A spot that I decided to use for the comparison to my site in the Burlington Intervale was the summit of Mount Kinsman, North Peak. This peak is part of the Cannon-Kinsman Ridge within the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The ridge runs north from Kinsman Notch to Echo Lake and Profile Lake the source of the Pemigewasset River in Franconia. The ridge is approximately 20 miles long and forms the west side of the Franconia Notch.
North Kinsman at 4293 vertical feet tall is a pyramidal shaped peak with a summit just below treeline. This is part of the montane black spruce and balsam fir forest ecosystem which is the closed canopy forest layer at the highest elevation gradient in the White Mountains. Common bird species include the grey jay, the black-throated sparrow and chickadees. Common animals include snowshoe hair, red squirrels, and other species.
This location is very different from my phenology site at the elevation is 3500 feet higher with a complex montane ecosystem compared to a floodplain forest. The differing mountain ecological layers in New Hampshire are roughly 300-500 feet higher than in Vermont with the alpine zone not occurring until 4200-4800 feet.