By Marty Basch

Narrow and rock-terraced Blue Brook and the boulder-strewn Wild River aren't on anybody's top 10 list of places to hike in the White Mountains. Unless you're a red-liner - one of those people whose goal it is to hike on every trail in the White Mountain National Forest - it's easy to look elsewhere in the vast Whites for more interesting places. There's no shortage of awe in the region.

Frosty cascading water and brisk winds, winding rivers and a tree-canopied ridge plus bog bridges and a chance to look down from a vertigo-inducing cliff upon Horseshoe Pond, Basin Pond and rippling hills are parts of the package on a rather benign, though not without effort, nearly 8-mile circuit through the Wild River Wilderness on the eastern edge of the Whites in Evans Notch where it wiggles between New Hampshire and Maine.

A handful of trails - Wild River, Black Angel, Rim Junction and Basin - form a low-lying loop that may be at about 2,300 feet with some 1,100 feet of elevation gain located in one of the less populated areas of the region. Though the valley it winds through is cloistered in forest, the tromp holds some surprises, even for those who may have visited it a few years ago.

The path winds through the area's newest wilderness area, about 23,700 acres in size, created in 2006. Hikers with memories of crossing the Spider Bridge will have just that as the 80-foot bridge washed away in 2005. Remember staying at the Blue Brook Shelter? It's gone, too, replaced by a primitive three-site camping area with raised native soil tent beds instead of tent platforms. The shelter was removed in 2009, along with the platforms and outhouse. Still nostalgic for it? It was reassembled at the campground after each piece was labeled and transported out by helicopter.

Once unspoiled woods, the Wild River Valley was changed by logging. The railroad followed the banks of the Wild River while logging camps sprouted up in what's now the wilderness. That era came to an abrupt end when a 1903 fire damaged both sides of the valley and destroyed the unharvested timber. That fire also scorched the Baldfaces, a popular hiking destination, and is credited with leaving its now famous rocky ledges bare as the fire consumed its delicate soils.

The trip is a nice introduction to long distance hiking and backpacking. The Wild River Trail leaves from the Wild River Campground reached off paved Route 113. The quiet campground itself is a worthy destination situated on the end of 5-mile long Wild River Road.

The trail first follows the river's bank before becoming the flat, wide, former logging railroad bed that is the main hiking artery in the area. This dirt path was once an early mountain biking route, used in conjunction with trails on the other side of the river. But now, no more. First came improved mountain bike trails and riders moved elsewhere and then the trail became part of the wilderness area and bicycles are forbidden. Nonetheless it provides a gentle initial leg of the journey along the Wild River.

The Black Angel Trail seems to be a path favored by moose, judging by their mounds of deposits. The trail rises through the woods and has some sloppy footing on occasion as it undulates through the quiet, leading to Blue Brook and its remote tents. This is camping the way it used to be; just you and the ground. Sit on a log, not a picnic table. Signs tell of revegetation areas, so heed the warnings before venturing to Rim Junction with its new trails signs. At the junction, there's a chance for a slight detour on the Basin Rim Trail up a steep pitch to a lookout over an abrupt cliff called Basin Outlook. The views are wondrous but not for the feint of heart.

The sublime Basin Trail is forgiving and follows Blue Brook. There are tiered cascades, wading pools, flat ledges and an incredible cliff overhead. The trail also has a glorious collection of bog bridges that may very well be the longest, continuous set I've ever walked across in the Whites. It's a loop worth exploring as both the leaves and temperatures drop into approaching autumn.