Finishing Up NH Waterfalls

Up at 7:30, I ate my danish on the balcony and headed over to Kinsman Notch to check out the lower end of Clough Mine Brook. There were some nice cascades that I'll have to add to the book so I'm glad I checked out this portion of the stream. From there I went up Moosilauke Brook on a hunch which turned out to be accurate. There were multiple waterfalls and some neat caves to explore but the terrain was quite difficult to navigate at the bottom of the rugged ravine. I could hear a large cascade up ahead so I continued on until Moosilauke Brook pulled a 'Lost River' on me and disappeared under a jumble of boulders, completely blocking the waterfall from view.

Oh well, it was time to head back anyway to check out of the hotel. I picked up Jaime, and some Subway, and we parked along Jackman Brook so I could check out the portion I hadn't last time. I wasn't expecting much so man was I surprised to find a handful of spectacular waterfalls. Two of them were more impressive than the actual Jackman Falls itself. And now I have to change that entire chapter in the book.

Next up on the list was Moose Falls which I had to hit again in order to get better directions. Jaime accompanied me on this one since I'd already done it and knew the way. Turns out the falls are easier to find than I thought and barely require a bushwhack at all so it's a good thing I went back.

Worried I'd missed out on something else, I had to go back to Ledge Brook as well. I followed it down to Swift River but didn't find anything more than I did last time so for once I had turned around at the right spot. Even with half the water as last time, the lower pools were still gorgeous. I wanted to follow Swift River up to a tributary brook so I began my long, boring journey along the winding stream.

The bushwhacking was easy in spots, thick and difficult in others, but I continued on, knowing there was something up ahead. As it got late in the day and I began to question if my 'spidey' senses had led me astray, right before I called it quits I came across some rapids over rocky ledges. Although not a huge drop, the river is wide enough that it made quite an impressive waterfall. And while I was enjoying it, I got to see a mink run across a sand beach, look at me from his rock pile and then hop in the water and swim downstream. This was my first time seeing a mink in the wild.

A nearby tributary brook was making a racket and I had a good feeling about this one so I followed it upstream. Before long I was treated to an incredible waterfall pouring over a ten foot cliff.

As I rounded the side of the cascade I noticed another stream of water obscured by a block of granite that had broken off from the main ledge. That broken block created a tunnel behind the waterfall, passing from one side to the other. A cave behind the cascade. Oh my god. I slipped on my water shoes to get a better look and sure enough it went all the way through the ledge and popped out on the other side of the brook. Never have I seen anything like this before. I got a bit wet being inches from the waterfall and even stuck my head under it to cool off. This one is incredible, especially for being such a small unnamed brook.

For such a boring approach, this turned out to be one hell of an adventure. I made my way back to the car via the small stream and we began our journey home. I had hoped to hit up Alpine Cascades but after my long trip along the Swift River there wasn’t even close to enough time. There's just a few details needed to finish up the NH waterfall book but I’m worried it’ll be too long with all these added falls along the way. One more week and then it's on to our ten day vacation.

Grafton Notch & Cannon Falls

With two inches of rain this past week we decided to spend our 'weekend' in NH finishing up the waterfall book. We picked up some food at Cumberland Farms along the way and ate at a pretty little park on a pond not far from Bethel Maine. Our goal for the day was Grafton Notch and making it to Lincoln NH in time to see IT at 7:00. First stop of the day was to the forgotten Jail Falls which we've been to a few times but I needed the measurements for the book. Most of the two inch rainfall had worn off over the past few days so I was able to easily cross the brook and stand atop the falls with my tape measure while Jaime relaxed at the bottom.

The next stop was Mother Walker Falls which is a tourist waterfall viewing area that oddly enough features no view of the waterfall. I set out to find it. A couple years ago I found one fall but recently heard rumor of another so I went in search of it, alone, because I figured this one would be a little difficult. After picking my way down the hundred foot wall of the gorge I followed the river along unstable terrain to a nice cascade with a talus cave beside it and then another interesting cave in the cliff above it. This bushwhack involved lots of rock climbing, root climbing and pulling myself over large crevices via tree trunks. Quite a wild area.

We scouted out a future bushwhack but didn't have the time or appropriate water levels today so it was on to Cascade Brook. We visited it earlier this year but my GPS went haywire and deleted my tracks so we had to go back to get the proper measurements. Well, it did it again, three times, but I was finally able to get the information I needed on this spectacular 93 foot waterfall. I wonder what's up with this area, to have so much trouble with my GPS which never gives me any difficulties. Kinda weird.

