Abandoned Section of the Thoreau Falls Trail – Pemigewasset Wilderness, New Hampshire



February 1959 Plane Crash, Pemigewasset Wilderness – On Saturday, February 21, 1959 a Piper Comanche airplane took off from the Berlin, New Hampshire Airport, around 3:30 p.m., destined for Lebanon, New Hampshire Airport. The pilot was Dr. Ralph E. Miller and his passenger was Dr. Robert E. Quinn. Both were doctors affiliated with Dartmouth Medical School.

Unfortunately, they ended up crashing in a remote area of the Pemigewasset Wilderness on the abandoned North Fork Branch (at the time, a section of the Thoreau Falls Trail) of the East Branch & Lincoln Railroad, near “New” Camp 22. The doctors successfully crash-landed and survived for four days before dying of exposure. It wasn’t until months later in May that the crash site was discovered by a plane flying over the area. At the crash site, the search party found the bodies of the two doctors and a journal they had kept during the four days.

Thoreau Falls Trail (at the East Branch of the Pemi River crossing) Minutes From Forest Service's North Fork Cabin



With medical supplies, the doctors were able to build snowshoes out of tree branches. They attempted to follow the railroad bed (Thoreau Falls Trail) south until it appeared to abruptly end, so they turned around and went back to the plane. Unknown to them, the spot where they turned back was only a short distance from the US Forest Service's fully supplied North Fork Cabin.

The US Forest Service's North Fork Cabin was located along the Thoreau Falls Trail a few minutes south of where the Thoreau Falls Trail crosses the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River (above). The above photo, looking south from the northside of the river crossing, shows how the railroad bed looks to just end.

Abandoned Section of the Thoreau Falls Trail – Pemigewasset Wilderness, New Hampshire



Since the plane crash, the Thoreau Falls Trail has been rerouted to avoid water crossings, and it no longer follows the section of abandoned railroad where the plane crashed. The US Forest Service's North Fork Cabin is no longer standing. And this section of the Pemigewasset Wilderness is mostly visited by backcountry hikers. However, a memorial plaque (above) along the abandoned railroad marks the location of where the plane crashed.

Today, only locals and history buffs know the story Dr. Ralph E. Miller and Dr. Robert E. Quinn. And even less visit the memorial located deep in the Pemigewasset Wilderness. I encourage you to read the full story of these doctors at the Trustees of Dartmouth College website, and in this article by Mike Dickerman, owner of Bondcliff Books.

Happy image making..

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