December 29, 2024: Ice In and Tracks Galore

Where to begin....   

We'll start with Ice-In which was declared on December 27th.  It's possible it actually occurred one day earlier based on how little open water was left on Christmas, but if it did, it wasn't observed, so December 27 it is.  And although the surface is frozen, it is not safe.  Much of the center of the lake - the parts clearly open in last week's drone video - are very thin.  

Lots of open water on Monday Dec 23rd.

But that doesn't stop otters, as they are perfectly happy to climb in and out of the water as their mood desires.  The otter tracks all over the lake are really fun to see, and to imagine their behavior as they randomly run, hop, or slide their way across the lake.

They are completely unlike the fox which are all business - fox are on a mission, traveling in a clean, precise path across the snow, broken only when there is something to sniff at. 

Note the precise path of a canine crossing the otters' path.

Otters on the other hand, dance all over the place, running, sliding, backtracking to tackle one of their siblings.  

Otters having fun, while the pair of foxes just searched for food.

The messy tracks of fun-loving otters.

The jubilant play of the three brothers (totally made up on my part) went all the way from the west side of the lake, over Sheep Island, down to the outlet and across into the wetland between Wicwas and Winnisquam.  

Synchronized slides by the three brothers next to Sheep Island.

Over to Winnisquam.  I didn't think to see if they ran across the road, or swam over the dam.

These good-sized mammals weren't the only animals making their presence known this week, as two of our larger birds were seen as well.  First is this regal Barred-owl seen on Loon Point and captured by Eric Cohen.

Photo by Eric Cohen.

Second, I was able to catch the Pileated Woodpecker as it made its rounds of the lake when it stopped on a tree right in my line of sight.

The red mustache indicates this is a male Pileated.

With fresh snow, cold temperatures, and thick ice in the long-frozen coves (7 inches now), I had a couple of nice ski trips which is how I followed along behind the otters.  I also saw fox, coyote, and bobcat tracks, maybe mink, and several bird tracks which were most likely left by crows.

Much too small to be turkey tracks.

I'll end with a beautiful evening on Mt. Roberts at the Lakes Region Conservation Trust property at Castle in the Clouds.  (Speaking of that, did you see that Castle in the Clouds has been designated as a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior?)

I had planned to do a sunset hike on the winter solstice but the weather didn't cooperate.  Friday the atmospheric conditions looked promising so I took a late afternoon hike to the summit of Roberts.

Heading up over the ledges on Mt. Roberts in the late afternoon.

On the way down I stopped at the west facing ledge just before sunset as the fog was settling in the valleys between the mountains.

I was treated to a spectacular sunset with Kearsarge, Cardigan, and even Meredith's highest peak, Leavitt Mountain, in the distance.

Pink glow reflects off The Broads in Lake Winnipesaukee.

I tarried long enough to see the lights come on for night skiing at Gunstock.

It's an easy hike down from that viewpoint with a headlamp, especially with the trail packed smooth with dry snow.  Nonetheless, micro-spikes on boots are strongly recommended.

Happy New Year!

P.S.  After writing this I received a report that there is still a small patch of open water.  Depending on its size there may be an update in the ice-in date.  

October 29, 2023: Red October

Late October is treating us well this year.  I spent one of those fabulous warm days this week in the Ossipee mountains on a trek up Mt. Roberts.  As expected on a warm humid day, the distant views were hazy, but other sights were brilliant, and the color of the day was red with the mountain ash at the summit of Roberts stealing the show.

The White Mountains languish in the haze behind a red ribbon of mountain ash.

American Mountain Ash (Sorbus americana) is a northern species, though it does grow as far south as Georgia at high elevation in the Appalachian Mountains.  I remember first seeing them on the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina.  Their abundant bright red berries last well into winter, providing high calorie food to animals that inhabit the alpine zone such as grouse; moose browse on their winter twigs and sweet bark.  

I've seen both grouse and moose on Mount Roberts and the High Ridge Trail leading over to Mt Shaw.  Mt. Roberts is a moderate but highly rewarding 5.5 mile hike with great views of mountains and lakes from the many open ledges.  You can pick up a trail map describing the many hiking trails from the Lakes Region Conservation Trust which stewards over 5000 acres of land in the Ossipee Mountains.

Views along the Mt. Roberts Trail are nice even on a hazy October day.

On the hike up, well before I reached the summit and the mountain ash, another red flash had already caught my eye.

