NH Vacation (Day Three) - Ponds In The Clouds

    On Wednesday Jaime wanted to sleep in a little so in the morning I headed off with Mom and Dad down the Tripoli Road to do East Pond. The trail from the other side of the mountain range is longer and steeper but I chose the easy side not because it was easier but because the first half of the trail is along an old road that went to the mill that once processed Diatomaceous Earth from the pond. I love abandoned buildings and old foundations so the pond wasn’t the main goal here, just a side attraction. Turns out that was a good thing because there really wasn’t much to see. It was a regular mountain pond, pretty, but they’re really only as impressive as the peaks around them. To be fair, the view might have been better had we not been in the clouds on the gray morning but there were no cool ledges or rock slides to liven up the view. Not to mention it was windy as hell up there and pretty cold, I was glad I wore my pants instead of my usual hiking shorts. This was actually the first time I’ve worn long pants hiking in quite awhile, shorts make it easier to move around, especially the way I hike. The four sizes too big camo pants were great except for the fact that the waist is so big that they bunch up beneath my belt, and Jaime makes fun of me for looking like a cross between the Insane Clown Posse and the Dudley Boyz.

    After a short stay at the pond we stopped at the trail junction on the way down to look for the foundation of the old mill. It didn’t take long to find it, Dad had spotted it on the way up through the trees but we figured it couldn’t be that easy. It was. On the other side of a mostly dried up brook we came across old artifacts and then the remains of the mill. The walls of the foundation are still standing, as well as a number of iron rods sticking out of the ground. It was a pretty big place back when it was operational which wasn’t for very long, it didn’t turn enough off a profit so it was shut down after only a couple years of use back in the early 1900’s. Today it’s a cool place to explore and made for some good photos.

    We went back to the hotel to meet Jaime at noon and go out to get some White Mountain Bagel. We all ordered our sandwiches and went to the Otter Rocks on the Kancamagus Highway to have a picnic lunch. My god do they make the best sandwiches. Since the leaves are beginning to turn in the mountains, the leaf peepers are out in full force. A bus was just pulling away as we got there but there were still plenty of car loads hanging around while we ate. Our goal was to do the Greeley Ponds but the parking lot was full so we drove to the next stop where I remembered there being a river I wanted to explore. We started the hike and checked the map after we escaped the crowd of tourists but the trail went for over a mile and a half before even hitting the brook, definitely not something we were prepared for. The trail was nice and easy though, just not for today.

    Feeling like our luck might change, I convinced the rest of our party to go back and try Greeley again, which paid off because two cars were just leaving as we pulled in. The trail was wetter than I’d expected considering the lack of rain, so my parents were right, even though the trail had been redone since they hiked it last, it was still a muddy, wet, rooty, rocky trail that isn’t exactly easy. Overall I didn’t find it too difficult but it’s not the easy walk in the park most trail guides make it out to be. But the ponds at the top more than made up for it. I haven’t been to the Greeley Ponds since I was little and got covered in leaches while taking a swim.

    By the time we got to the top it was getting a little late in the afternoon so Mom was worried we wouldn’t make it down before dark. I wasn’t worried at all, I’ve been hiking in the late afternoon enough to know that when you’re in a notch, the mountains block out the sun so you assume it’s getting dark out but as soon as you leave
the woods, bright sunlight. So Jaime and I explored while they waited at the first pond. You always see the same pictures of the notch from the pond so you don’t really know the other mountain peaks with the rock slabs, ledges and boulder fields are even there until you see it in person. The rugged feeling out there is incredible and we’ll most definitely be going back to explore some of the rockslides. We made it down to the second pond but didn’t want to keep them waiting so we took a couple pictures, peed beside the sandy beach and met back up with them at the top.

    On our way down we passed by way too many people heading up there that late in the day including old couples and families, none of whom were prepared for a hike like that. I hope they all made it down safely in the fading sunlight. Like I’d predicted, we made it down with plenty of time to spare. For supper we all went to Black Mountain Burger but me and Jaime weren’t too hungry so we split a burger and chili cheese fries. An excellent way to close out the day.