That was it for Grafton Notch today so we made our way into NH and stopped to pick up lunch/supper at Gorham Pizza. We've been loving their gyros and steak and mushroom subs lately so we grabbed a couple of those to go and ate at the Beaver Brook picnic area in Twin Mountain. With a little time to kill before the movie we stopped at Cannon Mountain so I could get some measurements on Cannon Falls for the book, an amazing set of waterfalls I found earlier this year. It was beginning to get dark which meant I had to hurry. The water was low which made my task easier but man that is one tough mountain whether on trail or off. It's steep, eroded with tons of rotten granite, and there are fissure caves all over the place large enough to swallow you whole if you aren't constantly watching your footing. But I managed to get my measurements and make it all the way up to the natural land bridge over the brook.

Coming back down the way I came would take way too long so I cut across to the trail and ran down it in ten minutes which brought us to 6:40. We made it to Parkers Motel to check in at 6:50 and got the movie theater at exactly 7:00. And then found out the movie started at 7:15 so we had plenty of time to spare. Whew, I did it. IT was amazing, and I'm a huge fan of the original, but this one was absolutely perfect. It's weird because we live in Bangor, the fictional town of Derry where the story takes place, yet we're not watching it in its hometown. They did do a great job recreating the city though. Then we grabbed some snacks at the grocery store and brought them back to the hotel which was incredible, the room was enormous and even had its own little balcony. We will definitely be staying here more often. And booking.com is great, again, no issues whatsoever. We fell asleep around midnight which is okay because I wanted an early start the next day. So much to do, so little time.

Bog Eddy And Some Off Trail Falls

Today I finally got an early enough start to tackle Georgiana Falls and beyond, or so I thought. I grabbed a couple waffles on my way past the continental breakfast and ate them while walking to the trailhead just up the road. Turns out waffles aren't so good dry and syrup-less. But I hurried up the trail, running in parts, and made it to Georgiana Falls in half an hour. That steep section after the lower falls really kicks my ass.

From there I continued on to the upper falls, a far cry from the last time I was here after a few inches of rain back on the 4th of July. I came across an unofficial trail I hadn't noticed before but didn't have time to follow it across the river. Instead I carried on past all the falls I'd remembered seeing on previous visits and then cutting into the woods to pick up the snowmobile trail. The trail quickly brought me to the edge of Bog Eddy where I got some magnificent views of the Kinsmans and Franconia Ridge. I was blown away but unfortunately my battery died while taking pictures. I continued on but ran out of time, knowing I had to get back to the hotel before checkout time.

I had to go back to Stark Falls to get some measurements and explore the area a little more for the book. The brook was running pretty low today which made measuring easier, as well as rock hopping upstream. Last time I stopped pretty early on but today I went a bit further and am glad I did, there are some amazing waterfalls up there.

Just as I got to a really nice cascade falling into an emerald green pool, the battery on my backup camera died as well so it was time to turn around. I did manage to capture a couple pictures with my phone and gps though. I even stumbled upon an old trail or logging road which made my return trip a little easier. But just a little, it was quite overgrown.

I was starving by this point, as was Jaime, so we headed into town for lunch where we got some McDonalds and GH Pizza and ate it at Boise Rock overlooking the Cannon Cliffs. I had a Big Mac and fries and gyro, that was one hell of a lunch. From there I went up the Lafayette Brook a short ways to check out the old road there for my waterfall book but decided not to go all the way out to the falls again. I probably should have for exact measurements but I was running short on time. So we headed on over to Crawford Notch while my cameras charged. While writing my chapter on the Avalon Falls I realized I needed measurements and wanted to explore up a little higher. Jaime accompanied me for part of this one. She stopped at the brook and read while I continued on.

Let me tell you, standing at the top of a waterfall, trying to get my tape measure to go all the way down through the rushing water is not easy. Neither is getting it to come back up for that matter. And wouldn't you know they all turned out to be the same height. I never mind seeing the Fall Of Avalon though.

I carried on upstream this time where there were a number of smaller falls, some of which were absolutely gorgeous. The pools were so clear I could see the rocks at the bottom, some even had a greenish hue to them which was truly stunning. At the trail crossing I decided to call it quits and made my way back down, actually using the trail for once.

To be quite honest, I was ready to be done, running up and down mountains the past three days has my body feeling a bit sore. It's been a month since I've done any hiking. We stopped in Gorham on our way home but weren't hungry yet so we just picked up a gyro for a friend and headed on back. We picked up some Pizza Hut in Bangor and ate it all, starving by the tie we got home a little after 10:00, which is rather early for us. Boy am I glad I have tomorrow to recuperate because I am limping like crazy and my legs are shredded to hell from all this bushwhacking. Worth every second of it.

