A - This path simply turns to parallel the road and returns to the clearing next to the trailhead.
B - This is actually two paths, one on each side of a small creek. You can hike up either side for nice views of the creek and hop across the creek at several points. At first the north side of the creek is clearer, then the south side becomes clearer. About 200 yards up on the south side are two pink flags pointing to a route that continues up the creek. I followed that for about 200 yards more but it seemed like more of a natural clearing than a path anyone was using, so I turned back. Later I realized I had climbed almost up to Larch Mountain Road, so it might have been worth continuing to look for more signs of use.
C - This is an old logging road that still appears on maps, but has been decommissioned with a collection of boulders at the entrance and berms on the road. The road grade is still obvious but is overgrown and I only followed it about 100 yards.
D - This is a short path that climbs 25 yards up into a bit of a clearing, which doesn’t seem to have been used for a campsite or anything, then seems to branch in a couple directions but quickly fade away.
E - Another short path, but the purpose of this one makes more sense because it goes alongside a creek. I noticed a long iron bar in the creek, some old logging equipment I guess.
F - Just past that creek is another old logging road that’s on my maps. This is decommissioned and overgrown similar to the first one, but is easier to miss because it has fewer boulders at the entrance.
G - This is one of the clearest paths, which heads confidently straight uphill, through a clearing that could be an old logging road, but after about 200 yards it just fades away.
H - After the previous “trail to nowhere,” I was starting to tire of this project, but I followed this path up alongside a creek. Just when I thought a lovely creek view was the destination, I noticed the path making a sharp right turn, so I followed it and it soon become wider and more defined. As I followed it further and further, I got more and more curious about what it was leading to. I passed a rusty old shovel jammed into a stump, and crossed an overgrown old road, then after a mile I reached Larch Mountain Road. Looking back from the road, it is completely hidden and there's no road pullout or any obvious way to access it. I couldn’t see that it continued across the road, but given steepness of the embankment there, I didn't look very hard. I did check out a flag 50 yards up the road, but that seemed to be related to this past summer’s paving project, so I hiked back down the path again.
I - On the other side of this creek is a short path that leads to an obvious old road cut, passing a bit of logging chain and the corner of a large iron object. I didn’t try following the road, which was overgrown like the others.
J - There’s no path here, but you can look into the woods before the creek and see some white objects sitting on a log. These are several pieces of broken china, along with several glass bottles and the remains of a very old shoe. I had noticed this once years ago and was happy to find it again. It seems like the collection has grown since then as people have found more objects in the area and placed them onto the log.
K - This is the only really obvious old logging road in this area, with a steep ramp up and some big logs laid across the entrance, but the road cut is wide enough that it’s not very overgrown yet. I thought this was the other end of the old road heading east from point L. But it quickly curves east itself, then branches into two roads heading north and east. Although bermed, these are pretty easy to follow as far as I went, at least at this time of year when a lot of underbrush has died back. I went up about a quarter mile and turned back.
K might be worth further exploration some day, but H is what I’m most curious about. You can’t get to it without walking a mile or more on either Larch Mountain Road or Palmer Mill Road, and you can’t incorporate it into a loop that doesn’t include both of those -- which wouldn't be a bad hike, but walking on the paved road isn't very appealing to me. Does anyone know the story here?
- Nice creek views along B
- Road marker on C
- Boulders at the entrance to C
- Iron bar in the creek at E
- An old road that H crosses
- An old road just beyond I
