Black Mountain Pond
Where: Black Mountain Pond
When:8/11/01-8/12/01
With: Chip, Dave
When:8/11/01-8/12/01
With: Chip, Dave
After six years on the water, it was time for the Stupids to go back to the woods. Invitations were extended to all, and only Seth sent his regrets. We were aiming for low-stress, so we picked Black Mountain Pond as a destination. A short, easy walk to a hidden campsite we'd discovered many years before. We took our time getting going, gathering at Chip's house mid-morning and hitting the road north around 10AM. We made the usual liquor store stop and briefly considered a bottle of Mescal before settling for some citrus-flavored vodka. A second stop was made in Concord, where Dave & I hit the grocery store for additional food (lunches, more pasta) while Chip ran over to a camping store in search of a hammock (both Dave & I had brought ours). No hammock was available, so he bought a bottle of red wine instead.
It was an uneventful ride from there up to Squam Lake. We made our way around the lake and tried to find a cutover road to Sandwich Notch road. Never did find it but we picked up Sandwich Notch a bit further along and were back on track. The ride along the unpaved road was fun in my new Subaru and we enjoyed the beautiful weather as we continued on to the trailhead. Continuing our tradition, we drove right past the trail and had to backup to the parking area, but soon we were parked and packing up.
We started up the Guinea Pond trail around 2PM. It was a wide old road at first, passing beneath power lines and across open fields before coming to a large, dry marsh. The main trail went around, but another path went straight through and that's what we took. It rejoined the main path on the other side right at the Black Mt. Pond trail junction. We noted the Mead Trail just opposite for the next day, then turned onto the Black Mt. trail and headed north.
The trail almost immediately dropped into a streambed that contained very little water. A few stagnant pools but nothing running. This was not a good sign, since we were planning to camp along this stream further up and would be using it for drinking/cooking water. We rested here a bit before continuing on up the trail. It made its way up through the woods, climbing steadily, generally following the streambed. We kept an eye out along the way for the spot where Seth had dunked himself on a previous hike and proclaimed himself "Pure!", but none of the spots seemed familiar.
After a bit the trail came to a junction with a side trail leading left. A sign indicated the trail led to the Mary-Cary Falls (I don't recall the Falls having a name, nor a sign there in the past). I figured this was the falls we were looking for (our campsite should be up top), but I had planned to get to the campsite from the top of the ridge through the woods. I dropped my pack at the junction, planning to check out the falls and then return for the pack and continue up the main trail. The others kept their packs on as we walked to the Falls.
With the low water, the Falls were mostly just a small rocky cliff. While Chip & Dave relaxed in the sun on the rocks, I climbed up to see if I could find the campsite I had in mind. I scrambled my way to the top, then followed the streambed back into the woods a ways and there it was...a small open area covered in ferns next to the stream. It even had a fire ring. I tried to find a route back to the main trail at the top of the ridge, but gave up quickly and headed back to the Falls. I let the others know we'd arrived, then headed down. Back at the bottom I went to retrieve my pack while Chip & Dave began to make their way up. I took the same route up the rock and we all gathered up top to check out the area.
Chip & I initially dropped our packs at the camp area I'd found, but Dave remained back at the cliff edge. We'd figured we'd use that area for hanging out and eating, but Dave figured it'd be a good place for his hammock. Looking around, I agreed with him and went to fetch my gear. Chip took a look as well and decided he could manage to fit his tent in, so we all wound up camping by the cliff. It was about 4PM.
The day was warm and we had plenty of light left, so we just hung out and enjoyed the area. I did a little rock climbing while Chip & Dave made an attempt to build a dam in the stream and create a small pool. Finally we decided to set up camp, stringing up both hammocks and fitting Chip's tent (just barely) into a small level spot. A little exploring in the woods brought us to the main trail, so the three of us went for a walk up to the Pond. We passed a couple setting up camp (or so it seemed) on the trail just below the Pond, then soon found ourselves at a well-used camping area at the Pond's edge. The water seemed mighty inviting and soon we were all in. Dave went first (skinny-dipping), followed by Chip and finally me. We had some concerns about leaches in the muddy shallows near the shore, but they were unfounded.
