Vacation (Day Five) Rock Hunting On The Sugarloaves

    Me and my parents headed out today while Jaime stayed at the hotel to have a day alone to recuperate. We set out with a few things to do, a few too many that we knew we wouldn’t have time for but had to end up in Littleton because Jaime requested fudge from Chutters. Which worked out because I knew my parents would love the Kilburn Crags in Littleton.

    We started off the day going up one of our old favorites, the Sugarloaves in Twin Mountain which we first started doing a little over twenty years ago. Near the top of the Northern Sugarloaf there is a rockslide that crosses the trail which is actually the debris from an old mining quarry that mineral enthusiasts still use. We’d mined away at it before and found some pretty cool black quartz and crystals. Now that I’m more into rock collecting I’ve been wanting to go back.


    First we decided to go up the middle Sugarloaf for the views from it which were spectacular, not a single mountain was in the clouds so we even got a clear view of the Presidential range. I can now name most of the mountains in the area which feels pretty cool because when I was little I wished I could but was never good at it, now I even know a good portion of the trail-less peaks. We did spot one peculiar mountain off in the distance that we think might be Mt Pisgah in Vermont so it got me into looking up that area. I also explored the col between the two summits, following the old trail down the other side of the mountain for a hundred feet or so before losing it. We’d always commented on what appeared to be a trail there but only recently did I find out that there had once indeed been a trail there.

    From there we made our way over to the old mining site with our chisels, hammers and protective eyewear. The rockslide of debris seems steeper today than it used to, its also pretty well picked over. I still have a few of the crystals I got there when I was a kid but today there wasn’t much. We chiseled away for awhile, dug down a foot or so in the loose rocks but didn’t really come up with much. We got bored after a little while of not finding anything and moved on. Rather than go down the treacherous slide, we went above the quarry and bushwhacked back to the trail.

    At the top we saw a bunny. He was eating beside the trail and we must have startled him because he hopped a foot or two away into the bushes and continued eating the grass he already had in his mouth. He wasn’t bothered at all by our presence and stayed right there while I took pictures and videos of him just a few feet away. After harassing the rabbit for awhile we moved on to the ledges to get a view. On our way back by, I had my camera ready just in case the bunny was still there. I didn’t see him, then he jumped so close to me I could feel the ground vibrate beneath his tiny feet. He was in almost the exact same spot as last time, still eating. Again he stayed there for pictures before slowly hopping along to continue eating without any spectators. In all our years coming here we’ve never seen a wild rabbit before.

    On our way down I spotted a giant ass boulder in the woods not too far off the trail and went to investigate. It was exactly that, a giant ass boulder that had split into many fragmented parts with numerous crevices and trees growing out of it. No caves big enough for me to fit in and no view from the top but still kind of neat. On a side note, I was proud to do the entire hike without actually sweating, a clear sign I’m in good shape.


    We ate our sandwiches at the picnic area at the start of the Zealand Road and decided we didn’t have enough time to go to Crawford Notch as well. So we went in the other direction towards Littleton. Last year when I did Kilburn Crag, it kicked my ass. The trail starts by going uphill through farmland on the edge of someone’s yard, then enters the trees and continues going up with no switchbacks along some sort of wide farming road. Last year I was huffing and puffing and thinking about quitting, then I saw a mentally challenged kid and his caretaker coming down the trail. What the hell, he could do it but I couldn’t? So I continued on until coming around the corner almost a mile later and finding one of the most amazing views of the White Mountains I've ever seen, looking over almost every major mountain range in the area. I knew immediately that my parents just had to see it.

    Well the trail kicked their asses too. Turns out it is steep as hell, but luckily it levels off near the top of the ridge for a ways. They were blown away by the view. I don’t know how we’ve been coming here for so long and had never been to this side of town or known this trail existed.

    Afterwards we went to town. Littleton has always been one of my favorite places. I’m not sure why, it feels like one of those old any town USA places you see in movies, with a nice little main street with a theatre and book store, a candy store, tons of mom and pop shops. It hasn’t changed much over the years. Even on a Tuesday near the end of September it was still busy downtown.

    We went into the hiking store which is way overpriced but I didn’t actually need anything, I was just looking around. I tried to go to the consignment shops and thrift stores but all three of them were closed for the day. Just my luck. But at least Chutters was open so I could get Jaime her fudge. Okay, fine, it was for me too. Mom and Dad got some stuff as well including a stained glass moose decoration that my mom has wanted for years. Then we went into the village bookstore which used to be huge but is now literally a quarter of the size it once was. I’ve watched it decrease in size over the years which kind of sucks. They used to have a whole music section where we’d get albums that came out while we were on vacation. That’s actually where I got Puff Daddy’s No Way Out and Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP. Today Mom bought me a couple detailed trail maps of the area. It’ll be much easier than switching back and forth between screens on my computer. I was also looking at that book about the geology of New Hampshire again and while skimming over the chapter about mining spotted a picture of a mine, an open tunnel, not blocked off by a huge metal gate like Mascot Mine yesterday. I re-read it and there was no information on it other than the caption stating it was the Woodstock Silver Mine. Woodstock is right next door to Lincoln, the school is actually called Lin-Wood. So that’s something I’m going to have to try to find while we’re here in Lincoln. After searching online I might have an idea where it is.

   We went to Black Mountain Burger for supper but me and Jaime weren’t really hungry so just had the chowder and macaroni and cheese balls. After researching the Woodstock Mine, it appears to be one of three in Woodstock, all right along Route 3. If the map I found is accurate, they should all be just a short ways off the road but unfortunately they are all on private land. I’ll scope out the area and see if I can find anything without doing too much trespassing.