The White Mountains You Haven't Seen : Waterfall Edition

 

 

Lost. Forgotten. Abandoned. On the slopes of the rugged White Mountains lie countless cascades rarely visited by humans. Some had trails, postcards, even viewing platforms. Today they hide in plain sight in places we don’t visit. With hundreds of nameless streams spanning thousands of trail-less miles, the trick is finding them. Follow me as we explore 25 off-trail waterfalls. 

Some are merely steps from the road. Others require bushwhacking through forests so steep you’ll need to use trees to pull yourself up. In the end, every grueling step is worth it. When that remote stream pours over a rugged rock ledge, you’ll understand why you’re out here where the average hiker doesn’t venture. 

You may know the White Mountains. You might think you’ve visited all the waterfalls they have to offer. But these are the White Mountains You Haven’t Seen, Waterfall Edition.

Black & White and E-Book editions

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Color Copies are in the mail right now and will arrive shortly. To reserve your color copy just leave a comment down below and I will message you when they become available. 

For a full listing of the waterfalls included head on over to https://matthewmarchon.weebly.com/the-white-mountains-you-havent-seen-waterfall-edition-volume-one.html

 

BLOG - Millbrook Falls & Kittredge Brook Forest (Acadia)

Jaime wanted to get out and do some hiking and was itching to see the waterfalls she missed out on last week. And I needed to go back to the same falls because as it turns out, those were just the lower portion. The bigger Millbrook Fall was upstream a few hundred feet. I swear, I do this every time and always wind up needing to go back to every place I visit. So back to Acadia, before the big snowstorm hits tomorrow, kicking off second winter. The lower falls didn't have quite as much water as last week but they were still flowing hard.

We went up the old road a few hundred feet further and could see the upper falls through the trees. I had no idea what to expect as I've never been able to find any pictures of this rather out of place cascade but wow. It was not what I expected. Acadia continues to surprise me even after writing an entire book about its secrets.

The mile long stretch of abandoned road ended at another current road with a sizeable parking area so we decided to drive around and see if we could get to it without trespassing. And sure enough, we found our way and parked at the other end, turning the mile long hike out to the falls into a tenth of a mile hike. I went to other side of the falls and got some pictures from the rock slab beside the cascade. I later found out that this area is part of a preserve and despite its close proximity to some really nice houses, we are indeed allowed to be there.

My next stop was a crag on National Park land, just above Somes Sound near Richardson Cove. The trick would be finding a place to park on the busy road but surprisingly there were multiple pull-offs right near my starting point. But of course I picked the wrong one and had to walk a little longer than I would have liked down Route 3. And then I picked the wrong stream to follow. What, leave me alone, there were three of them all a hundred feet apart. Oddly enough I encountered a couple paths out there, one of them a road, another one a clear hiking path. I followed it a short ways but it was leading me in the wrong direction so I crossed a small swampy area on the ice and made it up the ridge I was looking for. A faint path led to the top where there was a beautiful but somewhat limited view. The trees were too tall so despite the twenty foot cliff, they were still in the way. I did get a great view over Somes Sound and the surrounding mountains though, namely Norumbega Mountain.

I could see more open areas up higher and down lower so I checked them both out. The ledges below were great but the powerlines kind of ruined the view. Up higher the trees were way too plentiful and blocked any view whatsoever, but there was an old hammock at the top which would have had an amazing view before the trees got too tall. And it turns out I needed to go about 300 feet further to hit the ledge I was aiming for. So, yeah, I'm gonna have to go back, like always. I doubt the view will be any more open from the next ledge but you never know. At least it's a short climb.

Afterward I checked out a northern cove of Somes Sound across the street. And the view from the shore might have been a little better than the view from the small ledge. So sometimes easier is better.

Our last adventure of the day was the Kittredge Brook Forest located behind MDI High School. We had a late lunch in the parking lot, chicken salad wraps with grapes, and hit the trails we didn't know existed. To be fair, they were only created a few years ago. I wouldn't have known they were there but I saw a neat looking ledge on Google Earth last night right behind the high school so I did some research, figuring it had to have a trail. It turns out it does. So after missing our turn and walking half a mile in the wrong direction, we doubled back and found our way to the correct trail. Normally not a big deal but the sun was going down and I got really cold in just my t-shirt. Just before reaching the ledge, there were signs telling us to keep out due to it being a waste water treatment area. There were sprinklers scattered all over the place that apparently spray the treated waste water throughout the forest. Yet that's clearly where the well marked trail went so we continued on, telling ourselves if they sprayed us with waste water, we'd return the favor and tinkle on them for revenge. Luckily there was no Bodily Fluid War of '18 and we made it to the ledge.

