Highland Lake in Shoulder Season

The fall foliage was an unexpected surprise when I paddled the 697-acre Highland Lake in Stoddard, NH this past Monday.  Being 2 weeks after Labor Day and a weekday, most cottages were unoccupied and their related watercraft secured to docks.  The lake is tributary to the Contoocook River's North Branch.

A map of the lake found on the New Hampshire Fish and Game web site (public access maps for NH's 36 largest lakes) ...

I launched at the south end...

The lake's outlet is a short distance from the ramp.  The gatehouse there was being renovated...

This long and narrow lake has more of a river-feel in places.  The wind (sw) was most noticed in the wider sections...
...whereas at the lake's northern end, things were quite serene...
...so quiet, in fact, that water could be heard tumbling through the rocks of this tributary...


More signs of fall foliage...

An osprey surveyed over a cove on the lake's east side...
...while this regal eagle monitored things on the western shore...

...and was later seen soaring against a milky sky...

There are many types and sizes of cottages and boathouses clustered along the shoreline.  My favorite cottage was this one nestled in the trees...
...and this structure located at the south end still retains some of its former dignity...

This small covered bridge to a tiny islet proved too tempting to not pass under...

Couldn't have chosen a better time for exploring Highland Lake. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nubanusit and Spoonwood

Image
This past Friday delivered perfect conditions for exploring Nubanusit Lake and Spoonwood Pond's combined 718 acres located amidst the hills of Hancock and Nelson, New Hampshire.  The two bodies of water at an elevation above 1300' are joined at the hip so to speak, with a very short portage from one to the other.  They comprise the headwaters of Nubanusit Brook which flows down through Harrisville to Peterborough and the Contoocook River at an elevation below 700'.  I've long wanted to explore Nubanusit, perhaps due to its Native American name the meaning of which nobody seems to know for sure.  Some say it means "at the place of gently sloping banks", others say "small summer place", or "little waters".  However, the interpretation I favor is from C. Lawrence Bond in his Native Names of New England Towns and Villages .  Bond offers Nubanusit as meaning "at the wing shaped (pond)", showing "nuppoh" as the Native A
Read more

Eden of the Kennebec

Image
"Eden of the Kennebec, - perhaps the Eden of Maine" were the words author and historian Justin H. Smith used to describe the section of the Kennebec River between Norridgewock Falls and Caratunk Falls.  I came across his intriguing (to me) description in his 1903 book Arnold's March from Cambridge to Quebec.  Smith's description combined with my desire to see first-hand the Native American petroglyphs on "Indian Rock" in Embden had me looking for a boat launch and campground along that stretch of river.  Luckily I found both at the Evergreens Campground in Solon, ME... ... where this sign lets visitors know just how long folks have been setting up camp there... Evergreens' location is ideal being right on the Kennebec's eastern shore, about a mile below Caratunk Falls.  It's almost directly opposite from the petroglyph site and, according to the owners, some of Benedict Arnold's 1100-man expedition also camped here on their wa
Read more

Staking Out the Sebasticook

Image
As the sun rose in the eastern sky I paddled away from my campsite at Sebasticook Lake's southern end and headed north.  Other than the occasional and haunting calls of loons, silence prevailed.  Fog hovering above the water's surface looked as though it could possibly provide passage into another time period...and that would've been just fine with me as, in a way, that was exactly my intention...paddling to the spot where the remains of a sizable prehistoric fish weir complex  lurks beneath the surface.  It is said to be perhaps the oldest fish weir complex in North America and is comprised of hundreds of wooden stakes notable for having their crude pointed ends shaped by stone tools. By the time I reached the suspected location the fog had burned off and the shallow water above the weir was as smooth as glass.  I slowly paddled back and forth across the area straining my eyes in hopes of seeing some of the 600 plus documented wooden stakes.  While I didn't actuall
Read more