Pawtuckaway 11/21/09
Pawtuckaway North Mountain 1011’
4.5 miles 750'Elevation gain
Kevin Judy and Emma
We had planned to go north to take advantage of the gorgeous November weather we're having, but both of us need minor car repairs and neither one of us felt comfortable with a 200+ mile drive before they were fixed. The old reliable stand-by is Pawtuckaway. We go here several times a year, and we can almost always cover some new territory we haven't already been to. Today was no different as we finally followed a herdpath along a ridge that I had been meaning to follow for some time.
The path led us along the ridge in a westerly direction then curved north along the base of the east facing cliffs on North Pawtuckaway. Eventually the trail cut straight up towards the ridge and came to a place where giant boulders and ledge were piled together forming some crevices large enough to be used by bear or coyote. We were just below the "billboard" microwave deflector that stands at the north end of the mountain and I was surprised I had never found this spot so close to the trail.
We had lunch in the warm sun at the look out at the north end of the mountain. From there we started down our favorite part of the trail through a grove of mature hemlocks that reside among the boulders and ledges that make up the shaded north face of the hill. There is a feeling of being in an ancient forest here, the filtered sun seeking to shine through the trees to reach the boulders which have never been warmed by its rays since the beginning of time.
We realized that the route we had chosen had cut our planned route's distance by about half. We had planned to visit the boulder field first and return in a southerly direction over the summit. Now we were descending the mountain in the opposite direction we had planned. Well, that is what's cool about Pawtuckaway. You can change plans mid-hike and not miss out on anything. We hiked along toward the east until we could leave trail and come to the cliffs above the Devil's Den where we got some views above the canopy of the forest.
From there we turned around and hiked back up through our hemlocks and up to the very summit of North Mountain continuing along the ridge , now on our original course again. Very quiet in there today. No hunters, only a few hikers. Very warm for November. Nice day!
Read More4.5 miles 750'Elevation gain
Kevin Judy and Emma
We had planned to go north to take advantage of the gorgeous November weather we're having, but both of us need minor car repairs and neither one of us felt comfortable with a 200+ mile drive before they were fixed. The old reliable stand-by is Pawtuckaway. We go here several times a year, and we can almost always cover some new territory we haven't already been to. Today was no different as we finally followed a herdpath along a ridge that I had been meaning to follow for some time.
The path led us along the ridge in a westerly direction then curved north along the base of the east facing cliffs on North Pawtuckaway. Eventually the trail cut straight up towards the ridge and came to a place where giant boulders and ledge were piled together forming some crevices large enough to be used by bear or coyote. We were just below the "billboard" microwave deflector that stands at the north end of the mountain and I was surprised I had never found this spot so close to the trail.
We had lunch in the warm sun at the look out at the north end of the mountain. From there we started down our favorite part of the trail through a grove of mature hemlocks that reside among the boulders and ledges that make up the shaded north face of the hill. There is a feeling of being in an ancient forest here, the filtered sun seeking to shine through the trees to reach the boulders which have never been warmed by its rays since the beginning of time.
We realized that the route we had chosen had cut our planned route's distance by about half. We had planned to visit the boulder field first and return in a southerly direction over the summit. Now we were descending the mountain in the opposite direction we had planned. Well, that is what's cool about Pawtuckaway. You can change plans mid-hike and not miss out on anything. We hiked along toward the east until we could leave trail and come to the cliffs above the Devil's Den where we got some views above the canopy of the forest.
From there we turned around and hiked back up through our hemlocks and up to the very summit of North Mountain continuing along the ridge , now on our original course again. Very quiet in there today. No hunters, only a few hikers. Very warm for November. Nice day!
