Two Short Treks in the Vicinity of Gorham and Shelburne, NH

Although these two short treks on 05-Mar-2013 were done on XC-skis, they could also be done on snowshoes.  The first trek of the day was to XC-ski a loop on the Hayes-Copp trails located on Rt. 16 just a few miles south of Gorham.  My second trek was to XC-ski a portion of Hogan Road beginning at its junction with North Road in Shelburne.

PART 1: Hayes-Copp Ski Trails

The trailhead for the Hayes-Copp trails can be accessed via the Pinkham "B" Road.  The road is regularly plowed from Rt. 16 to the winter parking area at the Dolly Copp Campground.  Although this trail system is maintained by the Forest Service as XC-ski corridors, folks on snowshoes are also welcome, as long as they respectfully hike to the side of the track used by skiers.

While doing this trek, I met a husband and wife on snowshoes who indicated that they regularly do a loop hike involving the Great Gulf Link + Great Gulf Trail + Leavitt's Link + Daniel Webster Scout Trail. By looking at the map that is shown below, you can see how this route could be done.

Regarding the route that I used, it was a loop of about 5.7 miles which is highlighted in pink on the map.  It was basically the same route as described above for the snowshoers, except my trek did not incorporate the Daniel Webster Scout Trail.  As can be seen from the map, it's possible to do construct a variety of loop configurations. (Click on map to enlarge it.)

Map of Hayes-Copp Ski Trails and surrounding trails

I'll be brief with my commentary, and show only a few photos to give a flavor of this trek.

The trails are delightful and lead you through beautiful forest scenes such as shown in the next photo.

Beautiful forest scene along the route of my XC-ski loop

There are picturesque scenes as you trek along the bank of the Peabody River.

Picturesque scenes along the bank of the Peabody River

There was one spot along the trail where there was a display of colorful ice.

Trailside display of colorful ice

On the day of this trek, it was overcast  with intermittent snow showers.  Therefore, the vistas of mountains in the distance were very muted.  In the next photo, you can barely make out the profile of the "Imp" that is formed by rocky outcroppings in Imp Face Mountain.

Profile of the "Imp" barely visible on Imp Face Mountain

And likewise, the overcast only allowed you to faintly see small portions of the Carter Range.

Portions of Carter Range faintly visible through the overcast

Much of the Hayes-Copp trail system is located on the land which was owned and farmed by Hayes Copp and his wife Dolly back in the mid 1800s.  An internet search will provide information about Hayes and Dolly (click HERE for one of many links).  Also, the Forest Service has some placards at a spot along the trail which gives some details about the Copp family (next photo).

Forest Service placards provide brief story about the Copp family

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PART 2: XC-skiing along Hogan Road

There was still plenty of time left in the afternoon since it took just under 2 hours at a leisurely pace to ski the 5.7 mile loop at Dolly-Copp.   And so, I decided to try something that was new to me, at least in terms of XC-skiing.  (In case this new adventure didn't work out, I had a backup plan to XC-ski the abandoned logging roads off Jimtown Road.  But as it turned out, my backup plan was unneeded.)

I drove the short distance to Shelburne, NH and parked at the plowed parking area at the junction of North Road and Hogan Road (see next photo).  My goal was to XC-ski for a little over a mile down Hogan Road.  Having driven this road in summer months, I knew that this roadway provides some attractive views over the Reflection Pond/Androscoggin River waterway.

Junction of North Road and Hogan Road

Before putting on my skis, I took a look at the road and saw no evidence of snowmobile traffic.  However, there were recent tire tracks.  It's not signed as being closed to traffic, and perhaps there is some reason unknown to me as to why this road would be driven in winter.

Despite the tire tracks, I felt it was unlikely that any vehicles would be encountered along the way.  I skied down the center of the road to a spot just a bit east of Steven's Point.  It was an enjoyable trek, and I got a couple of pleasant views (see next two photos).

Dam complex at east end of Reflection Pond (southern Mahoosuc Mountains in background)

Looking southward across Reflection Pond toward Moriah mountain range

In addition to being amazed to see tire tracks on Hogan Road, I was equally surprised to see that the trailhead parking lot for the Centennial Trail had been plowed (next photo).  However, the trail itself only had a few random animal tracks.  There was no evidence of any human traffic.

Plowed parking at trailhead for Centennial Trail

And lastly, shown below is a map with my route of travel highlighted in yellow.

My route of travel along Hogan Road is highlighted in yellow

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