Again, some trees were in the way but it offered a nice view of Acadia Mountain, Beech Mountain and Western Mountain which is exactly what I was expecting when I spotted the ledge on good old Google Earth.

There was also a view in the other direction back towards the mainland mountains on the horizon.

We took the short way back down around the athletic fields and headed home. I could have maybe squeezed in another hike but with only 20 minutes of sunlight, not to mention me begin freezing, it wasn't worth it. But that's another two destinations for The Acadia You Haven't Seen Volume Two.

BLOG - A Warm February Day In Acadia

With the string of warm weather we've been having, I figured most of the snow on the island would be gone. With there being little to no snow on the mountaintops, the waterfalls won't be much, I'll just have to hope for a rainy spring. So we decided to go a little early. I started with a secret cascade on Old Norway Drive that a reader of The Acadia You Haven't Seen, turned friend, told me about. There were some large patches of ice on the old road but I managed not to fall once today. No, that doesn't mean I fell multiple times either, and I wore my bad sneakers because I didn't want to get my new hikers all wet their first day out just in case I encountered snow.

 

I had no idea what to expect from the falls but they were rugged and gorgeous and the river was raging. Unfortunately the sun was shining brightly so it was hard to get any good pictures of the falls. Guess I'll be going back to this one later.

I explored a tributary brook that brought me to a nice little slanted cliff cascade.

Then I noticed some open ledges above me so I kept going. Then there were more above that. Then more to the side. So I just cut across the ridge where there were obstructed views of the mountains and wide open views to the distant mainland mountains on the horizon.

Some nearby ledges caught my eye. I'll be doing some research on those and visiting them next time around. They're outside of national park territory but so are the falls I just came from so I'll give it a try because if it works out, they should offer some amazing views.

From there we drove through Bar Harbor and onto the open portion of the park loop road and then over to the abandoned Huguenot Head Cascade Trail. The water wasn't much more than a trickle so that one will have to wait until some heavy rain. I did it last spring but need some better pictures. Then it was time to head on over to Northeast Harbor. The old village trail system there is still maintained today, or maybe maintained once again, not really sure. I set out to find a few sites I thought I'd be bushwhacking to originally. The trail system is gorgeous but man is it confusing.

I came across the water tower I was looking for without too much difficulty. I knew I should have just printed up the map I found online, it would have made things so much easier. But no, I was left wandering the trails in search of a cave listed on the map. At one point I was literally right around the corner from it but me being me, I went the other way. But that led me to some amazing finds.

After meeting up with a utility road I decided to bushwhack over to a nearby brook I could hear through the trees. The area was thick with blowdown at the edge of a swamp so bushwhacking turned into crawling under, over and across fallen trees. Lots of tight roping. But it brought me to a series of incredible waterfalls I didn't expect to be there.

I had planned a trip to this area a while ago but didn't think it'd be anything spectacular so it got shuffled to the bottom of the list. I couldn't have been more wrong. The way the brook slid down a rock slab, crashing against the ledges reminded me more of a New Hampshire cascade. It was quite impressive as far as size goes.

Just below the cascade, a wooden bridge crossed the brook but the waterfall was hidden from view so you'd have to leave the trail to see it. I can't find it mentioned anywhere despite the bridge crossing right over the brook where there is another waterfall below it that actually had wooden steps leading off the bridge down to it.

From there I continued along the spiderweb of trails that brought me along impressive cliffs in the woods and up stone stairways built into the hillside long ago. At one point there was even an old iron railing to assist hikers at the top of a staircase.

This finally led me to an area that looked familiar and sure enough, my gps said I'd been there before. I just went in one big circle. But the cliffs looked awful 'cavey'. And what do you know, around the corner, there was the cave. I was about twenty feet away from it earlier in the day but if I went that way, I wouldn't have found the cascades.

The cave was honestly nothing special, just a little hole at the base of the cliff with some stones in front of it. It wasn't much more than seven feet deep and maybe five feet high but still kinda cool. I'm trying to decide of it will go in the second Acadia You Haven't Seen.

