The AMC Adventure
Cardigan Mountain
September 30 - October 2 2015
By Mia R
Yellow Color Group
This is a drawn postcard picture depicting the trails at Cardigan Mountain.
Location
Cardigan Mountain is located in the mid-west of New Hampshire. It is in the towns of Orange and Alexandria. Cardigan is southwest of Groton, southeast of Canaan, north of Grafton, southwest of Hebron, west of Bridgewater, and northwest of Bristol.(Those are the towns Cardigan's closest to.) It's about a 1.25 hour's drive from Concord, New Hampshire. Also, it would take about 2.25 hours to drive from Cardigan to a relatively central spot on the NH/Massachusetts border. In more exact terms, the summit of Cardigan Mountain is at 43 degrees, 38 minutes, 58.8 seconds North and 71 degrees, 54 minutes, 50.9 seconds West. It is 51.2 miles from Concord, New Hampshire by road. There are many ways to describe the location of Cardigan Mountain, in both relative and absolute terms. The above description should provide a fairly good sense of where the peak is located.
Place
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY: Cardigan Mountain has some interesting physical geography. First, some general information. The mountain varies in how steep the slant is, although it never gets too steep. The peak is for the most part covered by forest, but the top is bare rock, and very exposed to the elements. For instance, it is often very windy on top of Cardigan because there is no protection from trees. This makes the climate very cold up there, but only just on the top, because the minute you re-enter the wooded area, (sometimes only about 100 feet down in elevation) the climate gets much warmer. The woods really act as an insulator on a slightly-chilly day, making most of the hike quite enjoyable, especially in autumn. Cardigan Mountain also has some amazing plant and animal life. First, Cardigan Mountain has amazing overall plant diversity. From White Pines to Apple trees and from Shining Clubmoss to Hobble Bushes, Cardigan has it all. Next, many animals live in the general Cardigan region, although most stay out of sight. For example, although you always hear birds chirping, they almost always are hidden from view. Also, droppings from bears, deer, and other similar wildlife can be found, but again, the animals themselves are rarely present. Perhaps the most reliable spot to view wildlife is the pond next to the Cardigan Lodge, which is full to the brim with tadpoles, leeches, frogs, dragonfly nymphs, and some other small creatures. As they cannot (for the most part, anyway) get up and walk away, the pond would be a great spot to see some of the aquatic wildlife that live near Cardigan. That pond is also one of a couple bodies of water that exist on Cardigan. Most of the other ones are small rivers or streams, and there are a couple of waterfalls on Cardigan. It does not have a very remarkable amount of water bodies, but nothing out of the ordinary for a New Hampshire mountain. Overall, Cardigan Mountain is brimming with different examples of Physical Geography.
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY: Cardigan Mountain has also been affected by people, although not very drastically. One of the most prominent examples is the cutting of trails on the slopes. Both skiing and hiking trails have been made, and they vary in length, width, and elevation. There are perhaps more hiking trails than ski trails on Cardigan, but the ski trails certainly exist, cutting long, tumbling paths down grassy hillsides. Humans have also influenced the cultural geography of the mountain by building bridges, huts, signs, and towers on Cardigan. There are bridges on the trails, one of which is the Croo bridge. The Croo bridge is about 15-20 feet long, 3 or 4 feet wide, and is made of wood. It provides safe transport over one of the larger rivers/streams that flows down Cardigan. There are also a few huts on Cardigan Mountain. They have been built by people to do things such as watch for forest fires, although some have since fallen into disuse and disrepair. Next, there are many signs that point you in the right direction on Cardigan. They label the trails and give distances to the summit, to the AMC lodge, and to a couple of other places and trails. They tell you that yes, you do have another mile before reaching the summit. Speaking of the summit and how it pertains to Cultural Geography, there is a tower on it. The tower, like some of the buildings/huts, is used for watching for forest fires. It is locked to all people without a key. It is made of metal, wood and cement, and is a prominent figure on the bald head of Cardigan. Finally, at the base of the mountain, there is the wonderful AMC lodge. It is a converted barn that now houses AMC staff and hikers. A gravel driveway leads to the lodge, which crackles merrily, expressing the spirit of the cheerful staff waiting inside.
However, other than the above examples, Cardigan is largely untouched by humans, at least in the sense of development. Many people hike it, but the mark they leave is not too huge. In conclusion, Cardigan Mountain bears some signs of Cultural Geography, from the trails to the buildings to the signs. On the whole, the Cultural Geography of Cardigan is what makes it a better experience for everybody, because the perfect balance of human changes and natural landforms exists.
We were at Cardigan Mountain for 3 days -
Day One: Wednesday September 30th
Day Two: Thursday October 1st
Day Three: Friday October 2nd.