"52 With A View" means 52 peaks in New Hampshire that have beautiful views - maybe there was a fire that burned the top of a mountain, or a storm cleared the top. They have their own book:
and I think this is definitely a project I can embrace!
Wendy and Ellie are day-tripping to the Vineyard, so I'm going to tackle the farthest one: Magalloway Mountain - maybe I can print a smaller map in the future.
I'm picking the most-remote because Wendy and Ellie are leaving at 6 AM, and won't be home until 7:30 PM:
So I might as well get some "road-time" under my belt. The "North Country" up here (New Hampshire north of the 45th Parallel - the boundary between Vermont and Canada) is pretty cool:
I'm glad Canada let us keep it.
I left about 6:20 AM, and after a stop at Market Basket in Manchester, NH, I was up in Franconia Notch a little after 9 AM:
Beautiful Day - not a cloud in the sky!
Very pretty going by Cannon Mountain Ski Area:
An hour-and-15-minutes later, I was about 7 miles northeast of North Stratford, on Route 3, with a beautiful view of the Connecticut River:
At 11 AM I was up at Lake Francis, east of Pittsburg, NH:
Gee, I'm glad they put up a sign:
It would not have occurred to me otherwise. (yeah, yeah - I get that it is for snowmobiles)
15 minutes later I was at Magalloway Road:
A Very Nice dirt road (but watch out for logging trucks!)
You go down it 5.3 miles, then take a right for 3 miles on Logging Road to get to the still-upgrading trailhead parking lot:
Having done research, I was planning on going up Bobcat Trail and down Coot Trail. But then I got to "the trailhead" (looking back):
and I just started going up what was in front of me - it turns out that it was Coot Trail, and a couple of minutes later I passed "Camp Magalloway":
I LOVE THIS TRAIL!! After hiking on "herd paths" out in the Adirondacks, this trail is wide and smooth and easy-to-follow:
It just about goes straight up the mountain, and, since there were no signs (yet), I thought I was on Bobcat Trail, because it had just been cleared by a bobcat!!
After 22 minutes hiking, I got to the fire-tower:
The views from "the lower deck" are wonderful:
After the fire-tower, I poked around up there, eventually going down a nice path along the north ridge:
which goes about 1/10th of a mile to a really nice view-point:
There is a really cool view to the cliff-on-the-right:
as well as looking straight ahead:
According to the "52 With A View" book, that is the Middle Branch of the Dead Diamond River down there (also, the clouds on the landscape are a pretty cool touch).
I headed back down, and just when I stopped for a cool-view picture:
there was a trail going off to my left:
with its sign:
So I had come up Coot Trail, and was about to go down via Bobcat Trail:
Bobcat Trail is a lovely "regular" trail, on the ridge through the woods, and 20 minutes later I was down on the road, looking back up at its entrance:
The area looks a little rough right now, but it will be a beautiful place for family-friendly hikes in the future.
Oh Oh Oh - I almost forgot to mention the WONDERFUL WORK some trail-crews have done VERY RECENTLY clearing Bobcat Trail of MANY BLOWDOWNS. Thank you, and God Bless the Trail-Crews!
I hiked 2.03 miles in 1 hour.
It was a really nice drive back down through New Hampshire, past the little cemeteries:
great views:
and US Post Offices in Pittsburg [03592]:
Colebrook [03576]:
Groveton [03582]:
Lancaster [03584]:
Twin Mountain [03595]:
WHAT A FUN DAY! Dinner (of course) was pepperoni pizza at Ellie's Pizza in Beverly Farms, then home for a HOT BATH - Wendy and Ellie got home 20 minutes after me! Thank you God for this Great "52 With A View"/500-mile-driving Day!
Driving music:
I like starting the drive off listening to books-on-tape. Neal Stephenson (a sci-fi author I really like) wrote one of his early novels Snow Crash in 1992, cds 13 + 14:
and that finishes "Snow Crash"!!
then music from my ripped-in-2000 cds:
Louis Jordan - The Best of Louis Jordan, 1975 double album
Louis Jordan [1908-1975] is described by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as "The Father of Rhythm & Blues" and "The Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll".
Richie Havens - Mixed Bag II, 1974
Similar to his debut album (Mixed Bag, 1966) - covers of songs that had appeared in the intervening 8 years.
Gil Scott-Heron - Real Eyes, 1980
Another gem by Gil Scott-Heron, an artist I REALLY LIKE.
Steve Winwood - Roll With It, 1988
Suzanne Vega - Solitude Standing, 1987 second album
Gordon Lightfoot - Summertime Dream, 1976
It includes "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", which peaked at #2 on the US charts.
Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection, 1970 second US-released album
I still had 2-1/2 hours to go, so I put in the next mp3 cd. What a pleasant surprise!
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Boston - August 27, 1999, bootleg
Yes - of course, I was at that show! [3rd show I saw - final night of his 5-night-run in Boston]
Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about visiting Art Museums and National Parks (and hiking in the Rockies)
hyperlink: dixonheadingwest
http://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/
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