A Small Hike along the Beaver Brook XC-Trails

Along US Rt. 3 (about 4 miles west of Twin Mountain, NH) is the trailhead for the Beaver Brook Ski Trails.  This trail system is designed for cross-country (XC) skiing.  However, snow is obviously required to ski these trails, and currently there is a shortage of that particular commodity!

On 03-February, there definitely wasn't enough snow for skiing, and so I decided to do a hike on this trail system.   Winter is the only time you can comfortably make use of the trails at Beaver Brook.  During the warm-weather months the corridors have areas where mud and muck can be calf-deep, as well as an ample supply of tick-laden underbrush.  Yes, I speak from experience! :-)

Shown below is a map of the XC trail system which is posted at the trailhead and at various key junctions along the route.

Map of Beaver Brook XC Ski Trails

One of several key spots along the route where trail map is posted

You will note on the map shown above that there are the words View #1 and View #2.  Those notations were added by me.  I've hiked and skied these trails many times, and those are the only two spots which provide what I consider to be worthwhile vistas.   Both of these viewpoints are enhanced by old logging cuts.

View #1 is about 2.0 miles from the trailhead, whereas View #2 is about 2.7 miles from the trailhead.  Therefore, an "out and back" trek to View #1 would be a relatively small round-trip hike of about 4 miles.  If a decision is made to extend the trek to include View #2, then it becomes a bigger hike of about 5.4 miles round-trip, assuming you go "out and back" via the same route.  However, if you were to make a loop by continuing to follow the Moose Watch Trail back to the trailhead, then it would turn into a trek of about 5.8 miles.

I won't sugarcoat this trail system by saying that it's terrific.  There are a number of fallen trees across the corridor, and there are patches of visible slash from old logging operations.  And, if you're hiking these trails when there is only a skiff of snow on the ground, then you will definitely need some type of foot traction device such as Microspikes.  As mentioned earlier, this trail system has several wet/swampy spots which become large sheets of ice during the winter months.  (Of course, if we ever get a significant layer of snow, then the ice becomes a non-factor since you can ski right over it.)

So to wrap up this report, here are a four snapshots taken during my hike.  The first photo illustrates the lack of significant snow along the trail system.  The other photos show vistas that can be seen from the two viewpoints described earlier in this report.

03-Feb-2013: A definite lack of snow on the Beaver Brook XC Ski Trails

Mt. Garfield and Franconia Range as seen from spot labeled as View #1 on map shown above

The following two snapshots were taken from the spot labeled as View #2 on the map presented above. You can see the prominent rocky outcropping known locally as "The Nubble", and above it (to the right) is the peak sometimes referred to as the "Peak above the Nubble".

The Nubble (seen through trees at left of photo), and the Peak-above-the-Nubble

A wider view of the same scene shown in the previous photo

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