A friend of mine who moved to California many years ago came back east for a visit recently and, since it was a beautiful summery day with low humidity we decided to climb Pitcher Mountain in Stoddard, New Hampshire. This mountain was named for the Pitcher family who settled here in the 1700s. The trail is actually a road so the fire wardens, technicians, and others can easily drive almost all the way to the top. Hiking it takes about 15 minutes with no stops.
Before long you reach the pasture where Scottish highland cattle are kept. They weren’t here this day, but there were plenty of wildflowers to admire.
Grasses were also flowering. They are beautiful when they bloom.
Nearer to the top the trail gets steeper and rockier.
Before you know it you’re at the old ranger station. There is a shed and an outhouse out in back.
It isn’t hard to imagine the mighty winds that must blow up here. The fire tower is tied down to solid granite in several places so it doesn’t blow off the mountain.
Ironically the original wooden fire tower built here in 1915 was destroyed by fire in April of 1940. 27,000 acres of forest burned, including the fire tower and all of the trees on the summit. It was the most destructive fire in the region’s history and burned the top of the mountain right down to bare granite. There are 16 active fire towers in the state, but this one is only manned when the fire danger is high. It has microwave transmitters and receivers on it, and I’m never really sure what to think about that.
Blueberry bushes have colonized the mountaintop and this is a favorite spot to come and pick them. Sometimes entire families will come and pick buckets full of berries. There are acres of them and there always seems to be enough for everybody.
Others come for the views, which on this day were quite good.
I always have to take a close look at the lichens when I come here, even though they never seem to change. Orangey-yellowish common gold speck lichen (Candelariella vitellina) and black and white tile lichen (Lecidea tessellata) appear here with small spots of pale yellow sulfur fire dot lichen (Caloplaca flavovirescens.)
I took this shot more for the clouds than anything else. I like the way that they float off into infinity. According to Henry David Thoreau mountain tops were sacred and mysterious places to Native Americans and they never visited them. “Only daring and insolent men go there” he said, but I didn’t feel particularly daring or insolent on this day.
Deep striations in the granite are a reminder that this entire region was once under ice. It’s hard to imagine ice thick enough to cover these mountains.
Even on mountain tops, trigonometry.
As you start back down the path on this, the second highest mountain in the region, you are greeted by a view of Mount Monadnock, which is the highest. The sun coming through the clouds was doing some strange things to the colors of the hills, making them look like a painting.
You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know. ~Rene Daumal
Thanks for coming by. Happy first day of summer!
It’s so nice to be taken to places where blueberries grow wild. Amelia
Thank you. They grow like weeds here and are everywhere you look.
What a wonderful post, Allen…such beautiful photos. I love the trail going into that green tunnel of trees…..I miss that stuff already. 🙂
And that’s such a fitting quote, too….and true….”…one can at least still know.”
Thanks Scott. I’m sure you’ll find places that are every bit as beautiful in Arizona.
I think that quote probably means a little more to people who have been up there.
You’re welcome….and I’ll be looking for those places…and I think you’re right, it would mean more to those who have been up there…probably much more.
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays.
Thank you for the re-blog Agnes!
You’re very welcome, Allen. Namaste
An interesting tour and excellent photos. Thank you.
You’re welcome Cynthia.
Fantastic landscapes! Your photography is wonderful.
Thank you Sue.
It looks like it was well worth the climb. The view from the top was spectacular and I love those clouds.
It’s a great place for views and an easy climb, so it’s hard to beat when you feel the need to be up high.
Beautiful hike, thanks for taking us with you. Love the wonderful views.
You’re welcome Mary.
I love that old ranger station! That one should be preserved!
I agree, but I’m not sure if they’re doing much to protect it, but it’s in fairly good shape. It doesn’t look like they ever use it anymore.
Well that looks lovely! My kids are on a fire tower quest, and plus that hike looks rather less harrowing than their recent Whites venture, so perhaps we’ll head over there, on your recommendation, sometime before the truly dreadful humidity sets in.
This would be a great hike for the kids. They’d reach the top in no time at all and if you’re real lucky the fire tower might be open. If it is you can go up in it for an unobstructed 360 degree view. The only real danger up there would be climbing on the tower. There are no cliffs that I know of but of course it is a mountain top, so they’d need to be a little careful.
What a gorgeous place!
The fire tower that burned down- talk about a conundrum, like ‘who cuts the town barber’s hair?’
It is beautiful from up there. I think in those days when 27,000 acres of forest was burning you just stood back and hoped for rain. I can’t imagine how they would have even begun to put it out.
Had no idea Pitcher Mountain was the second highest in the region. The view back to Monadnock was spectacular! Lucky for your visitor you are a great tour guide!
Actually my friend climbed pitcher mountain to pick blueberries back when he was a boy, so he climbed it before I did.
I never knew it was second highest either until last year.
I love that meadow. So many beautiful views. And the ranger station secured to the granite reminds me of the movie “The Shipping News”.
I didn’t see that movie but I did read the book. Up on Mount Washington they used to have chains as big as your wrist looped over the roofs of the buildings to hold them down. It can get mighty windy on these mountain tops.
Trigonometry on mountaintops – one of my favorite things. Thanks for the friendly, informative post. 🙂
You’re welcome Jim. I mentioned it because I’m a mechanical engineer and can’t seem to get away from it!
Cool. I’m a surveyor and it really is one of my favorite things. 🙂
What a gorgeous area! I vacationed with my kids in NH 11 years ago and just loved it. Beautiful views. 🙂
It sounds like it’s time for another vacation! There are some beautiful views from up there and you can see for a full 360 degrees.
