February 9, 2025: Winter Conditions at the Lake

It was a hectic week for me so I didn't get out as much as usual, but I did fit in one beautiful ski trip early Friday morning after about 6" of snow overnight.  I was the first one on the trail that morning so I had a perfect blanket of white in front of me the whole way.

Except for the occasional animal track.  Several animals had been out before me, and they often took advantage of the human-produced trail to make their passage easier.  

The animals are smart enough to follow the trails.

With deep snow I couldn't determine who the early morning hunter was, but based on its timing and route it was probably a fox even though it doesn't show the usual straight and orderly track.

The first part of the trip up the south-facing hill was well protected from the wind; the combination of sun and calm made for a peaceful setting.

The occasional wind gust provided a glittering snow shower in the sunlight.

As is often the case, the Lakes Region was right on the boundary between stormy weather to the north and clearing to the south.  From Crockett's Ledge looking south the sky was clearing.  The building northwest wind after the front passed was already whipping up the dry snow from the trees where it collected overnight.

As I gained the ridge near the north-facing White Mountain Ledge I could feel the cold settling in as the wind was now making a direct affront on the ledge. 

The sun dimmed approaching the north end of the ridge.

Reaching the ledge, the usual expansive view of the White Mountains was completely obscured by a fierce squall.

A total white-out to the north.

I had fairly short visit there for obvious reasons.

Travelling from the trailhead up to the ledge is mostly climbing, but that means the way back down is a lot of fun on skis.

And as soon as I got down off the ridge, the sun was back and the sky was once again blue.  

It was a perfect winter day on what is turning out be a real New England winter for a change - we woke up this morning to another eight inches of fresh powder!

And don't forget today is the last day of the Backyard Bird Count if you want to participate.  You don't even have to leave your warm home!

February 23, 2020: Catching up around the Lake

With all the recent winter events in the Lakes Region there are a few things to catch up on back here at Lake Wicwas, the first of which is that the lake level has gone down quite a bit since the ice formed back in December.  It can be observed near shore where ice that fastened to land was fractured from the main ice sheet as the lake dropped, and was left hanging in space.

A glimpse of land under the ice.

Other evidence can be found where rocks that had been just below the surface have now been exposed.

I haven't checked the ice thickness in a couple of weeks but we've had enough cold temperatures that I expect it's approaching two feet thick.  The ice fishermen have certainly determined that it's pretty strong.

Cars started appearing on the lake in the first week of February

Authorities are still warning people to be careful on the larger lakes as the up-and-down temperatures have made the ice unreliable.  The weather has also prevented the ice runway on Alton Bay from opening this year, and it's too late at this point for it to be certified regardless of what the weather does next.  The runway is usually a popular attraction for aviators as it's the only the only registered ice runway in the continental United States. 

I haven't seen the ice motorcycles on Lake Wicwas yet this winter, but a few weeks ago someone did plow a fun skating circuit on the south end of the lake in front of the boat launch.

 They found the ideal moment to get perfect ice conditions.

I didn't get down there to skate, but other people had!

We've finally been getting regular snowstorms, and various critters have left their tracks in the fresh snow, including this fisher cat that walked along a stone wall looking for unsuspecting rodents that use all those nooks and crannies between the stones for hiding places.

Fisher tracks on top a stone wall.

It's hard to make them out, but I found enough evidence to be certain that's what was here.

Fishers are extremely good hunters which feed primarily on rodents, but will eat just about anything they come across, including the prickly porcupine.  Fishers are smart enough to track down squirrels living in hollow trees, and are strong enough to rip the tree apart to dispatch the residents inside.  It's tough enough to always be a target when out gathering food, but those poor rodents aren't even safe at night inside their own home.  And speaking of rodents, I wish they'd stopping gnawing on the trail blazes.

Most likely a red squirrel chewed this, but it could have been a porcupine.

I followed the fisher's tracks long enough to be certain it was a fisher but didn't see any signs of it finding a meal before I lost the track when it went up a tree.

There were other tracks on the lake that I wasn't able to identify.

Smaller tracks running from shore to marsh and back again.

The size, pattern, and obvious interest in a hole near land hint that it may be a small predator of some sort.

I heard two reports of bears this week, one a set of tracks, and one an actual sighting.  Both were small, probably first-year males, restless and with lots of energy and curiosity.  These were in Sandwich; I haven't seen any signs of bears around Wicwas so we're leaving the feeders up, but I'm keeping a careful eye out, especially with the warm weather forecast for next week.  I'm still hoping to see some of the visitors that have been absent this winter, such as the bobcat, the barred owl, and the ermine.  I wonder where they're all hiding out this year....


Winter has been giving us a regular dose of snow lately which has made for nice skiing and snowshoeing all around the Lakes Region.  Linda and I had a gorgeous trip up to the ledges west of Lake Wicwas, as well as a nice snowshoe in Page Pond Community Forest.

Looking north from the aptly named White Mountain Ledge

There are some  big trees in the Hamlin Conservation Area -
I could only get half of this beech in the picture!

The Mill Dam at Page Pond on Friday.

If you're in the area, perhaps you've been out enjoying the winter beauty as well - it doesn't get any better than this, and the timing is perfect for school vacation week.

