Click the Below Finisher Button and Do a Video Tour of the 14 Trails of Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway with OutdoorSteve.com
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Click the below link, as Steve, in conjunction with the Appalachian Mountain Club
New Hampshire Chapter, further defines the experience of hiking the
Sunapee-Kearsarge-Ragged Greenway
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| Green is Start Blue is Current Position |
Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.
Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.
The Pittsburg–Chartierville Border Crossing connects the towns of Chartierville, Quebec, and Pittsburg, New Hampshire. The crossing can be reached by U.S. Route 3 on the American side and by Quebec Route 257 on the Canadian side. The last 18 miles to the Canadian border on the American side is the so-called Moose Alley because of its large moose population. The Great North Woods is located in Coos County.
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| Map of Republic of Indian Stream (1832 - 1836) Yielding to New Hampshire 1836 1842 Part of Pittsburg, NH |
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| Unique Moose Characteristics 2 of 2 |
The Fourth
Connecticut Lake is a protected nature preserve located on the U.S. side of the
U.S./Canadian border. The Nature Conservancy holds a conservation easement that
safeguards the 78-acre preserve and the surrounding forest. The lake itself
resembles a small bog, but it is more accurately a northern acidic mountain
tarn — a small glacial pond. The small brook flowing from the pond is the start
of the 410-mile Connecticut River. Just as you can step back and forth between
Canada and the United States while climbing to the lake, you can step back and
forth across the Connecticut River at its humble beginning at Fourth Lake.
A short, moderately
steep climb takes you to the pond. The trailhead is located just behind the
U.S. Border Guard installation. Limited parking is located immediately south of
the guard station. Hikers do not have to check in with border guards before
accessing the trailhead.
The trail is made up
of granite boulders at certain spots, which can be wet and/or icy. It’s wise to
pay attention to your footing. The hike to Fourth Lake is .6 miles. Once there,
you’ll see trail markers for Loop Pond, a beautiful trail that circles Fourth
Lake and brings you to the spot where the Connecticut River begins. Round trip,
the hike, including the Loop Pond trail, is 1.7 miles and takes about two
hours.
The forest is
predominately balsam fir and delightfully fragrant. You’ll also find red
spruce, paper birch, and mountain ash. The edge of the pond is made up of a
floating bog of mosses, sedges, grasses and insectivorous plants like pitcher
plant. Look for wildflowers at the southern end of the pond. The pond supports
a small year-round fish population, river otter and beaver. Other wildlife
includes moose, white-tailed deer, black bear, spruce goose, and three-toed
woodpeckers.
Because this is a
conservation area, no dogs are allowed and there is no hunting, trapping or
fishing.
Fourth Connecticut Lake Vital Statistics
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Surface Elevation |
2,670 feet |
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Area |
2.5 acres |
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Outflow |
There are two
outflows. Beaver activity determines which outflow becomes the Connecticut
River |
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Location |
22 miles north of
Pittsburg off Route 3, at the U.S./Canadian border |
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Average depth |
Between 2 and 4
feet |
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Maximum depth |
5 feet |
Did You Know?
The
Connecticut River impacts four states — New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts
and Connecticut — and feeds a series of large, cold-water lakes. It flows out
to sea at Long Island Sound. The waterway has been an essential part of New
England’s economy, used for transportation, log drives, a power source for
mills, farming and recreation.
Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.
The ORFS (Outdoor Recreation for Seniors) were scheduled for their normal Tuesday 10 am hike. However, this Tuesday followed a weeklong rain, and when the group met, it was decided that drenched moss rocks and wooded hill hike would be too dangerous. Instead, the group would hike three miles on Sunapee tarmac roads.
Outdoor
Steve had been anticipating this planned Indian Cave hike, as he always had to
bow out of previous Indian Cave planned Tuesdays. He was devasted that he would not finally get
to see and explore Indian Cave.
As the group
was hiking, they passed where one would begin hiking to search for the cave.
And the rain stopped. And the sun came
out.