It looks like you had a splendid day for your climb, and the views were awesome! I wish we had views like that in lower Michigan, you make us flatlanders jealous. 😉
It was just about perfect weather wise Jerry. I remember how flat it was in Florida, so I can imagine what it must be like there. At least you have a few hills though. They don’t even have that down there.
The fire tower is an eyesore indeed but being on the top of the hill you can look away from it very easily in every direction and I dare say it is a necessary evil.
Yes, those fire towers have saved a lot of forest and other property over the years. The forest here grows so thickly that once a fire really gets going it is hard to put out, so it’s best to catch them as soon as possible.
I love clouds, so as soon as I saw the top of the picture of them appearing as I scrolled down I felt happy. I too feel free at the top of a hill or mountain – euphoria at having managed the climb, the pleasure of a good view, the idea that the air is fresher and, being short it gives me the chance to look down on something for a change! The flowering grass is lovely.
Thank you Clare. I like clouds too, especially the big white puffy ones. They were low enough on the day I made this climb so it felt like you could almost reach out and touch them.
Your long views turn ours into a mere hop, skip and a jump. Beautiful pictures!
Thanks. I think you said once before that you didn’t have any real mountains in Illinois. That’s too bad. It’s fun to look out over the world from up there.
I think our highest elevation around here is 1.064 feet.
Well, that should let you get above the surrounding countryside. Unfortunately sometimes there are so many trees that you can’t really see much.
That’s for sure. I’m not hiking like I used to. The heat’s really bothering me the older I get.
I know what you mean. I’m not a great lover of heat either.
Nice, looks like you had a beautiful first day of summer for a hike. I love the views from the top, do you know the altitude at the top? Looks like a great place to camp at the top, do they allow camping?
It was fun Michael, for sure. Pitcher Mountain is 2,152 feet high, which isn’t too bad and makes for an easy a climb. I don’t think they do allow overnight camping on any of our mountains, but even if they did the only level ground is taken up by the fire tower. The actual summit really isn’t very big, so you’d be camping on a slope.
Great view at only 2,152 feet. Too bad they don’t have shelters like they do on the Appalachian Trail for overnight camping! 🙂
I’d guess that there are probably places to camp nearby because the summit is part of a large, 50 mile long trail.
Now that’s what I call a picture perfect day. 😊
I have no idea if you enjoy reading, but you seem an intelligent, introspective type so I have a good book recommendation for you. It explores how walking impacted thinking and culture from prehistory to today, and makes a thesis for preserving open space to observe the world at a relaxing gait. The title is Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit.
It was a beautiful day.
I probably read as much or more as I do anything else and that book sounds like it would be right up my alley. So far every book recommendation that I’ve gotten from readers of this blog has turned out to be excellent, and I expect this one will be the same. Thank you. I’ll buy or order it today.
I just finished it and LOVED it. All the Amazon reviews (save one) were very very positive. The one guy who hated it felt the author was remiss for leaving out a suffragette who walked naked for shock value. Go figure!
That’s funny. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it. Thanks again!
Reblogged this on Writing Out Loud and commented:
A hike I want to do, saving it to blog.
Never climbed this one, didn’t even know about it. I would like to do so sometime, how long does it take at a moderate pace round trip? Be a good one to do in the fall.
I’d say, with time to admire the views and eat a blueberry or two, someone who didn’t have breathing trouble could do it in an hour. It really is a very short walk and well worth the trip, especially in the fall. The only thing you have to worry about in the fall is the limited parking. It’s a popular place.
Oh, rapture! You have helped me. My wife, Cathy, and I will be visiting NH this autumn. We’re visiting Keene for ten days, and I’m familiar with it having grown up in Athol/Orange, MA and prior visits to the Monadnock region. However, I never knew of the second highest peak, Pitcher Mtn in Stoddard, until your post and the one of your climb in February.
My happiness is that my dear wife has a moderate lung condition and cannot climb Monadnock unless there is an oxygen tank at Monta Rosa; I’ve checked all around the weathervane there: no tank. 🙂 Being a flat lander from the Midwest herself, I want her to experience a climb, not solely the rather unearned views of a drive to the top of, say, Wachusett in MA. Hence, I now know of Pitcher Mtn. Thanks so much!
PostScript: All that said, I’d be willing to treat her to a scenic drive up a mountain if we both survive the horns of those Scottish cattle on Pitcher. Could you recommend one or two good “drivers” within an hour or so of Keene? I’ve always wondered about Kearsarge, Cardigan and the like. No knowledge if they’re drive-ups or worthwhile at all. Anything with a view would be nice. Thank you.
The only one I know of is Pack Monadnock Mountain in Peterborough, which is about 45 minutes east of Keene on route 101. You cab drive all the way to the summit and there are some great views from there. You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack_Monadnock
You’re welcome Sven. I smoked for years and have some trouble with mountains myself, but I just stop two or three times to catch my breath and I can make it.
I know the Athol / Orange area fairly well. My wife was from Warwick.
Such beautiful views! Love the picture of the clouds. It is interesting the Native Americans didn’t visit the mountain tops.Some day, perhaps, I’ll hike up for some blueberries.
I’m not sure how accurate Thoreau was. I can’t imagine natives not visiting these mountain tops, especially after European settlers started moving in.
If you want blueberries this is the place to go, and it is quite an easy hike if you stop occasionally to admire the views.
What a lovely place with such splendid views. I have always hated descending from anything high up, you get such a wonderful feeling of freedom when up there, a great post.
Thank you Susan. I hadn’t thought of it that way but it’s true that after you expend the effort to get up there you don’t want to come down.
Always taking me away to other places.
It’s always nice to see things that you haven’t.