiful day in the woods.  




Sunday, June 24, 2018

A group hike the "Twins" on June 19th, 2018

Tuesday's hike to the Twins was cut short at the river crossing, deemed too risky for all three of us to get across safely, due to high water from the previous day/night heavy rain.


"Washington Crossing the Delaware," or "River 
Ballerina" (June 19).

Doug ascending "the chimney" on the way back to Osceola from the east peak (June 21).




Turtles hike Mt. Belknap on June 19, 2018

Another beautiful”Turtle “hike up Mt Belknap... the sun was shining , the air was dry and the breeze kept the mosquitoes away... what more could you want.. except Blueberries but we were too early for them.  


Thursday, June 14, 2018

June 14th, B group hike East Pond loop

Today a larger group of hikers, with a mix of abilities set out to enjoy the beauty off Tripoli Road.  The adventure starts with getting to the trail head, as Tripoli Rd is not the easiest to travel.  Once we set off on our journey, we were greeted with beautiful lady slippers, numerous water crossing, and countless piles of moose droppings.  The pond is beautiful, and we were grateful the bugs were not as thick as we would have expected.  It was a lovely hike, very family friendly.  I would call this on the "easy" side, not moderate, unless of course you are on cross country skis in the winter.  But for hiking purposes, I'd call it an "easy hike".  A very nice one in fact.






Wednesday, June 13, 2018

June 12th, Turtles Hike

Beautiful day in the Ossippes...Inspired  by our “Matriarch “ Sue Speers, 8 of us hiked up to Sunset Rock to take in a beautiful view of Winnipesaukee.


June 12, A group hikes Mt. Cabot

A good-looking group of hikers enjoying the day!


Saturday, June 9, 2018

Turtles, Friday walk, June 8th

Turtles on their Friday walk at the Castle in the Clouds Brook Walk.  6 of us : Betty, Nancy, AnneMarie, Christine, Laurie, and Jane concluded our 3 mile brook walk with lunch on the terrace at the Carriage House with splendid views of lake Winnipesaukee.


A group, hikes Mt. Jackson, June 7th


On Mt Jackson, looking over toward Pierce, Eisenhower, and (in the clouds) is Mt. Washington.  Pictured are John, Dick, Doug, Ginger, Don, Deb, and Ellie. 

Ellie (the dog) continually teased us with her unfair AWD advantage, covering the trail at least twice. Pic by Lesley.


Gibbs Falls, A couple tenths of a mile up the Crawford Path from rte 302. Photo by Dick.


Turtles hike at the Loon Center, June 5th

It was a lovely, but buggy Turtle hike / walk at the Loon Center.


Thursday, June 7, 2018

June 7th, Stinson Mountain (B group)

Eight of us set out to Rumney for a wonderful hike up Stinson Mountain.  It was a fairly steady climb, gaining 1400' in elevation in a little over a mile and a half.  The canopy trees finally opened up at the summit for a beautiful view.  The bugs were surprisingly thick for an open summit, which was funny considering the lack of bugs we had in the very moist woods on the way up.  I'd say it was a good "moderate hike" with a distance (out and back) of around 3.4 miles.  The final destination of "Scoops" Ice Cream in Plymouth was an excellent way to end a great day's hike.



selfie... me (aka, Tracy)

Action shot while eating lunch and fighting bugs.  Cheryl, Kath, and Ruth

Lacy, Shirl, Ellen, Dee and Cheryl

Saturday, June 2, 2018

Trail Maintenance Day(s)

Today 9 of us gathered to perform light trail maintenance along the Bear Camp River Trail, a 17 mile trail that meanders from the top of Mt. Israel to the Sandwich / Tamworth borders.

We divided up into small 2 person groups and concurred quite a bit of trail ground.  We removed small branches, identified some blow downs that will require chain saws, evaluated the health of some bridges, and verified trail blazes along the way.

We were pleased to find the trail in overall good condition, and we are thankful for the landowners generosity in allowing access to this lovely trail.

Thank you volunteers for your participation today!  Please save the date for June 30th, when we plan to finish the remaining trail sections.





Friday, June 1, 2018

Friday walking group...

On our hike / walk this morning at White Lake State Park, we were thrilled to see some lovely wildflowers, including Pink Ladyslipper, painted trillium, and Clintonia borealis.

After the two mile walk, we stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for a free doughnut with our coffee. Apparently the first Friday in June is National Doughnut Day, a tradition started in 1938 to honor the Salvation Army “Donut Lassies” who served treats to soldiers during World War I.


East and West Rattlesnakes (B hike) May 31st



The B group enjoyed an iconic staple of the lakes region, the Rattlesnakes.  Many say they are being "loved to death" because of it's popularity.  We found evidence of a lot of trail maintenance, and some  that appeared in process.  Squam Lakes Association and it's volunteers are doing a fabulous job!

The views never disappoint, and the joy of less crowds on a Thursday is a major plus.

from left to right bottom row: Cheryl, Ginger, Shirley, Christine.  Top row Ruth, Elaine, Tracy and Jean.