A Hike in the Lakes Region

Typically, when my friend Sue and I hike it is somewhere in the White Mountains, but today we decided to explore a lower elevation trail in Brookfield, NH. At only 1868 feet, Copple Crown is a relatively easy hike with rewarding views at the summit.

We parked at the plow turn-turnaround at the end of Moose Mountain Road. This was recommended to avoid the rough terrain of the road that follows for an additional .3 miles. If you have a vehicle that can handle it, there is an official parking area with a map showing the various snow mobile trails which intersect at this junction. There is a sign to the right that points to the Copple Crown hiking trail.

The first 1.3 miles of the hike is at an easy grade up an unmaintained Class VI town road. With heavy rains yesterday, the road was quite wet.

Certain wet areas  had a light coating of ice which reflected the surrounding trees beautifully.

A sign that the ground isn't completely frozen yet, was the "needle ice" or "frost pillars" observed in a couple spots along the trail. Needle ice forms when underground water is pushed to the surface and freezes as it reaches air temperature that is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Needle Ice

This is in contrast to the icicles that we saw on rocks that were probably formed when the air temperature dipped below freezing during or following the rain storm.

Icicles

At approximately 1.2 miles there is a trail kiosk on the left with a map of the 732 acre conservation area managed by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust. This is the official beginning of the trail which is marked by blue blazes.

Trails are always more difficult to follow in the fall when they are covered with leaves. This one in particular required us to keep an eye on the blue blazes as it was not always evident when we had wandered off the trail inadvertently. Fortunately, we would realize our mistake before we got lost. The are two peaks atop Copple Crown - the main summit and East Peak. Unfortunately we never saw the sign for the main summit and only made it to the ledges of East Peak. In any event, it was a beautiful and warm spot to eat lunch and enjoy the views.
Snow is in the forecast for later this week which will paint a different picture when hiking. We hope to get out often this winter, but for today, it was great to be outside and enjoy the Autumn air.