A Trek along East Pond Trail (Kancamagus Highway trailhead to Pine Brook)

When I'm in the Lincoln area, and only have limited time, I'll sometimes do a short (and I do mean short) wintertime romp on the East Pond Trail.   The entire trek is only 1.6 miles (round trip)!  My route of travel takes me from the trailhead on the Kancamagus Highway to the point where the trail crosses Pine Brook.  The grade is relatively flat since this segment of the trail follows the corridor of an old logging railroad.

I've never met another person along this trail.  But oddly enough, each time I've been there during the winter, the trail has been a nicely tramped out by snowshoers.   So presumably, there are others like me who do this short trek.

There are no wide-open mountain vistas along the trail.  However, there is beauty and solitude to be found by ambling through the woodlands in a rather remote part of the White Mountains.

Also, when doing this trek, there is sometimes pleasure to be found from very simple things.  On this recent ramble, I spent nearly 10 minutes watching red squirrels quickly scamper back and forth across Pine Brook using a fallen tree as a bridge.  I couldn't help but wonder what was so important that they needed to cross the brook, and also wondered what they'd do if the fallen tree wasn't there?

There have been times when I've crossed over Pine Brook and then continued further along the East Pond Trail.  However, on this particular day that was not to be.  There too much open water for my personal comfort level.  And besides, the ice was simply too thin to walk on.  I could easily poke through the ice with my trekking poles when I "tested the waters" near the shore.

Although it was late afternoon, I felt there was still enough time (barely) to do one other short trek to nearby Greeley Ponds.  And so, I jumped in my car and drove the few tenths of a mile to the Greeley Ponds trailhead.  To read my report of that short adventure, click HERE.

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