NH Cohos Trail: Tillotson Hut to Deer Mountain Campground

Up early to find moose.

This was the last full day of hiking before reaching the Canadian border and if I was going to see a moose it would be today in Moose Alley. The first sign of moose while heading north along the NET-Cohos route had been in Massachusetts in the Quabbin Reservoir area, and then there wasn't much heading north until the base of Mt. Sunapee in New Hampshire, where moose seem to own the trail and I'm pretty sure I heard one trotting and grunting down the trail past my tent that night. There were occasional signs of moose heading north from there until the Kilkenny, where moose seem to be everywhere. I'd probably seen thousands of moose tracks since the Kilkenny. But I wanted to see an actual moose while hiking in New England.

So today was the day and I set out early enough that I needed a headlamp at first even though it was already 6:30 am.  It had rained overnight and there were dark clouds and drippy trees. Prime moose habitat was straight ahead on the other side of Route 3, a five minute walk from the hut. The moose hunt had begun. 

MOOSE!!!

All the conditions were good. I was walking into the wind, it was very early, cool and wet. I tried to be as quiet as possible, setting aside the trekking poles and creeping up the trail slowly while scanning the surroundings like a hunter. I stopped to remove my rain pants, which were too noisy.  About half an hour after crossing Route 3, I came around a curve and suddenly there was big bull moose down on his belly thirty feet from the trail. He lurched his considerable mass up to his feet, then just stood there looking at me. WOW. Just WOW. He then turned and began to walk away, very slowly at first, and somehow not making any sound. And just like that, he was gone. Wow.

Bog bridge

And with my successful moose sighting, I scampered on down the trail to the 800-ft bog bridge for which this part of the trail is named (Bog Bridge Trail). What a great day! Last full day on the NET-Cohos and I saw a moose. How perfect is that?

Bunchberry in moss

The bridge was super slick and treacherous and even though I was taking cautious baby steps, I still slipped and fell on a section that had broken and tilted slightly. My trekking pole jammed deep into the bog and came out decidedly bent. It's still bent. Chicken wire would be helpful here. But it didn't matter, because I saw a moose.

Joseph is 92 and caught a 4 lb salmon in the CT River that morning

The trail crossed Magalloway Road near a bridge over the Connecticut River, and there I met Joseph waiting for his son, who was nearby fishing in First Connecticut Lake. Joseph said he was 92 and had caught a four pound salmon just that morning there in the Connecticut River. Catch and release. An SUV with a couple of sightseers stopped in the middle of the bridge to chat, which somehow didn't seem odd. They were driving around, thought maybe they'd see a moose. Joseph recommended they keep driving up the hill to a lookout on the hill with great views.

Still happy about seeing a moose

Moose Alley Trail was the next part of the Cohos and it lived up to its name. I didn't see another moose, but I did hear one. I was signing into the trail register when I heard what I thought at first was maybe voices off in the distance until I walked over the rise for a better listen. The sound was drifting up the hill from the low boggy area down below and no, that wasn't a person, it was a moose. What a weird sound. Kind of a sporadic moaning. I hung out for a good twenty minutes just listening.

Heard a moose calling while signing in

This was, of course, great moose habitat, and that included vast areas that had been logged, full of brush and young trees on which the moose could nibble. Must be tough keeping these sections of the trail clear, but someone was doing a great job.

This feels like a Christmas Tree farm

Lots of recent tree clearing

After that excitement, the Cohos joined the Falls in the River Trail and started following the banks of the Connecticut River, which was roaring down below. This day just kept getting better.

The Cohos runs above the roaring Connecticut River

The falls were gorgeous, especially with the changing leaves. Great place to hang out and take a break. This was an obvious day-hike destination.

Falls on the Connecticut River

Falls on the Connecticut River

Further upriver, the river calmed a bit but was still flowing strong. The trail stayed close to the river for a long ways, with some overlooks.

Connecticut River

And another treat: Second Connecticut Lake. The trail popped out at the dam on Route 3. How will I ever get to my destination if I have to keep stopping to enjoy these beautiful sites?

