Giant and Dryad Falls by MtnMagic - April 27, 2003

[MtnMagic]

Warm, sunny weather greeted us as Ghost Dog and I met Mongoose at the Appalachia Parking Lot in Randolph, NH. He followed us to the small parking area at the Peabody Brook Trail, located on North Road in Shelburne, NH, where we geared up and hit the trail at 9:30 AM, Sunday, April 27, 2003.

This trail was formerly a leg of the Appalachian Trail, but due to the residents desire for tranquillity, the A.T. was re-located nearby to Hogan Road giving birth to the Centennial Trail, built by the A.M.C. in 1976.

Rain showers all week and the 5”-6” snow the day before swelled Peabody Brook into a tricky crossing. Mongoose placed a few large boulders to rock hop across the brook with Ghost Dog. I decided to remove my boots and socks and ford the brook. It did have a strong current, at times the water level rose almost knee high, but not as cold as expected!

The first half-mile of the trail passes through a wonderful hemlock forest with Peabody Brook cascading on the left of us. Spring run off made the water sound almost deafening. The trail then begins to climb moderately through open hardwood forest where a spur path to the lower falls at 1.5 miles begins.

We tramped on passing an impressive new slide created from the summit of Bald Cap Peak (elevation 2795’). Top soil, large birch trees, and huge granite boulders the size of cars have been swept down to rest at the bottom of lower Giant Falls, more than a quarter of a vertical mile below.

Climbing the wooden steps just past this slide, we hit the snow line at about 2000’, just under 2 miles from the trailhead. Here is where we scrambled off the trail to get some photos of the massive upper falls and the great views of snow capped mountains of Moriah, Madison, Washington and scores of smaller hills.

On to Dream Lake, we slogged in wet, mucky conditions, while post-holing countless times over, between, and beside hidden puncheons buried under two feet of snow. At Dream Lake, beavers were very busy cutting 2”-3” of young, brown colored, white (paper) birch trees for their dens. The lake completely lived up to its name and still had a solid cover of ice a dozen feet from the shore.

Hiking down to Dryad Falls became a delight once we left the snow and returned to spring conditions. This enormous waterfall is an incredible 300 feet high, having an angle of 75-80 degrees for most of its viewing. The width varies with the water volume. We could see vegetation at the edges, hanging on, submerged.

Down the Austin Brook Trail we continued, dropping elevation quickly. At the water crossing near the Yellow Trail which heads up to Mt. Crag, the Austin Brook looked even more menacing than its brother, the Peabody Brook. We decided to stay dry and continued on the gravel logging road to the paved North Road. We passed the fancy Austin Brook Trailhead with its turnstile, returning to our vehicles at 5:30 PM.

Except for a back woods character four wheeling on the logging road, we saw no people, houses, or sounds, expect for those of Mother Nature. This fine loop is almost 10 miles round trip, an enjoyable 8-hour adventure, and one that is seldom hiked.

Few hikers realize this is the hidden jewel of all the waterfalls in the Whites, and (now formerly) one of the best keep secrets! It is only spectacular during the spring run off, or only after days of heavy rain. During the summer time, most viewers will not appreciate its beauty – tremendous in size, splendor, and solitude!