Yesterday was supposed to be gorgeous, and this time it actually was, so we decided to make a day trip to NH. We’d been planning on going back since a few weeks ago when two of the places we wanted to eat at were closed for the day. So we got up early and left the house around 7:00. We took the same route as last time to Gorham which takes just over three hours, neither of our stomachs were doing too good so we had to stop for emergency pooping along the way.
We got some Gatorade at the Gorham Walmart and attempted to find Alpine Cascades but came up empty handed. I know where it is on the map despite its lack of a trail but finding the best way to it is what’s difficult. We can walk along an old railroad bed turned ATV trail if we have to but it's in the direct sunlight for over a mile plus it's all on crushed gravel and dirt which my ankle doesn’t appreciate. I thought I found a more direct, wooded route but we couldn’t find the road we were looking for because there were no road signs. We were okay with that because it was really freakin’ hot and being out in the open sun wasn’t sounding too appealing.
So we moved on to Littleton to get Jaime’s birthday fudge since they were closed by the time we got there last time. We got a pound and a half which should last us awhile. I went to a consignment shop and a thrift store but the antique place I really wanted to go to wasn’t open, they have old maps and post cards which is actually the best way to find out about abandoned trails.
From there we went to Lincoln to get lunch at White Mountain Bagel. They’re a bagel place that makes amazing sandwiches with so much meat you can barely fit it in your mouth. Jaime of course told me that I shouldn’t have a problem with it because I love putting big meat in my mouth. We took them to the Fay Wayside picnic area to eat along the river, one of our favorite places to have a picnic.
Not wanting to stray too far from Lincoln since we were determined to eat at Black Mountain Burger for supper, we’d decided on searching for a waterfall on Cannon Mountain but wanted something smaller first while digesting our delicious bagel sandwiches. Since Jaime didn’t go up Waternomee Brook with me a year ago she wanted to do that. It appears to be nothing more than a random brook that passes under the road but just a short ways up are actually a number of stunning cascades. Of course they were much better when I did them in the Spring of last year but it was still fun as hell. Jaime enjoyed climbing up the rocks of the steep brook. The black flies were horrible but that’s to be expected this time of year.
When I last visited the brook it would have been impossible to climb up it due to the insane amount of water. This time it was low enough to climb up right alongside the falls. I got to scratch another item off my bucket list by sticking my head under a waterfall to cool off. I’ve always wanted to but never really had the right opportunity or safe place to do it. It was as refreshing as I’d always imagined it to be. On our way back down I found a beautiful quartz rock by the waterfall and got some pictures of it posed beneath the fall before taking it home, my only rock of the trip. See, I’m doing much better, only one. The crystals in it are so thick they look like glass.
The main fall which slides down a steep rock for about thirty feet wasn’t nearly as intense as it had been last time but that gave me the opportunity to explore. I actually got to go up the ledges that the water covered in the Spring which was pretty cool, there was even a view from the top. The brook continues on up the side of Waternomee Mountain but we stopped there since the water level was so low, but I’ll be traveling up it further next Spring. While I was exploring Jaime took off her shoes and stuck her feet in the pool below the falls and relaxed before making our descent.
It was starting to get late so we scrapped the idea of searching for an abandoned mine and headed for Cannon Mountain. What was once an extensive bushwhack to a recently rediscovered waterfall has turned into a short hike along a trail after a photographer realized the locals had a path leading to the forgotten Nobel Falls. The directions were right, you would never imagine there was a maintained path there. I think it's used by skiers during the winter months but it makes for an excellent hiking trail that leads directly to the falls.
Noble Falls, now known as Bridesmaid Falls to the backcountry skiers, has got to be one of the most majestic I have ever seen. The fact it isn’t on any maps or trail guides is astonishing. Even in the low water it was incredible. Out of nowhere the small stream pours over an enormous rock cliff. The ledge is so high its not really possible to capture it all in a picture. Not only that, there’s actually two waterfalls, one on each end of the cliff. I got to touch it, both of them, but wasn’t able to wet my head like I did at Waternomee. The sandy pool at the bottom would be perfect to splash around in though. I’m still amazed at how incredible Noble Falls is, just wow.
Through research I’d learned that there was actually another waterfall just a tenth of a mile or so downstream, so downstream I went in search of Plimpton Falls. But first there were some really cool rock formations along the riverbed I had to check out. At one point a slab of rock jutted out over the brook like a plank on a pirate ship. I can’t wait to see these lower falls in the Spring or after a heavy rain.
Getting down to Plimpton Falls was easier said than done. Tenth of a mile doesn’t sound so bad on paper but when its straight down with no trail whatsoever, it gets a little tricky. I could tell there was something special down there because I stood at the top of it and watched the water disappear over the edge. Using fallen trees and their comrades who had yet to succumb to gravity, I carefully lowered myself down the steep ravine, catching glimpses of the falls from beside it.
Although not a sheer drop off a ledge like Noble Falls, the water cascaded down steps, one after another after another for what must be a hundred feet or more. Its hard to believe there can be two such unique waterfalls just a few hundred feet from each other with no real trail to them. Its really a shame more people don’t get to see these. The mosquitoes were swarming me so I didn’t stay long but I did manage to get some good pictures of me with the falls using the timer on my camera. Not wanting to leave Jaime waiting I hurried back up the impossibly steep slope. Every step was bringing me back two, sliding down the dead leaves and loose dirt beneath them. So instead I leapt from tree to tree, holding on tight, getting my footing, and then launching myself up to the next one. It worked but man did that tire me out. I think I almost passed out at one point but couldn’t let myself because Jaime was still up ahead of me and if I fell it would have been a long way down. I made it up rather quickly and stopped for a drink, then proceeded to swallow a fly during all my huffing and puffing. I hope he died a slow and painful death for discomfort he caused me.
We certainly earned our supper at Black Mountain Burger, which was delicious like always. I got a new one this time, a Thai burger with peanut slaw on it, it was certainly interesting. Jaime got the Brie and Bacon with maple mayonaise, one of our favorites. The buffalo mac and cheese balls were incredible as well.
Before heading out we stopped at GH Pizza so I could get a Souvlaki to go which I had tonight after work, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I also stopped at Price Chopper to see if they had anything good to bring back with me, I only got a package of blueberry muffin tops, the place looked pretty well picked over after the holiday weekend. We ended up leaving town at 8:00, made it down the Kancamagus before it got completely dark, oh and Jaime saw a moose along the way, and were home just after midnight. No rain at all so despite the construction areas on the way back it was smooth sailing, nothing like last time. Jaime even slept a bit on the highway. I wanted to but waited until we got home. Another amazing day that only makes me want to move there more.
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