Cathedral Pines Pathways 10/30/2023

Today's storm delivered 4 inches of snow to the Eustis area, so we headed up to Cathedral Pines Pathways for my first ski day of the season, although Sierra decided just to walk, instead of ski. The 4 inches of dense snow was enough to cover most of the loop trail well. The only areas with issues were wet areas where the ground hadn't frozen yet. Although this snow will probably only be skiable for the next 48 hours, it was great to be back out in the snow and on skis!

Jewell Hill, Canaan (655') 10/22/2023

One of the new hikes added to the new edition of the Maine Mountain Guide is Jewell Hill in Canaan, also known as The Pinnacle. On this rainy Sunday, I headed over to Lake George Regional Park, where this small summit is located. I hiked a loop of just under 4 miles utilizing the Pinnacle Trail and Townsend Family Trail. The trails were well marked and maintained, although parts of the Townsend Family Trail were quite wet today. There isn't all that much to see at the summit of Jewell Hill, besides a small clearing where there may have been a bit of a view in the past, but it's still a nice network of trails to hike. It was a good choice for a rainy day, as I had the trails all to myself and I wasn't missing out on any views.

Lake George

The trail to the top was marked with signs like this one

Junction of the Pinnacle Trail and the Townsend Family Trail

The clearing near the summit of Jewell Hill

Townsend Family Trail

A very wet section of trail

Fogg Island Preserve, Mount Vernon 10/19/2023

Today we went for a hike at Fogg Island Preserve in Mount Vernon. This Seven Lakes Alliance property protects over 400 acres on the west side of Long Pond. The trail through the property passes through the forest and across a boardwalk to a picnic area on the shore of the pond. The trail is well marked and maintained, and we didn't see anyone else during the entire hike.

The first portion of the trail follows an old woods road

A beaver pond along the trail

The turn off of the woods road onto a footpath is well marked

The boardwalk near the end of the trail

The picnic area at the end of the trail

Long Pond

White Mountains Foliage Train Rides 10/12/23 - 10/14/23

After starting our trip with a hike up Peary Mountain on the way to New Hampshire (see previous post), we arrived in the White Mountains, where I decided to go for a second hike, while Sierra checked in to our motel, up White Ledge. This mountain is in the White Mountain National Forest and has a loop trail of a bit over 4 miles to its summit.

Start of the White Ledge Loop Trail

I did the loop counterclockwise, and found it very enjoyable. The trail passes across open ledges with multiple nice viewpoints in various directions from near the summit.

View east from White Ledge

I was even treated to a view of a rainbow over the Moats to the north.

Rainbow over the Moats

A few sections of the trail were slippery due to wet ledge, but it was pretty straightforward otherwise. After the hike, we returned to the Tanglewood Motel in Madison, where we were staying.

Tanglewood Motel

 

On Friday, we headed to Meredith for a ride on the Plymouth & Lincoln/Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad.

Inside the coach decorated for fall

This fall foliage special headed north from Meredith through Ashland to Plymouth, passing by lakes, through woodlands, and over rivers along the way.

The view from Ashland High Trestle

Although the crowds were quite chaotic when we were boarding at the station, once we were on the train it was very enjoyable.

Sierra enjoying the scenery

It was an enjoyable ride with friendly people, and we were served a turkey dinner at the Common Man in Plymouth, before riding the train back to Meredith.

Our train at the Common Man

After the train ride, we went for a short walk on a nature trail in Meredith.

On the nature trail in Meridith

Then we visited the old standby, Pizza Barn in Ossipee, for a delicious dinner, before returning to our motel.

Pizza Barn

I started the final day of our trip with a short sunrise hike up to a ledge near the motel which is not normally open to the public, but the owner of the motel said I could hike there. After an easy walk up an old washed out road, the ledge provided an excellent view over Madison and the surrounding mountains from the top of a sheer cliff face.

Sunrise view from the ledge near our motel

We then left the motel, and headed to North Conway to ride the Mountaineer train on the Conway Scenic Railroad.

Inside our first class coach, the Leslie Ann

We rode through Crawford Notch to Bretton Woods and back in a luxurious first class coach, enjoying the spectacular views along the way.

The view through Crawford Notch

We also stopped long enough at Crawford Station to take a short walk around Saco Lake.

Our train at Crawford Station

The view towards our train across Saco Lake

It was a truly special train journey, and we were very glad that we had the opportunity to do it

Peary Mountain, Brownfield (956') 10/12/2023

On our way over to New Hampshire today, we stopped for a hike up Peary Mountain in Brownfield. It's a relatively easy hike which is only steep in one very short section. The lower part of the hike follows old woods roads before reaching a footpath soon before the western peak.

One of the woods roads that the lower part of the trail follows

The western peak has open ledges with excellent views north and west.

View from the western peak

Even though it's slightly lower than the main peak, it has the better views. We ate lunch at the western peak, before continuing along the ridge to the main peak.

Sierra enjoying the view at the western peak

At the summit there is a view east towards Pleasant Mountain, which we enjoyed for a bit, before descending via a slightly different route which avoided the western peak.

View from the summit

Bethel Community Forest West & Buck's Ledge Community Forest, Woodstock 10/11/2023

View from Buck's Ledge

Today I revisited two community forests in Bethel and Woodstock to complete some of the trails there that I had yet to hike.

Bethel Community Forest West Trailhead

This bridge was functioning as more of a dam than a bridge

First up was the Parks-Bennett Trail in the western part of the Bethel Community Forest. This trail makes a loop on the southern slope of Ellingwood Mountain, passing along a pretty brook and past an excellent viewpoint, known as "The Prow" along the way.

A cascade along the trail

Last time I hiked here, I hiked the Red Pine Ridge Trail, instead of completing the Parks-Bennett Loop.

The loop junction

This time, I hiked the entire loop clockwise, and paused for a while to enjoy the view from The Prow.

View from The Prow

View from The Prow

This cleared area with a view up the mountain is called "Porcupine Panorama"

I then drove over to Buck's Ledge Community Forest in Woodstock.

Start of the Lapham Loop

This property was recently conserved by the town, and encompasses three peaks: Lapham Ledge, Buck's Ledge, and Moody Mountain. I started up the Lapham Loop, and soon made it to the top of the ledge, where I enjoyed my lunch and the view.

View from Lapham Ledge

After lunch, I headed down the other side of the Lapham Loop to Mann Road. I then followed Mann Road to the west end of the Buck's Ledge Trail.

The start of the Buck's Ledge Trail on Mann Road

This trail steadily climbed to the top of Buck's Ledge, which had the best views of the day.

Summit sign on Buck's Ledge

View from Buck's Ledge towards Mount Abram

After taking in the view, I headed up the JnJ Backcountry Trail to the top of Moody Mountain.

Logbook at the top of Moody Mountain

The top of Moody Mountain

Although this is the highest peak in the forest, the views here are rather limited. I descended steeply to the old logging road, and followed the road back to the parking area, with a short bushwhack detour around where they were doing construction.

The old logging road

The lower part of the old road is being improved to provide a way for disabled people to enjoy views without having to hike.

View from the lower part of the old logging road