Bald Mountain Preserve in Marlow, New Hampshire is a great place to see many wildflowers, including purple trillium (Trillium erectum), painted trillium (Trillium undulatum), blue bead lily (Clintonia borealis), foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), goldthread (Coptis trifolia), violets, and others. It is north of Keene and is called “the icebox of Cheshire County” because it often boasts the lowest temperature in winter.
Can you see the trail? There it is just to the left of the fallen birch. You have to climb over the stones to follow it.
You also have to use stones to cross a stream that winds its way through the preserve.
I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen so many hobble bushes (Viburnum lantanoides) in one place, and they were almost ready to bloom. I’ve got to remember to get back here soon because all of these bushes in bloom must be quite a sight. They are one of most showy and beautiful native shrubs.
False hellebore (Veratrum viride) plants grow all along the stream banks here and I’ve seen many bear flowers in the past. This tells me that they have been here for a while because this plant doesn’t begin to bloom until it is at least 10 years old.
People often mistake false hellebore for skunk cabbage, but the leaves of skunk cabbage aren’t pleated like these are. Confusing the two isn’t an issue because people don’t eat skunk cabbage, but unfortunately people do confuse false hellebore with edible ramps, also known as wild leeks (Allium tricoccum) and have been poisoned by doing so.
False hellebore is one of the most toxic plants in the forest and if you forage for edible plants, you should know it well. In 2010 five campers in Alaska nearly died from eating its roots. Thanks to being airlifted by helicopter to a hospital they survived. There is another account of an entire family being poisoned by cooking and eating the leaves. It is said that the plant was used by some Native American tribes to select a new leader. All the candidates would eat the root, and the last to start vomiting would become the new leader. I think I would have been comfortable with just being a follower.
Though I didn’t find them at the Bald Mountain preserve I’m including a photo of ramps here so people can compare them to the previous photo of false hellebore. Personally, since even the color is different, I don’t see how anyone could confuse the two plants, but it has happened.
Some kindhearted soul built a bench to sit on. There isn’t much of a view from it but you can sit and catch your breath.
The most impressive sight here is this monolithic granite outcrop that has to be at least 60 feet tall. It would soar above a two story house and it is a large part of the reason that this place is so popular with rock climbers.
By pacing off this broken slab I got rough measurements of 30 feet long by 15 feet wide by about 4 feet thick. At 168 pounds per cubic foot that equals over 150 tons, which is more than a diesel locomotive. What a sound it must have made when it fell from the cliff face! Even more remarkable than its weight is how one face is almost perfectly flat.
It’s clear that these boulders have been here for a very long time. This one was all decked out in mosses and polypody ferns (Polypodium virginanum.) They are also called rock cap ferns, for good reason. Grouse, deer and wild turkeys feed on their evergreen fronds in winter.
Other ferns like cinnamon fern were just out of the soil. It is interesting how plants that have just come up out of often wet soil can look so clean. The muddy soil doesn’t seem to stick to them at all. If I could discover their secret it sure would save me a lot of laundry and vacuuming time.
In the end I didn’t find any wildflowers but that doesn’t bother me because I know that when they’re finished blooming in Keene they will still be blooming here, so I’m glad that I made the journey.
I was surprised to see the waterfall in the above photo on my way home-surprised because it is in a spot that I’ve driven by hundreds of times without ever seeing a waterfall. It’s amazing what we miss.
On the path that leads to nowhere
I have sometimes found my soul.
~Corinne Roosevelt Robinson
Thanks for stopping in.
New Hampshire Garden Solutions 
What a great location for a hike!
It is a great place. Kind of rocky but you get used to that living in New Hampshire.
Yep, put me down as a follower too. And I’m pleased you ignored the instruction not to hike alone. D
Thanks Dave. I can understand the thinking behind the rule but I’ve been walking in these woods a long time and play it pretty safe.
Love the pictures, looks like a very peaceful area to hike, really beautiful! 🙂
Thanks Michael. It is a great place for a hike, especially when the flowers are blooming.
Love the picture of the cinnamon fern. I have never heard of false hellebore but the leaves are quite attractive.
Thanks! They really are a pretty plant at this stage and they do attract people.
You don’t seem to miss much! So interesting to see the forest coming to life after the winter. Amelia
Thank you. Things are slowly coming to life here. Spring started off normally enough but now it seems to have slowed a bit.