I wanted to search for the old quarry but it seemed too far away and I wasn't exactly sure how to get back to the car. Jaime had to pee and tried to find the gas station we thought was nearby but it turned out it wasn't as close as we thought and she couldn't find it. Turns out she was so close she could have seen it through the trees but she turned back a split second too soon. I did run down a set of wooden steps to to the shore on my way back to the car that I wanted to check out on my way through. It was a cute little path that was home to a small cascade. I love the way the water runs down the staircase of stones.

After our quick trip to the gas station that had Jaime smacking her head, there was still a tiny amount of daylight left so we drove back along Sargent Drive to the golf course where the quarry is located. With the sun going down it got a little cold and had me wishing I wore my coat for this last little adventure. It had been 45 all day but dipped into the thirties without the sun. I found the quarry without any difficulty.

There was quite a view from there as well which I was hoping for but not expecting. There aren't any mountains on this corner of the island so the view is quite unique. Some of the trees get in the way and there are cones and orange tape fencing around the quarry which take away from the natural feel here but it's still an incredible view worthy of its own chapter in the upcoming book.

We drove along Sargent Drive at sunset to check out a waterfall there but it was just a trickle which we kind of figured. But it did give me the chance to see a beautiful sunset over Somes Sound to end the day.

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BLOG - Halloween Hurricane Waterfall Hunting

On Monday, the day before Halloween, the tail of a hurricane that dumped inches of rain in the northeast and blew down trees, taking out power to half of New England, was set to leave the state after causing a bit of destruction. With my birthday a couple days away we decided to head for NH in hopes of some raging waterfalls. We got a little more than we bargained for. In the mountains, even the typically dry rock cliffs were lined with random cascades.

Not realizing the severity of the storm when we woke up, we waited for the rain to pass and headed out early in the morning. We didn't lose power, we had no idea the rest of the state did. Everywhere we tried to stop for food was out of power. Downed trees lined the sides of I-95. The closer we got to the mountains, the bigger the run-off brooks beside the road got and we knew we made the right choice. Until we hit Bethel Maine on our way to Grafton Notch and the road was flooded. And so was the detour. And the detour from that detour. After hours of driving we finally made it to North Conway, finally ate our first meal of the day at Wicked Fresh, and decided the safest route would be to cross the Kancamagus Highway. The rivers were like nothing we've ever seen before. The water was yellow from turbulence, rivers rose by ten to twenty feet, mountainsides turned into waterfalls. We called work to tell them we'd be calling out for Wednesday. This was too good to pass up.

It was close to dark by the time we reached Lincoln and with only half an hour of light left, I couldn't do the waterfalls I was hoping for. There was too much water in the Beaver Pond Falls so the cascades through the narrow gorge shot right over it making it look like rocky rapids. We did get to Clough Mine Brook to see the roadside portion just before it got too dark to see. It was like spring runoff with no snow in the pictures. Amazing. We checked in to Parker's Motel where by some miracle they hadn't lost power.

The next morning I got up with the sun and hit Beaver Pond Falls again, this time with a more reasonable amount of water. It's crazy how quickly the brooks subside but it was still the equivalent of early spring. I needed a few more pictures for my waterfall edition of The White Mountains You Haven't Seen so this couldn't have come at a more perfect time. But man was it cold out.

From there I went up the road and explored an unnamed brook I call the Blue Ridge Cascades. I'd only seen it twice, both times in low water and didn't make it back this spring so I was grateful to get back again in time to finish the book. What I knew would be amazing falls in higher water blew away my every expectation. They begin with a couple of side by side falls each closing in on 100 feet in height.

I made my way up to some of the higher falls on the three parallel brooks to check out an incredible 18 footer that was just a trickle in the summer. Today it was spectacular. I had to clear some debris which involved cutting a thick branch with my pocket knife and dragging a couple twenty foot logs out of the falls.

Below that was another amazing waterfall which also was home to some recently downed trees. After lifting and pulling i got them out of the way as well, leaving only a few logs that added character. This brook is one of my greatest discoveries that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere before.

On our way to Gorham to get me some Dynasty Buffet we stopped at Rollo Fall. I went there in the fall with my parents but it was running close to dry at the time. Jaime escorted me along the short path to the falls where it started snowing lightly for a few seconds. Rollo Fall was amazing. I got to use my handheld water filter and drink directly from the pool below the falls. Best birthday present ever.

