Upper Valley Pond hopping

[Matt Steinberg]

Hello Everyone,

Today I skated 5 ponds around Enfield, NH. First was Mascoma which is very jaggedly  bumpy and covered in snowmobile tracks south of the bridge. I did not go north of the bridge but this ice was so bad and it was so windy, I abandoned my circumnavigation attempt. Second Pond was Spectacle which was decent. This is a small pond surrounded by private roads so access is difficult with very few spots off Lockehaven Rd. There were some smooth areas mixed with bumpy areas but much better than Mascoma. Third pond was Crystal Lake. Nothing to write home about, lots of snowmobile tracks and some small smooth lanes. Fourth Pond was Grafton. This ice was hard grey that was bumpy,some white ice that was very aerated that was too soft to skate in some areas and necessitated poling, large areas of dry shell ice, some that fishboned with an inch of ice over a 3/4 inch pocket of air on top of the base ice where all the rainwater drained away underneath. Big tripping hazard if your blades sunk in. The last and by far the best was McDaniel's Marsh. This had some good sized sections of smooth ice mixed in with bumper areas but the bumps were smaller, rounder, and there was much less shell ice. There were still some problematic areas and areas of dry shell but many areas of 50 to 100 strides of ice that ranged from smooth to rough orange peel. I could have easily spent more time here. I circumnavigated all but Mascoma. I wouldn't drive too far for any of this ice but if you are within 45 min, McDaniel's may be worth it. Just bear in mind my tolerance for less than perfect ice is higher than most but beggars can't be choosers at this point. More to come tomorrow. The pic below is the best stretch on McDaniels.

Mat