If you miss the rock formation that went by the name “Old Man of the Mountain” — the very icon of New Hampshire which collapsed in the darkness on May 3rd, 2003 — the “Old Woman on the Notch,” a.k.a. “The Watcher,” stands sentinel awaiting your visit. And a visit to the cool spot is exactly what one couple wanted. This trip was led by Redline Guide Debra McCown and she provided the following…
Today’s guest of honor was celebrating her birthday with a gift from her husband: a hike up to the Watcher, a profile-like rock outcrop that’s much less well-known than the Old Man of the Mountain, but with its own assortment of local lore.
The route to the Watcher is not a trail, but a climbers’ herd path followed by a bushwhack up rock and scree. The guests felt challenged by the scramble and enjoyed the views of Franconia Notch and their beloved Cannon Mountain — plus the fun of posing for photos in all the spots.
To descend, rather than downclimb the route or bushwhack a direct path back to the road, we took a longer but less steep route: a narrow herd path that traverses the ridge through the forest.
I used some super official-sounding terminology to describe it: ‘kinda bushwhacky’ and ‘not the trailiest of trails,’ but still a navigable (for the experienced) path to connect to a hiking trail, which we then followed back to go.
While we were on the ridge, we also stopped to sign the trail register and take in the views at Eagle Cliff, the highest point in the immediate area, which not only overlooks the notch, but also offers a viewpoint up at Mt. Lafayette and of course across to Cannon Mountain.
It was a perfect summer day in the mountains, with lots of sunshine and all the bright green shades of July. We couldn’t have asked for a better one! —Debra
