THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, September 16, 2010
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(CASTLE RAVINE TRAIL & LOWE’S PATH) We left the parking area
at Bowman and started up the Castle Trail with a bounce in our steps that persuaded the four men that had left just before us to step aside and in- vite us to pass. Bicyclists just missed us as we were crossing the old railroad bed (now the Presidential Range Rail Trail). Then we went under the power line and to our first water crossing. The AMC White Moun-
tain Guide is correct that the Israel River maybe dif- ficult to cross in high wa- ter and not easy at other times. Even with the low water it was hard to keep our feet dry. We had to cross the river again just after we took the left onto the Israel Ridge Trail. Soon we reached the Castle Ra- vine Trail and we followed it right up the river. At the forks of Israel River are the Castle and Cascade Brooks. Randolph Paths warned us that we would cross the Castle Brook six times but we thought we counted seven times and only the last crossing we would dare call easy. Higher up the “Lost
Brook” disappeared but loudly roared under the rocks beneath our feet. The
looked daunting, it surely is a steep wall. Here we enjoyed looking back at where we had come from. Mount Bowman and the Castles formed the west wall and the Israel Ridge the east. The wind had picked up and the tem- perature had not risen as forecasted. Clouds lin- gered low in the sky and allowed small patches of blue to be seen between them. The higher Rachel and
Lowe’s Path is one of the oldest continuous use trails in the White Mountains, built in 1875-76. The distance from Lowe’s Store on Route 2 in Randolph, NH to the summit of Mount Adams, elevation 5,799 feet, is 4.8 miles and a 4,100 foot climb.
amount of water squeez- ing out of the mountain springs is astonishing. Crossing under Roof
Rock was a little dis- appointing because we imagined caves on par with King Ravine’s. Roof Rock is a large boulder cave and you can easily
go right through it with- out breaking your stride. Just before we broke out onto rocks at the base of the headwall Rachel found another boulder cave she had fun squeez- ing through. Out in the open the rocky headwall of Castle Ravine
I climbed it became more windy and cold. We hun- kered down beside a large cairn and put on our fuzzy shirts and our raincoats and pulled our hoods tight. Without stopping we climbed right up the rocks chasing the painted gold blazes that marked the route. When we popped out on top by the Spauld- ing Spring we hopped on rocks between the al- See PATENAUDE on 30
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