Today's short hike was to Trout and Round Ponds and East Mill Flow Flow in the Hammond Pond Wild Forest. Tredhed and I were pleased to see the red disked trail in good shape when we hit the Ensign Pond Rd. trailhead at 9:30 this morning. Snowshoes and skiers from this weekend had done a good job packing the trail down, or so we thought.
A few hundred yards from the bullet riddled register, the ski tracks stopped and the snow shoe tracks faded just a little further at the outlet of Trout Pond; only .3 miles from the trailhead. The tracks disappeared just as the snow became crotch deep, even with snowshoes! Talk about a morale buster. Fortunately, the trail conditions got better as we entered a beautiful hemlock and pine forest adjacent to Trout Pond.
After pausing at the northern end of Trout Pond for a few photos of Harris Hill (looks like some good views from up there), we headed through the saddle between Trout Pond and Round Pond. This was my favorite part of the hike as the hemlock lined trail was absolutely beautiful in the late winter sun.
The approach to Round Pond was a little confusing as the trail was recently re-routed around a flooded area. We noted that the start of the re-route was marked by double trail markers nailed to a tree. There was numerous flagging and additional trail markers along the route which was carved into the steep side of Trout Lake Mt. Soon, we were at the new bridge over the outlet of Round Pond.
After a brief break at the bridge, it was up and over the only significant hill we encountered today. The small hill between Round Pond and East Mill Flow wasn't that steep, but it was a little tiring breaking trail in two feet of snow. Heck, if the snowshoe hare tracks are sinking into the snow, what chance do a couple of middle aged fat guys have?
The quick up and down brought us to a beautiful view of East Mill Flow. We decided not to press on to Bullpout Pond (our planned destination) since breaking trail slowed us down quite a bit. After drinking in the sights, we headed back to Round Pond where we searched for the designated campsite with no luck. A quick walk down the Pond brought us to the bridge where we cooked a great lunch of venison backstrap and some of my child bride's potato salad.
After lunch, it was quick 1.3 miles back to Ensign Pond Rd. and the car. In total, it was about 5 miles of roaming around today in complete silence and isolation. The only sound we heard was the chickadees chirping away and the trees cracking in the cold. Another great day in the Hammond Pond Wild Forest.
A few hundred yards from the bullet riddled register, the ski tracks stopped and the snow shoe tracks faded just a little further at the outlet of Trout Pond; only .3 miles from the trailhead. The tracks disappeared just as the snow became crotch deep, even with snowshoes! Talk about a morale buster. Fortunately, the trail conditions got better as we entered a beautiful hemlock and pine forest adjacent to Trout Pond.
After pausing at the northern end of Trout Pond for a few photos of Harris Hill (looks like some good views from up there), we headed through the saddle between Trout Pond and Round Pond. This was my favorite part of the hike as the hemlock lined trail was absolutely beautiful in the late winter sun.
The approach to Round Pond was a little confusing as the trail was recently re-routed around a flooded area. We noted that the start of the re-route was marked by double trail markers nailed to a tree. There was numerous flagging and additional trail markers along the route which was carved into the steep side of Trout Lake Mt. Soon, we were at the new bridge over the outlet of Round Pond.
After a brief break at the bridge, it was up and over the only significant hill we encountered today. The small hill between Round Pond and East Mill Flow wasn't that steep, but it was a little tiring breaking trail in two feet of snow. Heck, if the snowshoe hare tracks are sinking into the snow, what chance do a couple of middle aged fat guys have?
The quick up and down brought us to a beautiful view of East Mill Flow. We decided not to press on to Bullpout Pond (our planned destination) since breaking trail slowed us down quite a bit. After drinking in the sights, we headed back to Round Pond where we searched for the designated campsite with no luck. A quick walk down the Pond brought us to the bridge where we cooked a great lunch of venison backstrap and some of my child bride's potato salad.
After lunch, it was quick 1.3 miles back to Ensign Pond Rd. and the car. In total, it was about 5 miles of roaming around today in complete silence and isolation. The only sound we heard was the chickadees chirping away and the trees cracking in the cold. Another great day in the Hammond Pond Wild Forest.
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