The buffet was closed today while repairs were being done on the entryway so we got the Farmhouse King burger from Burger King and ate it at the Dolly Copp Campground on our way into Pinkham Notch. It was one of the best burgers I've ever had. After a delicious lunch it was on to Pinkham Cascades. We'd seen it in almost that much water before but I hadn't climbed up higher that time like I did more recently.

Knowing there would be something magnificent up ahead, I climbed up the insanely steep wall of the ravine to the upper falls. The second cascade was gorgeous as well but what really stole the show here was the third cascade through the rugged ravine. I knew it would be phenomenal in high water but I did not anticipate the the side cascade coming in from the left which brought this one to a whole other level.

It was getting late so I didn't plan on exploring the next brook vert far but it had been on my radar for awhile and by the time we got back to Lincoln it'd be dark so I figured I'd give this unnamed brook a try. It started off slow right above the road crossing but a little ways in I encountered a nice side stream coming in with a cool rock slab cascade.

Up just a few minutes from here was another cascade, this one a true waterfall pouring through a gorge with drops on both sides of it. This one was enough to make me happy but I felt like there might be something else so Jaime told me to keep going over the walkies.

Still nothing. As I got closer to the Glen Boulder trail I told Jaime to drive over to that parking lot and wait for me there so I wouldn't have to bushwhack all the way back. Then I could see the line of white through the trees. I figured this one had to be located on the trail but it was still quite a ways off. I stood staring in amazement at the raging waterfall with a dripping ledge beside. This brook has to be one of my greatest off trail discoveries.

From there the waterfalls just kept coming, one after another.

From the ledge on top of one of the cascades I got a got view of the sunset. Oh no, the sunset. I didn't have a flashlight. It was time to get a move on.

I didn't want to miss more waterfalls but they just kept getting bigger and better and I had to go. Eventually I did honestly get kind of bored with the constant string of cascades so I made a beeline for the trail which wasn't as close as my GPS thought. After a couple minutes of panicking thinking I'd get stuck on the side of Mt Washington in the dark with nothing but the flashlight on my walkie talkie and GPS unit in the rapidly dropping temperature, I finally stumbled onto the trail and made a very quick descent. I made it to the car just as it got dark. That was one hell of a Halloween.

Back at the hotel while posting pictures on Facebook, fellow waterfall hunter, the esteemed Chris Whiton told me about one of his greatest discoveries, Rumney Canyon Falls and gave me directions on how to get there. He confirmed that what I'd found today in what I'm calling Glen Boulder Falls was not one he'd ever heard of anyone visiting.

Wednesday was my birthday, although I was pretending Tuesday was since Wednesday we'd be driving home which can be depressing. But it beats the hell out of being at work where we were supposed to be. I started the day with a trip back to Kinsman Notch so I could check out the final brook in a set of three formerly named but forgotten tributaries. The water levels were lower today but I made my way up Porcupine Brook. It was nice but paled in comparison to its neighbors. I'll need to redo this one in the spring when the water is high because a couple of the lower falls will be great but I missed them at their peak.

We checked out of the hotel and made our way down to the Plymouth area to try to find Rumney Canyon Falls. This was our first time being in this area. The road was washed out in parts and severely damaged but we made it to the abandoned trailhead. I found the old trail with no problem and made my way up. Using Whiton's directions, I found the cairn he'd placed there and made the short bushwhack to Rumney Canyon Falls. Oh. My. God.

This thing is enormous. Mist filled the box canyon making it difficult to photograph, I had to keep wiping the lens. This waterfall has to be over fifty feet tall and it was raging today. What an amazing birthday present from one of my hiking idols.

We checked for the new WWE Retro series 2 figures at Walmart but nothing, luckily the toy section was in the front because I was limping like crazy after all my hikes. Lately my knee has been bothering me on the descent. We tried a couple other hikes but the roads were closed and I was limping too much to walk down the road to get there, but I did try, for about a hundred steps or so. I finally got my Dynasty Buffet which was delicious. We were going to stay another night but Thursday was supposed to rain again and get even colder so that wouldn't have been comfortable to hike in. We made it home with no problems right as our internet was coming back on. That was an incredible birthday weekend.