Ski & Snowshoe Up Green Mountain – Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest

PHOTO: You don’t know what you’ll find while snowshoeing in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. On the shoulder of Green Mountain, at elevation 2,500 feet and 7/10ths of a mile from the nearest forest road, I found this collection of rain gauges, antennas and a solar panel. The Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest was established in 1955 by the USDA Forest Service. In this bowl-shaped valley consisting of nearly 8,000 acres is where acid rain was first discovered. The forest rests between Rte 118 and Route 3 in Woodstock and the summits of Green, Cushman and Kineo Mountains’ summits line its boundary.

by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer

During the night it snowed another four or five inches. I had already made up my mind that I was going to go out for a cross country ski and snowshoe adventure. The temperature was in the single digits but it was forecasted to be sunny and move up into the teens.
I had to repack my backpack for a colder winter day. I packed extra mittens and some chemical hand warmers. I added an extra jacket and some insulated warm up pants. For food I packed some granola bars that wouldn’t be too difficult to chew when frozen. I filled my thermos with a mix of coffee and hot chocolate. I packed my food and drinks so they would be next to my back to help keep them warm.
For skis I used my 70mm wide touring skis with the no wax fish scales underfoot. I shoved my snowshoes under the brain at the top of my pack.
I decided on tackling a peak that is ranked 224th on the NH Highest 300 list, Green Mountain elevation 2,762 feet. I last visited Green’s summit in the fall of 2016. Since Hubbard Brook Road is not plowed, instead of driving I would have to ski the uphill approach to start my snowshoe bushwhack.
Mirror Lake Road was in good condition and I was able to pull off the roadway near the beginning of Hubbard Brook Road. The wind was cold on my face as I put on my skis and shouldered my pack.
The road had not seen much snowmobile traffic and no recent use. The fresh snow from the past couple days rested upon the old snowmobile tracks and my skis floated well. I tested the snow off the track and snuck deep to my shins. I was happy kicking and gliding. About two miles in I was even happier when I saw that a snowmobile had turned and gone up Weir Road then turned onto Flume Road.

To my surprise and delight at the end of Flume Road the snowmobiler had not turned around but continued on up the steep yellow blazed hiking trail. Here I left my skis behind and put on my snowshoes.
What a wild snowmobile ride, this person must be crazy I thought as my snowshoes sunk down but they didn’t sink as deep as they would have without this track. The path was steep and narrow and it passed by abandoned experimental experiments. Deteriorating plastic pipes and milk crates, solar panels and what looked like a TV antenna were just a few of the things I passed in the otherwise pristine forest. I waved at a game camera.
Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest was established in 1955 by the USDA Forest Service as a center for hydrologic research. In 1963, this site was famous for being the first to identify Acid Rain.
When I reached the near ridge I came upon a wide open area with lots of experimental equipment. The wind had blown the snow so I couldn’t tell if the snowmobile continued on or if it had turned around here but I didn’t need it past here. Its track saved me almost three quarters of a mile of much harder snowshoeing. This is where I decided to enter the woods and start my bushwhack to the Green’s summit.
I stayed just south of the ridge and I snowshoed between the trees in the mostly hardwood forest. I stomped on the top of Hobblebush. There was over two feet of sugary snow. With every step I sunk down between nine inches and often up to my knees. It was a lot of work and made me appreciate the old snowmobile track.

When the wind blew I heard a tinkling sound. It took me a while to realize it was small tin numbered tags that were nailed onto many trees. The wind made the tags ring when the edge of the hole hit the nail. It was a light sound but there were dozens of them singing together in the stiff breeze.
The bushwhack was less than a mile to reach Green’s flat Spruce covered summit. I found the summit register and signed my name. It was too cold to flip through the pages but I did notice the last visitor was back in September.

Following my snowshoe tracks back was a joy. I felt like I had made my own sidewalk and in no time I was back to where I had started my bushwhack.
It was easy to jog down the steep path. I noticed fresh moose tracks had crossed my tracks. I wished I had been back in time to see the post-holing moose. As I descended, I saw the forest and nearby Mount Kineo between the bare limbs of the trees. The light tingling of the tree tags amused me and I wondered what the moose thought of the noise.
My skis were right where I left them. Still there was no new snowmobile traffic. My ski tracks were windblown but the ski back down was fun. My outing round-trip was about eight miles and climbed nearly 2000 vertical feet.
Just before I got back to my car I saw deep tracks made by people and dogs that had walked just a short ways before turning back. They would have had more fun if they had used skis or snowshoes I bet.
Have Fun.