Another day, another Connecticut Lake

The water level in the reservoir was low, so I was able to walk way out to the outlet of sort, which is the Connecticut River. This is before the dam, so when the water is higher it must be invisible, under the reservoir. And the channel must be really deep, because it didn't seem big enough for all that water that was roaring down below the dam.

Second Connecticut Lake outlet (Connecticut River)

What was the purpose of the dam? Didn't seem to be hydropower. The Internet says the Connecticut Lakes were created back in the 1800s for logging drives. Imagine this lake full of logs in the spring.

Wild Raisin at the 2nd Connecticut Lake dam

After the dam, the Cohos closely paralleled Route 3 for a spell (there was very little traffic) and then crossed for the last time and became Lower, Middle, and finally Upper Black Cat Trails. What's the story with the black cat?

Fern Moss next to a Christmas Fern

Though not as exciting as the first part of the day, the Black Cat sections were enjoyable and easy enough to follow. The miles melted away.

U.S. Route 3 is strangely deserted this far north.

At one point the trail cross a ribbon of dead limbs going down the hill unlike anything I'd ever seen. It looked like there had been an avalanche of dead trees. I decided it must have been a logging road stabilized with slash. That's the only thing I can figure. The slash was several feet deep.

A river of logging slash? 

Lower Black Cat had the last of the cell phone coverage until some possible coverage at the top of the Fourth Lake, so I had been checking the weather forecast. It was not good. The next day would have morning showers switching to steady rain in the afternoon. It was a real disappointment for the last day of the hike when I'd finally reach the Canadian border, and I wouldn't be able to take any photos with my touch-screen phone in the rain. I decided I'd start hiking as early as possible and try to get to the Fourth Lake before the heavy rains hit. My husband was planning to pick me up at 2:30 pm after a six or seven hour drive from Connecticut, but I needed to get out earlier and would just have to wait in the rain. I texted my intentions and said that if was raining really hard, I'd probably walk down Route 3 back to the Deer Mountain Campground and try to take shelter there. And then I slipped into the no-phone zone.

Beaver stump

Approaching the campground, the Cohos came to the junction with Sophie's Lane and there was a big map kiosk. I studied the map and learned that Sophie's Lane started out as a gravel road and was a snowmobile route all the way to the border. So I could start walking this in the dark and it would go fast. Good to know.

Junction with Sophie's Lane

To get to the Deer Mountain Campground, you turn off the Cohos a short ways, coming out onto Route 3 once again, and crossing the shrinking Connecticut River.

The Connecticut River, getting smaller

Route 3 was ridiculously quiet. Five minutes could go by without a single car passing. It was weird.

Deer Mountain Campground entrance, Route 3

The campground is run by the state and for some reason I thought it would be like the campground at Coleman State Park, with a bathhouse and showers. Nope. There are outhouses. For water, there was a spring out by Route 3, and when I turned the faucet, a trickle of water came out, but after getting half a liter, the water stopped. I finally just got water out of the river.

Campground spring barely trickled

Not many people were in the campground on a Thursday night. I selected a private site (#26) on the shore of the Connecticut River, which was a narrow, quiet stream at this point. After setting up on the big wooden platform in sporadic showers (next time I must buy a complete free-standing tent), I set out to explore.

Tent platform alongside the Connecticut River

I took a trail to a reservoir labeled "Moose Falls Flowage" on the campground map. Tent site #28 was located there, but was taken. What a tent site. They had the pond all to themselves.

They have one amazing tent site at the far north end of the pond

Sophies Lane, and the Cohos Trail, were on the other side of the dam, but I wasn't going to see this the next morning in the dark.

Moose Falls Flowage (Connecticut River)

And that was it for the day. Early to bed, the next morning would be an early one. Sadly, some camper came back obviously very drunk and started belting out songs as loud as he could possibly sing. It went on and on. I put in my ear plugs and donned my sleep phones, turned on the sound of a fan, and the drunk guy was history.

Last night ever on the NET-Cohos