Moose Mountains Signage & Trail Work 3/11/12

"Spring-ing into 2012 with New Trails & Signs!" (pictures)

After spending the week with great weather of which time we began to stencil, stain, urethane and paint trail signs the weekend rolled around. Most of the snow had melted that is until a couple inches fell early Saturday morning. Sunday looked to be a beautiful day and sure enough the morning proved to be promising. We packed up a lunch and our tools and headed for MMR to continue working on trails and to put up two of the signs we finished.

We arrived at the parking lot to find two vehicles there. I drove up to the North trail where met a man starting up North trail and said he was headed for Beauty Knob and Ledge to a geo-cache. We were taken back by this, we hadn't even finished the trail yet and already it's getting well known, my how news travel when your plugged into the Social network!We headed up Burrows Farm trail to put one of the new signs up for Moose Mountains Trail.

After doing this we headed for Phoebes Nable Mt. to affix the new summit sign and work on the new section of trail on the South-East side of the mountain. Before reaching the field we noticed deer tracks and Scott noticed what looked like drops of blood all over the place where ever the deer went. We wondered what had happened to it! We passed through the field and at the Phoebes Nable Mt. trail junction Scott noticed a bee/hornet nest in the birch trees. This is the second one of these things he's spotted on the reservation! After some pics and looking over to the ledge on Moose Mountains we need to find sometime, we made the steep climb to the Phoebes Nable summit.

As we went to put the sign up I went to get the socket out of my pocket but couldn't find it. After some fumbling and searching it donned on me I had left it sitting on the ground back where we put the last sign up. Argh!! So we headed back down to get it. Sure enough it was sitting right there! We made the hike back up and began screwing the sign onto the tree.  In the process the ratchet slipped out of Scott's hand and hit him smack-dab in the forehead. It looked like it hurt and sure enough it left a bruise and small bump there! We weren't having much luck today on this mountain!

Now we began cutting out the trail from just below the summit area and joining onto an old skid road and logging road. We worked our way down to the junction we had left off at last time. Then headed down another skid road we had found last time that brings us back down to the bridge just before North Trail, which we will cut and mark sometime and will be naming it Phoebes Link. We jumped in the truck and made the arduous drive up the snowy North road to it's large upper landing. Once here we ate our much needed lunch.

Re-energized we headed up the new Beauty Knob trail. I noticed large animal prints in the snow which I think are the ones mentioned on the geo-cache right up. They stated they saw bear tracks. These looked like bob cat tracks to me though. Cool! On the trail we began touching areas up we had cut a couple weeks prior and made our way up to the knob and ledge. There was still plenty of snow on the ground so there would be no ground work done today. We took in the view at the ledge and listened as some ATV's made there way down the roads. We then thought we we explore the area some more and look for another ledge we had spotted from Phoebes Nable Mt. trail. Passing by boulders we soon came to another knob area and below a small ledge with an uninhibited view of Phoebes Nable Mt. We named the area Boulder Knob and Ledge and plan on adding this to the trail at some point! Having spent 6 hours here today we were sore and tired and ready to head back to the truck and head home. A great day to get work done and it has been such fun improving this reservation for everyone's enjoyment :) More trail signs to come soon and blazes will be up on the new trails soon too!

Beauty Ledge & Phoebes Nable 3/4/12

"A Snow Shoe Figure 8 at Moose Mountains" (pictures)

Yes, here we were again at Moose Mountains! After getting 10 inches of snow and not having much time on the snow shoes this year we opted to stay close and keep it simple. Besides, MMR is always a great visit especially now that we have a trail to an awesome ledge! We began our trip at about 9:45am. I tried to drive into the parking lot but my truck wouldn't make it. So I parked at the end of the drive. We began our walk on Burrows Farm Trail then at the junction took a right onto North Trail. The snow mobile trail runs along this section and it had certainly been used a little.

We followed the North Trail to it's upper junction at a large clearing. Here we took a sharp left into the trees along the soon-to-be Beauty Knob trail (pink tape). It was a lovely moderate climb and soon we were at the junction for Beauty Ledge Trail. A short distance we were over the knob and down on the ledge. What a beautiful view! And the sun came out just in time as we stood on the ledge. We took a short break then headed down Beauty Ledge trail down past Snapping Turtle Rock and back down to North Trail.

From here we hooked a right back onto Burrows Farm trail and headed up past the Burrows Field and up Phoebes Nable Mt. We ate our lunch here as we talked about everything we saw and ideas for what needs to be done this year for work. Once again the sun came out conveniently as we took our rest on the top of the mountain. Soon we headed down the other side of the mountains on Phoebes Nable Mt. trail (pink tape). We got some nice views of Beauty Ledge from certain points along the way. Making several turns we finally ended up back at the parking area at 1:15pm. Where there were two other vehicles now parked, one was one of our MMR friends...must have missed them!

Not a bad day. The snow was a little tough to walk in as it had a crusty layer on top of the rain the day before. And later in the day it had become soft from the sun popping out now-and-then. The sun hid most of the day. But when it broke through the clouds it was bright and warm. It was a great hike making the several loop options! 3.5 hours round trip approximately 4.5 miles...not bad! Oh, and someone carved their initials in the Burrows Field Sign...not cool! That sign seems to be the target for mischief. We'll have to take some sand paper to the luckily small section and stain it in the spring, grrrr!

Beauty Ledge 2/26/12

"A Cold Weekend for Trail Work" (pictures)

Well, after the little bit of snow we got Friday and the cold temperatures made worse by the windy conditions it looked like February had returned for the weekend. It was too cold for trail building Saturday so while we were out looking for something to do we stopped and bought some new clippers and some wood planks to start stenciling trail signs. Next day was a little nicer so we headed out in hopes it would get nice enough to at least do some clipping. Snow was on the ground so raking and stump/rock removal would not be happening today!

