NH Cohos Trail: Nash Stream Rd to Kelsey Notch

Gadwah Notch Trail

This section was one of my favorite hikes anywhere, especially the meadows going up Gadwah Notch Trail. What a joy. I only regret that I was now slack-packing. I would have loved to spent the night at the edge of one of the meadows, under the stars.

Doll's Eye (White Baneberry)

It would have made more sense to continue backpacking through to Dixville Notch, but I had needed some day hiking sections along the Cohos, allowing me to walk the trail while my husband golfed, which is our 'weekend get-away' routine. I start out backpacking, he picks me up after a few days, and then I switch to slackpacking. It's worked great so far. But when it came time to spot my car at Kelsey Notch, Google Maps said it was going to take one hour and fifteen minutes to get there from our hotel. Wow. Still not used to the distances here. So we abruptly changed plans. I would get dropped off on the far end of Nash Stream Road, my husband would play golf and whatever, and then he'd pick me up at Kelsey Notch on a gravel service road for a windmill farm.

This is the kind of trail you can stroll

It had been wonderful sleeping in a real bed and eating real food the night before in a Lancaster hotel after backpacking three nights, and we were lazy about getting up in the morning, so it was 9:00 am before I started walking. This would have been a great place at dawn. Oh well. The day pack felt like a feather and the weather was perfect.

Pink Earth Lichen on the grassy road

The first part followed Gadwah Notch Trail, which rises gradually up towards the notch. It was another old gravel road covered with grass. A joy to walk. There were occasional meadows that I understand are mowed once a year. Just gorgeous. Julie Andrews started singing in my head.

"Muise Bowl" 

The landscape rises until you are surrounded by hills on three sides, and then a routered sign announces that you are at Muise Bowl. According to the Cohos guidebook, this is a great place to see moose. There didn't seem to be any roads or trails for miles, other than the one I was on. Fantastic. Wow.

Heading up towards Gadwah Notch

Eventually the grassy road section ended and the way forward wasn't clear. I checked the gps track stored on my phone and could see where the backpacker recording the track had also been confused, first going forward and then coming back and going to the right. So I cut to the chase, turned right, and quickly found some cairns and blazes. I know some old-school hikers look down on using gps, but that's OK. Let them take the wrong turns. I'll be going the correct way.

Some wet areas through Gadwah Notch

There is no cell phone reception anywhere in here. I had checked Verizon's coverage map and it looked like I'd be able to send a text in Gadwah's Notch, but there was no signal at all. Too bad. It's nice to touch base with my husband to let him know how things are going. And it gives him an idea of when I'll be done. But after a pleasant walk through the forest I eventually got a great signal near the Baldhead lean-to and was able to send off my status (spoiler alert: there's a cell-phone on the trail up ahead at Dixville Notch). The lean-to looks like it used to have a great view, but the view was mostly obstructed by trees.

Baldhead Lean-to

Heading down rather steeply on what was now called the Kelsey Notch Trail, I crossed paths with two young men, 30-ish, backpacking southbound. They had done the southern half of the trail the year before, up to Stark, and were trying to complete the northern half. They started grumbling about being a year older and everything being harder and I could not help cracking up. "Try being 58!" and they did that thing young hikers do when I tell them how old I am, as if I just said I was 125 years old. I also asked about the weird screechy truck noise I was hearing, thinking it was related to the windmill farm up ahead, but they said it was logging.

Logging in progress. Had to pick up some slash from the trail.

The trail eventually came upon an extended area on the left that was currently being logged, and an area on the right that had been logged a few years ago, a more open area affording some brief views. The new area had a bit of slash on the trail, and I picked up some of it, but for the most part the trail was fine.

The Presidential Range far in the distance off to the south

I have no problems whatsoever with logging operations. I grew up bushwhacking (there were no trails) in an area that was mostly owned by paper companies and logging was just the way of things. When out for a walk, we learned that the best place to see wildlife was in those areas that had been logged a few years ago. There's more food and shelter in those brushy areas. I think of logging as habitat enhancement.

Kelsey Notch Trail lined with Spinulose Woodfern

After crossing a few active log skidder pathways, the trail came out onto a wide gravel road and took a right to follow the road. Although it was just an ATV/logging road, it looked good enough to drive a car down.

Gentian in Kelsey Notch

This was an easy stroll along the gravel road with log piles to the side and windmills on the horizon. Working land.

Logging/ATV road in Kelsey Notch. Windmills on the horizon.

Before long, I reached the big three-way junction with the windmill service road. Lots of signs here for hikers, ATVs, snowmobilers and probably loggers. My ride wasn't there yet, so I pulled off my boots and sat down next to a big boulder. That was nice for a spell, but then groups of ATVs started coming by, kicking up huge clouds of dust that I choked on. I can't imagine how much dust the riders in the back of the group must breath in. I finally got up and started walked down the road a bit just to get away from it. I was surprised by how many ATVs there were.

Major trail junction with windmill service road at Kelsey Notch
(my pick-up point)

After maybe an hour my husband drove up and boy was he happy to see me. Seems he had quite a bit of trouble finding the correct location, in part due to his cell phone malfunctioning and Google "My Maps" not loading. He was using the paper trail map to navigate, and the road names were not on it. Google Maps was incorrect (it shows an open road that is gated and road names that didn't match the signs), but it did show his current location, which he compared to the trail map. And there were unmarked side road. He took one by mistake and came to a washed out bridge. He thought he was going to have to get out and walk. But then he rechecked the maps and figured he was on the wrong road. But after a nerve-wracking and heroic effort, he finally saw me walking down the road. Mission accomplished!

How to drive to Kelsey Notch (highlighted in yellow)

These gravel roads are substantial, but they aren't really driven by normal cars, apparently. It's mostly ATV and some service trucks. They weren't bad, though, and the SUV did fine on them. Navigation was the real issue. So I've added a how-to map here and description in case anyone in the future needs to drive to Kelsey Notch. If not for a day hike, then for an unplanned pick-up. Like if someone twists an ankle.

West Branch Road at Route 26.
This road is shown unlabeled on the Cohos Trail map, but not on Google Maps.

Kelsey Notch from Route 26 heading south/east: Continue 1.8 mile past the Huntington Cascades Picnic Area parking lot. There will be a big gravel area on the right that looks like a parking area. That's the entrance to a gravel road that is signed "West Branch Road" but Google has listed at "Robichaud Brook Road." Who knows. Continue straight on that and after 3/4 mile keep left at the "Y". Google Maps shows the correct option as "Connector Road" while they have "Robichaud Brook Road" going off to the north. You soon come to a major "T" in the road with a gate blocking off the option to the left, so turn right. This is West Branch Clear Stream Road. Google thinks you can go left or right, but you can only go right. (Navigating from Route 26, Google will try to take you directly on this road, but the gate prevents that). Continue for about 2.5 miles, then take a right onto the windmill service road. Google does not know this road exists.

The Windmill/ATV/Logging Road
Note the big powerlines come from the windmills

After 1.2 miles on the windmill road, you'll come to a major road/trail junction with a logging/ATV road going straight and the windmill service road/ATV trail going uphill to the right towards the windmills. The Cohos Trail goes in both of those directions along the road. There is a huge boulder here at the junction, and room for vehicles to pull over and out of the way. This was my pick-up point. It's possible to drive further in both directions, but parking is easiest at this junction.

It would not be impossible to drive a compact car on this road, but you would be winding around the bumps and holes in the road. An SUV can handle the road much better.