Waterville Valley

I planned on getting up early today and doing Georgiana Falls before Jaime woke up. I might have slept a little too late for that to happen so no Georgiana Falls. I enjoyed my continental breakfast; chocolate chip waffles, a bagel and coffee. Then we headed down to Waterville Valley. I bushwhacked up Bald Knob using a couple steep logging roads and some herd paths. I don't know how in the hell moose fit between those trees, I barely fit. Maybe that's why there's moose poop everywhere, they get it squeezed out of them. After a long and difficult ascent, I finally made it to the summit for incredible 360 degree views with Welch Dickey stealing the show.

Next we wanted to check out a trail-less cascade nearby known as Shell Cascade, which required fording a river. We tried rock hopping it at first but Jaime fell in so we went back to the car, got the water shoes and waded across. What we thought would be a cross country ski trail on the other side turned out to be an abandoned ski trail, the saplings were so thick you couldn't see through them. Jaime stopped once we hit the brook while I bushwhacked along the hard to follow road. Before long I arrived at Shell Cascade which was way better than I'd anticipated. This one is crazy.

I crossed the brook and got some cool pictures from the other side of the narrow flume before heading back through the thick saplings. We spotted another brook down the road but the area around it was eroded in the rain storm back in early July and was a little too unstable to explore right now, plus there wasn't much water so I'll save that one for later.

Then we drove up the Sandwich Notch Road which had some beautiful views and wasn't too bad, for the most part, despite being a steep and narrow dirt road. A truck or jeep really would have come in handy here. Then we went down an even steeper side road to Hall Pond where I bushwhacked to a sort of nearby waterfall. There wasn't much water flowing but this thing is huge. Today there wasn't enough water on the upper half to be anything special but the lower fifteen feet were absolutely beautiful. This entire area has a rugged and wild feel miles and miles from civilization.

Around the waterfall were tons of talus caves with water flowing through them. The enormous cliff towered above me as I crawled through the broken ledges to get into a cave beside the waterfall. It was a little iffy in parts but I made it in without any trouble and got some pictures of the cascade from inside the cave, getting a little wet in the process. Well worth it.

Not having eaten in nine hours, we stopped at Black Mountain Burger on our way back. It was delicious as ever and well earned. My shower tonight was extremely painful, I have so many cuts on my arms and legs that I can't feel the difference between them, my extremities just burn all over. Walking hurts too but I don't mind. We'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow because I got a lot to do.

Gilead, Shelburne & North Woodstock Hiking

We headed out this morning for another three day weekend in the White Mountains, well, our version of a weekend which begins on Monday. Along the way we made a couple stops for my upcoming The White Mountains You Haven't Seen book. Our first stop was in Gilead Maine right along the NH border where we followed a trail for a short ways before I bushwhacked up to a large ledge we've seen from the road many times.

On my way down I checked out some talus caves along a broken ledge. Nothing too big or anything I'd really consider a cave but they did involve some climbing and crawling through small spaces.

From there we drove along a dirt road in Shelburne NH which was a pleasant surprise because I figured we'd be walking the 1.5 mile approach to the bushwhack up a summit known as Stevens Point. Despite the shorter route, the ascent was difficult through old logging cuts but it brought me to a spectacular view that made the cuts, the buckets of sweat and bee sting all worth it.

We ate at Gorham Pizza on our way by which was delicious, we got a gyro and a steak and cheese sub to share. We booked a room at the Rodeway Inn through booking.com a week or so ago and were a little worried because we've never done online booking before but it worked out perfectly and so much cheaper. I took pff right away to follow a logging road beside Pike Brook in search of waterfalls I could add to my Moose Falls chapter in the almost complete The White Mountains You Haven't Seen: Waterfall Edition. I wasn't expecting to find anything but I did find some nice ledges and waterslides I think I'm going to call the Pike Pools, they were fantastic and are definitely worth checking out even in low water like right now.

I jogged back along the logging road and followed an unmarked trail beside Moosilauke Brook in search of more cascades or water caves to add to my Lower Lost River chapter. Again, not actually expecting anything, I was pleasantly surprised to find some truly amazing rock ledges, smoothed out into slides, chutes and deep basins that the water rushes through. I see why this is a popular swimming hole, it is absolutely beautiful. The rock formations are incredible. Lower Lost River had originally been cut from the book but may need to find its way back in with today's discovery.

The Acadia You Haven't Seen

It's official, The Acadia You Haven't Seen is now available!