January 19, 2020: Winter's Back

Typical volatile New England weather: The January thaw ended with our coldest temperatures of the season, but we still haven't hit negative numbers per my thermometer.  Heavy, dense snow fell on Wednesday which stuck to the trees and returned us to winter scenery.

Hamlin Conservation Area

That was followed immediately by a cold blast from the northwest which ushered in the cold air as well as a bright, sunny, blue-sky day.

A perfect New England Scene.

Skiing on that bluebird day brought me across another set of otter tracks running far across the lake.

The unmistakable 2-2 track of the weasel family, to which the River Otter belongs.

This otter wasn't heading in my chosen direction, and I was on my way home so I didn't follow them along, but I will comment on the tracks I followed last week along the shoreline.

Some long otter slides on the lake.

When I saw this pair of tracks I surmised it was two otters traveling together rather than one on an out-and-back trip.  Based on the track pattern of slide and hop, as well as how close the two tracks followed each other, I decided that it was in fact a pair travelling together.  I ultimately lost the track when it went up on land, but picked up what appeared to be a single track farther along my trip.

Perhaps looking for a water entrance.

This track led to a couple of holes along the shoreline, and eventually terminated at a hole under the roots of a tree on the shore.

At least it looked to me as though there was only one set of tracks going into the hole.  I imagine the otter taking this secret passage down under the ice, knowing a nearby hole where it can emerge again before it's lung capacity is depleted.

It's always interesting to follow to these fun-loving creatures as they enjoy their winter escapades - and being reminded they're out doing this all summer too, but they rarely leave any evidence for me to see.

Who would have thought this would be the time to be thinking about bees, or rather, hornets.

I saw this hornet nest by accident while following the otter tracks.

There were a lot of hornet nests to be seen this past summer;  it must have been a great year for them, and most of their nests, like that one, are holding up well so far this winter.  But on a ski over to Lake Winnisquam yesterday, I found one that wasn't so lucky.

The innards of a hornet nest.

I can only wonder if this was brought down by the strong northwest winds of Friday, or whether an animal had a hand in its demise....

On a more humorous bee note, I found this sign on the hiking trail on the Mt. Welch-Dickey loop:

I know it's been warm, but really?

That was before Wednesday's snow; there was very little snow on the ground below 2000' elevation, but higher up there was a nice base, though it was rather icy on the trail.

Approaching the summit of Dickey Mountain in Campton.

The dusting of snow that fell on the ice the night before revealed the presence of snowshoe hares among the spruce at 2700 feet above sea level.

More good news:  writing now on Saturday night, it's snowing again.  Maybe we'll get one more good dump to confirm winter has returned.

February 25, 2017 - Snowshoe Tour

Today the Lake Wicwas Association held its first ever Guided Snowshoe Tour, in the Hamlin/Eames Conservation Area.  A hardy group started out in what looked like dreary conditions, but as soon as we departed from the trailhead the sky cleared and the sun shone through, giving us a beautiful warm day to tour the beaver ponds. 

Morning sun burning off the fog

We hiked the Four Ponds Loop, including a stop at the old Stanton cellar hole, and a couple of spur trails to beaver ponds.

The result of warm moist air encroaching on the cold snow pack of a beaver pond

The snow was soft but firm enough underfoot for good traveling.  We stopped at the bridge on the Blue Link to the Yellow Trail to observe the back side of the beaver dam.

Bridge below the beaver pond

We also went onto the pond to see the front side of the dam, as well as the beaver lodge.

On the beaver pond

The lodge is the white mound on the left, the dam the longer, lower mound in the shadows on the right

We then continued on to complete the Four Ponds Loop.  Along the way we saw tracks of squirrel, mink, fox, porcupine, and even fisher! 

Fisher Tracks

We found that stream crossings are good places to look for tracks, as animals frequent the open water to drink.  Someone noted the lack of deer prints - they tend to not travel very far when the snow is deep.  Even with all the warm weather this week there is still a deep snow pack in the forest.

Only the flowing streams have melted through the heavy snow pack

We also saw signs of porcupine dining in the hemlock trees, the snow below littered with dropped hemlock branches, and talked about how porcupine have very little fear of other animals with the exception of the fisher.  The brave, strong, quick fisher is one of the very few animals that will take on a porcupine.  A desperate bobcat or coyote might try but not have good time of it.  And then of course, a domestic dog that has lost enough of its original wolf DNA to have forgotten to avoid this prickly attraction.

All told, we toured 1.9 miles of this winter wonderland.  Here is a map of the route we walked.

By the time we returned to the parking lot, tired, yet invigorated, the sun had melted enough snow that there was noticeably more water running underneath the bridge at the trailhead.  We were tired, but a great time was had by all!  Many thanks to everyone who participated and provided their contribution to our knowledge about this area and its wildlife.  Shall we do it again?

The gallant LWA Snowshoe Team

Preventing Trail Erosion in the Hamlin Conservation Area

Members of the Meredith Conservation Commission worked in the Hamlin Conservation Area today building water bars on the Yellow Trail.

First the perfect specimen of tree is selected and felled:

Always a hemlock - without its bark it will last for years, even in wet ground

Then using a bark spud, the bark is stripped by hand.

Stripped clean

The trench is dug and the bar carefully placed and anchored.

Does Mark always have that saw in his hand?

The job complete, ready for summer's thunderstorms.

A good day's work in the woods.