We had a very nice refreshing swim, stroking our way out to the middle of the lake and then just goofing around a bit. We could hear hikers/campers at spots along the shore, but no one else was in the water. It began to get late, so we swam back to shore, got dressed and hiked back down to camp. Chip realized part way back that he'd forgotten his goggles by the Pond, but figured we'd be back for another swim in the morning and he'd get them then. As we walked down I noticed that the couple we'd seen earlier had disappeared. Probably went up to the Pond while we were swimming.
We walked back through the woods to the Falls and began dinner preparations. I cooked up a batch of tortellini with a pre-packed smoked salmon & herb sauce, which we enjoyed with the wine. After the dinner clean up, Dave made a small fire in a crook of rock down the cliff from his hammock. We watched it carefully, given the dry conditions, but it was okay. Chip wound up falling asleep lying on the cliff, crawled into his tent for a bit, and then rejoined us on the cliff.
Around 9PM we doused the fire (many times...some of it had fallen into a crevice and we were concerned it would spread) then headed to bed. I read until around 10PM, listening to Chip snore at the other end of the cliff, then slept until I was awakened by an animal noise around 1AM (something checking out the food bag). I could see some great stars through the hammock netting (I had set my hammock where I had a clear view of the sky and across the valley) and even saw a meteorite streak by before I fell back asleep.
I woke up about 6AM, relaxed in the hammock a bit then went to be a bear. The others slept in until 7:30-8:00, when we all got up for a breakfast of bagels, coffee and vodka. We'd created a "mock worm" for the vodka, by the way (since we hadn't bought the Mescal) out of a baby carrot, and we were determined to have someone eat the "worm" for breakfast. I think I "won." Tangy! The rest of the morning was spent hanging out. A couple of times we heard voices at the base of the Falls but no one ventured up to our spot.
We broke camp around 10:30 and ambled back down to the Guinea Pond trail, stopping briefly at what we finally determined to be Seth's Purification spot, a small pool at the base of some rocks. We all went for a quick, cool dip before continuing on. About this time Chip realized he'd never gone back for his goggles. We also explored a dried-up beaver pond along the way before arriving back at the trail junction. We crossed over to the Mead Trail, dropped our packs in the woods and headed up towards the summit of Mt. Israel. Two guys passed us on their way down, but otherwise we had the trail to ourselves.
After a 45-minute climb we were up on top. There were grand views in all directions and we rested at the former site of the fire tower. Chip explored around to the south and discovered some awesome cliffs with extensive views over the Lakes region. We all checked them out, then returned to the fire tower site and back down the trail. We spread out on the uneventful, flat walk back to the car, packed up (though I think I left my bathing suit there), paid our parking fee and started the drive toward home. We made a few stops in town for snacks, gas, and Burger King, then drove south to Chip's. We arrived there around 6:30 and I was home by 7:30.
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It was an uneventful ride from there up to Squam Lake. We made our way around the lake and tried to find a cutover road to Sandwich Notch road. Never did find it but we picked up Sandwich Notch a bit further along and were back on track. The ride along the unpaved road was fun in my new Subaru and we enjoyed the beautiful weather as we continued on to the trailhead. Continuing our tradition, we drove right past the trail and had to backup to the parking area, but soon we were parked and packing up.
We started up the Guinea Pond trail around 2PM. It was a wide old road at first, passing beneath power lines and across open fields before coming to a large, dry marsh. The main trail went around, but another path went straight through and that's what we took. It rejoined the main path on the other side right at the Black Mt. Pond trail junction. We noted the Mead Trail just opposite for the next day, then turned onto the Black Mt. trail and headed north.
The trail almost immediately dropped into a streambed that contained very little water. A few stagnant pools but nothing running. This was not a good sign, since we were planning to camp along this stream further up and would be using it for drinking/cooking water. We rested here a bit before continuing on up the trail. It made its way up through the woods, climbing steadily, generally following the streambed. We kept an eye out along the way for the spot where Seth had dunked himself on a previous hike and proclaimed himself "Pure!", but none of the spots seemed familiar.
After a bit the trail came to a junction with a side trail leading left. A sign indicated the trail led to the Mary-Cary Falls (I don't recall the Falls having a name, nor a sign there in the past). I figured this was the falls we were looking for (our campsite should be up top), but I had planned to get to the campsite from the top of the ridge through the woods. I dropped my pack at the junction, planning to check out the falls and then return for the pack and continue up the main trail. The others kept their packs on as we walked to the Falls.