For full color copies go to www.matthewmarchon.weebly.com 

For the E-Book and Black & White versions go to Amazon

More than two years in the making. Over 50 destinations. Abandoned trails. Forgotten places. This is the Acadia you never knew existed. Many of these locations have never been so much as mentioned anywhere online. This is the trail guide to trails that don't technically exist.

Best View - McFarland Mountain

      With views of Eagle Lake, Somes Sound, Frenchman Bay, Cadillac Mountain, Pemetic Mountain, The Bubbles, Sargent Mountain plus the western summits as well as the mountains of the mainland, I'd have to give best overall view to the former ski slopes of McFarland Mountain.







Best Waterfall - Railway River Falls

     For a place not known for its waterfalls, there are actually a stunning number of them located in Acadia, you just have to know where and when to look. The Railway River is hands down the most impressive due to the sheer number of cascades. The upper fractured staircase falls are probably the best found in this book but it's a very close call.





Best Cave - Day Mountain Cave

     There are some fascinating caves in Acadia, even more to come in Volume 2, so picking the best isn't easy. However, as the only true cave not formed by boulders, the 30 foot long tunnel is hands down the most impressive. Get your flashlights ready for this one.







Best Trail - Great Cave Cliff Trail

     We're following a lot of abandoned trails in this book, some are simple paths through the woods, others are stunning masterpieces of nature at its finest. A number of them standout but when it comes to the most stunning path in the book, it has to be the Great Cave Cliff Trail. With a giant cave, a stone stairway, a hanging boulder, a boulder cave on the side of a cliff and to top it all off a suspended stone bridge, this one is perhaps just a hair better than the White Path.








Most Haunted - Devil's Oven

     We've explored some creepy places in this book, the Jesuit Spring area, Compass Harbor, the Arches, the Stone Tower, but it's the Devil's Oven that feels the most unnerving. Whether it's the number of humans tortured and sacrificed here, the mysterious lights and fog or the whole being a portal to the underworld aspect, something about this area is very unsettling. Sometimes it even feels like the cliffs themselves are watching you.



Most Dangerous - Stag Cave

      Most of the hikes in this book are safe and fun for the whole family, most. There are a few that may very well make your stomach turn. In perhaps the most dangerous route, we walk along the top of a fifty foot sheer cliff, then climb down it beneath a precarious boulder, followed by a slippery seaweed covered talus field and into a sea cave all while racing the clock because low tide is necessary to visit this one. The South Wall and Meadow Brook Sea Cave are close contenders and can be even worse depending how far you're willing to go.

4th of July in The White Mountains

It's not often we both have the 4th of July off and although we didn't plan on doing anything this weekend since we went to NH last weekend, we decided to go last minute and boy are we glad we did. On our way through we stopped at a ledge once known as Artist Rock and I bushwhacked up to the cliff on its back side. The woods were open and great for bushwhacking but the mosquitoes and gnats were easily the worst I've ever encountered. There was a terrific view from the summit ledge.

 

A little worried about the bug situation, we headed to Lincoln for lunch at Black Mountain Burger and wondered if we made the right choice coming. I dropped Jaime off at the White Mountain Motel beside Clark's Trading Post where we used to stay years ago, then went off to Georgiana Falls. As soon as I stepped out of the car I could hear the brook which isn't normal there. We didn't know about the inches of rain they got a couple nights earlier so when I saw the flooded stream bed and the damage to the area around it I was awestruck. My goal for the hike was to check out a tributary brook but upon seeing the water levels so high, I had to go all the way up.

I'd never seen Georgiana Falls like that. I can't even imagine what it looked like immediately after the rain, I know I wouldn't have wanted to be caught in it. There was still foam from the overflowing river on the trail. It was insane. I called Jaime as soon as I got down to tell her the good news and we made plans to go check out Noble Falls before it got too dark. They were flowing better than we'd ever seen them. Amazingly, I encountered practically no bugs on either hike and was super relieved.

 

We checked out of the hotel the next morning and I went in search of Jackman Falls. It was an easy bushwhack but a little longer than I'm used to, man does that GPS come in handy. I finally hit the brook and immediately noticed the water damage to the surrounding area, the flash flooding hit here hard, overflowing the stream by ten feet on each side. Insane. Once I hit the falls I knew we'd be calling out of work for the next couple days. The water was raging like it was early spring all over again. I tried to call from there but had no reception, which is when I realized our walkies were out of range and Jaime had tried calling me so I hurried back.

Jaime was more than on board with calling out, she had actually joked about it the night before after seeing how high the water was. We went to find a room first and ended up at the Days Inn where we booked two nights and were blown away by how beautiful it was, it was like an upscale hotel.

