Nancy/Norcross Ponds
Where: Nancy/Norcross Ponds
When: September 21-22, 1991
With: Chip, Seth
Ever since passing through this area years before, I'd wanted to come back to the campsite at Norcross Pond. The combination of water and vista made it an ideal site. So when a hike was proposed, I suggested this area.
Seth and I joined Chip at his house and we all piled into my car for the trip. We drove up the Spaudling Turnpike through the traffic jams of Conway, made a stop at a liquor store, and then made for the trailhead. To our dismay, there were quite a few cars parked there already. We feared we'd find crowds in the woods and I figured the campsite would be taken.
Undaunted, we started to pack up. By mutual consent, we'd each brought two containers of alcohol. The first was to be a large quantity of something of moderate strength and the second was to be a half-pint of hard liquor. We agreed to save the identities of the half-pints for later but compared notes on our other purchases. Chip had found a bottle of red wine, which he bought because a description of it in the store said it was "obnoxious and boisterous". Seth had a bottle of peach schnapps, selected solely on the fact that the bottle itself was lightweight plastic. For my part, I had brought four cans of Miller beer. A good range of drinks.
All packed, we headed into the woods. As we walked in, we passed several people coming out and I kept a head count to compare with the car count I'd taken at the trailhead. The more folks I saw coming out, the happier I was. We stopped at a stream crossing (where the old trail up Mt. Bemis left) to sample the schnapps (it was good!) and then continued up to the falls. We passed a few more folks coming out and had the falls to ourselves when we arrived.
We dropped the packs and explored the area a bit. Seth took some pictures and Chip and I climbed up the falls a bit. As we were getting ready to leave, a few more folks came down the trail to the falls. We asked if they'd seen anyone else up ahead. They said they'd passed a large group of folks on a day hike and one couple at a campsite. I was sure the campers had to be at "our" site, if they knew the area at all. Oh well.
We headed up the switchbacks to the top of the ridge and passed the dayhikers coming back down. That just left the campers and us. Up on top, the trail leveled off, passing through woods and marsh until it finally came to Nancy Pond. We stopped in a small glade to rest and played with a red squirrel that screamed at us from the trees. Continuing on, we came to the other end of the pond and started to smell smoke and soon came upon the campers. They had set up camp in a clearing at the west end of Nancy Pond. That meant "our" site might be open.
After a polite hello, we rushed on along the trail and soon were at Norcross Pond. The trail first came on it from the east and the view was magnificent. You looked out across an expanse of open water, surrounded by mountains, and then out across the Pemi Wilderness to the mountains beyond. We couldn't help but stop a bit, but I was itchy to get to the site to confirm our possession. It only took a few minutes to get there and yes; we had it to ourselves. We were all suitably impressed, especially Seth.
After enjoying the view from the rocks, we set up camp. Once the tents were up, I brought out some surprises I carried in. First, a green cloth bag, from which I pulled several plastic tubes (which I tossed to the others) and then paddle blades and finally a rubber raft! Chip and Seth couldn't believe it. Then I pulled out another sack and opened it to reveal a telescope! I had mentioned carrying in surprises on the way in, and the guys were a little disappointed it wasn't a different type of recreational equipment, but they were generally pleased.
After a bit of relaxing and enjoying the site, helped along by a couple of beers and the rest of the schnapps, we started with our chores. Seth got a fire going, and Chip and I started to prepare dinner. We'd bought fresh ravioli with tomato sauce, string cheese, hummus, and pita bread...a good dinner.
I got the tape recorder going and placed it on a rock near the fireplace to record the evening's conversations. Before we sat to eat, I noticed that the recorder was missing. I asked if anyone had moved it and no one had, so we started a search. Within a few minutes I had found it...in the fire! I grabbed it out and tossed it to the side, shutting it off at the same time. The whole front of the recorder had melted, but somehow it had continued to record. Listening to the tape later, one could hear when it slid into the fire and then our excited yells when we discovered it.
That adventure over, we had dinner, enjoying that "obnoxious" wine. Afterwards, we proceeded to the second phase of our liquor purchases. The plan was to stand in a circle, with our bottles still hidden in paper bags, take a swig from our bottle, and then pass the bottle to our right and repeat the process. After one more pass, we had to guess what each had brought. We would then proceed on to several more passes. It quickly became apparent after the second pass that any further passes would be hazardous to our dinner so we stopped. I'd brought Scotch, Seth had Jack Daniels, and Chip had some other whisky. Silly.
