NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Lonesome Lake Spring? and Spring

Micro spikes needed here.

Following through on my January resolutions to finish my painting series of the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) huts in their settings, I decided to hike up to Lonesome Lake, and beyond to Kinsman Ridge to get photo's of LL in its setting.

Franconian Ridge as seen from the porch of the hut.

Trail to Lonesome Lake Hut
Pastel    7 x 12

It was April 27 and Spring every where else. I expected to find patches of snow and ice, but not what I found. Trees were starting to win their jousts with the snow, though it was still three feet deep in many places, and occasional rocks were poking through the icy trail. The lake was still frozen, and Franconian Ridge, the spectacular view from the porches of the hut and bunk rooms, melted into the clouds, looking very much like winter.

Micro-spikes were required almost from the parking lot near the Lafayette Camp Grounds, but the woods were lovely and birds seemed to know it was spring. 

As with most of the other huts, the setting did not disappoint. Where the trail split to go around the lake, there was a predictable winter path that went straight through the woods and across the lake where it joined the Fishin Jimmy Trail, up past the hut and upward to the Mount Kinsman Trail, only .4 miles from North Kinsman. Although it looked like winter, on April 27 I decided NOT to cross the lake.

In the painting, follow the path as it goes up, then dips down to the frozen lake edge (two small trees poking up there). Then look across the lake. There is a hint of path going vertically up to the hut, and the horizontal bits of snow are the snow covered roofs of the hut and the row of bunk rooms. Lonesome Lake is open as a caretaker hut during the winter, so the path is well worn. Kinsman Ridge is that ridge behind the hut, another mile up. 

Curious to see the changes to the path, and collect more photos, I hiked to the hut again June 5, reconnaissance for when my "kids," and grandkids (ages 6-14) and myself return to stay over night in the hut and bag a peak or two in August. The Spring panorama of the hut will likely become another painting, or perhaps an August version when I'll have time for sketches and photos. 

Spring? or Spring, it's a good hike for kids and anyone else. I've heard there is a resident Moose that visits the lake early in the morning, and the spacious dock, just down the slope from the cabin,  is a great place to grab sun when it isn't covered with snow. 

Looking east from the hut porch
to the Franconian Ridge peaks of
Lafayette, Lincoln and Little Haystack.

Spring scene, looking across LL to Kinsman Ridge.
LLHut is between the first and second row of pines.

Be sure to check my website where I have numerous paintings of White Mountain trails and paths.

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Landscapes--More than the land?

Landscapes--More than the land?

Three Bears   Pastel    9 x 12

Dictionary definitions suggest a landscape is "a picture representing a section of natural, inland scenery, as in prairie, woodland, mountains,"  or "an expanse of natural scenery seen by the eye in one view."  Technical, yes, but accurate?

As an artist, hiker and out-of-doors type person, "landscapes" have been my obvious subject matter, but art is mostly a solo endeavor providing lots of thinking time, and so, time to question that dictionary definition.
Should landscapes only be of sweeping vistas?
Should landscapes include animals? 
Should landscapes include figures? 
What about buildings? 
What of the up-close aspects of those vistas…the plants, rocks and animals? 

I've included four recent paintings in this posting, which probably don't meet the dictionary definition of landscape, but I have my reasons for considering them part of the landscape genre. 

 "Three Bears" was an actual scene, but not a plein air painting. Driving down Ossipee Lake Road, I saw three dark forms in the middle of the road. Suspecting, I stopped at a distance to get my camera ready and approached slowly. Mama and two cubs left the road into the woods, before I got too close, but I looked into the woods and shot a photo that showed one cub peaking around the trunk of a tree he had climbed, and two indecipherable dark forms a bit back in the woods. 

Three on Crawford Path ridge trail is certainly a vista, but does include figures. Crawford Path actually goes from Highland Center to Mount Washington. This particular ridge section  is a wonderful hike that goes between Mt. Monroe and Mt Pierce, two of the 48 4K mountains in the Presidential Range. In fact, the three figures are my son and two of my grandchildren. We were on a family trip hiking between Lake of the Clouds and Mitzaph Springs, two huts in the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) huts system. In the distance is the Franconian Ridge, yet another great ridge to hike. (Go to my website for other ridge paintings.) To me, the figures are crucial to the painting because they emphasize the immensity and expanse of the scene. 
Being there in person is, quite literally, breath taking. 

