Last Thursday, as the rain and fog was just starting to clear the area, a friend and I hiked over Mount Sunapee. It was a very humid day. We mostly ignored the one short sprinkle mid-way through our hike. We ascended the Andrews Brook Trail, crossed the Solitude Trail to the summit, then descended the Summit Trail to the SRKG Trail 1 trailhead in Goshen.
Along the Andrews Brook Trail we found a Green Frog.
And some rock tripe, a lichen that is edible when properly prepared. It contains about one-third more calories than an equal amount of honey. Species of rock tripe are also used as dyes.
Here are a few more photos as we ascended to Lake Solitude.
About 80 minutes after we started, we reached Lake Solitude. It was early and still foggy, so we were not surprised to find the shore deserted. White Ledges can be seen across the lake in this photo.
The area near Lake Solitude is quite beautiful with moss-covered trees and ledge.
Just beyond Lake Solitude we joined SRKG Trail 1 that we would follow to Goshen. Soon we climbed to the White Ledges, a magical place. I’ve been there in fall when the foliage was beautiful, on a beautiful summer day, in overcast and fog like this day, and when the ledges were snow covered and Lake Solitude was frozen.
I think the Solitude Trail from White Ledges to the summit is one of the best, roughly mile long, trails in the area. This day the view down to Lake Sunapee from the top of the ski trail was dull in the fog, but the soft light made for good photos in the forest along the way. The plant with the red berries is Canadian Bunchberry, a member of the dogwood family.
We found an American Toad as we headed down the Summit Trail toward Goshen.
Here are other photos I took as we descended to complete a very nice hike well before 11 AM.
If you would like to see more photos of this area in other seasons, you can CLICK HERE.
If you would like to explore other trails of the Kearsarge region, the Upper Valley, or the world, please CLICK HERE.