Of course the thing to do now was to go rafting. The sky was clear and the moon was out, so we had plenty of light, though it was pretty cold (30 degrees or so). Chip had an interesting idea. He'd brought his signal flares and proposed firing them off at a low angle across the pond over the head of someone in the boat, while Seth tried to record it on film. I took the boat out, paddling around a bit of vegetation and out into the middle of the pond. It was so quiet I could speak normally and be heard by the guys on shore and could hear them, just as easily. I signaled with my flashlight and then watched as first one, then another flare went over my head. The first was to my right and landed in the water. The second went overhead and landed in some brush on the shore. I paddled over, looking for a fire, but found none and figured we were safe.
Returning to shore, I handed the boat over to Chip and waited with Seth. After a bit, we called to Chip and had him come in. He seemed to be taking quite a while, but finally came into view. He was paddling with half of one paddle! When he had started to return, he had pulled hard on the paddles and snapped them both in two! Fortunately, he'd managed to hang on to all the pieces. I found later that we could have salvaged the paddles by turning some of the tubes around and rejoining the paddles, but somehow I didn't think of it at the time and was a bit upset.
We called it a night on the raft and proceeded on to the telescope. The moon was the obvious first target and we weren't disappointed. The view was clear and bright. Seth was pretty amazed. It made this abstract object finally real to him. After awhile, I turned the scope to other parts of the sky and managed to find Saturn, low on the horizon. We could just make out the rings. Neat. Finally we called it a night and went to bed.
I was up first the next morning and took my sleeping bag and some cooking gear out to the rocks. I settled in, set up the telescope for a view of the mountains across the valley, and made some coffee. It was a very nice, peaceful way to start the day. I even managed to spot a hiker on top of Bondcliff. The others soon joined me and we all had breakfast on the rocks.
Seth decided to try his hand with the half paddles and took the raft out for a cruise on the pond while I tried to make biscuits. He had better luck than I did and the biscuits wound up going to the birds in the woods. Finally we decided to break camp and head out. We were just about ready to go when two hikers appeared from down in the valley. We chatted a bit before leaving them for the return trip.
The walk down was pretty uneventful except for a fall Seth took on the switchbacks. He cut himself and we had to make a quick medical break. After that, it was just a walk back to the car and we were homeward bound.
When: September 21-22, 1991
With: Chip, Seth
Ever since passing through this area years before, I'd wanted to come back to the campsite at Norcross Pond. The combination of water and vista made it an ideal site. So when a hike was proposed, I suggested this area.
Seth and I joined Chip at his house and we all piled into my car for the trip. We drove up the Spaudling Turnpike through the traffic jams of Conway, made a stop at a liquor store, and then made for the trailhead. To our dismay, there were quite a few cars parked there already. We feared we'd find crowds in the woods and I figured the campsite would be taken.
Undaunted, we started to pack up. By mutual consent, we'd each brought two containers of alcohol. The first was to be a large quantity of something of moderate strength and the second was to be a half-pint of hard liquor. We agreed to save the identities of the half-pints for later but compared notes on our other purchases. Chip had found a bottle of red wine, which he bought because a description of it in the store said it was "obnoxious and boisterous". Seth had a bottle of peach schnapps, selected solely on the fact that the bottle itself was lightweight plastic. For my part, I had brought four cans of Miller beer. A good range of drinks.
All packed, we headed into the woods. As we walked in, we passed several people coming out and I kept a head count to compare with the car count I'd taken at the trailhead. The more folks I saw coming out, the happier I was. We stopped at a stream crossing (where the old trail up Mt. Bemis left) to sample the schnapps (it was good!) and then continued up to the falls. We passed a few more folks coming out and had the falls to ourselves when we arrived.
We dropped the packs and explored the area a bit. Seth took some pictures and Chip and I climbed up the falls a bit. As we were getting ready to leave, a few more folks came down the trail to the falls. We asked if they'd seen anyone else up ahead. They said they'd passed a large group of folks on a day hike and one couple at a campsite. I was sure the campers had to be at "our" site, if they knew the area at all. Oh well.
We headed up the switchbacks to the top of the ridge and passed the dayhikers coming back down. That just left the campers and us. Up on top, the trail leveled off, passing through woods and marsh until it finally came to Nancy Pond. We stopped in a small glade to rest and played with a red squirrel that screamed at us from the trees. Continuing on, we came to the other end of the pond and started to smell smoke and soon came upon the campers. They had set up camp in a clearing at the west end of Nancy Pond. That meant "our" site might be open.
After a polite hello, we rushed on along the trail and soon were at Norcross Pond. The trail first came on it from the east and the view was magnificent. You looked out across an expanse of open water, surrounded by mountains, and then out across the Pemi Wilderness to the mountains beyond. We couldn't help but stop a bit, but I was itchy to get to the site to confirm our possession. It only took a few minutes to get there and yes; we had it to ourselves. We were all suitably impressed, especially Seth.
