Waterfall Wednesday

The weather turned out to be as forecast but luckily it was just drizzling by 9 AM so eight  hearty adults, one small baby and five dogs went on our hike in Cornish on West Pass Rd.

This road takes us by a wonderful waterfall and abuts the blow-me-down brook.  I'll have to look up the origin of this name to add later. At the end is a gate to the private game park (Corbin Park) where privileged individuals can hunt elk, wild boar and other game animals..  I don't understand the attraction when there are many rural areas to hunt for free.

I took some photos but my camera had low battery warnings so I hope a few came out and can be posted.

If you leave the trail on the opposite side of the road by the waterfall, it leads you to an old sawmill cellar hole but the bridge over the brook from here was washed out during one of our tropical storms (Irene?). This leads you to large trail system known as the composer trails .  The Bach trail starts from here.

The cool drizzle meant no black flies but it was very humid and of course damp in this area.

Four of us stopped in at the Cornish store for coffee and met a gentleman who has lived in the area  since 1941.  We learned there were 17 mills between the hills of Cornish and the Connecticut River at one time.   We also learned more about the composer trails.  He said the lady slippers were out behind his house.  I guess we better go check!

After doing some research I found out the name of the sawmill ,  Jonathan Wyman!  The blow-me-down name origin is still unknown, one blogger thought it might have been named by St Gaudens  as a joke.  The brook starts near our hike and meanders through Cornish, then Plainfield (Hell Hollow and Mill Village) and then back to Cornish (Squag City).  The covered bridge by the waterfall in Squag city is called the blow-me-down covered bridge (over the gorge)  and of course the famous blow-me-down mill is on 12A  just below the Saint Gaudens site.  The brook flows for over 12 miles before entering the Connecticut River by the Windsor covered bridge.

As usual, a very interesting and rewarding hike

Seven of the hikers and baby Charlotte (who you need to find), plus the five dogs. Before that, the waterfall and  the remains of the old mill

Tuesday Trekkers

Today seven of us decided to climb Mt Cardigan in Orange, NH.  The weather cooperated today and so the views were stunning on the bare mountain top, a 360 degree panorama.

The weather forecast for tomorrow calls for showers, hence the Tuesday date.

The negatives were black flies especially on our way down and some muddy sections to the trail. The positives were everything else!  The companionship, the waterfalls, the vegetation,  the other hikers ( an earth sciences class from Gofftown High School among others) and the views, especially the views.  For a 1 1/2 mile trek it is a big bang for the buck!

We also took a wrong turn and thus a detour and a little more challenging way to the top. But we came down the correct way or I should say the easier way.

Lots of pictures to follow so check back.  We even have a snowman hastily made with one of the patches of snow leftover from the storm on Saturday night.  So 32 this past Saturday and 93 and humid predicted for next Saturday. Gotta love New England weather

All and all a fabulous hike and day.

Here 5 of us are halfway up the mountain, Cathy is hidding!

 the view

a small waterfall on the mtn, looks like gold in the brook!

lichen

Peggy on the trail

More views

Looking towards the south peak and Mt Ascutney in VT

looking east, with the smaller peak, Firescrew, in the foreground, and the White Mountains in the distance

Four of us eating our lunch at the top in front of the fire tower

Helen making the snowman and all the snow on May 28th! as promised, last but not least

Introduction and Welcome

Welcome to the Wacky Wednesday Walkers of Meriden, NH and surrounding towns.  This blog will discuss our various walks and hikes over a year.

We will record interesting sightings of wildlife and plants and describe views on the mountains and any other comments of interest.  For instance, we love waterfalls, old cellar holes and stone walls.

We meet on Wed mornings usually but occasionally will switch days because of weather.

We are a group of  woman in our 50s to 70s who like to walk at a good pace  with our dogs as loyal companions.  As many as 15 people and (dogs) walk each week.

All our hikes are in VT or NH.

Visit us often to see the photos we take.  Some of us are excellent photographers!

This is a picture of trout lilies found on the Mt Ascutney trail earlier this month