New Hampshire 2013 Act 4

DJ feels there are 49 reasons to go to New Hampshire. He enjoys hiking the 48 mountains over 4000 feet and eating wild blueberries. I am infatuated with everything from the Lakes region to the Canadian border. I love mountain lakes, mountain views, waterfalls, rock formations, smallmouth bass, you name it and I want to see it. That said I spend most of my time in the mountains. The Whites are closer than the Great North Woods and a lot cheaper than the Lakes Region.  Specifically, I usually spend most of my time in the area from Franconia Notch to Crawford Notch. The two main reasons are the free camping and the great trout fishing (Echo, Profile, and Saco Lakes).  I could spend an entire summer in that area and never get bored.

However, I fashion myself an explorer. Did Leif Erickson stop when he found Greenland? Hell no, he went on to discover Newfoundland. So in his honor and with a lot more comfort, this year I have tried to hike a new trail or fish a new pond on at least one of my weekend days in the Granite State.

Thursday

I got out of work around 2 pm and headed straight for the mountains. My quest was the shelter at Three Ponds (these are the names of the ponds, Upper Three Ponds, Middle, etc.) The shelter is about two miles into the wood. I had never been there. Knowing it would be dark by seven, I prayed for no traffic and as flat hike. I arrived at the trailhead about 5:15.  My bag was packed and I took off like a banshee. Once I got to the trailhead, I knew I would make it to the shelter by dark. For one simple reason…Fear

Three Ponds Shelter

I did not pack a tent since I was staying at the shelter. My “back up plan “was to camp alongside the trail if dark approached. I didn’t want to lose a trail in the dark so I would find a flat spot and sleep right there. I hated my back up plan. I am not afraid of bears, but the trails we use during the day get used by animals at night. I did not want to be next to the trail and startle a black bear or for that matter a moose while lying helplessly in a sleeping bag.  For this reason, I was motivated to hustle.

I ended up getting to the shelter about 6:15. I had time to eat supper, hang my food, set up my makeshift camp (water bottle, sleeping bag, book, etc...) and cast my fly rod for ten minutes before dark. I went to bed after reading a few pages of “Traveling with Charley” by John Steinbeck

Friday

My lone brookie from Upper Three Pond

I finally got out of my bag at 8 am. It was a cold night and I did not want to face the morning without being covered up. I packed my bag and went down to the water to fish. There is not a lot of room at Middle Three Ponds especially with a fly rod to back cast. So I headed up to Upper Three Ponds. I fished there for an hour or so. I got on a rock about fifteen feet into the lake (barefoot, burr!) I caught one small brookie in spawning colors. It was absolutely gorgeous. Mountain lakes are stocked with fingerling trout (about one inch long) by helicopter. Although not wild in origin, to survive to adulthood they have to dodge predators and weather. They are just like wild trout except for where they were born. I respect them.

After fishing Upper and Middle Three Ponds (Lower Pond is trailless) I headed out of the woods. I took some side paths to beaver swamps and pools in the river. I realized as I walked out, that if I explore another pond, I might come to a one with nowhere to cast a line. So I went for more of a sure bet. Before fishing I ate lunch at the picnic tables at Canon Mountain. I realized I was eating all four food goups (chocolate milk and cheese-dairy, peperoni sandwich-meat and carbs, salsa –veggies. I felt bad that I considered peperoni a meat so I had a slice of turkey breast to relieve my guilt) I fished Echo and Profile. Although Echo is usually a sure bet in September, it was just barely. I only caught three trout and none at Profile. I found a campsite an hour before dusk and then drove around looking for moose. I slept without my rainfly on the tent. The stars put on a show.

Saturday

Guinea Pond, Sandwich Mountain on the right
Black Mountain on the left

I wanted to hike out to Black Mountain Pond off Sandwich Notch Road. To do this I needed an early start. I got up at dawn and packed my tent. I made good time and was hiking by 8 am. There are two ponds on this trail, Guinea Pond and Black Mountain. Both have brook trout and I had never been to either. I made it to Guinea Pond fairly quickly (1.6 miles). It is sort of swampy. There is a beautiful view of Sandwich Mountain in the background. The problem is it is boggy and without waders impossible to get near the water. I hoped my next pond would be better.

I backtracked the .2 miles to the Black Mountain Pond trail. It’s 2.4 miles from this junction to the pond. Most of the trail is slightly uphill. It gets steeper near the end. I sweated some but all in all, a fairly easy trail. Near the pond there are tent pads for camping. I walked by them and went to the pond. This was what I was hoping for. At the bottom of the trail the six acre pond opens up in front of you. Black Mountain is right behind the pond providing an awesome backdrop. The water level was down slightly so walking around the pond was easy.

Black Mountain Pond

I ate some lunch enjoying the view before fishing. I only had two hours to play before I had to head back out. I casted my fly rod, but only got one hit. I switched to my spinning rod and worms. I only caught three fish, but what beautiful fish they were. A camper coming down after setting up camp yelled back to his buddy “Wow this is a special place!” I concur. While I fished a couple guys in there early twenties sipping whiskey also started fishing. They caught two fish also. The three of us watched an immature bald eagle do a couple flybys before heading through the valley.

At 1:30 I sadly had to leave this amazing lake. I made it out the 4.1 miles in 1:35 minutes. I hustled out so I could get home in time to watch the Sox with DJ. I stopped in Waterville Valley got gas and a Slim Jim and came home.

Animals seen- toad, newt, garter snake, bald eagle, 7 trout,

Things I learned-

A bag of banana chips (dried bananas) in the snack size that I could have easily eaten on my ride home has an astounding 900 calories, so I opted to snap into a 140 calorie Slim Jim.

Carrying a spinning rod and worms is a good idea if going to a pond you have never been too in case you can’t backcast a fly rod.

At Three Ponds Shelter I mentally prepared myself for critters being all around me. I had read shelters are sometimes infested with mice and chipmunks. This was the first night I ever slept without the physiological barrier of a tent between me and the elements. It turned out to be a very quiet night and the few animals I did hear did not bother me in the least. The next night sleeping in my tent 50 feet from my car, I saw people down the next dispersed site about 150 yards away. They had flashlights and headlamps and looked as though they were heading my way. I had images of the guy from SAW the horror movie. So this only reinforced I have much less fear of wild animals than I do people in the dark.

I had forgotten how good it feels to carry my full size backpack. I hadn’t used it since 2010. The center of gravity and balance change. It felt good having my shoulders a little sore from the straps.