After enjoying the view from the rocks, we set up camp. Once the tents were up, I brought out some surprises I carried in. First, a green cloth bag, from which I pulled several plastic tubes (which I tossed to the others) and then paddle blades and finally a rubber raft! Chip and Seth couldn't believe it. Then I pulled out another sack and opened it to reveal a telescope! I had mentioned carrying in surprises on the way in, and the guys were a little disappointed it wasn't a different type of recreational equipment, but they were generally pleased.
After a bit of relaxing and enjoying the site, helped along by a couple of beers and the rest of the schnapps, we started with our chores. Seth got a fire going, and Chip and I started to prepare dinner. We'd bought fresh ravioli with tomato sauce, string cheese, hummus, and pita bread...a good dinner.
I got the tape recorder going and placed it on a rock near the fireplace to record the evening's conversations. Before we sat to eat, I noticed that the recorder was missing. I asked if anyone had moved it and no one had, so we started a search. Within a few minutes I had found it...in the fire! I grabbed it out and tossed it to the side, shutting it off at the same time. The whole front of the recorder had melted, but somehow it had continued to record. Listening to the tape later, one could hear when it slid into the fire and then our excited yells when we discovered it.
That adventure over, we had dinner, enjoying that "obnoxious" wine. Afterwards, we proceeded to the second phase of our liquor purchases. The plan was to stand in a circle, with our bottles still hidden in paper bags, take a swig from our bottle, and then pass the bottle to our right and repeat the process. After one more pass, we had to guess what each had brought. We would then proceed on to several more passes. It quickly became apparent after the second pass that any further passes would be hazardous to our dinner so we stopped. I'd brought Scotch, Seth had Jack Daniels, and Chip had some other whisky. Silly.
Of course the thing to do now was to go rafting. The sky was clear and the moon was out, so we had plenty of light, though it was pretty cold (30 degrees or so). Chip had an interesting idea. He'd brought his signal flares and proposed firing them off at a low angle across the pond over the head of someone in the boat, while Seth tried to record it on film. I took the boat out, paddling around a bit of vegetation and out into the middle of the pond. It was so quiet I could speak normally and be heard by the guys on shore and could hear them, just as easily. I signaled with my flashlight and then watched as first one, then another flare went over my head. The first was to my right and landed in the water. The second went overhead and landed in some brush on the shore. I paddled over, looking for a fire, but found none and figured we were safe.
Returning to shore, I handed the boat over to Chip and waited with Seth. After a bit, we called to Chip and had him come in. He seemed to be taking quite a while, but finally came into view. He was paddling with half of one paddle! When he had started to return, he had pulled hard on the paddles and snapped them both in two! Fortunately, he'd managed to hang on to all the pieces. I found later that we could have salvaged the paddles by turning some of the tubes around and rejoining the paddles, but somehow I didn't think of it at the time and was a bit upset.
We called it a night on the raft and proceeded on to the telescope. The moon was the obvious first target and we weren't disappointed. The view was clear and bright. Seth was pretty amazed. It made this abstract object finally real to him. After awhile, I turned the scope to other parts of the sky and managed to find Saturn, low on the horizon. We could just make out the rings. Neat. Finally we called it a night and went to bed.
I was up first the next morning and took my sleeping bag and some cooking gear out to the rocks. I settled in, set up the telescope for a view of the mountains across the valley, and made some coffee. It was a very nice, peaceful way to start the day. I even managed to spot a hiker on top of Bondcliff. The others soon joined me and we all had breakfast on the rocks.
Seth decided to try his hand with the half paddles and took the raft out for a cruise on the pond while I tried to make biscuits. He had better luck than I did and the biscuits wound up going to the birds in the woods. Finally we decided to break camp and head out. We were just about ready to go when two hikers appeared from down in the valley. We chatted a bit before leaving them for the return trip.
The walk down was pretty uneventful except for a fall Seth took on the switchbacks. He cut himself and we had to make a quick medical break. After that, it was just a walk back to the car and we were homeward bound.
Transcription:
September 21, 22, 1991
[Chip] Nancy Pond - White Mountains
Ritz, Feinberg, Schwartz
60°F - 37°F
Clear & beautiful
Ritz surprised us with an inflatable raft + a telescope
Magnificent all-most-full moon + firey red sunset.
Flares shot over a floating Ritz - Melted the tape recorder
Tortolini + red sauce - red wine + good times.
[Seth] The most beautiful campsite ever...
Pond - bleached trees rim shore wide
White rocks on one side - overlook
Rushing little stream, incred. vista of mountains, blush of red leaves starting
Mind/body is blown from last night. Peace.