Kendall had
been to the cave before, and in discussion with Steve, they decided to search for Indian Cave. The remainder of
the group continued the walk, given wet leaves, mossy rocks, steep hill and upcoming
signs of more rain.
Steve was glad he brought his hiking poles as the soaked leaves covered the ground’s hidden rocks, and the immediate uphill climb was made easier and safer using hiking poles for support and confidence.
We located
three entrances to the cave below the ledge.
We entered via the left entrance. The cave was dark and we used our
flashlights and headlamps. The floor of the cave was mostly shrapnel rocks. The ceiling and walls dripped with water, most likely from the prior week’s drenching
rain. The walls had some graffiti.
The below video will take you through the cave. Briefly, we squeezed into the left entrance and exited via the right entrance. The cave was pitch dark, and thankfully we had headlamps and flashlights.
Click the below picture right bottom to get Full Screen video with narration .
Who did the etchings on the ledge outside of Indian Cave?
I researched online the etchings outside Indian Cave: “Indian Cave Excursionist Peabody, Mass Oct 4, 1878” and located the below paragraph published by:
Sunapee
Echoes Sunapee, New Hampshire Historical Society, Inc. P. O. Box 501, Sunapee,
NH 03782 sunapeehistoricalsociety.org e-mail: sunapeehistory@gmail.com
603-763-9872 Winter 2020
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How did the
Indian Cave get its name? As the Sunapee Echoes story goes, a young Mohawk brave who had
joined the local Penacooks to hunt came down with smallpox and was set adrift
on the lake. But the Penacook chief’s daughter had fallen in love with him and was
determined to nurse him back to health. She slipped away from her tribe, found
him, and took him to a cave high above what is now Sunapee Harbor.
Unfortunately, both died there, and their bones were found by hunters many
years later. The cave was reportedly named “Indian Cave” by a group of
“excursionists” from Peabody, MA, who explored it in 1878.
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The rock etching outside Indian Cave.
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BY A Party OF
Excursionists
From
Peabody, Mass
Oct 4, 1878”
Note: I intentionally did not identify the location of Indian Cave. As we searched for it, so shall you.
Now, I never have to say, "I wish I had explored Indian Cave."
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ORFS (Outdoor
Recreation for Seniors)
https://www.coachapincenter.org/orfs/
ORFS meets
every Tuesday (year-round, weather permitting) to do an outdoor activity for
two plus hours. Their mantra is, “Make weekly outdoor exercise with us your
joyful resolution. Join us each Tuesday at 10 am.”
In the summer Kayaking and hiking occur Tuesdays at 10 am at the same time and start area determined by the ORFS leader for this Tuesday. When the fall and winter weather make kayaking too cold, we all will hike or snowshoe.
And there
are two biking ORFS groups that ride every Thursday. One group pedals
moderately, and the other calls themselves “Slower Spokes for Older Folks.”
Miles differ depending on the routes.
The Outdoor
Recreation for Seniors (ORFS) group at the COA is made up of numerous
high-energy seniors whose hiking, alpine and Nordic skiing, kayaking, and
snowshoeing activities would put many younger persons to shame. The ORFS are
active throughout the year.
We have a schedule planned for every Tuesday throughout the year! No more
excuses, “I wish I had known about ORFS."
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Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.
Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.
A Stake Boat Holder at the Sarasota Invitational Regatta
What is a Regatta?
A regatta is a series of boat races. In our case, it is rowing sculls and sweeps.
What is a Stake Boat Holder?
A Stake Boat Holder holds the stern of a boat at the beginning of a race so an alignment judge can make sure the bow balls of the racing boats (sculls and sweeps in our case) are all lined up equally to start.
The winner of a race is the first boat with their bow crossing the finishing line.
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| Sculls Aligned - Stake Holders on Tummy - Attention - Go! (Picture with Permission of Timothy J. Priest) |
Steve’s books are available as hardcopy and e-Books at Amazon's Kindle and hardcopy at Harborside Trading Company, 81 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Wild Goose Country Store, 77 Main St, Sunapee, NH, Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London, NH, Bookstore at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Gift Shop, Lebanon, NH, and Village Sports, New London, NH.
