Views from the Red River Bridge

From the end of the Red River Road beside Archies Brook, I drove back to the hamlet of Red River, where I stopped at the bridge for views of the Red River and of the mountains that rise above this beautiful spot on nearly all sides: only the western view is mountainless, as that is where the Gulf and the mouth of the Red River are. The sun was not yet out in force, but its light is nevertheless evident in these photos.

Photo #1 looks up from the bridge at the two protruding slopes of Icy Mountain. The slope at the lower left in the foreground is part of Baldy; Eastern Brook runs between it and the leftmost of the two slopes of Icy Mountain (the mountain itself is inland beyond the slopes), while an unnamed brook runs down between the leftmost and the rightmost hillsides. The Red River itself continues inland at the base of both slopes; Hinkley Glen Road, which I have not yet explored, follows the Red River inland 3.8 km (2.4 mi), where it dead ends at Hinkley Glen—the Red River continues roughly twice that distance further inland to its source in the Red River Lakes on North Mountain. While researching this essay, I learned that an unofficial hiking trail I had not previously heard of, described here, begins a short distance down this road and leads to a geocache on the side of Icy Mountain at a site named the Red River Look-Off, with fantastic views of the Pleasant Bay area with Red River below (click on the links for photos of the views).

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Photo #2 looks upstream from the bridge at the Red River; like Archies Brook on the previous page, it had good flow from the recent rains, splashing noisily over any boulders lying in its path. Evergreens cover the summit of Icy Mountain, but the lower slope of the northern foothill shows signs of colours close to their peak; the southern foothill has spots of yellow colour and some still green trees, but many of them appear to be bare.

Photo #3 looks downstream from the other side of the bridge; here, the terrain is open enough that the river can reflect back the recently cleared skies above. The trees are a varied mixture, some still green, others either changing or with good colour, and still others bare. The utility poles at the top of the photo trace the path of the Red River Road on the south side of the river.

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Photo #4 is a telephoto view of some leaves above the Red River that were gleaming in the sun; they are a lovely mix of red and gold, with some evidence of unchanged chlorophyll adding to the variegation. I find them beautiful to look at.

Photo #5 is a view of another, considerably bigger, brightly coloured tree of the same hues, also showing some signs of variegation, that was growing along the Red River’s banks. Although it is hard for me to be sure, I think it is another tree that accounts for the darker red leaves seen at the right. It is also interesting to compare it with its immediate neighbours, which are clearly post-peak (or bare).

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Photo #6 looks up at the side of Baldy from the Red River Bridge. A lovely stand of yellow trees, with a hint of red, is at the centre right of the photo, surrounded by others of much darker hues, likely post-peak, though occasional spots of orange and even red are sprinkled across the hillside; a fair number of unchanged green trees are also evident everywhere in this view.

Photo #7 looks at the stand of yellow trees seen in photo #6 for a close-up view. In this view, the tint seems to be more greenish than red, likely from leaves that have not yet changed, like those in the foreground. The dark hues of those beyond the stand of yellow trees are likely caused by large amounts of unchanged chlorophyll intermixed with a few changed leaves, most of the orange/red persuasion.

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Photo #8 looks near the top of a ridge on Baldy where a variety of fall colours greets the eye. Many greens are intermixed with others which have changed and some bright reds are there too, though not in abundance. The pink-tinged yellows of the stand further down are evident in the trees at the top of the ridge. A beautiful fall mélange indeed!