Reptilian fascination

Here are some hikes I completed in Central New Hampshire. These will make for a great day of hiking in that area. All of the hikes are relatively short, so you can see a lot of different environments in a single day. I started the morning at Esther Currier wildlife management area. There was not much wildlife when I went but I did find some interesting plants. It was later when I arrived due to the drive (around 8 am). It would probably be wise to arrive earlier if looking for mammals. There are many lookouts onto ponds to look for birds and other wildlife. The trail has little if any elevation gain and is relatively short out and back trail. These is also an observation blind (at the far end away from the Mountain Road entrance). The trail could be walked in an hour easily enough but I would suggest allowing more time to view wildlife as that is the primary reason to go here. Next I stopped at  Philbrick - Cricenti Bog Trail which is only a few minutes away. This is very nice Black Sp

 West and East Rattlesnake mountain are both worth hiking and offer beautiful overlooks onto Squam Lake. You can visit both lookouts in a couple of hours. I would recommend allocating three hours for sufficient time to enjoy the lookouts. The trail is not long, perhaps a couple of miles, but the beginning of the hike is somewhat steep.  Not being a local, I found it a little confusing to determine where to park. What you want to do is park in the West Rattlesnake parking lot on Route 113. If that is full, there is another lot directly across the highway I believe this is for Mt. Morgan. If that lot is also full I saw two more lots Mt. Percival has a lot on 113 that is also a very short walk. There is also a lot for the COL trail (blue diamonds or blue markers) that will take you up to the ridge trail about half way between East and West Rattlesnake lookouts. This is about a 5-10 minute walk down the highway from the West Rattlesnake parking lot, so if you end up needing to park there j

Here are some recent sightings I've made while out hiking. I'll include some landscape shots, as well. I came across porcupines at two different spots one day. A great horned owl not far from the nest Some other birds I came across Hawks, Osprey, and Vultures Some landscape shots Garter snake and a spotted turtle