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Mmm, yummy. I love eating crow. Just a couple weeks ago I was saying it was looking not so good for foliage; the foliage in the Zealand area did fall a little short of my hopes, but in the Belknaps and Pawtuckaway region it is really looking nice.
So, I was looking for a foliage hike rather than a big mountain trek.
I was thinking Tate Mtn, but decided that Pine Mtn, which I'd never been to was more attractive.
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Partly because I just was at Tate a couple weeks ago, and partly because on Pine Mtn the sun would be more at my back - better for the pix ...
5 miles(rt), 1100 ft elevation gain ... say what?
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I knew Columbus Day weekend would jam New Hampshire, and people would be spilling into the mountains.
Good to see people using the trails - ultimately it strengthens the trail system and protects it.
And even on busy weekends, there's still solitude if you want it ...
But, go out on a 3 day foliage weekend on one of the most used trails in the forest ...
I lost count early, but I am sure I saw upwards of 200 people Sunday.
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But it was all good, everyone was having a good time as far as I could tell.
Great weather, plenty of time , great trail mmmmmm, mmmm, mmmm!
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So the last week I've been alternating hiking with rest days, and on rest days I've done a little sightseeing and some scouting.
October is time for the Return of the Pumpkin People, a MWV contest of Halloween type displays.
You find these all over the Bartlett/Jackson/Conway area.
The best ones usually have some clever current topic ... this year there are of course some political ones, all done with good taste and humor.
This one is my favorite -although it is in a location where it's hard to see the whole thing, and traffic is sketchy. Best bet is to park at the Red Parka or at Grant's and walk over 
The amount of effort and detail people put into these displays is remarkable!!
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I wanted to hike North Twin today, but the weather didnt sound all that enticing. Clouds , maybe rain. Galehead has also been on my mind, and since the summit is low and the views not listed as great, it seemed a reasonable alternative.
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Add in a hut on the way for a pit stop in case of rain ( and maybe cookies! ) .... off to the Gale River Trail.
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It being the start of foliage season in NH I was anxious to go peep some leaves.
Having been out to Zealand and a few other places, it looked like the foliage this year was either really late or just plain blah for some reason. Seemed like that was all the conversational buzz in North Conway ... that the foliage was kind of not what was expected so far.
Couldn't do anything about blah, but late ... the remedy for that is to go farther north. Hmmm ... maybe Waumbek ... Starr king Trail ...
Sunday I had a chance meeting with Tom Ryan ( and I was very pleased to see Atticus too - he's getting pretty grey but was sitting up straight in the passenger seat )
and I mentioned I was considering Waumbek as a possibility ... he said the col between Waumbek and Starr King was one of his favorite trail sections.
With a recommendation like that, the decision became much easier
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