Three-toothed Cinquefoil (Sibbaldiopsis tridentata)

Three-toothed cinquefoil is an evergreen plant, keeping its leaves throughout the winter; the red leaves are last year's growth.  I don't know what happens in the third year, but there are dead, gray leaves on the ground so my guess is they are shed after two years.  It's a resilient alpine plant that thrives in the harsh environment by rooting itself in the tiniest cracks in the granite, and growing low to the ground under the winter snow.  On the bare ledges leading to the summit there was an abundance of these hardy plants.

Finding life in a crack in the granite.

At lower elevations the colors slanted higher in the color spectrum with yellow and burnt orange predominating.

Beech trees along the Settlement Trail.

The beech stands formed a tunnel through which the trail passes.  

Back down at lake-level there's still some red to see:  a few late maples and the deep red of huckleberry bushes along the shore.

Huckleberry might hang on to their leaves well into November.

Things were very quiet on my long, lazy paddle around the lake, trying to make the late summer moment last.  No more kip-kip call of the osprey, no loons pestering their parents (I saw only one lone loon - no sign of LuLu or Checkers), no turtles sunning themselves on a log on that sunny, 70 degree day.  

Looking for excuses to dawdle on the lake.

Yes, things are starting to wind down as the days become shorter and the water cooler, though some locals are still hanging around.

Having just landed, a great blue heron walks to one of its favorite fishing spots.

Did you see the full October moon on Friday night?  I caught it as it was setting on Saturday morning, with Venus watching over from above.

It was a near-monochromatic scene, but just a few minutes later came the real show, in full technicolor, courtesy of Neil Crimins.

Thanks for sharing Neil!

Can we please have a few more days like this?

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.

January 22, 2017

This was a week for winter adventure as New England gave us the opportunity to enjoy just about every possible outdoor winter activity.  Early in the week the ice brought lots of skaters onto the lake, including some creative types taking advantage of smooth ice and warm winds.

Solid ice also means winter fishing, and there were lots of anglers out trying their luck.

Ice fishing on Lake Wicwas

This group had caught several perch and a couple of good size bass.

Then came the snow, which not only brought out the skiers, but also draped the lake in winter splendor again.

Mercier Rd after a storm

The morning of the snowfall I skied around the lake, and once again was flummoxed by what I saw out there.  Out in the middle, well, maybe 30 yards from shore, as I skied along, a spot on the snow caught my eye.  A thought flashed through my mind, and I had to go back to look again.  Sure enough:

I don't make this stuff up.

There was a spider crawling along the surface of the new snow.  I don't even know where to begin to think this guy came from.


The day after the snow fell I took a long ski in a conservation area I hadn't visited before, Chapman Sanctuary in Sandwich.  Nestled at the base of Mt. Israel and Sandwich Mountain, the sanctuary includes 10 miles of trails through woods, fields, and along old logging roads. 

Sandwich Mountain from Chapman Sanctuary

They do groom the trails, though they haven't needed to yet this year, and I got to break some 12 km of fresh tracks. 

First tracks the whole day

If you go there to ski, just be aware there are frequent stream crossings, all of which were open on this warm winter day. 

One trail leads down to, and along, the Cold River.

The aptly named Cold River

The caretakers do much to protect and encourage wildlife on the property - I will visit again in the summer to walk the trails and look for birds and other wildlife. 

Earlier in the week I took a hike up Mt. Roberts in the Ossipee Mountains on a gorgeous, sunny and calm day.

A colbalt blue sky above the ridge on Mount Roberts

This summit rewards hikers with views of the White Mountains, including Mount Washington.

A snow-capped Mt. Washington

The moose must also appreciate the view, as I found their calling cards right at the very summit.

Moose droppings on the summit

Also scat of fisher a ways down the trail.

Fisher scat in the middle of the trail at about 2500' elevation

Back in Meredith, activity is picking up on the Big Lake as the ice works it way across Meredith Bay.

This is living a little too close to the edge for me

They are starting to prepare for the Pond Hockey Classic on Feb 3rd-5th, clearing the ice for the rinks.

Removing the snow for the Pond Hockey tournament

I hope the warm weather forecast for the coming week doesn't affect the events on Winnipesaukee;  open spots have starting forming around the edges of Lake Wicwas.

Holes in the ice shouldn't be this large in January

The warm weather might not be great for future winter activities, but it was nice to see people taking advantage of it at the moment.  And it was wasn't just people - here a chick-a-dee was enjoying the good weather and the feeder, having its own winter adventures this week.

A chick-a-dee escapes with a sunflower seed

I'm hoping old man winter returns with enough force to keep our winter activities going for at least one more month!