The rainy forecast did not scare us away! Jon and I have been itching to start trail maintenance work on our adopted trail, Smarts Brook in Waterville Valley, NH.

Smarts Brook Trail begins on Route 49 after Sandwich Notch Road. I have hiked this trail several times before and knew that to get to the Sandwich Mountain Trail ridge it would be a 10.2 mile trip; an all day affair. It was even more challenging for us because we not only had to hike it but also perform trail maintenance.

Jenny Preiss from the US Forest Service helped us by opening up the gate to the logging road that the Smarts Brook Trail follows for 1.5 miles. The road is in good shape and I'm glad my FJ had four-wheel drive. We parked the FJ soon after the Yellow Jacket Trail; just before the footbridge. This shaved off 3 miles so our total miles was reduced to 7.2 miles. We started out under mostly cloudy skies.

Before we headed out we took a look at the swimming hole that is perfect for cooling off in the summer. We plan to take a dip next time we perform trail maintenance in July.

We crossed the footbridge and entered a large logging yard no longer being used. We checked out the beaver lodge at the Beaver Pond. The trail then enters an area of extensive logging where you get to see the forest beginning to recover with new growth. The trail climbs easily through recently logged areas where the trail intersects with various skid roads.

Hiking in the woods this time of year is very enjoyable. The trees begin to dress themselves with their 'spring green', and the blood sucking black flies have yet to arrive. All the brook crossings were easy too.

We were responsible to maintain the section of trail after this logging area that begins at the wilderness boundary sign. We made very good time to here. We were excited to reach the boundary and the section of trail we were  responsible to maintain.

A beautiful sign lets you know that you are entering the Sandwich Range Wilderness.  The United States Congress designated the Sandwich Range Wilderness in 1984 and it now has a total of 35,800 acres. Last a year thousands of additional acres were added thanks to Congress. All of the wilderness is in New Hampshire and is managed by the Forest Service. The core idea of Wilderness designation is to preserve these areas in their natural state, to make the impact of human use as little noticeable as possible. In practice, this has meant rougher trails, minimum use of signs, and camping amenities only as consistent with the protection of wilderness values.

Soon we came to appreciate blooming painted trilliums, goldthread, and hobblebush flowers. We hiked through a beautiful stand of white birch. So far the weather held up -- no drizzle or shower activity.

The trail overall was in pretty good shape but we did have to cut some encroaching vegetation blocking the trail.  

The trail follows Smarts Brook. It then climbs up the right side where you can see and hear Smarts Brook below. I am always amazed at the number of cascades and waterfalls on this trail. We actually created a couple of paths leading to some waterfalls by trimming back the vegetation. We thought of names such as Rainbow Falls, Flat Rock Falls, and Boulder Falls. Some of the falls fell into these huge swimming holes ideal for some skinny dipping! 

About 1.2 miles from the start of the Sandwich Range Wilderness we entered an area of very large boulders. A great spot for bouldering. In certain sections of trail we saw evidence of snow. We moved along merrily.

It began to drizzle at this point so we found two large boulders leaning on each other to provide cover while having lunch. After lunch there were sections of trail that were extensively overgrown. We took our packs off and began to trim it back. This took a lot of time and slowed us down. It was getting late so we decided to turn back about a mile from the where the trail reached the Sandwich Mountain Trail ridge.

The section of trail we did not get to will be there for us next time we return.

Using the Smarts Brook Trail to view the waterfalls and check out the boulders is a great hike by itself. Especially on a rainy day.

We marveled how fast we came down. Jon snipped away at some of the vegetation we missed. We got most of it the first time through. We did run into one hiker on the way back who appreciated the work we had done. We asked him to take our picture together. We made the 2.6 miles back to the FJ easily.

The lightly used trail certainly needed some care -- we spent most of our time using Loppers to trim back encroaching vegetation on both sides of the trail. We removed an end of a fallen tree that partially blocked the trail. We were convinced by the many piles of moose droppings found along the trail that moose are the most frequent users of this trail.

We plan to return back this July to repaint the faded blazes and finish maintaining the mile of trail we did not get to. We expect the evergreens further up will need a lot of trimming. We'll probably post it in the GayOutdoors Activities Calendar. Join us!

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