After unloading our stuff in the gorgeous room and calling out of work, we drove out to Crawford Notch, hoping the flash flooding had impacted that area as well. And boy did it ever. I followed a trail for a little ways until I found the brook I was looking for and bushwhacked upstream. I eventually put on my water shoes and went through the cold water which made travel a lot easier and got me some amazing pictures. The falls just kept coming, one after another. I kept planning on turning around but there kept being more, each one better than the last. Finally I stopped because we had to get to Walmart before they closed and being the fourth of July thought they might close early. By the time I left the brook I was completely drenched from getting so close to the falls.

Knowing we didn't pack enough clothes, or our bathing suits, we made our way into Lincoln to stop at TJ Maxx and Walmart. We got the clothes we needed, some food at Dunkin Donuts because we were starving by now, and headed back to Lincoln so we'd be there in time for the fireworks. It wasn't until a few days later that we realized we have a bag of clothes and swimsuits in the trunk for occasions just like this, oops. We had enough time to enjoy the pool for a little before going to see the fireworks downtown. They were incredible, no words. Seeing the fireworks display over our favorite place in the world, it was magical. I'm tearing up just thinking about it. Then we went to GH Pizza for supper, the perfect way to end the perfect day. Best 4th Of July ever.

I got up early the next morning to explore a brook which turned out to be nothing but the excellent continental breakfast more than made up for it. Chris, the woman who runs the breakfast makes one hell of a waffle. There were also delicious home fries, muffins, bagels, cereal, all so good. I might have overstuffed myself just a little. The view of Franconia Notch in the morning sun, no clouds at all, was an absolutely perfect way to start the day.

We hiked out to an abandoned fall once known as Bells Cascade which I had done already but Jaime wanted to see it this time around. I had to follow an unmarked trail beside the brook to see where it went so we did that and wound up pretty far out of the way. It was a nice hike but we were thirsty not having brought enough water and the gps died while we were on the bushwhacking portion of our way back. Luckily I got us to the exact spot we left from and despite the drawbacks we had a great time out there, even though I didn't find an easier way to it.

After getting some Gatorade in our systems, I went out in search of Moose Falls but with no gps, I didn't really know where I was going. Basing my journey off memory, I followed a river but didn't find what I was looking for so I turned back and we went to White Mountain Bagel for lunch and ate it at the Fay picnic area. Then we headed out to Littleton once again, this time to get fudge, some for us, some for the manager we called out on. I then attempted a fairly long journey up to a prominent rockslide in Twin Mountain but couldn't find an old logging road I needed to turn onto. So after a long, sweaty hike, I came up short, even with my newly charged gps. There was an interesting view from a peculiar sand dune though. I'll definitely be attempting this one again.

On our way back through Franconia Notch, I decided to try an unnamed brook I've had my eye on for awhile. It involved crossing under the highway through the brook which was a bit cold. I ended up wearing my water shoes for the entire journey, they really make river crossing so much easier. The brook was everything I hoped it would be but I had to turn around when the sun started to set.

Jaime got some Black Mountain Burger for supper while I got some BBQ chicken from Price Chopper to have with my Dollar Tree food from yesterday in an attempt to save some money not eating out. My corndogs, White Castle burgers and chicken were good but Jaime's looked better.

After another delicious continental breakfast I went out alone to search again for Moose Falls, this time with my gps and some research beforehand. Early on I startled a cute little animal, either a weasel or muskrat but I wasn't quick enough to get a picture, even when he poked his head out and looked at me from his pile of logs. I found the rather unimpressive falls quite easily this time around. What I found more interesting was the view of the Franconia Ridgeline from a recent logging cut below the falls.

I went back to the hotel, loaded up the car and then we played in the indoor pool for about an hour, which we had completely to ourselves. We headed out on a trail afterwards in search of a tributary brook that I had a good feeling about. Jaime stopped a little over a mile in and read by the river while I continued on. My suspicions were correct, one incredible waterfall after another. One of them traveled down a shelf on a ledge like a waterslide, so unique I can't say I've ever seen anything like it.

I was too sore after all my hikes to do anymore so we drove out through Crawford Notch and then up through Pinkham Notch to Gorham where we ate at J's Corner, one of our favorites. We scoped out a few spots along the way and I did plan on doing a forgotten waterfall in Gorham but the single car parking spot was in use which didn't bother me any. We did drive up a dirt road in search of another lost waterfall but it got to be too rough so we turned around. We did stop at a cable car pulley over a river along the road though to get hikers across when the water is too high. It was buggy as hell but using the pulley system was quite the experience, can't say I've ever seen one of those before. Jaime read while I listened to music on the way home from our amazing and unplanned four day weekend.