Had hoped to hike some AT today and left the house optimistically, bound for Kinsman Notch. I used I-91, VT/NH-25, NH-10, NH-115 and NH-112 to reach the WMNF parking area there. Upon arrival (around 0830), I found the area enveloped in fog, a strong wind, temps in the high 20s and a light coating of snow from the previous evening. Part of me still wanted to go up the southern slope of Kinsman (it looked better than the northern slope of Moosilauke) but the final clincher was the nearly empty parking lot (I’ve never seen that). I decided that I didn’t want to be a Winter 2020-21 rescue statistic and reluctantly headed east into Lincoln. The conditions on the other side of I-93 were very similar (with the additional perk of “spitting snow”) so I gave up on the AT and headed south. The temps improved a bit and it occurred to me that I should pay a visit the part of the WMNF in the Mad River Valley - my Snowshoe Hikes book mentioned a couple of trails near the town of Waterville Valley and that seemed like good Plan B. Once I was off the Interstate (NH-49), I enjoyed the warmer conditions and views of the white capped waters of the (appropriately named) Mad River. I easily found the National Forest units at the base of Sandwich Mountain and then stumbled into the Resort Community. Wow! I don’t remember visiting the area when I was young but most of it looked new and affluent. I spent about an hour, exploring the property and checking out various amenities. I visited one of the sales offices and began to wonder if such a place was in my price range for a northern retirement residence (jury I’d still out)... Headed back west and tried to locate the Welch-Dickey Trailhead so I could put in a few miles in the mountains. After successfully finding the parking lot (much busier), I spent another hour walking on the Brown Ash Swamp (Mountain) Bike Trail. It was quite muddy but I had this route to myself (everyone else took the loop trail on the mountains). The temps got up to the 50s and the sun came out - the wind kept my jacket on, though. Finished up at around 1400 and headed towards home - backtracking to I-93 and then proceeding via Plymouth, NH-25, NH-118 and US-4 to Canaan. As I approached Enfield, I decided to take Goose Pond Road to explore the southern end of Goose Pond. This turned out to be a good idea because I immediately found some places to launch a kayak and, when I stopped at the dam, met some locals who gave me even more insights into things to do nearby. The weather was much improved by then (it was actually getting warm) but the day was almost over. I continued north until I could go west (around the north side of Goose Pond) and then went home via Etna (arrived by 1630). Overall, a pretty good day of exploring and discovery! I think I successfully made lemonade out of the lemons life gave me - if I can’t say anything nice about the day, I can admit that I know my home state a bit better.
