New Hampshire | Roads End Naturalist

After a day of driving through torrential rains I reached a beautiful Forest Service campground in White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. A few of the campsites had standing water but mine was mainly dry. I could hear the roaring waters of a creek downslope from me as the rain subsided. And then, as if on cue, it stopped and a patch of blue sky appeared. Time to set up camp!

The sounds of the creek soon beckoned and I hiked down to take a look at what a few inches of rain does to a mountain stream.

The water rushed over and between boulders – a sound that would make for good sleeping.

The trail back to the campsite was full of details to be taken in – fungi, patterns on the bark of white birch trunks, tree shadows on a boulder…my only wish is that I was staying longer than one night.
These north woods are special. I will return.

I am winding down my camping trip to the north woods and the Maine coast. It has been a glorious week of hiking, camping in almost perfect campsites, and taking in the sights of a stunningly beautiful part of our country. Unlike many of my other outings, this one turned out to be less about wildlife and more about soaking in the essence of the place – the light over the ocean at sunset, the rhythmic sloshing of the waves on pink granite boulders, and the quiet of the fragrant north woods.

And in what must be a first for me, I rarely took out the big lenses, much less the 7D. This is my first trip that I documented mainly with my iPhone…go figure. The relative lack of wildlife and the amount of hiking made it much easier to just carry the camera in my pocket.

Highlights of the trip include hiking in Acadia, especially up and over the Bee Hive by climbing a steep trail with steel ladders on the rock face, quiet breakfasts on secluded rock beaches, and the delicate beauty that surrounds you as you wander the rocky coast and the north woods. The temperatures, scenery, and forest made me think of the Maine Coast as being like an ocean on the slopes of my home states’ tallest mountain, Mount Mitchell. A great combination, to be sure.

Cellular service has been, and remains, elusive, so I will simply post a few
memories of the week. I hope to return soon.