Looks like a nice walk and even better when everything is in bloom I should think. I love the big granite rocks.
It’s an amazing place when all the trilliums are blooming. It’s hard to convey in a photo just how big those rocks are, but they are some of the biggest that I’ve ever seen.
I don’t remember if you’ve ever done a post about Bald Mountain before, but I’d be going back often from this post. The waterfall would be worth the trip, or the rock outcrops, or the flowers, or any of the other things I’m sure that you’ll find there. I wish that Michigan had places like that in the lower peninsula, but we don’t. I’d have to travel to the UP, and they still have snow on the ground.
I think I did one last year but I think it was just about the flowers. It’s true that there is a lot to see in that area. The hobblebushes alone are enough to get me to go back this weekend. I’m always surprised to hear about the topography of Michigan. I always pictured it being much like here.
Amazing and so peaceful!
It is a peaceful place, though you can often hear rock climbers up on the outcrop.
False hellebore looks so… luscious! I know it’s poison, but it looks so good! I’m not surprised at all that people eat them.
It is a nice looking plant in the spring and I can also see how people would be attracted to it. Insects are also attracted to it later on, so it looks kind of ratty and full of holes by the time it flowers.
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays and commented:
A wonderful narration about Spring in the wood. Namaste.
Thank you for another re-blog Agnes.
I’m always amazed at how much water there is in NH, flowing rivers and beautiful waterfalls. What a scenic place you live! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Sue. It is a beautiful state and it’s hard to go very far without running into water in some form or another. Sometimes I wonder if we didn’t get more than our share.
The winter-bare forest looks very similar to our here, Allen…including the granite slabs and boulders and the seasonal waterfalls. I enjoyed the post….well done.
Thanks Scott. We won’t be bare for too much longer. There are buds breaking everywhere now. I’m sure that you must see a lot of stone in Arizona!
You’re welcome…and no, I imagine that things will be lush and green pretty soon. And while, yes, there are only a few billion stones in Arizona, things have looked surprisingly green, as well. Maybe it’s just that I was looking at things differently, but I noticed the freshness of new spring growth out in the desert, too…..
From what I’ve seen in photos the desert can be a beautiful place. You’re lucky to be able to see it in spring.
It is amazing what we miss! I’m feeling a bit sheepish. I think I confuse cinnamon ferns with fiddleheads.
It is amazing Jocelyn. That’s why I walk the same trails over and over but still, I’m often astounded that I’ve missed so much.
The word fiddlehead refers to how the new fern shoots look like the head of a fiddle. Most ferns have them, but the fiddleheads you buy in a store or a restaurant come from the ostrich fern, which is the only one safe to eat.
Did you walk alone? Why does it say not?
I always walk alone, but it isn’t a good idea if you aren’t used to being in the forest. They worry about people getting lost or hurt.
I used to walk Gap Mt in Troy and did so mostly alone. Empty trails bring me more angst than unfamiliar streets of NYC.
I prefer the solitude of an empty path but it really is a good idea to at least let someone know where you’re going.
Good idea.
The cinnamon fern is beautiful. 🙂
Thank you Judy. I really like cinnamon ferns too.
Looks like a great place to enjoy nature!
It really is. In a week or two the place will be full of wildflowers. The transformation is amazing.
I love following you on your walks, such good, interesting pictures. My favourite today was the waterfall.
Thank you Susan. The waterfall is my favorite too.
Marlow is the next town that I will be posting. I stopped at that waterfall too (see my facebook page) I didn’t get to hike the preserve but you certainly got some great shots, love the outcroppings! I’m glad you showed the false hellebore, I thought it was skunk cabbage too. Not that I would have tried to eat it, I prefer my greens from my garden, a farmers market or the store!
Thanks Laura. I drove right past the waterfall but I got a glimpse out of the corner of my eye and went back. It’s actually well hidden but I still don’t know how I’ve missed it all these years.
The preserve will really be something to see in a week or two. There are drifts of wildflowers all along every path.
I don’t blame you for being picky about where you pick your greens-I am too!
What you call ramps, we call ramsons. We had friends staying last weekend and they brought a ramson flan with them; delicious.
I’ve never eaten them Jim but I can imagine that they have a mild onion flavor, and that sounds pretty good!