BLOG - Finishing Up NH Waterfalls

Up at 7:30, I ate my danish on the balcony and headed over to Kinsman Notch to check out the lower end of Clough Mine Brook. There were some nice cascades that I'll have to add to the book so I'm glad I checked out this portion of the stream. From there I went up Moosilauke Brook on a hunch which turned out to be accurate. There were multiple waterfalls and some neat caves to explore but the terrain was quite difficult to navigate at the bottom of the rugged ravine. I could hear a large cascade up ahead so I continued on until Moosilauke Brook pulled a 'Lost River' on me and disappeared under a jumble of boulders, completely blocking the waterfall from view.

Oh well, it was time to head back anyway to check out of the hotel. I picked up Jaime, and some Subway, and we parked along Jackman Brook so I could check out the portion I hadn't last time. I wasn't expecting much so man was I surprised to find a handful of spectacular waterfalls. Two of them were more impressive than the actual Jackman Falls itself. And now I have to change that entire chapter in the book.

Next up on the list was Moose Falls which I had to hit again in order to get better directions. Jaime accompanied me on this one since I'd already done it and knew the way. Turns out the falls are easier to find than I thought and barely require a bushwhack at all so it's a good thing I went back.

Worried I'd missed out on something else, I had to go back to Ledge Brook as well. I followed it down to Swift River but didn't find anything more than I did last time so for once I had turned around at the right spot. Even with half the water as last time, the lower pools were still gorgeous. I wanted to follow Swift River up to a tributary brook so I began my long, boring journey along the winding stream.

The bushwhacking was easy in spots, thick and difficult in others, but I continued on, knowing there was something up ahead. As it got late in the day and I began to question if my 'spidey' senses had led me astray, right before I called it quits I came across some rapids over rocky ledges. Although not a huge drop, the river is wide enough that it made quite an impressive waterfall. And while I was enjoying it, I got to see a mink run across a sand beach, look at me from his rock pile and then hop in the water and swim downstream. This was my first time seeing a mink in the wild.

A nearby tributary brook was making a racket and I had a good feeling about this one so I followed it upstream. Before long I was treated to an incredible waterfall pouring over a ten foot cliff.

As I rounded the side of the cascade I noticed another stream of water obscured by a block of granite that had broken off from the main ledge. That broken block created a tunnel behind the waterfall, passing from one side to the other. A cave behind the cascade. Oh my god. I slipped on my water shoes to get a better look and sure enough it went all the way through the ledge and popped out on the other side of the brook. Never have I seen anything like this before. I got a bit wet being inches from the waterfall and even stuck my head under it to cool off. This one is incredible, especially for being such a small unnamed brook.

For such a boring approach, this turned out to be one hell of an adventure. I made my way back to the car via the small stream and we began our journey home. I had hoped to hit up Alpine Cascades but after my long trip along the Swift River there wasn’t even close to enough time. There's just a few details needed to finish up the NH waterfall book but I’m worried it’ll be too long with all these added falls along the way. One more week and then it's on to our ten day vacation.

BLOG - Grafton Notch & Cannon Falls Again

With two inches of rain this past week we decided to spend our 'weekend' in NH finishing up the waterfall book. We picked up some food at Cumberland Farms along the way and ate at a pretty little park on a pond not far from Bethel Maine. Our goal for the day was Grafton Notch and making it to Lincoln NH in time to see IT at 7:00. First stop of the day was to the forgotten Jail Falls which we've been to a few times but I needed the measurements for the book. Most of the two inch rainfall had worn off over the past few days so I was able to easily cross the brook and stand atop the falls with my tape measure while Jaime relaxed at the bottom.

The next stop was Mother Walker Falls which is a tourist waterfall viewing area that oddly enough features no view of the waterfall. I set out to find it. A couple years ago I found one fall but recently heard rumor of another so I went in search of it, alone, because I figured this one would be a little difficult. After picking my way down the hundred foot wall of the gorge I followed the river along unstable terrain to a nice cascade with a talus cave beside it and then another interesting cave in the cliff above it. This bushwhack involved lots of rock climbing, root climbing and pulling myself over large crevices via tree trunks. Quite a wild area.

We scouted out a future bushwhack but didn't have the time or appropriate water levels today so it was on to Cascade Brook. We visited it earlier this year but my GPS went haywire and deleted my tracks so we had to go back to get the proper measurements. Well, it did it again, three times, but I was finally able to get the information I needed on this spectacular 93 foot waterfall. I wonder what's up with this area, to have so much trouble with my GPS which never gives me any difficulties. Kinda weird.

That was it for Grafton Notch today so we made our way into NH and stopped to pick up lunch/supper at Gorham Pizza. We've been loving their gyros and steak and mushroom subs lately so we grabbed a couple of those to go and ate at the Beaver Brook picnic area in Twin Mountain. With a little time to kill before the movie we stopped at Cannon Mountain so I could get some measurements on Cannon Falls for the book, an amazing set of waterfalls I found earlier this year. It was beginning to get dark which meant I had to hurry. The water was low which made my task easier but man that is one tough mountain whether on trail or off. It's steep, eroded with tons of rotten granite, and there are fissure caves all over the place large enough to swallow you whole if you aren't constantly watching your footing. But I managed to get my measurements and make it all the way up to the natural land bridge over the brook.

Coming back down the way I came would take way too long so I cut across to the trail and ran down it in ten minutes which brought us to 6:40. We made it to Parkers Motel to check in at 6:50 and got the movie theater at exactly 7:00. And then found out the movie started at 7:15 so we had plenty of time to spare. Whew, I did it. IT was amazing, and I'm a huge fan of the original, but this one was absolutely perfect. It's weird because we live in Bangor, the fictional town of Derry where the story takes place, yet we're not watching it in its hometown. They did do a great job recreating the city though. Then we grabbed some snacks at the grocery store and brought them back to the hotel which was incredible, the room was enormous and even had its own little balcony. We will definitely be staying here more often. And booking.com is great, again, no issues whatsoever. We fell asleep around midnight which is okay because I wanted an early start the next day. So much to do, so little time.