Hitch 4: Many Miles Surveyed Means Ice Cream

Hitch 4 Report

Saco Ranger District & Androscoggin Ranger District

7/18/2011 – 7/21/2011

Miles Surveyed: 8.5

Service Hours: 40

Prepared by Matt Drahnak

July 18, 2011: Today was the first day of Hitch 4! The team began the workday bright and early at 7AM by driving from Bartlett NH to the Pine Brook Bend trailhead. This drive took 45 minutes one way. After 20 minutes of stretching and pushups, the team began the 2.2 mile hike up the pine Brook Bend Trail to where Carson and Alice had left off the previous hitch. From that point the team began to survey the rest of Pine Brook Bend which was a strenuous 2.3 miles to the summit of North Tripyramid and down the back slope of the mountain. Once we finished surveying for the day we hiked 0.3 miles up to the summit of Middle Tripyramid. Once summiting we decided to head on back down Pine Brook bend to the car to finish up the work day. We drove back to Bartlett to organize our data for the day, finishing up at 5PM.

July 19th, 2011: The second day of hitch 4, the team drove from Bartlett, NH to the Cabin Trail trailhead in Wonalancet, NH. The team continued their routine of stretching and pushups, then set off 2.7 miles up the Cabin Trail in order to meet up with the Lawrence trail. Upon meeting up with the Lawrence trail junction, the team then began the climb 1.5 miles up the west slope of Mt. Paugus to the summit in which the Lawrence Trail trailhead was located. The entire hike to the trailhead took 2 hours and 30 minutes. After reaching the Mt. Paugus summit and a quick bite to eat, the team began to survey Lawrence trail. The trail was scenic, but steep in certain areas with numerous switchbacks and eroding back slopes. The Lawrence trail total mileage was 2.3 miles and the team finished surveying the entire length. Upon finishing the team hiked the 3.3 miles back down to the vehicle and then drove back to Bartlett to finish the day with data reviewing, organizing and entry.

July 20, 2011: The third day off Hitch 4 was different than most other hitch days. The day began at 6am for Alice and Carson in order to drop off Carson for his opportunity to volunteer with a trail team from the SCA NH Conservation Corps and work on water bar maintenance and tree blow down training. Alice drove Carson to the White Ledge Campground to meet with the SCA crew. Matt stayed back at Bartlett to begin organizing data for the Lawrence Trail and preparing the data sheets for the start of Attitash Trail. Alice then drove back to pick up Matt and the two began surveying the Attitash Trail just over 2 miles west of Bartlett. Matt and Alice began surveying the trail and the 1.9 mile climb up the summit of Table Mtn. which offered good views. However, the views were obscured because the weather that day was very hot and smoky due to forest fires in Quebec. After a 20 minute lunch, the 2-person team continued down the steep, highly eroded Attitash trail for another 2.1 miles. This portion took 3.5 hours with numerous steep climbs up vertical rock walls. After marking the end point for the day at 3 total miles surveyed, the two began the hike back out Attitash Trail to the trailhead. Once back at the car, Matt and Alice drove to the White Ledge campground to pick up Carson and the team celebrated their reunion with delicious homemade pizza.

July 21, 2011: Today the team started the day with a drive to the Androscoggin Ranger district headquarters to begin the transition from the Saco ranger district to the Androscoggin. At 7AM the team met with recreation rangers, Jeff Lane and Jake Lubera, to discuss trails and what their expectations were of the team. As the meeting came to an end, the team drove south to the Lost Pond trailhead to begin surveying the 0.9 mile long trail. Upon finishing the team hiked back to the vehicle and enjoyed the views of the pond and its plethora of beaver dams. Since the weather was 92 degrees and humid that day the team decided to drive to North Conway for ice cream at Molly B’s and celebrate a long and successful hitch. After ice cream, the team drove back to Bartlett and organized paperwork for Lost Pond and made finishing touches on the Saco Ranger district trails so that they could be given to the rangers as finished products. The team finished the day at 4:30PM and thus ending Hitch 4!