Three on Crawford Path ridge trail  Pastel  5 X 14

Dad and Daughter On The Trail.  Pastel   9X12

 Dad and Daughter On the Trail  has two figures, and it is not a vista…

This is a woodland scene, based on a photo taken on the lower woodland section of the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail.

The actual figures are my son-in-law and my granddaughter. Again, I think they are crucial to the scene because they emphasize the immensity of the trees. Birch rarely grow this tall or this thick on people's lawns, the natural growth is dense, lush and haphazard, but, quite negotiable for a youngster (she was six)  
with a little help from Dad. 

My purpose is to remind myself (as I paint) and other hikers who view the paintings what they have seen or could see, and to let non-hikers see the beauty and wonder of what they too could see and experience with a little effort.  And, starting children early is to everyone's benefit.

Be sure to check my website for more "Scenes from New Hampshire." You can contact me through my website with questions relating to my blog, hiking the Whites, my paintings.

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: White Mountain Resolutions, Under Way!

White Mountain Resolutions, Under Way!

Suddenly, snow, snow and more snow. What better time to spend in a cozy studio, painting and occasionally looking out…especially since my new knee makes crossing my driveway a bit dicey, and any thing more rigorous out of the question. Time to tackle my resolutions.

So, get out your maps, or open your eyes and minds to the White Mountain possibilities! 
Like many artists who enjoy their topsy turvy world, I started with my "February planning" and booked two nights in August at the Appalachian Mountain Club Lonesome Lake Hut, the only AMC hut I haven't stayed at, and extended the trip by adding a third night at Greenleaf Hut, just across Franconian Notch, part way up Lafayette. I'm sure I'll hike to Lonesome Lake before August, and probably to the Franconian Ridge as well.

 Mount Eisenhower to Mount Washington   9X12  Pastel   

Then, on to the painting resolutions.  As a "warm up" I finished the painting I'd started of the autumn view from near the peak of Eisenhower. This view is looking north on the Crawford Path towards Mount Washington. Any time is a good time, but autumn presents the burgundy mosses, and the golden grasses.  For me the painterly fun is putting in the cairns and the rocky, alpine growth of the foreground; the bits and pieces of Crawford Path as it "goes over the edge," and comes up on the side of Franklin (second peak). Not visible are the ridge between Franklin and Monroe (the peak just to the right and in front of Washington). And finally there is the barest hint of trail up Washington, with a suggestion of the towers at Washington's summit. 

Galehead Hut, Galehead Summit, and Beyond   9X12  Pastel

In the mood, I continued on with a painting I'd sketched earlier showing Galehead Hut, as seen from near the summit of South Twin. The hut is located,  a mere half mile from the summit of Galehead, with bits of the Pemagawasit Wilderness in the middle ground and the Franconian Ridge in the background. Look carefully for the white dot roof of the hut and the trail to the summit. 
Best views are actually from the rock out cropping just before the summit, which is actually in the trees at the top. 


And yes, I've started the painting of Lakes of the Clouds (see previous blog),
and am planning other trail paintings as well.

I'm not an expert on the huts, the 48 4K foot peaks, or various trails in the Whites, but like any one pursuing a hobby--skiing, fly fishing, painting, hiking-- part of the fun is doing it. Another part of the fun is talking about it with like-minded people. Whether you're a "like-minded hiker person,"  or a dreamer/wanna be, maybe this is your year to make your dreams your reality!

It's always fun to "talk trails and exchange adventure stories."

Check out my Website    BarbaraMcevoyArtist.Com,  
E-mail me at  BarbaraMcevoy@me.com
or stop in at my home studio (E-mail/call first), or Group 8 Gallery in Jackson, NH.

The ridge between Monroe and Eisenhower on Crawford Path with Franconian Ridge in the distance.