2019 Mt. Cardigan School Adventure

October 2-4 2019

by Turner Z

Yellow Group, D2B2

This is an image of me standing at the summit looking out over NH.

Cardigan Mountain in Orange, NH is located just West of Newfound Lake. It is also about an hour North of Hopkinton, NH. Cardigan is near the border of Alexandria, Orange, and Bridgewater. The latitude and longitude of Cardigan Mountain is N 43.649650 degrees and W -71.914343 degrees. These coordinates were taken at the summit of Cardigan Mountain.

At 3,156 ft, Cardigan sits atop some of the most spectacular sights in NH with its outstanding views and outlooks of New England. Cardigan has diverse forests, streams and rivers, and even waterfalls that plunge 30 feet into a bowl. If you look close enough you can see interesting species such as Lunar Moth caterpillars or White-Tailed deer. Next to Mt. Cardigan, there is a smaller peak known as Firescrew. Firescrew contained rocky faces and glacier-moved boulders. Firescrew has lots of dense and wet forests with moss and streams running down it.

Cardigan Mountain is home to an AMC (Appalacian Mountain Club) Lodge with food, bedding, and naturalists. The AMC Lodge is a 4 story building for groups of students to go and stay a few nights to learn about the environment at Mt. Cardigan. During your session with the AMC, you and your group hike to the summit of Cardigan with a naturalist and get to know lots about nature. This includes why rock walls are there, species of trees and animals, and changes in the environment at different elevations. Once you reach the top, there is a cooling breeze alongside a nice place to relax and have lunch before your decent back down. While bunking at Cardigan, it feels like you are free in the wilderness.

We were at cardigan for three days. The 1st day we arrived, the 2nd day we hiked to Cardigan's summit, and the 3rd day we left.