March 8, 2020: Life on the High Ridge

While I'm waiting for a March snowstorm to come along and revive the skiing and snowshoeing I've been doing some spring hiking, including a nice trip in the Ossipee Range.  It was the first time I've hiked the High Ridge Trail between Mt. Shaw and Mt. Roberts in winter, and it was beautiful.  Once you get to the ridge you're in for a long, mostly flat hike along a ridge dominated by hardwoods, which in winter means bare branches, so the sun streams through, the blue sky shimmers above, and there are teasing views to both the east and west.

The High Ridge Trail in winter.

On this particular day moisture from a freezing mist had coated the trees with a thick layer of ice.

Ice on the high branches that caught the clouds.

Frosted spruce on the Mt. Robert's ledges.

As the mid-day sun warmed things up and a breeze began to blow, the trees started shedding their jacket, dumping it on the ground and throwing chunks of ice at me.

Ice chunks sparkle in the sun.

I don't typically wear a helmet when hiking.

I felt like I was in the land of Oz with the trees of the Haunted Forest hurling crystal apples at me.

The haunted forest.

There had also been a thin layer of snow that fell late in the storm which left a substrate perfect for seeing what animals had been on the ridge.  I saw the usual tracks of deer and fox, but also the less common snowshoe hare.

Hare tracks along the ridge.

And then, near the highest elevation, I came across these bird tracks in the snow.

They came and went, in and out of a stand of spruce trees.

Back and forth across the trail, in and out of the spruce.

That gives a big hint as to what kind of bird it might be - a spruce grouse is my bet.  I didn't see a grouse, but I did hear a couple as they flushed from spruce trees and startled me with their distinctive loud wing beats.  Here's a picture I took of a spruce grouse on Moat Mountain near Conway in July 2018.

Grouse can be very curious - and bold.

Spruce grouse are found only in coniferous forests, and almost always in spruce trees.  They eat mostly spruce needles, preferring branches higher up in the trees where there are younger, more tender needles, but they will forage on the ground as well when there is food available there.  [Ref:  Cornell Lab of Ornithology]


Back down at lake elevation, some animals are ready for spring.  While out on the hunt for stonewalls this week I came across plenty of signs of spring creeping closer. One welcome sight is chipmunks scurrying all around on the frozen snow. I didn't get to see them for long because there are little hidey-holes everywhere in the snow, and they duck into one as soon as they see me. But here's a shot of one of these cute guys from a prior year.

The chipmunk's winter activity is similar to that of the black bear: neither hibernate but rather go into a state of minimal activity known as torpor.  So on a warm day in mid-winter either may emerge to look for something to eat. Chipmunks out and about are a good indication that bears are also active, and after hearing reports of bears raiding bird feeders on someone's deck up on Please Road, we decided it's time to bring in the feeders.  Birds, bears and chipmunks will all be able find natural food sources, including these little nuggets:

I found quite a few beechnuts in the snow.

Beechnuts are prized almost as much as acorns by chipmunks and bears alike.

It seems as though the lakes are starting to rouse as well - the ice is giving in to the spring sun where exposed banks are warming up.

Current running under the ice does its damage also.  The water flowing towards the dam means this is always the first part of Lake Wicwas to open up.

The view from the dam at noon today.

All the bob houses are gone from Meredith Bay and the winter debris has been removed by wonderful volunteers - thank you! - before it could go into the lake and sink to the bottom or wash up on someone's shoreline.

An empty Meredith Bay before the flow from the Waukewan Canal opens it up.

There's also a not-so-welcome sign of spring arriving, at least in the southern part of the state:

Word that tics are out was provided by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust and UNH.

Warm weather forecast for this week means tics will be moving our way, so it's time to get out the tic protection gear.  If winter is over, I can live with that, but this is New England, so I'm not ruling out a March blizzard and one more chance to get on the skis.