3 Days in Pittsburg

Recently, my wife, our three youngest kids, and I made a last-minute trip to Pittsburg, NH for a little getaway. We packed quickly, jumped in the van, and drove some 170 miles, or so, north to Pittsburg. Thank you to Judy at Mountain View Cabins & Campground for working with us, we couldn’t have done this without you.

While we were up north I did take several pictures in order to better chronicle the trip. Thank you to a computer glitch beyond my scope of knowledge, almost all of the pictures are somehow corrupted and unable to be pulled from my back up drive at this time. I did salvage a couple though. If I am able to use them at some point I will add them.

Night one, we arrived in the evening and just settled in to the remote cabin to enjoy peace, quiet, and much more comfortable (cooler) temperatures. In the morning my son and I left early to find him a fishing spot (there are endless fishing spots in the area). We ended up on the First Connecticut Lake, in a quiet cove while the sun worked its way along its path, distancing itself from the horizon.

After a short visit to the lake, we went back to the cabin to gather the rest of the family. Upon doing so, we went to the Happy Corner Cafe for a very nice breakfast.

Fueled by a large breakfast, we headed off to Magalloway Road and a trek into the wilderness. We drove for about 11+ miles on the popular logging road to the trail head for Garfield Falls.

Garfield Falls is on the East Branch of the Dead Diamond River, and at the trail head we were given a friendly warning of the dangers on the trail as they would relate to hiking in with a pair of 3-year old twins. So, the five of us, cautiously started down the trail. The trail is short and pretty easy for the most part, until getting down into the gorge, where it is quite steep and footing can be tricky. We held on to each other as necessary and made our way down, past the impressive falls, still gushing from a week’s worth of heavy humidity and the massive thunderstorms that accompany such weather. Below the falls the river was wonderful, cool, fast-moving, but manageable. We played in the water for quite a while and our 12-year old even caught a fish.

As the storm clouds gathered overhead we decided we should get up and out of that area before trying to do so in a thunderstorm. We made the hike up and out without incident and continued exploring along the old logging roads.

After awhile we ended up pulling into a quiet lot alongside Second Connecticut Lake. Moments after we pulled in, I noticed a very large Bald Eagle leave its spot atop a fir tree. The winds picked up but we never did get any storm, just some light rain. Along the lake, we skipped rocks, the kids swam, and fished. We hung out there enjoying the views and the open space shared by just a few.

As the afternoon wore on we decided we were going to go out and get some dinner in town. We ended up at the Buck Rub Pub. The atmosphere was laid back and very much apparent that we were in the woods, fishing and hunting territory. The food was great and the portions were large. The kids loved our table top, cut in a slab from a large tree. From there, we went for a ride up through Moose Alley along Route 3. We did see some deer and even a large moose that we paused for long enough to cross the pavement in front of us. Eventually we made our way back to the cabin to settle in for the night.

The following morning we left the cabin by 10 am, after my wife made us a wonderful breakfast in the cabin. The day was overcast, warm, and extremely humid. Regardless, we drove the 20 miles from the cabin to the Canadian border and parked at the Fourth Connecticut Lake trail head. The five of us made sure we were geared up, and around behind the customs building we walked. The majority of this trail is the actual swath of forest cleared to denote the border running between the United States and Canada. There are countless steps taken along the path where we were in both countries at the same time. I must mention that the trial is rated difficult, something I wasn’t sure of before we started the hike. Then, with 3-year old twins, it’s probably rated difficult and then some. The elevation gain is well over 400 feet, and it happens quickly. The views in several different places were quite beautiful, looking north into Quebec.

The bugs made their presence known, and the oppressive humidity didn’t help. The country is rugged and once we turned south from the border, toward the lake, the trail was tight and slick. All around us there was sign of moose, coyote, fox, beaver, and rabbits. We made it to the lake and worked our way further south to where the Connecticut River actually starts its 410 mile journey to Long Island Sound. At this point, deep in the woods, amid thick cover, the river is just a couple of feet wide. It’s cross-able in a single stride, although the twins had to leap-frog some rocks to cross. The headwaters to New England’s longest river was our goal, and we had made it. It was pretty cool really. We heard the echoes of bull frogs bellowing all around us, and there was a massive beaver dam on the south end of the lake that added to the experience.

We hiked out, picking our steps carefully. We used a human chain of sorts in several places to safely traverse the steep descent along the return hike. The kids and my wife were awesome. It was a long, tough hike, and they all performed wonderfully. We got back to the Port of Entry Building and were happy to be on even ground for the last few yards to the van. We took off just as a large gathering of motorcyclists pulled up to the turnaround just feet shy of the border. We were hot, tired, dirty, and sticky, but pleased with our efforts and the experiences shared in the north woods. Naturally, we bolted right to Johnson’s Spring to refill all the plastic bottles we brought with us. AHHHH! The pure, ice-cold spring water was just what we needed. So refreshing.

Then we found ourselves at Second Connecticut Lake again. We swam, the twins took turns getting a nap in the van, the kids fished, we skipped rocks, and we just talked at water’s edge, enjoying each other and the beauty all around us. It was a nice little rest after the hike. We ended up going to Happy Corner Cafe again, this time for burgers. The burgers were large, and excellent. I have to also mention that the staff at this place, both times we were there, were awesome. They were friendly, observant, and timely. The kids really loved the accommodations made for them by people who were thoughtful and knew what they were doing. This made things easier for all of us, and we really enjoyed our time in the restaurant.

Back at the cabin, everyone cleaned up except me. I crashed on the couch for a 20 minute power nap, before setting off on my own moose excursion. The clouds were thick and low as rain threatened all around. I headed up to Moose Alley in hopes of seeing more moose. Just yards from the end of the road where the cabin hides, I saw a young buck and young doe along the back road, probably playing their own version of playing in traffic. Further north I checked out Moose Flowage along the Connecticut River. Then I headed back towards the cabin. I saw a rabbit. I saw a young male moose. Then I saw a mother moose with her light chocolate-brown newborn moose. Actually, the newborn was probably a month or two old, but it wasn’t going to leave momma’s side. I enjoyed the moments with the wildlife along my way back to the cabin. The rain was falling lightly now, and just before reaching the cabin I saw a deer loping at a good pace right toward me, so I slowed to a stop. Just before the deer reached me it leapt long to the side of the road and disappeared into the wooded shadows in an instant. I continued to the cabin.

During the night I awoke to the sounds of heavy rains pounding the roof and windows of the cabin. Then as quickly as I knew what the sound was, I listened to the rain as it assisted me back to sleep. The morning was cool, windy, and full of random wind-blown mist showers. Nevertheless, my son and I headed out early to get him one more shot at fishing before heading for home. We drove to Third Connecticut Lake as I hadn’t taken him there yet. Advice given to us from a local resident and fisherman on morning one, in order to improve our chances on catching something of size in this particular lake was employed this final morning. Although my son never did land the fish, we did see several trout jump right out of the water just feet from where we were standing. We had the entire lake to ourselves, although it was a cool, wet morning, but we had a good time. As we left, I cranked up the heat in the van to help dry us out and, especially, warm him up.

We went back to the cabin to finish packing for our return trip home. My daughter told me that she wanted to stay at the cabin forever. As we all chatted before leaving we recognized that each day we had been very active, out and about, and spent very few daylight hours in the cabin. We loved our stay up there. It’s one of my favorite places to spend time. I love the land, the weather, the wildlife, and the fresh air. Now that we stayed up there for a couple of days, my family is starting to feel the same way about this place as I do. We had a great time, and thoroughly enjoyed our 3 days in Pittsburg.