We climbed the trail and picked up where we left off at Snapping Turtle Rock. Our task limited to tree clipping actually game us the time to re-work the projected trail path and make a more meandering and interesting trail. About 3 hours into it just before we reached the steep section of trail that climbs part of the ledge the blade of the loppers Scott was using snapped off. This put a damper on the day! It was such a bummer. We continued with just the little branch clippers I had which could only cut 1" or less.

So we did what we could up to the knob and ledge and stopped to take in the view. Then we called it a day and headed on down. Ah, well. What's the rush, it is still technically winter anyway! And Monday/Tuesday is looking nice so we'll be sure to return if we can squeeze out the cash for new loppers. A shovel broken and now this, ugh! Guess we are too hard on the equipment or just need to be buying stronger tools. I already bought a nice shovel to replace the broken one. So that's the latest on this awesome trail. It's an exciting endeavor and has just opened the door for much more to come at MMR!

Beauty Ledge 2/22&23/12

"More Exploring, More Marking" (pictures)

MMR Beauty Ledge 2/18&19/12

"Building a New Trail to a Beautiful Ledge" (pictures)

(Map/Directions/Trail Descriptions)

Late Saturday Scott and I decided we would take a drive up to Moose Mountains for a small hike and to check on the property we steward. When we arrived we pondered on what to hike. We decided on looking for the ledge I had been wanting to search for so bad. I first saw this ledge from the shore of Bowser Pond. When I looked on the Google satellite map I could see this ledge and I wondered how far from the North Road trail it was and I wondered what the view was like from it. Once again we saw this collection of massive ledges from the new trail we were plotting out on Phoebes Nable Mt. So it was time we found out if it was as grand a ledge as it looked!

I had studied the trail maps and satellite map pretty well and I determined a starting point to enter the woods. It is across from a small clearing off of North (road) Trail past the junction with Phoebes Nable Mt. trail. I determined a Northerly direction would place us right at the base of the ledge. So we entered the woods here and found a small ridge we were able to follow, as well as a rock wall down the hill to our right. The bushwhack was surprisingly easy. Steep, but the woods were fairly open enough for easy walking. The trees thickened as the ridge leveled off and we soon could see rock boulders and ledges through the woods ahead!

The ledges were massive and the terrain around them very steep. The jagged, lichen and grass covered rock all around was beautiful. We spotted a split area where we could make a steep climb. Our climb payed off. As we walked out onto the ledge we were treated to a spectacular 180 degree view. We had searched so many trails on the reservation in search of a great view and finally found it!

We could look down onto the woods and mountains that Piper Mt. Road runs through, with Piper Mt. on straight ahead. We could see Bowser Pond frozen in ice and the heron rookery behind it. Phoebes Nable mountain was visible as was the logging/skid roads that we had walked and plan to build trails on. Beyond, the Blue Hills Range was seen including Nubble Mt. in Farmington, Blue Job and Prospect Mt. It was such a lovely, peaceful spot!

Deer and Moose also seemed to like the area as their droppings were plentiful in the area. We made our way up to the top of the hill where it forms a small wooded knob area of rock and vegetation. We decided to name it Beauty Knob and Beauty Ledge. The elevation at the highest point of the knob according to the GPS was 1,238 feet. We were so thrilled with this find, we vowed to return the next day to begin building a trail to it! After exploring two other ledge tops, both with a limited view in one direction, we headed back down. 

Next day we were both up and ready to go nice and early. We gathered together food, tools and our bags and headed out to complete our mission. We drove up and parked at the clearing at 9:30am. To start we determined where the trail head should be. There was a nice clump of rocks that would be nice to put a trail along, so we decided to start the trail here where there was also a nice birch tree we could affix a trail sign too when the time comes.

Scott took tree cutting duty and began cutting with the clippers. I got stump/rock removal & raking duties. First I headed through the woods with my pink marker tape to mark-out a good trail route. The plan was to bring the trail through the easiest to "clean" sections and by any interesting features.

The job was difficult. It took a lot of cutting, digging stumps and rocks out, raking away the leaves, sticks and loose rock from the trail. But it was a beautiful February day with mild temperatures and a brisk breeze that kept things comfortable all day. We worked well together as we worked our way around boulders, along a rock wall and through a steep pine glade. At about 12:30 we were getting tired and needed to eat some lunch. So we decided to hike to the ledge to eat.

On the way up we discovered a large rock that resembled an animal. "Snapping Turtle Rock" we named it. The hike up the ledge was difficult. Lunch bags in hand and steep, icy climbing wasn't easy! As we negotiated the rocks and steep bankings we searched for a path that would be easiest to put a trail. We finally decided it best to keep the trail below the steep, rocky area and follow the boulders below around to the back of the ledge.

We finally worked our way up to the ledge and enjoyed our food and the glorious view we were working hard to build a trail to, so that others could also enjoy this view. After eating we explored and tried to figure out the best way to get over or around these massive ledges. We got back around to Snapping Turtle Rock and decided this is as far as we would cut to today until we could mark a good route to the top of the ledge.

We began our work again and kept at it until we reached the rock. We were just about spent on energy and ready to call it a day. We accomplished a lot! We cleared out the trail and did a really nice job. No injuries aside from a few whips in the face from branches, sore bodies and hands and a broken shovel...oops! The trail will need some touch-ups but is ready to go for hiking. Once we finish up to the ledge we can blaze it and get the map updated! Looks like we will be back at it next weekend if this awesome weather continues. I mean really...trail building in February....c'mon! How often can that be done!Check some before and after photos below!