Lake Francis Camping Weekend

Friday

On Friday, May 26th, four of us met up at the Lake Francis State Park campground in Pittsburg, NH. It was Ryan, Dave, George and myself. Steve (bluemanma) had left a message that he was sick and sent his regrets. Ryan was there when I arrived at 5PM. Dave arrived by about 6PM and George at around 10PM. After setting up, Ryan, Dave and I had dinner together and chatted around a campfire.

Saturday

In the morning, we all had breakfast together and got ready for the day out down in Colebrook. At about 9:30AM we all loaded into a car and drove to Mount Monadnock just across the river from Colebrook. We got to the trailhead, which was in a signed part of a gravel pit at 10:20. It was sunny and warming...and the black flies were out in force! The trail started out by following a gravel road and then headed into the woods. We passed a nice falls and numerous cascades as we ascended. The trail joined another tote road and we followed this to the top of another beautiful waterfalls. Here the trail crossed a bridge and then proceeded as a wooded trail. A little while later (at about 2/3 the way up), George didn't want to continue. To keep him company, Ryan decided to stop here too. As Dave and I summited the peak, they were going to slowly make their way back. For the most part the grade was moderate and we reached a spur trail for a view at noon. This was limited, but in 15 minutes later we were on the wooded summit (3148'). We were initially alone on the peak. Aside from the fire tower, there were the remnants of the fire warden's cabin. Dave and climbed the tower for the 360-degree views over the Connecticut River Valley, to the west into Vermont and northward into Canada. The views from the tower were really wonderful with a cool breeze. We had a quick lunch in the cab of the tower, before descending again. There were now two women with their dogs. We chatted for a bit before heading back down. The return trip was quick as we back-tracked along the trail and we met up with Ryan and George in the parking lot at just before 2PM (the descent took about 1 hour and 15 minutes).

Afterwards we headed back across the river to Colebrook and got ice cream at First Run Home Entertainment (an ice cream and video store) on Main Street. We then drove up to check out the very beautiful Beaver Brook Falls. This was mainly a wayside park, but there were short trails around the base of the falls, as well as a herd path, which led up to the top (which I climbed). We left the falls and drove over to Dixville Notch to check out the Dixville Notch Music, Arts & Crafts Festival. The festival was a little underwhelming as it was sparcely attended. Still it was on the property of Mohawk Falls, which was quite beautiful, with the falls and gazebo on the pond. After walking around the grounds and checking out the vendors, we headed back to camp, stopping to pick up firewood in Colebrook. When we got back, we started making dinner. Even though we all had dinner to prepare, Ryan had prepared a beef stew to share with his skills at Dutch oven cooking. We ended the day again around the campfire before calling it a night.

Sunday

On Sunday morning, it was still wonderfully sunny. After breakfast, George decided to start home, since he had to work on Monday. Ryan, Dave and myself rented a canoe and kayak from the park. It was about 11AM, when we finally put into the water. We headed south from the campground, which was at the northern end, where the Connecticut River entered. We passed some cottages along the western shore, but as we paddled over to the other side it was completely wilderness. Since we were only doing a modest paddle we headed into and explored the coves at the eastern end of the lake (it was quite a large lake). The views and the lake itself was wonderful with very few other boats out. We reached the end of the cove, where the Cedar and Bog Branch Streams entered the lake, at about 12:15PM. As there were cascades here, we couldn't paddle very far up these tributaries. At this point we turned around and began heading west back into the main part of the lake. It was a leisurely paddle back to campground which we again reached at 1:45PM. We ended up paddling about 5.5 to 6 miles.

After returning our equipment, we had lunch back at our campsite. Later in the afternoon, we took a drive northward to check out the Connecticut Lakes (First, Second and Third). We drove all the way to the Canadian border before turning around and returning to camp. It was around 4:30, and we all took a walk along the path, which followed the Connecticut River from the campground. This was a nice fairly level trail, which led up past numerous cascades in the river. There were also quite a few people fishing this section of the river. When we returned to our site we prepared dinner and later relaxed around a campfire.

Monday

Everyone was up fairly early and with the clouds starting to move in, we broke camp, had a little breakfast and headed home.

What a wonderful weekend! Despite the weather forecast earlier in the week, it couldn't have been nicer. It was fun exploring the North Country and Great North Woods and we all had a great time together! This part of New Hampshire with its lakes and wilderness is just so beautiful. A big thanks to George, Ryan and Dave for making this a very memorable weekend...and a fantastic kick-off for the season!

Join me for a relaxing camping weekend over Memorial Day in the North Country of New Hampshire.  This will hopefully be an opportunity to meet some new GayOutdoor members!  We'll use the Lake Francis Campground as our base.  This campground sits on the northern shore of the lake, where the Connecticut River enters.  The campground includes basic amenities, including hot showers.

This weekend is meant to be social and fun with no specific itinerary.  That said, the following is an outline of the proposed activites:

• Saturday:  Hike Monadnock Mountain with its restored fire tower and views over the Connecticut River Valley (4.8 miles / 2108 feet elevation gain).  This is a short hike and there will be time to visit the quaint downtown of Colebrook, the beautiful Beaver Brook Falls Wayside and the Pittsburg-Clarksville Covered Bridge (depending on group's interest)
• Sunday:  Canoe/kayak Lake Francis and Connecticut River with its mostly undeveloped coastline, coves, island and dam (rentals available in at the campground for $30/half-day or $50/full-day).
• Monday:  Break camp.  If there is interest, a hike up the 3383-foot Mount Magalloway with its fire tower and fire warden's cabin (1.8 miles/800 feet elevation gain) providing views over the lakes and into Maine, Vermont and Canada.
• Nightly campfires

All planned activities will have ability levels of MODERATE.  Any water activities would require decent swimming ability.  There will be plenty of opportunities to relax or to take one of many short trails along the lake.

Camping:  We'll camp at Lake Francis Campground for the 3 nights.  Reservations can be made online at www.reserveamerica.com. (I've already booked Site 24 and there are nearby sites available).  Nightly rates are $25/site plus the reservation fee.  Information about Lake Francis State Park along with Campground Map.   NOTE:  You will be responsible for your own site reservation, but I encourage and will help coordinate sharing of sites.  A maximum of 4 adults (and I'm assuming 2 tents/cars, like at other campgrounds) are permitted per site.  There are hot showers and lake access from within the park.

Food:  Aside from a grocery store in Colebrook and some country stores, there are limited choices for food in this area...Bring most of what you will need.

What to Bring:  Some of the camping supplies to consider would include cooler with food, camp stove, clothing, toiletries, tent, sleeping bag, pad/mattress, camp chair, swim suit, towel(s), aqua socks/shoes, hiking boots/shoes, daypack, etc.  All firewood must be sourced locally.  I will be bringing a canopy for the picnic table.