With the low water, the Falls were mostly just a small rocky cliff. While Chip & Dave relaxed in the sun on the rocks, I climbed up to see if I could find the campsite I had in mind. I scrambled my way to the top, then followed the streambed back into the woods a ways and there it was...a small open area covered in ferns next to the stream. It even had a fire ring. I tried to find a route back to the main trail at the top of the ridge, but gave up quickly and headed back to the Falls. I let the others know we'd arrived, then headed down. Back at the bottom I went to retrieve my pack while Chip & Dave began to make their way up. I took the same route up the rock and we all gathered up top to check out the area.
Chip & I initially dropped our packs at the camp area I'd found, but Dave remained back at the cliff edge. We'd figured we'd use that area for hanging out and eating, but Dave figured it'd be a good place for his hammock. Looking around, I agreed with him and went to fetch my gear. Chip took a look as well and decided he could manage to fit his tent in, so we all wound up camping by the cliff. It was about 4PM.
The day was warm and we had plenty of light left, so we just hung out and enjoyed the area. I did a little rock climbing while Chip & Dave made an attempt to build a dam in the stream and create a small pool. Finally we decided to set up camp, stringing up both hammocks and fitting Chip's tent (just barely) into a small level spot. A little exploring in the woods brought us to the main trail, so the three of us went for a walk up to the Pond. We passed a couple setting up camp (or so it seemed) on the trail just below the Pond, then soon found ourselves at a well-used camping area at the Pond's edge. The water seemed mighty inviting and soon we were all in. Dave went first (skinny-dipping), followed by Chip and finally me. We had some concerns about leaches in the muddy shallows near the shore, but they were unfounded.
We had a very nice refreshing swim, stroking our way out to the middle of the lake and then just goofing around a bit. We could hear hikers/campers at spots along the shore, but no one else was in the water. It began to get late, so we swam back to shore, got dressed and hiked back down to camp. Chip realized part way back that he'd forgotten his goggles by the Pond, but figured we'd be back for another swim in the morning and he'd get them then. As we walked down I noticed that the couple we'd seen earlier had disappeared. Probably went up to the Pond while we were swimming.
We walked back through the woods to the Falls and began dinner preparations. I cooked up a batch of tortellini with a pre-packed smoked salmon & herb sauce, which we enjoyed with the wine. After the dinner clean up, Dave made a small fire in a crook of rock down the cliff from his hammock. We watched it carefully, given the dry conditions, but it was okay. Chip wound up falling asleep lying on the cliff, crawled into his tent for a bit, and then rejoined us on the cliff.
Around 9PM we doused the fire (many times...some of it had fallen into a crevice and we were concerned it would spread) then headed to bed. I read until around 10PM, listening to Chip snore at the other end of the cliff, then slept until I was awakened by an animal noise around 1AM (something checking out the food bag). I could see some great stars through the hammock netting (I had set my hammock where I had a clear view of the sky and across the valley) and even saw a meteorite streak by before I fell back asleep.
I woke up about 6AM, relaxed in the hammock a bit then went to be a bear. The others slept in until 7:30-8:00, when we all got up for a breakfast of bagels, coffee and vodka. We'd created a "mock worm" for the vodka, by the way (since we hadn't bought the Mescal) out of a baby carrot, and we were determined to have someone eat the "worm" for breakfast. I think I "won." Tangy! The rest of the morning was spent hanging out. A couple of times we heard voices at the base of the Falls but no one ventured up to our spot.
We broke camp around 10:30 and ambled back down to the Guinea Pond trail, stopping briefly at what we finally determined to be Seth's Purification spot, a small pool at the base of some rocks. We all went for a quick, cool dip before continuing on. About this time Chip realized he'd never gone back for his goggles. We also explored a dried-up beaver pond along the way before arriving back at the trail junction. We crossed over to the Mead Trail, dropped our packs in the woods and headed up towards the summit of Mt. Israel. Two guys passed us on their way down, but otherwise we had the trail to ourselves.
After a 45-minute climb we were up on top. There were grand views in all directions and we rested at the former site of the fire tower. Chip explored around to the south and discovered some awesome cliffs with extensive views over the Lakes region. We all checked them out, then returned to the fire tower site and back down the trail. We spread out on the uneventful, flat walk back to the car, packed up (though I think I left my bathing suit there), paid our parking fee and started the drive toward home. We made a few stops in town for snacks, gas, and Burger King, then drove south to Chip's. We arrived there around 6:30 and I was home by 7:30.
More pictures
