Memorial Day Weekend at Pine Haven - Rattlesnake Mtn. Hike

cfox@mit.edu's picture
May 30, 2016

I took the kids up to Pine Haven (Wentworth NH) for "the usual" on the holiday weekend. After some moth-light drama (purchasing a replacement battery charger for the big 12V battery) I got that set up Friday and Saturday nights. Pictures from that will be forthcoming, but the bucket was less impressively successful than before, largely due to large June beetles disturbing the contents, and, the second night, me choosing a bad location where a breeze kicked up around dawn and sent the sheet snapping like a flag.

Saturday was hot and muggy, and we stayed around the campground; Sunday Linda and I abandoned the kids with Chris and went to climb Rattlesnake Mountain in Holderness (NB: there is more than one Rattlesnake Mountain). It was busy up there, with parking being hard to find at the trailhead, and a fair number of people on the trail, but a very nice view for an easy hike. Minnie wearing a small dog knapsack got a lot of friendly comments.

The flower shown is fringed polygala (Polygala paucifolia), and it was quite abundant (and until now unknown to us). The cell phone camera doesn't do it justice - it's quite a strong shade of magenta.

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