And no, I don’t have pictures of myself decked out for a 13 mile hike on a warm day with every inch of skin covered. The annual crop of mosquitos and black flies were out in force, but I was ready for them!
Saturday was grey, humid, and hot. I shared my loop through the Sandwich Range Wilderness up and over Sandwich Dome with very few people, but with a rich population of bugs and other inhabitants of the National Forest.
The first part of my day followed old logging roads and railroad grades through lower, wetter areas. I saw enough Pink Lady’s Slipper orchids to almost forget what a specific soil and water condition they need to thrive.
This pond was built by beavers, not glaciers, so it isn’t on the map. As I skirted the edge, I could see evidence all around me of the beavers’ older work.
This pond is on the map, and the last low lying point before the trail begins to climb toward the ridge.
Just under a mile and just under 1000 feet of elevation gain later, I was looking down on the same pond from the top of the ridge.
And ultimately took me to my high point atop Sandwich Dome, which looks out across the Sandwich Range Wilderness to the higher peaks to the north.
I looped back to my start on a trail that makes a steady descent through the forest, sometimes following old logging roads and sometimes narrowing to a simple foot path.
I wasn’t as ambitious on Sunday, but still took a short turn up Mt Pemigewassett in Franconia Notch State Park. It was just starting to sprinkle as I ascended, and all the people I met were coming down, so by the time I reached the summit under heavy mist, I had it all to myself.
The sun was shining over I-93 and Lincoln when I was at the summit, but when I was off the trail and making the road walk back to my car the skies opened up on me. Decidedly not awesome, but I deployed rain shell and pack cover and counted myself lucky that it held off until I was back on pavement.