By Marty Basch

The snow continued to fall on the bench perched, it seemed, in the middle of wondrous nowhere. I swept off the light flakes and sat. The gentle flurries muted much of the Alpine landscape, yet it created a wintry scene that has been fleeting much of this season. The flakes dropped onto welcoming evergreen branches and the trail, giving it a dust on crust sensation.

Sitting behind the Appalachian Mountain Club's Highland Center is the tiny four-acre Ammonoosuc Lake in Crawford Notch. Surrounded by spruce and fir and well within ear-shot of the passing trucks on Route 302, the little lake is encircled by the fairly easy Around-the-Lake Trail. But that is not the only surprise awaiting in the woods. A spur called the Red Bench Trail leads to a hidden red bench, a fine spot for watching the snow fall and a place to return on a clear day.

The hike around the lake is about a mile, add the jaunt to the red bench and it grows to two. Either way, it's a pleasant journey at the top of the notch.

Barebooting

Snowshoes or skis weren't needed for the playful romp, not even two inches of snow were recorded by snow stakes passed in the forest. Barebooting was fine, but traction grips are always in the backpack in winter, just in case.

The lake is in a neighborhood - White Mountain National Forest and Crawford Notch State Park - were hikers always seem to go up. The trailhead, located behind the Highland Center, is close to popular treks to Mounts Williard, Avalon, Tom, Field and Willey. Plus, there is the chance to hike up to the Elephant Head seemingly guarding the mountain pass.

I had ignored the lake long enough and ventured there for a short solo sojourn with temperatures flirting in the 20s.

There is beauty found along the way, however history stands on its tippy toes for all to see as one of the White Mountains fabled hotels, the Crawford House, once graced the land.

History Talks

Steven Smith's dog-eared Ponds and Lakes of the White Mountains says during the hotel's heyday a spring that fed it - Merrill Spring - was known for its purity. The spring remains along the lake's shore, a sign and large stones marking it. In 1886, Dr. Edwin J. Bartlett of Dartmouth College did an analysis of the water and pronounced it "undoubtably one of the purest waters in the world." That conclusion turned into a marketing tool for the hotel.

Pure or not ,the spring ran into the mostly frozen snow-covered lake that once had a boat dock and beach house for hotel guests.

The trail led shortly upward to the spur, across a babbling brook and then to the open expanse along Maine Central Railroad tracks. The trail re-enters the woods on the other side and soon crosses yet another bridge and heads up to a dead-end with the red bench. The weather did not support far-ranging vistas to Washington, Monroe and other Presidential peaks.

Bench Marks the Spot

The spot was a favorite of 19th-century artist Frank Shapleigh.

According to AMC librarian and archivist Becky Fullerton, it seems that Shapleigh, artist-in-residence at the Crawford House from 1877-1893, was responsible for finding the site for the bench, since he enjoyed the view of Washington from there. A description also appears in the 1886 edition of Moses Foster Sweetser's The White Mountains: a handbook for travelers, stating "The Red Bench, 15 minutes' walk from the Crawford, near Ammonoosuc Lake, is celebrated for its afternoon views of the mountains. It is a favorite haunt of Shapleigh, the artist. A graveled path has been made around Ammonoosuc Lake, with seats."

It seems, according to the website WhiteMountainHistory.org, the original bench was one of three - red, blue and white - placed along walking paths for Crawford House guests.

According to AMC senior interpretive naturalist Nancy Ritger, a new red bench was built in the 1980s by Dick Burwell and Ray Evans.

The trail is adopted by Nottingham's Stephen Soreff and Peggy Tucker for the past 12 years

"It is a little known and underutilized trail, but once discovered you will be sure to return, sit and relax on the red bench," said AMC trails volunteer programs manager Alex DeLucia.

Shapleigh certainly knew his spots.