This weekend I spent both days doing hikes off of Cedar River Road, west of Indian Lake. Saturdays hike was Little Moose Mountain (3620'). I parked the car at campsite #9 and began my bushwhack. I was looking for a trail labeled "Butter Brook Trail" (as shown on the National Geographic map), but is most be long gone for for the most part. I saw remnants here and there, but not much is left.
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Lots of soft moss. |
I crossed the small Butter Brook in one leap and rock hopped over the Moose River. After the river, I picked up the drainage that leads to a small pond high on the west shoulder of Little Moose Mountain. I usually try and check out ponds or other features along the way. This pond turned out to be worth the stop.
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A nice small pond high on the shoulder of Brown Mountain. |
I continued on past the pond and I found the woods to be open for the most part. After 2.5 hours of hiking, I was on top of Little Moose Mountain. The first bump that I thought was the summit bore on indications of such so I pushed on down the ridge. Soon I found a tiny ledge that offered the view below. Rev and I had started our hike at 9:30 and now it was noon so we stopped for lunch. I was enjoying the sunshine on the day which had a forecast of cloudy.
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I believe that is Lost Pond in the distance. |
When it was time to head down, I took a little bit of a different route. I came to some large cliffs with some split rock that could be walked through if you could get in. Once down at the bottom, I found a way in. It looked just like an open doorway.
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Isn't this cool? |
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Another look at the opening. |
Soon I hit some even bigger cliffs so I had to work my way back over to my ascent route to be able to get down.
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The colors looked more vibrant that this picture indicates. |
Once we got down low, Rev began to see a lot of chipmunks and that piqued her interest. She was never quite fast enough.
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Rev gave chipmunk chasing a valiant effort. |
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A small pond near Butter Brook. |
We got back to the car at 3 PM. I spent an hour getting out the campsites and settled on #20. I looked like a new site. It had a new fire pit, outhouse and picnic table. Even better yet, the previous camper had left a nice supply of wood. It saved me from spending time foraging.
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South Branch Moose River |
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Cedar River Road |
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At home at campsite #20. |
I fed the Rev and set up the tent. I got the campfire going about 5:30. At 6 PM, I heard someone fire off about 6 shots. It was enough to scare Rev (who had already climbed into the tent). She went into the car to hide. I sat out and enjoyed a nice fire until 9 PM then I grabbed Rev and we turned in to the tent. Sunday would be a big day with a trio of peaks planned.
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A relaxing and warming fire. |
Hike Stats:
Hike Distance: 8.2 miles
Hike Time: 6 hours
Total Vertical Gain: ~2000'
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The hike route and the location of campsite #20. |
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The route on National Geographic |
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