Route: Bald Peak Trail - Firewarden's Trail - Ledges Trail - Mountain Road
Distance: 4.2 on trail + approx. 1 mile road walk
It was late morning, I was uncharacteristically unprepared in planning, and Erick offered to come hiking with us. Sounds like an ominous start, right? Erick had done Pleasant in Bridgton (Shawnee Peak Ski Area) with work before so we settled on that but we still had to decide between several ascents. After missing the turn for one that sounded particularly attractive in a post by Diaries of a Wandering Lobster, I figured we would do Ledges Trail, the most common route, assuming it would be easier to access and find. Driving down Mountain Road, I pulled into the first hiking lot I saw, making the poor assumption two trailheads to the same peak wouldn't be on the same back road. I pulled all the way up to see blue markers, thought, "the interwebz said blue markers for this trail, it must be it (since I couldn't remember the name)" and I parked.
Trailhead |
Sage, upset she can't get down to a pool of water with the others |
It got steeper after the junction for Sue's Way and we utilized some interesting wooden steps I had never seen before on trails.
As we closed in on the top of the ridge (along which Big Bald Peak lies further down according to the map), there was a one-rock scramble that most of us went around but Sage decided to (try to) go straight up. No dice for the young adventurer. She settled for getting me tangled in a tree instead when I led her to the side path. A couple more slabs and we reached the ridge.
Once there, it took me a second to understand the handful of people rotating around in the shrubs, nearly everyone was blueberry picking. Millions of perfect, tiny, Maine blueberries everywhere. I was surprised and delighted, as were Ty and Tango. We made our way towards the saddle between Bald and Pleasant slowly and un-purposefully. Our attention had shifted almost entirely to picking. At times we found ourselves waiting for the dogs to finish before moving on. The diversion gave us the break and motivation for Erick to agree to a another mile and change over to the main summit.
Redefining "pickers" |
Boss lady watching us pick |
Erick pointing out a good patch to the dogs |
Upon ascending and reaching the Firewarden's trail, the trail leveled and widened. We quickly caught our first glimpse of the fire tower and reached it moments later.
The summit is of the open and ledgy with gorgeous views - type I've come to seek out and it didn't disappoint. Truthfully, I'd been wanting to hike Pleasant for awhile and when I finally got the chance, it was even better than expected: outstanding views and a little more of challenge than I was giving it credit for.
We decided to head down the Ledges Trail to mix things up, knowing we would have a mile-ish of a road walk at the end. The ledge-y, scenic portion of this trail is phenomenal. So fun to go down, it must be even more fun to go up the slabs. Made me rethink my choice in tread-less toe shoe footwear when being pulled down by an adolescent Carolina Dog but it was excellent practice in control and balance!
When it did level out, I knew the day was nearly done. There was a trailhead sign then sharp drop to the road with parking on the other side. The parking is merely a pulloff and is easier to spot than the trail sign. Not much to report from then on, as it was only a road walk. We saw a deer and I pounced on Ty, knowing her collar clip would pop if she charged, and contemplated what would've happened if that doe had been on the trail 30 minutes before....
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